Boat Reviews
Explore New Zealand’s top boat reviews! From sailboats to luxury yachts, get expert insights and detailed specs to find your perfect vessel. Discover the best models for local waters and make informed decisions with our trusted reviews.
BOAT REVIEW
Dreadnort D7500
It takes considerable courage to design and then build a trailer boat as radically different as the ...
Horsepower (HP):
350
Displacement (M):
3520
Length Over All (M):
7.9
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Beneteau Oceanis 40.1 First Line
If you’re a retired airline pilot with a bit of a need for speed, you’re probably looking for perfor...
Length Over All (M):
12.87
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Sasga Menorquín 34 HT
Occasionally you see a boat that makes a memorable impression, as happened to Ernest Henshaw a few y...
Displacement (M):
9000
Length Over All (M):
10.03
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Stryda 900C Amphibious
2019 was an auspicious year in New Zealand, although thinking back to those heady pre-Covid days som...
Length Over All (M):
9.0
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Excess 15
That’s exactly what the owners of this Excess 15 sailing cat did, picking her up from the factory in...
Displacement (M):
18400
Length Over All (M):
14.76
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Innovision 656 Explorer
Like the rest of the range, the 656’s distinctive styling – largely the result of function dictating...
Horsepower (HP):
250
Length Over All (M):
6.65
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Brig Eagle 8 and Eagle 6.7
The two Eagles are birds of a feather, with versatile layouts, good quality fittings, similar trim l...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.98
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
BRABUS Shadow 900
Scandinavian design gets a major boost from German engineering in this turbocharged BRABUS, reports ...
Displacement (M):
5000
Length Over All (M):
11.73
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Blue Diamond 680HT
If you can’t find exactly the boat you want to buy, and you’re a handy chap, why not design and buil...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.1
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Bavaria C42
Getting back out on the water after an extended period in lockdown felt so good — especially with ...
Displacement (M):
9678
Length Over All (M):
12.9
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Swift Trawler 41 Fly
French boat manufacturer Beneteau is one of the oldest and largest boatbuilders in existence, still ...
Displacement (M):
11040
Length Over All (M):
13.43
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Salthouse Coach Boat
How a decades-long family boat building empire has happily downsized to build the world’s best coach...
Horsepower (HP):
70
Displacement (M):
500
Length Over All (M):
6.3
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Rae Line 180 XS
Christchurch-based Rae Line’s latest is the 180 XS featuring Volvo Penta’s new Aquamatic Sterndrive ...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Displacement (M):
953
Length Over All (M):
5.59
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Rapido 50 Trimaran
So, the pointing ability of the R60 is right up there with racing monohulls.
Displacement (M):
8200
Length Over All (M):
15.24
Construction:
Carbon Fibre
BOAT REVIEW
Jeanneau Sunfast 3300
Jeanneau’s Sunfast 3300 joins its well-established siblings, the 3200 and later 3600, which have m...
Displacement (M):
3500
Length Over All (M):
10.11
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Machina 551
The Machina 551 sets its foundations on the well-proven principles of strong alloy construction.
Horsepower (HP):
150
Length Over All (M):
5.5
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Sea-Doo Switch
Launch
Sea-Doo’s all-new Switch marries the performance of a personal watercraft with the versatility of a ...
Length Over All (M):
6.4
Construction:
Other
BOAT REVIEW
Paragon 25 Cabin
It is somewhat unusual to review a boat of such relatively modest dimensions with inboard diesel pow...
Displacement (M):
3500
Length Over All (M):
8.52
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Modified Tennant Blade Runner
Setting off on Slime – a 13.5m John Hughes extended Blade Runner catamaran – is akin to accelerating...
Displacement (M):
3100
Length Over All (M):
13.5
Construction:
Carbon Fibre
BOAT REVIEW
Maritimo M55
Launch
Maritimo’s fame comes from its highly refined flybridge cruisers which has put it on the global map ...
Displacement (M):
30000
Length Over All (M):
17.27
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Extreme 645CC
Extreme Boats’ 645CC (Centre Console) was the supreme Boat of the Show award winner at this year’s ...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.45
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Highfield Patrol 600
Tracing its lineage back to the Australian line of Swift boats, Highfield is now a joint French-Chin...
Horsepower (HP):
150
Length Over All (M):
6
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Beneteau GT 32
The GT 32 is a comfortable weekender that can sleep up to four adults, but would be ideally suited t...
Displacement (M):
5377
Length Over All (M):
9.95
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Dehler 30OD
Boats are designed to maximise their chances within the strictures of certain design rules conventio...
Displacement (M):
2800
Length Over All (M):
10.3
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Machina 701
The 701 is the latest addition to the growing Machina range and marks a distinct departure from the ...
Horsepower (HP):
250
Length Over All (M):
7.2
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Riviera 645 SUV
Launch
The launch of the 645 at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show completes a stylish six-boat SUV range for Au...
Displacement (M):
39970
Length Over All (M):
21.23
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Caribbean 5.5m Offshore
Offering a dry ride, decent freeboard and good stability at rest, the Offshore is a small fibreglass...
Horsepower (HP):
90
Length Over All (M):
5.5
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Senator 800 HT
The way the Senator behaves gives the impression it would be completely unflappable – easily capable...
Length Over All (M):
8.3
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Lamont T340 Jet RIB
Although a new name on the New Zealand boating scene, Lamont Jets has an excellent pedigree. The br...
Displacement (M):
320
Length Over All (M):
3.4
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Wright 46S Powercat
Launch
Alan Wright is one of New Zealand’s most prolific designers. A father-and-son team has brought one ...
Displacement (M):
16000
Length Over All (M):
14
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
Nautitech 47 Power
Launch
Businessman and philanthropist Dave Sutherland has teamed up with celebrity chef Ben Bayly to launc...
Displacement (M):
18168
Length Over All (M):
14.23
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
Purekraft 800HT
Purekraft designs and builds custom aluminium boats – but its extraordinary flexibility was particul...
Horsepower (HP):
400
Length Over All (M):
8.0
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
LSB Catalyst superyacht tender
After sea trials in Auckland, T/T Skorpios was shipped to Europe to join her mothership, the carbon...
Length Over All (M):
15.53
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
Shaw 550
Last year’s level 4 lockdown was a difficult time for all Kiwis, but it also gave Bay of Islands rig...
Displacement (M):
600
Length Over All (M):
5.5
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
Offshore Boats 750 HT
She certainly looked like a dedicated sport fisher, her 10-position rocket launcher festooned with S...
Horsepower (HP):
350
Length Over All (M):
7.5
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Yanmar X47 Express Cruiser
Launched at Germany’s Boot Dusseldorf in January last year, the America’s Cup editon of the X47 (47-...
Displacement (M):
14700
Length Over All (M):
14.53
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Fatcat 4000 Fisherman
Trailer Boat
Lightning Marine’s Fatcat 4000 sticks with the ‘simple is best’ small boat ethos.
Displacement (M):
240
Length Over All (M):
3.8
Construction:
Other
BOAT REVIEW
Moody DS41
When thinking about a new boat you always imagine the sun shining benignly and a playful 12-knot bre...
Displacement (M):
11200
Length Over All (M):
12.52
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)