August 19, 2013
Beneteau Swift Trawler 52
The first example of Beneteau’s Swift Trawler 52 on North America’s west coast is berthed just off the seafront walkway in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour. Her shippy good looks – a clean, contemporary take on traditional passagemaker lines – invite passers-by to dream of smooth passages and far-off destinations. But her pride of place is also just about the tightest spot in the marina, and extracting her for a test ride is complicated by the pair of brand-new Oceanis sailboats tight against her starboard hip, her smaller sister, the ST 34, moored off her starboard bow, and a float with a sharp corner to port.
August 2, 2013
Rinker 310
Bittersweet – that was our thought after testing Rinker’s new 310. The “sweet” is the boat…really sweet. The “bitter” are the conditions in the marine business in the US (and to a lesser extent in Canada). At first, we felt sorry for the Rinker people because of the timing. There couldn’t be a worse business climate into which a new model should be launched. This is a really appealing boat; Rinker’s 310 would probably do well in any market and in reality, because of the global economic slowdown, the Rinker will have little or no competition.
August 2, 2013
Brenda and Wendell Wilkinson’s 1969 Chris-Craft Commander 47
A Labour of Love and a Love of labour Makes for the Project of a Lifetime. Perhaps the biggest challenge in writing this article is that few of our readers will be able to remember what a 1969 Chris-Craft Commander 47 actually looked like, especially inside. First, it was a rare boat. Back in 1969, a 47 was a real yacht and you had to be a captain of industry, or heir to something impressive to buy one of these. Next, the engines and running gear in 1969 were dramatically different from the latest and greatest models available today and that dictated a hull design that had to be significantly different as well.
July 16, 2013
Regal 46 Sport Coupe with Volvo IPS 500
Regal is a front runner in the new style of sport coupe cruisers. Instead of the old-style of express cruisers that were essentially open cockpit boats with cabin space below and only canvas above, the Regal 46 Sport Coupe has a fully glassed in bridge deck under a particularly big electrically retracting sunroof. Press the button and the Regal 46 sunroof literally opens up as much of the bridge deck as is structurally possible leaving just the outside 10 inches to support the side glass.
June 5, 2013
Beneteau Barracuda 9
The new Beneteau Barracuda 9 is set to devour old-fashioned competitors as it redefines the design and performance realities for power boats under 30 feet. Parts of the Beneteau Barracuda 9 may seem familiar, but we can’t recall seeing all these features rolled into one boat. It’s just a wild combination and it’s sure to send other designers scrambling back to their drawing boards. The Beneteau Barracuda 9 is a 29’3” pilot house outboard boat with a 9’9” beam and both an amazing list of clever design features as well as an option list to enable buyers to further customize or personalize their
April 5, 2013
Pursuit OS 315 Offshore – twin Yamaha 300 hp outboards
Depending on what you’re looking for in a boat, Pursuit’s OS 315 Offshore model could either be a quick cruiser or serious fish raiser – better yet, both! The OS 315 Offshore was designed and built to be a serious blue water sport fishing boat, but we reviewed it on Lake Couchiching near the Narrows at Crates Lake Country Boats and we were in relatively protected waters, close to the Trent Severn system and not far from Georgian Bay.
March 11, 2013
Beneteau Swift 34
Darned clever those Beneteau people! Rather than just showing their Swift 34 at boat shows or in ads, the company rigged out a boat, named it “The Greatest Loop” and sent it on a 5,137 nautical mile journey of nearly four months traveling the circumnavigation of the Eastern U.S. and Canada commonly referred to as the “Great Loop”. This was no vacation though. According to Laurent Fabre, president of Beneteau in North America, “The success of The Greatest Loop’s adventure is quite remarkable especially given her achievement of such an ambitious schedule which began on May 15, 2012 and successfully concluded on September 6, 2012.
March 11, 2013
Grady-White Freedom 335
You can still go to a car dealership and buy a sedan, but all the excitement is around “sport utility vehicles” that promise to deliver a lot more than just transportation. A decade ago, a new 33 foot power boat was almost certain to be an express cruiser that could take a small family cruising, with overnight sleeping accommodations, a head, a little galley to make some food and honestly, we thought that was good at the time.
February 6, 2013
Cruisers Yachts 45 Cantius
There’s nothing like practice to make things perfect. After first introducing the 48 Cantius model in 2010 and really breaking the mold on North American express and sedan cruisers, Cruisers Yachts and parent company KCS International followed up with their 41 Cantius, still a terrific boat but significantly smaller. Both of the first Cantius models embodied a lot of new design philosophy about living spaces and how to really add convenience and enjoyment to the designs. It looks to us like they’ve applied everything they’ve learned to their new 45 Cantius.
February 1, 2013
Coastal Craft 560 IPS
With its new flagship, Coastal Craft stays true to its successful approach, delivering top-quality construction in a high-performance yacht. Reviewing new boats is one of the most enjoyable parts of any marine writer’s life. Not only do we see the latest designs and goodies from a variety of manufacturers, but we get to play Walter Mitty and dream about owning examples of the boats we test.
November 21, 2012
Sea Ray 370 Venture
A bold venture yields brilliant results. It’s September 15th and I’m in Knoxville, TN at Sea Ray World Headquarters on what the local guys call the “Island.” Sea Ray owners from across North America have been invited to join the big event and I’ve met several people from Canada — including a couple who came all the way from Vernon, BC and who, by coincidence, happened to be Sea Ray 370 Sundancer owners. I look to them for their reaction to the new 2013 Sea Ray 370 Venture which is being introduced at this event. It is a bold venture, but our impression is that it will yield brilliant results.
November 21, 2012
Cobalt 323
In recent years, we know some of our readers have started to worry about facing that sad day when they finally sit down and admit that they don’t use their big boat very much anymore. But, no one wants to give up boating. As children grow up and move on, the big boat that was your floating summer home, your weekend escape and probably the source of your most memorable family adventures, may just be too big for today’s realities.
September 14, 2012
Prestige 500S
This new entry to the North American motoryacht market packs an impressive amount of living space into a versatile layout. Although the Prestige 500S is new for 2012, I first had a first look in Florida in 2011, and I stepped off with a sense of amazement, anxious to stand back and see the whole boat from a distance to figure out where all the space came from. This is a sedan (or coupe) design that is actually under 50’ (49’ 1” overall). Yet the designers found room for a full-beam master stateroom with standing headroom that has a private ensuite head including a separate shower stall; a guest stateroom forward; a midships double cabin; a second full head; a very spacious salon; a galley on the main level; a generous cockpit and even a tender garage!
September 13, 2012
Sea Ray 370 Sundancer – Axius
How can a $450,000 boat be a bargain? It’s a bargain in pleasure… While the bigger boats seem to get all the press these days, the more manageable but still big 37’ 6” Sea Ray 370 Sundancer will surprise you with great performance and practical accommodations. For the young professional couple, the 370 Sundancer is a romantic getaway boat, with space to host another couple and speed to get from marina to paradise in record time. Have a great weekend, stay till the last minute, then fly back to home port. Of course, your lives will change over time and the 370 Sundancer will easily accommodate a child or two, or three if you fold out the salon sofa.
September 6, 2012
Canadian Yachting Tours the New Chris-Craft Launch 36
After more than 130 years of pleasure craft boat building, Chris-Craft is certainly the best known name in boating, at least in North America and the brand is alive and well today, building high-end boats for discriminating customers. We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Chris-Craft president Stephen Heese and he has a clear mission; to build modern fiberglass boats using the best available materials and techniques while maintaining a look that acknowledges the Chris-Craft heritage. He also makes no apologies for the cost of doing things this way. He knows the Chris-Craft customers he is serving are not looking for compromises.
August 29, 2012
Grady White 285 Freedom
Introduced at the New York Boat Show in January 2012, the new Freedom 285 from Grady-White is a brawney big bow rider that features a surprisingly spacious enclosed head under the starboard side console, has 65 square feet (6.04m2) of wide-open cockpit space, an optional electric grill and plenty more features to delight the whole family. Grady’ prefers to call the design a dual console and Grady-White customers are showing great enthusiasm for dual console boats, in large part because this style is so well suited to families who participate in a variety of water sports and leisure activities.
May 9, 2012
Cruisers Yachts 330 Express
For comfortable accommodations, high-flying performance and a dash of flair, the latest express cruisers in the mid-thirty foot range are a sweet-spot in the marketplace. The Cruisers Yachts 330 Express is a great example. Brand new, heavily optioned and 35 feet 6 inches on a beam of 11 feet 8 inches, this boat is still well under $300,000. You can get that down to less than $200,000 if you hold back on the wild stuff. So, what wild stuff is that? How about twin Volvo 8.1 Gi Duoprop stern drive engines with a 50 mph top speed and Joystick control for docking! Our test boat also had underwater lighting, a generator, extra TVs and several other expensive options.
April 20, 2012
Zodiac Bayrunner 500
Yacht-Finished Tender or Versatile Cottage Boat. Perhaps the best-known name in inflatable boats is Zodiac. The company has been a pioneer in developing these super-safe little boats for pleasure uses, commercial applications and for the demanding needs of search and rescue (SAR). Hopefully you will never have an “extreme” need for yours, but the virtues and capabilities still pay dividends in everyday use.
April 2, 2012
Boston Whaler 285 Conquest
We were keen to profile the new Boston Whaler 285 Conquest because it is such an amazingly versatile machine. With twin 225 HP Mercury Verado four-stroke outboard engines, it is very fast, smooth and quiet, and impressively economical too. That turn of speed can get you from a marina to the fishing grounds, or from a downtown marina to the islands in record time. The cockpit is designed for serious fishing, but port and starboard foldout seats in the cockpit sides, plus another across the transom give you plenty of seating for social times too.
March 28, 2012
Sea Ray 410
There’s a lot of boat action in the 40-foot class in today’s new boat market and the all new for 2012 Sea Ray 410 Sundancer was designed to be a market leader. We chose the 410 Sundancer partly because it was a brand new model from the industry’s largest builder but also because this has the unique feature of allowing owners to choose from three different exterior designs: a standard sport spoiler model with canvas; optional open hardtop; or, an optional enclosed hardtop with electric front vents and available sunroof. While many new boats feature a fully enclosed hardtop with a sunroof, not everybody wants this. Sea Ray has made sure you can have it your way by offering these three variations.
March 21, 2012
Jeanneau NC11
Distinctive Styling – Sparkling Performance. First impressions are important – and at first glance the new Jeanneau NC 11 cruiser is impressive and distinctive. Its styling, including a raked railing and house and an attractive two-tone taupe-and-white hull, says “European” and “performance,” maybe even “serious,” as in “This is a serious boat.” “NC” means New Concept and it’s completely appropriate. Properly called a sedan, the NC 11 is closer to a performance sports sedan. It was judged European Powerboat of the Year in 2011.
March 13, 2012
Chaparral 420 Premiere
With a centreline length of 42 feet, Volvo Penta IPS drives as the standard power and joystick docking, Chaparral’s 420 Premier model is both its flagship and a great example of some fresh thinking. For example, taking a page from recent wake sport boat design ideas, Chaparral has given the 420 a bit of “pickle fork” styling to the bow. It’s subtle, but what it does is increase the beam in the forward master stateroom quite significantly. In combination with an innovative queen-sized island berth that electrically folds partly out of the way during the day, this is a surprisingly spacious master stateroom.
March 5, 2012
Beneteau Swift 52
Your Personal Ship. The Beneteau Swift 52 feels more like your own personal ship than a boat. It’s very high, wide and looks solid from every angle. Approaching from the stern, you step onto a big swim platform, through a real transom door designed to hold out the sea; you walk over real teak trim everywhere. The aft deck is protected by the bridge overhang with a nice port side seat. A glass cabin bulkhead gives a view astern.
February 24, 2012
Cruisers Yachts 41 Cantius
The introduction of a new yacht is always a time for excitement, but this one was particularly special for me. I had seen the original engineering mock-up of the 41 in the development stages when I visited KCS International Incorporated over a year ago. They are, of course, the manufacturers of Cruisers Yachts and Rampage Sport Fishing Yachts located in Oconto, Wisconsin. I had gone there to test the 48 Cantius – a breakthrough new design and a yacht that has already had impressive sales success.
February 14, 2012
Regal 35 Sport Coupe
Regal's new 35 Sport Coupe represents a real step forward in mid-size cruiser design. Express cruisers have long been the most popular design but, increasingly, people want the all-weather convenience of a glassed-in salon. However, on the other hand, they also want the enjoyment of open air boating. So what is the solution? Regal gave the 35 Sport Coupe a roof that retracts its full width, drawing back about two feet and opening up the sky overhead.
February 9, 2012
Moorings Power Cat 393 PC
I swear, we have never faked it…until now. When you read one of our Canadian Yachting Powerboat Reviews, we have actually travelled to the boat along with our test equipment, our camera and whatever other paraphernalia we need on board to drive the boat under real-world circumstances. But, not this time. We wish we could though!
October 18, 2011
Chris Craft Corsair 28
Classic Elegance, Contemporary Performance There are few boats to compare with the Corsair 28 by Chris-Craft, even just in terms of size and amenities, but especially in the area of style. This is a boat that was very carefully designed to be a unique blend of classic elegance with the versatility of modern performance. We had the pleasure of interviewing Stephen Heese, the president of Chris-Craft and he was well aware of the Chris-Craft heritage and determined to preserve and build on it.
October 18, 2011
Hatteras 60 Motor Yacht
There are very few Hatteras 60 Motor Yachts and, so far, this is the only one in Canada. Kevin Marinelli at Skyline Marina knew I was keen to write this yacht up for our Canadian Yachting readers. He saw a window of opportunity when the owner – who had recently taken delivery in Cape Hatteras and driven the yacht north to the Greater Toronto area – was onboard with the senior delivery crew from Hatteras.
October 14, 2011
Four Winns H310
More of What You Really Want Could the Four Winns H310 be the boat that gives you more of what you really want? When we think of a power boat that's over 31 feet long with a 9' 8" beam, we would assume that it would be an express cruiser, but the Four Winns H310 is actually one of the biggest bowriders on the market.
September 7, 2011
Mercury Marine Diesel Electric Hybrid Concept Vessel
I Have Seen The Future! Dressed in eyecatching graphics, Mercury’s Hybrid Concept Vessel was a Miami International Boat Show highlight last February – but a quiet one. Equipped with both Cummins QSC 550, 550-hp diesel engines and Zeus pod drives plus high-efficiency electric engines, solar panels, full SmartCraft controls including joystick docking, the Mercury’s Hybrid Concept Vessel glided out of its slip like it was drifting in the wind, making virtually no sound, no smoke and no smell.
August 23, 2011
Regal 52 Sport Coupe
As the flagship of Regal Boats lineup, the 52 Sport Coupe was designed to embody both the design philosophies and the quality values that the Kuck family strives for in their boats. Regal is a family business (in spite of its size) and brothers Duane and Tim Kuck and their families are behind every boat. When you own the business, you can have it your way. Now it seems that Regal's goal is to serve up their boats so that you can have it your way too. If you are lucky enough to choose the Regal 52 Sport Coupe as your new boat, you can choose from five hull colours accented by one of five different bootstripe colours.
August 23, 2011
Ranger Tug R-29
We call them “pleasurecraft” because they're a pleasure to own and to cruise; they are not commercial vessels or work boats. But “pleasure” means different things to different people. This is not a one-size-fits-all world. For some people, it would be a pleasure to own a boat with a salty traditional look and a carbon footprint that respects nature. A Ranger Tug might just be the perfect expression of that pleasure. We went on board our first Ranger Tugs, an R-29, at the Miami International Boat Show.
May 9, 2011
Sabre 40 Sedan
We caught up with the Sabre 40Sedan during the 70th Annual Miami International Boat Show. Even among the line up of new yachts at the show, the Sabre display immediately caught our eye. There is a powerful family resemblance from one Sabre model to another and the ‘look’ seems most obvious when expressed in the handsome dark coloured hull sides and accents; Sabre offers their boats in white as well as six optional colours. The lines and proportions are strongly similar, all the way from their 34 Express to the 52 Salon Express and all offer special details like varnished teak toe rails, gold cove accents, raked transoms, big cabin windows and cabin roof overhangs.
February 3, 2011
Sea Ray Introduces New 450 Sedan Bridge
Sea Ray will hold the public unveiling of their new Sea Ray 450 Sedan Bridge yacht during the 2011 Miami International Boat Show. The new 450 Sedan Bridge offers panoramic seascapes and wide-open spaces that are sure to inspire thoughts of comfortable cruising and luxury living. The beautiful views start on the bridge, which, along with 360 degrees of visibility, features a U-shaped dinette to stern that is served by a table that converts to a sun pad, plus a refrigerator and an optional 22" LCD TV.
February 2, 2011
Doral International
Erwin Zecha, owner of Canada’s Doral International, plainly recognizes the importance of design and style, so he has both Christophe Lavigne and Luc St-Onge as his in-house design team at the original Doral facility in Grand Mère, Quebec. As a builder of higher-end fiberglass express cruisers, Doral is almost alone in the domestic Canadian market. For a volume builder, the Canadian market is not enough to ensure business success.
January 12, 2011
Monterey 400 SY
While many of our readers may know Monterey Boats for their cottage size and trailerable models, the company also builds a line of cruisers and sport yachts ranging up from 40 feet in length. Monterey may also be a larger company than some of our readers realize with 171 dealers worldwide. Monterey is a family owned business that even through the US marine industry downturn last year continues to offer high quality in both styling and construction.
January 12, 2011
Boston Whaler 280 Outrage
What a perfect time to be sitting down to write up a thoroughbred sport fishing boat like the Boston Whaler 280 Outrage. I just returned from a bill fish tournament in the Bahamas where a fleet of traditional "convertible" yachts like Hatteras', Bertrams and even a brand new 70' Rybovitch were competing against boats like this Boston Whaler 280 Outrage.
January 12, 2011
Mainship 35 Trawler
Let me first admit that I am always attracted by a traditionally styled boat. In the early days of powerboats, form needed to follow function and those traditional designs had an honesty and sense of purpose that I still really like. The brand new Mainship 35 Trawler looks like a traditional trawler and features many traditional virtues, yet it also delivers key features that today's buyers are looking for: a spacious and well-equipped galley, an ocean-going "family room" on the bridge and the convenience of joystick docking.
January 12, 2011
Azimut 53 Sedan Bridge
The brand new Azimut 53 Sedan Bridge is a yacht for entertaining. The owner of our test boat, Tony Romanelli of RCC Media has made his new Azimut 53 the centerpiece of his lifestyle. His young family includes a preschooler; their home is a downtown waterfront condominium, within walking distance of the marina. On a summer morning, he can walk to the boat to check it out, enjoy some coffee plan his day, set up meetings and even use it as a floating boardroom. His physical company offices are north of the city so this represents significant time saving.