Yachting March 2020

AS I WRITE THIS, SNOW IS FORECAST FOR THE NORTHEAST this weekend. On days like these, I make my coffee, look out the window, and go drifting and dreaming. ¶ It was mid-August this past year, and the winds were light and variable, a perfect scenario for an offshore run in search of story-worthy fish. Our crew set off at 4:30 a.m. on a 90-mile trek to where the ocean is deep and the fish are fat. My favorite pastime during these zero-dark-early trips is to watch the sunrise. For those of us who live a life on the salt, there’s nothing like it. It’s the illustration of opportunity. It’s a smile. It’s hope. ¶ Arriving along the 1,500-fathom line, our goal was to find a blue marlin. The water…

THIS JUST IN Solaris Power recently announced its latest model: the 48 Lobster Flybridge. This yacht follows on the heels of the builder’s Lobster 57 and 48 Open. The team of Norberto Ferretti, Brunello Acampora and Giuseppe Giuliani designed the new model. The 48 Lobster Flybridge is being offered with a two-stateroom, two-head arrangement as well as a crew cabin. Power will be Volvo Penta IPS diesels up to 480 hp apiece with pod drives. Projected cruise speed is 26 knots with a 35-knot top-end speed. Another notable feature on the 48 is the foldout bulwarks aft, which increase cockpit real estate. Look for the Solaris Power 48 Lobster Flybridge at US boat shows in the near future. CORRECTION In the February issue, we ran incorrect specifications for the Riviera…

AT THE CANNES YACHTING FESTIVAL this past fall, DutchCraft—a sister company to Zeelander—unveiled the DC56. It was not your typical 56-footer. Built to seat as many as 44 people, it also could be loaded up with tons of gear, set up for a party with a DJ platform or turned into a fish-stalking machine with a fighting chair. And it had a maximum speed of 40 knots. ¶ Now comes the second model from DutchCraft, the DC25, a superyacht tender that shows an equal amount of innovative thinking in design. ¶ The DC25, which premiered in January at the boat show in Düsseldorf, Germany, has a length overall of 26 feet, 3 inches. It’s built of carbon fiber and has fully electric propulsion, with the ability to cruise silently at…

New from British builder Sunseeker is the Predator 60 Evo, the first model in what is being called a “major new product-development plan.” Power options include Volvo Penta D13-1000 engines that, according to Sunseeker, push the boat to a top speed of 34 knots; another choice is Volvo Penta IPS D11-950 engines. Noteworthy design elements include the carbon-fiber hardtop with a power-opening section and curved glazed panels; polished stainless-steel detailing on the hull; and a cockpit-door mechanism that lets the door open conventionally but also lowers it beneath the deck of the yacht, connecting the outdoor and indoor living spaces. Belowdecks are accommodations for six people in three staterooms. The carbon-fiber hardtop on the Predator 60 Evo is an all-new design for Sunseeker and is built with curved glazed panels.…

Italy’s Invictus Yachts made its first appearance at a US boat show this past month with two models: the GT 370 and GT 280S. Several of the boats had already been sold to US clients ahead of the show, according to the builder, which first entered the European boating marketplace in 2016. Designer Christian Grande is the man behind the drafting board on the GT 370, which is now the flagship in the Invictus Yachts GT line (it also includes a 320 and 280). The GT 370 has a pair of 430 hp Volvo Penta sterndrives. Other power options include 300 hp Volvo Penta D4s or 370 hp MerCruiser 4.2 V-8s, with the builder reporting top speeds in the 40-to 44 knot range. Cruising speed is 26 knots, according to…

Australia’s Riviera Yachts used the Miami Yacht Show this past month as the occasion to debut the Rivera 505 SUV. Part of a five-model series that starts with the 395 SUV and goes up to the 575 SUV, the new 505 is a three-stateroom, two-head vessel (and the master spans the boat’s full beam). There’s a raised, mezzanine-style seating area aft that overlooks the cockpit, which measures nearly 70 square feet. The mezzanine seating is protected from the elements by the hardtop overhang, but is able to let in sunlight and more fresh air with the twin sliding hatches opened in the hardtop. Standard power is a pair of 600 hp Volvo Penta D8 IPS engines, which can be upgraded to 725 hp Volvo Penta D11 IPS950s. Look closely at…