I was more excited than usual as our crew cruised away from Sunseeker’s site at West Quay Road. I have done this run many times, and it’s invariably a joy, but this time, I was aboard the builder’s Superhawk 55. It’s the first open cruiser the British yard has built in ages, and it’s a return to what made Sunseeker world-famous.

Beyond being home to Sunseeker, Poole Harbour’s claim to fame is being Europe’s largest natural harbor. That morning, it felt like it. We chugged out through the navigation channel traffic, past the majestic Brownsea Castle, and past the sloping lawns and exclusive terraces of Sandbanks, some of the most expensive real estate in England. Finally, we reached the Poole Bar Buoy and open water.

Throttles opened. Worth the wait? Absolutely yes.

The twin 725 hp Volvo Penta IPS950-D11 diesels max out at 2,550 rpm, which, during my runs at about half-load in a gentle breeze and very little swell, gave us a top-end speed of 37 to 38 knots. Sunseeker says the hull form is completely new. It strikes a great balance between planing efficiency and a rewarding driving experience. The Superhawk 55 easily sliced the wave crests we generated, and the yacht heeled satisfyingly into the turns, especially with the wheel hard over. Having the driving position on centerline is a definite bonus.

Allowing for a 10 percent reserve, expect a range of 200 to 225 nautical miles. According to my numbers, this yacht will run all day at 2,000 rpm and around 25 knots.

And the Superhawk 55 will look great doing it, outside and inside. Despite its considerable volume, this yacht still looks long and low, from the swim platform to the bow, probably helped by what appears to be one continuous hullside window to break up the freeboard. Note too how the superstructure sits within the hull rather than on top of it.

The cockpit occupies the full 16-foot-2-inch beam aft. Side decks are accessed via a pair of pantograph doors that flank the helm. Those side decks run forward from just abaft amidships, and they include three shallow steps to reach the foredeck terrace. The 54-square-foot windscreen is an impressive single pane with double curvature. The standard open layout includes just the arch mast, but as of this writing, all but one owner has chosen the hardtop option.

The cockpit layout is intended to be versatile, making the Superhawk 55 a weekender or a party boat. The essentials include a sofa-sun pad and a table with leaves aft. There’s a wet bar abaft the triple-seat raised bridge. A pair of L-shaped sofas can slide back and forth, or in and out, on rails. That means they can be pushed to the sides when more room is needed, or closer together for meals at the table.

Another dining spot is belowdecks. The lower deck has an amidships salon with a galley to port and a dinette-sofa to starboard. There are doors to the two en suite staterooms, one each fore and aft. The headroom in the main salon enhances the perception of luxury. While the headroom is better in the forward stateroom than in the aft one, both staterooms are broadly the same in terms of space and views.

As for decor, Sunseeker offers five veneers and a dozen lacquers. The Superhawk 55 I got aboard had what felt like a darker vibe: piano black and stained oak.

No matter the interior styling, this is a relatively quiet boat. While running the yacht flat out, I recorded 73 to 75 decibels at the helm, in the salon with the cockpit hatch open, and in the aft stateroom. Sixty-five decibels, which I recorded in the forward stateroom, is the level of normal conversation.

For heading ashore, a garage is aft, big enough to hold a 9-foot-2-inch Williams MiniJet 280 tender. A drawer above the garage could hold underwater scooters or fenders.

The first Sunseeker Superhawk 55 was unveiled at Boot Düsseldorf in January, and Sunseeker expects to deliver 25 to 30 of these performance boats this year alone. Apparently, I’m far from the only yachting enthusiast who has long been waiting for this model.  

Hawk History

Sunseeker’s first real “hawk” was the Tomahawk 37. Then, in no particular order, came the Thunderhawk 43, Hawk 27, Mohawk 29, Hawk 31 and Tomahawk 41. Over the years, there also were several Superhawks, namely the 34 (famous for the River Thames chase sequences in the James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough”), the 40, the 43, the 48 and the 50 that had surface drives and topped out around 50 knots. There’s also the current 60-plus-knot Hawk 38, which is a dayboat with a center console and outboards. Most of the older Hawks topped out at 40 to 46 knots.

That’s Not Teak

Sunseeker has virtually stopped using wooden decking. This Superhawk 55 had a light surface made of Sikafloor Marine-595 Antarctica throughout the main deck. The mock white caulking creates striking patterns.

Flag Salute

The Superhawk 55 has Union Jack homages in its transom gates, in the LED framing in the skylight between the salon and windscreen, in the salon’s headliner and in the stitching on the back of the pilot seats. A similar tribute is in the taillights on newer British-built Mini Coopers.

Take the next step: sunseeker.com

The post Sunseeker Superhawk 55 Reviewed appeared first on Yachting.

The skies darkened fast. Capt. Art Sapp was runnng home to Lighthouse Point, Florida, from the Bahamas aboard Native Son, his SeaVeei 39, when he saw the storm wall. “I ran 30 miles to get around the thunder and lightning,” he said, adding that he used dual 16-inch Raymarine Axiom 2 XL multifunction displays, and networked radar and satellite weather, to pick a less-awful route. “It’s got a fluidlike feeling on the screens. It’s wild,” Sapp said of the Axiom 2 XL. “It makes it so accurate, there’s no missed touch.”

While screen-tap accuracy matters, there’s more going on with Raymarine’s latest displays than screen coatings. And it’s been developing for years.

In 2017, Raymarine unveiled its Axiom displays with quad-core processors, RealVision 3D sonar and the Android-based Lighthouse 3 operating system. Lighthouse 3 was Raymarine’s all-new operating-system architecture, and it made the company an early Android adopter within the marine space. Raymarine’s Axiom 2 displays come in three models with screen sizes ranging from 9 to 24 inc hes. All of them have six-core processors, global navigation satellite system receivers, 64 gigabytes of solid-state storage, the latest version of Raymarine’s Lighthouse 4 operating system and next-generation screen coatings. The resulting displays, which include angling- and cruising-specific versions, can give boaters better speed, power and improved user interfaces.

The Axiom 2 family starts with Axiom 2 Pro S (from $3,050), which is available in 9-, 12- and 16-inch screens. It comes with a single-channel, chirp-enabled sonar.

“The Axiom 2 Pro S is targeted at cruising boats,” says Jim McGowan, Raymarine’s Americas marketing manager. “It’s got our HydroTough coating on the glass. It’s a nano coating that bonds with the glass on a molecular level. Your fingers just glide smoothly over it, which enhances the functionality.”

In addition, the Axiom 2 Pro S, along with the fishing-specific Axiom 2 Pro RVM, uses Raymarine’s HybridTouch user interface, which employs a touchscreen as well as hard-button-and-knob keypads. Those can be helpful when the seaway starts sloshing the coffee.

RVM stands for RealVision Max sonar. Axiom 2 Pro RVM displays are identical to the Axiom 2 Pro S, save for their sonars. While the Axiom 2 Pro S has a conical chirp-enabled sonar, RVM models (from $2,750) are built with a 10 kW, dual-channel chirp sounder and a 600-watt RealVision Max high multibeam chirp sonar.

“It’s definitely targeted at the hard-core fishermen,” McGowan says, adding that RVM displays deliver chirp DownVision, SideVision, RealVision 3D and high-chirp-sonar perspectives, plus the traditional dual-channel 1 kW chirp sonar.

Given that there are three bands of chirp—low, medium and high—anglers can cover all three bands with an Axiom 2 Pro RVM that’s networked to a Raymarine RVM transducer and to an Airmar low- and medium-frequency chirp transducer.

Axiom 2 displays employ different transducers (sold separately) than previous-generation Axiom offerings. These transducers have piezoceramic elements inside that are larger, McGowan says. Larger ceramic elements equate to greater acoustic sensitivity and better beam-shaping capability. While those features are beneficial, the reality is that boaters need to add the new transducers in order to realize the system’s full acoustic capabilities.

Axiom 2 XL is the most recent addition to Raymarine’s display family. As the name portends, the premium-level XL models (from $7,800) are designed for use in an all-glass bridge aboard large yachts or high-end center-consoles. The touchscreen displays are available in 16-, 19-, 22- and 24-inch glass. While they don’t include an embedded sonar or hard-button controls (owners can add a Raymarine RMK-10 keyboard), they do have HDMI input and output capabilities.

“They have a pretty robust video input and output,” McGowan says. “It’s unique to that level of Axiom. The standard Axioms don’t have it.”

This functionality allows Axiom 2 XL owners to add a Raymarine RVM1600 black-box sonar ($2,000), creating a setup that gives Axiom 2 XLs the same fish-stalking capabilities as Axiom 2 Pro RVMs, just with more-spacious glass.

These HDMI capabilities also allow Axiom 2 XL owners to network a touchscreen-compatible personal computer to their display via a USB connection, and to drive their computer using Axiom 2 XL’s touchscreen pass-through interface. Additionally, the HDMI input and XL-size glass can be used to stream satellite TV or other content.

While each Axiom 2 model has its sweet spot of capabilities, all three models share important DNA. “Because of the six-core processors, the ability to pan across a chart or to zoom in or zoom out, it is very, very snappy,” McGowan says. “The pinch-to-zoom feature is immediate. You’re never waiting for anything to load.”

And the latest version of Raymarine’s Android-based Lighthouse 4 operating system lets third-party software developers create vetted apps that run on Axiom 2 displays.

“We curate the apps that we allow. They have to be largely navigation-focused,” McGowan says, adding that some apps are validated by Raymarine, while others are developed with a partner agreement. “The Android platform gives us the flexibility to do that because there are so many marine devices that are built on or around Android.”

Another benefit of Lighthouse 4’s Android-based architecture, McGowan says, is that navigation software isn’t a heavy lift for the processors: “You’re not really pushing the limits of the hardware out of the box, so that gives us the ability to keep developing new features and new innovations and adding more stuff into the code. We still haven’t even begun to stress the limits of the processor and memory.”

As far as Axiom 2’s pros and cons, the positives are plural, while the drawbacks are largely limited to costs (including installing the larger transducers) and the fact that Raymarine no longer allows owners to pilot DJI Mavic drones from Axiom displays.

But if you’re more concerned with cruising, fishing or creating a premium-level all-glass bridge, then Axiom 2 could be the logical next addition to your yacht’s helm.

Pro Moves

Raymarine’s RVM1600 sonar module can be networked with an Axiom 2 XL to yield the same sonic capabilities as an Axiom 2 Pro RVM.

Sky-Talker

Axiom 2s are agnostic about satellite-communications connections. They play nicely with mazu’s M2500 ($1,100), which uses Iridium’s global, short-burst data service to provide weather, email, SMS messaging and an optional sport-fishing app. It appears as an app, so users can see it on Axiom’s sunlight-readable screen.

The post Raymarine’s Axiom 2 Multifunction Displays Explained appeared first on Yachting.

Designer Tony Castro penned the Galeon Yachts 440 Fly, a yacht that looks long, lean and fast, even at rest. And beyond the vessel’s sleek profile is a nicely appointed two- or three-stateroom, two-head layout with multiple entertainment and lounging areas—far more creature comforts than you’d expect to find aboard a boat with such a slender appearance.

Castro achieved this sleight of hand in two ways: First, he covered the topside windows with a black slash that runs nearly the length of the yacht to bring light into the staterooms. The slash also lowers the visual height of the topsides considerably. Second, he surrounded the flybridge with glass. You’d expect the Venturi windscreen forward, but he also used glass on the sides, essentially making the bridge invisible. Squint at the 440 Fly, and you’ll see an express cruiser with no bridge, and yet the flybridge is sizable.

There’s also a lot going on in the cockpit, starting with the outdoor cooking features (optional but essential) built into the transom. Both cockpit sides butterfly outward to create terraces, expanding the cockpit’s width from less than 14 feet to 19 feet. These terraces have glass sections that offer side viewing from the cockpit seats when the 440 Fly is underway. When the sides are down, there are wonderful views into the water.

Triple folding doors open the salon fully to the cockpit, with a settee to port facing a dinette with a reversible back to add to the cockpit seating. Up two steps is the galley-helm level. The galley is to port with a clear rail that protects the countertop and with a window that lowers electrically for fresh air.

At the helm is a diamond-stitched, bolstered double-wide seat abaft a free-standing dash that holds twin Raymarine multifunction displays and the Volvo Penta engine panel. An oversize side door allows easy access to the side deck. The 440 Fly that I was aboard had Side-Power bow and stern thrusters, which got us off the dock easily in a strong breeze. The skipper also has a great view through a one-piece windshield.

The 440 Fly that I toured had the two-stateroom layout. The VIP forward has 6-foot-7-inch headroom, and a queen-size berth or scissor berths that come together to form a nearly king-size width. The en suite head has a stall shower that stretches 5 feet in length and more than 2 feet wide.

Aft, the master stateroom has a nearly king-size berth slightly offset to provide space for rows of lockers to port and a vanity to starboard. There’s also an en suite head with a stall shower.

The flybridge is another surprise, if only for the double-fold table that could easily seat a dozen guests (with a couple of folding chairs). Steps to the bridge are gentle and have good handholds for safe transit. A wet bar, a grill, a fridge and a sink create a third cooking station. Forward is a duplicate setup of the lower-helm controls and another double-wide seat, with an L-shaped settee opposite for guests.

On the foredeck, a sun pad large enough for three guests morphs into lounges with folding backrests or into a forward-facing seat. Double-welded rails surround the foredeck, while the narrow side walkways are deep for security.

The 440 Fly that I got aboard had the standard twin 480 hp Volvo Penta D6 direct-shaft diesels and a 12 kW Fischer Panda genset tucked into a sound shield. (Twin 600 hp diesels are optional.) Access to the engine room is via a cockpit hatch, with a ladder leading to a walkway between the engines. There’s not a lot of room, which will require extra caution when the engines are hot, but the normal service checks are all easily reached.

With a half-tank of fuel, this 440 Fly topped out just shy of 25 knots, though I suspect we could have bettered that a bit by tinkering with the Lenco automatic trim tab controls. The diesels consumed 46 gph with the hammer down, and the noise level at a comfy 16-knot cruise was 78 decibels (65 decibels is the level of normal conversation). Most sound was the bow wave resonating through the open helm door. With that door closed and the cabin buttoned up, the sound dropped to 70 decibels, about the same as classroom chatter. With the door open or shut, there was no problem talking across the salon.

Handling? Just plain fun. The 440 Fly is responsive to power helm input. On the Intracoastal Waterway, it was a joy to spin donuts and cross this yacht’s wake at full throttle. Despite typical Gulf Stream chop offshore, we had no need to use the windshield wipers. The 440 Fly throws spray out flat to the side.

The Galeon Yachts 440 Fly is a delightful addition to the builder’s flybridge lineup, which also includes a 400 and a 500. With full service and parts from the MarineMax dealer network, this flybridge yacht is ready for cruising with family or good friends.

Under the Hood

The Volvo Penta D6 diesel is adapted from the manufacturer’s truck engine, which is known for solid power, strong torque and high reliability. An in-line six-cylinder, 5.5-liter, 336-cubic-inch block puts out 480 hp using common-rail fuel injection, dual overhead camshafts and a turbocharger.

Swim Platform Plus

The 440 Fly’s hydraulic swim platform lowers into the water for swimming, or to stow and launch a tender or personal watercraft. There are two ways to enter the water: With the platform up, a folding ladder can be used. When the platform is lowered, stairs automatically emerge.

Take the next step: galeonyachts.us

The post Review: Galeon Yachts 440 Fly appeared first on Yachting.

The software-defined wide-area network from Videoworks is a way of combining various technologies to link yachts to the internet with a signal similar to the one at home or in an office. SD-WAN uses several third-party-built connections—including 4G/5G cellular, Starlink or OneWeb, VSAT-GEO and shore-based Wi-Fi—to yield fast, stable, reliable and cost-effective data transmissions.

SD-WAN uses two software-based virtual machines (one is yacht-based; the other is cloud-based) to create a two-way communications tunnel with the internet. SD-WAN also can bond discrete protocols to yield a georeferenced connection with increased bandwidth and stability.

Alessio Musetti, Videoworks’ yachting sales manager, says the company faced numerous challenges while creating SD-WAN. These include combining different connectivity technologies that have different bandwidths in different regions, optimizing cloud services, guaranteeing 24/7/365 service and creating an at-home-like internet experience aboard yachts at sea.

While these hurdles were high, Musetti says Videoworks cleared them by creating a platform that harnesses the best connectivity technologies afloat, including virtual machines, the Linux OS and various web interfaces.

Behind the Connection

SD-WAN can channel-bond discrete communicators’ protocols with similar latencies (such as 5G and Starlink) by splitting internet packages across all connections and then reaggregating them on the opposite end. On the back end, Videoworks maintains a network-operations center that allows it to monitor and improve the network. The SD-WAN is flexible, and, because it’s software, it’s easily upgradable by Videoworks.

Take the next step: videoworksgroup.com

The post Videoworks’ SD-WAN Reliably Connects Boaters appeared first on Yachting.

The Arksen 28 is an all-weather day boat that’s built to dispatch choppy seas while maintaining a dry, comfortable ride for everyone seated inside its enclosed pilothouse. The boat is built from aluminum and carries a deep-V undercarriage, chines and strakes. Topside bumpers, along with the enclosed helm and salon, encourage year-round escapades in most weather.

Whom It’s For: Adventure-minded boaters seeking the safety, strength and performance of an enclosed-pilothouse vessel, an aluminum hull and 450 horsepower.

Picture This: It’s late summer in Castine, Maine, and you and your kids—plus some of their friends—take a spin past the islands surrounding the nearby Deer Isle Thorofare, with a scoop stop at the Stonington Ice Cream Co. on the way home. The Arksen 28 has no trouble pressing its 25-knot cruising speed (with forays into the 40-knot realm) while ferrying eight guests, and its hull shape makes short work of East Penobscot Bay’s whitecapped waters. Better still, the helm’s 360-degree sightlines simplify the art of dodging the waterway’s lobster-pot armada.   

Take the next step: arksen.com

The post Durable Dayboat: the Arksen 28 appeared first on Yachting.

Michael Noah was on vacation in Greece, trying to relax, when he realized the thermometer had hit 114 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat wave was part of the hottest month ever recorded on Earth.

“My children are now 13 and 15, and I want there to be a world for them,” he says. “Something has to give.”

As the project lead for furniture and product design at Winch Design, he’s in a position to help be the kind of change he wants to see. The company has been working with Summit Furniture on an updated line of furniture called Arc in Colour that’s built of sustainable, plantation-grown teak, along with fabrics made from recycled fishing nets and textile waste.

“We want to make a market for this,” he says. “People are a bit more conscious about sustainability.”

The idea is not so much to make furniture that looks like it came from recycled and sustainable materials, but instead to make furniture that looks luxurious while being crafted in a way that’s better for the planet. As of early August, Noah and his team were working with Summit to perfect the materials used to make the lounge chair, with plans to expand the Arc in Colour line into bar chairs, dining chairs and the modular-type sofas seen above. They’re still working on pricing, but Noah says it will not be a custom line. Instead, the idea is to make it accessible for lots of clients—since more and more yacht owners are making verified sustainable materials part of their project briefs.

“Before, it wasn’t in the forefront of their mind, but now it is,” he says. “We have a boat in London we’re delivering fairly soon, and the client is super involved. He wants to make sure everything is checked.”

The post Eco-Friendly Yacht Furniture appeared first on Yachting.

The management company IYC proudly describes its charter fleet as having more Mangustas than any other, with the yachts ranging in size from 92 to nearly 150 feet length overall. Charter manager Monisha Issac in Monaco personally oversees several of them, including the 131-foot Beachouse, which recently returned to the IYC fleet.

“It has always stood out among the other Mangusta 130s because of its layout, its selection of water toys and the standards of its crew on board,” Issac says. “It’s very strong—one of the best Mangusta 130s on the market.”

The yacht, which is accepting inquiries for the Caribbean and Bahamas this winter, has numerous repeat clients, several of whom have returned four or five times. In some cases, the clients will not even consider any other brand of yacht for charter, Issac says.

“Some will only charter a Mangusta,” she says. “They love the sleek lines, the speed—so many things. I have one client doing a one-month charter on a Mangusta. Some clients will change their destination just to get a Mangusta.”

The Italian builder currently offers the 104 REV, 165 REV and 132E in its Maxi Open line, in addition to two additional lines of yachts: the Gransport line, from 109 to 177 feet long; and the Oceano line, from 128 to 196 feet length overall. But it’s the Mangusta 130 that tends to populate the charter market—and with Beachouse, there’s an unusually long list of tenders and water toys.

Charter clients have access to a 33-foot Scorpion, Sea-Doo Sparks, Seabobs, an electric foiling board, paddleboards, tow toys and floats. Fitness enthusiasts will find a surprising list of onboard equipment too, including a boxing bag, a speed ball, dumbbells, kettlebells and a suspension training kit.

And, when it’s time to relax, the yacht has Starlink unlimited satellite internet. That’s a feature Issac says she’s seeing aboard an increasing number of charter yachts in the IYC fleet: “If you’re in the middle of nowhere, it’s really useful.”

Easy Water Access

Port and starboard staircases with railings lead down to the swim platform from the aft deck, making it easy for charter guests to use the yacht’s extensive list of water toys.

The Mangusta Story

When Mangusta premiered its 80-footer in 1985, it was a revelation. Until that time, open yachts had been smaller. The 80 became the basis for the Maxi Open line that is still in production today.

The post Charter the Mangusta ‘Beachouse’ in the Caribbean appeared first on Yachting.

You never forget your best day of sailing. Mine came in the waning miles of the 2005 Transpac Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu, screeching down the Molokai Channel under spinnaker toward Diamond Head in 30 knots of pumping trade-wind breeze, hanging onto the tiller for dear, lovely life while surfing at 14 knots aboard a Cal 40 called Dancing Bear. The sun was searing, the wind was howling, and the deep, blue Pacific Ocean was all the more striking set against the stunning backdrop of the green volcanic islands.

This remembrance, however, is not about me. Instead, it honors the legendary Cal 40, a William Lapworth design originally launched in Southern California in 1963 that has provided scores of fellow offshore sailors with rides they’ll always hold dear. Though I do recall my first thoughts to a fellow shipmate soon after crossing the finish line: “God, I love a boat that’s better than I am.”

All this came back to me last summer, when I joined Dancing Bear’s owner and skipper, accomplished Pacific Northwest sailor Mark Schrader, for a cruise northward from Anacortes, Washington, and up the coast of Vancouver Island. It’s a far different venue and excursion than the Transpac, but one that made me appreciate the Cal 40 in a new light. This is one versatile vessel.

From the outset, the Cal 40 was considered a radical, ultra-light design, displacing just 15,000 pounds with 6,000 pounds of ballast and a flat, canoe-shaped hull that was ideal for prolonged downwind surfs. What really separated it from other boats of its era—hulls with long overhangs and deep, full keels from prominent East Coast yacht designers like Sparkman & Stephens—was the fin keel and detached spade rudder, greatly reducing the boat’s wetted surface. A similar appendage was employed in the winning America’s Cup 12-Metre Intrepid, but that was four years later.

Read Next: An Ocean Sailor Tries Freshwater Racing

The Cal 40’s production run lasted eight years and produced 108 boats, which are still highly sought-after. There’s no question that the boat has reached cult status and that it remains highly competitive. Indeed, the overall winner of the 108-boat fleet in the 2022 Newport Bermuda Race and the recipient of the coveted St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy was Sally and Stan Honey’s Cal 40, Illusion.

Yes, the Honeys are world-class sailors—Stan is a renowned professional offshore racer and navigator, and Sally is a two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year—and they recruited an all-star crew after Illusion had undergone a full refit. Still, Illusion was almost 60 years old. The Honeys purchased the boat in 1988 and spent the ensuing decades racing and cruising it. They decided to campaign it one final time in 2022. Their victorious attempt, covering the 635-nautical-mile voyage in 87 hours, included a textbook crossing of the Gulf Stream and a top-speed burst of 22 knots, both of which were winning highlights.

My own trip last summer on Dancing Bear was a decidedly more mellow affair, but we also scored our own personal highlights. For me, one of those was taking the helm on a cold, funky overnight passage from the coast of British Columbia across the Hecate Strait to the archipelago known as Haida Gwaii, formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands. The sensation of driving a solid craft offshore, nestled deep in the cockpit on a tiller-steered boat, is rare and wonderful. In the wind and waves, everything balanced and in harmony, I fell in love with the Cal 40 all over again.

The post Revisiting the Classic Cal 40 appeared first on Yachting.

How fitting it was that Prestige Yachts introduced its new M-Line flagship, the M8, at Portopiccolo, a picturesque yachting village outside Trieste, Italy. Formerly a quarry, the cliff-side area had been chiseled into a clean site rife with eye-catching vistas, much like the French builder’s 65-foot power catamaran and its nearly 3,000 square feet of usable real estate.

Take, for starters, the M8’s 344-square-foot cockpit. Apart from flybridge-bound stairs to port and a wet bar to starboard, this space (as well as most of the yacht’s living areas) is an open deck with modular furniture. This setup allows owners to choose how they spend their time, whether watching sunsets on the hook or relaxing underway. Aboard Hull No. 1, which will debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show this month, there were four movable square-shaped sofas and two accompanying side tables.

Aft-deck space is further enhanced by the M8’s versatile swim platform (14 feet, 5 inches by 4 feet, 11 inches) that Prestige describes as a “balcony on the sea.” When it wasn’t overlooking the smooth waters of the Adriatic Sea, the 1,102-pound-capacity platform lowered into swimming-pool mode at the push of a button, allowing access to the garage, dinghies and water toys.

The M8’s modular-furniture concept continues in the salon, where there is 6-foot-6-inch headroom, and on the flybridge. Between both spaces, the only fixed furniture is the 538-square-foot flybridge’s three-person sun pad to starboard, abaft the staircase leading to the salon. The flybridge also has a wet bar with a grill abaft a two-seat centerline helm station with two 22-inch multifunction displays. To port, there is a dining table with seating for eight; aft and to starboard, there is another lounging area with an L-shaped sofa to starboard and two-person aft-facing seating on centerline with room for two loose tables.

As for this hull’s 511-square-foot salon, it had two free-standing chairs to starboard, a sofa on centerline and another to port. The salon connects to the cockpit via an opening centerline window with a service bar that has a wine chiller for 18 bottles, a sink and stowage. Forward and to port, there is a dining area with a table for six, and the galley is to starboard (a galley-down layout is also an option). Appliances are by Miele, including a three-burner cooktop, a microwave and a dishwasher, and there is a 132-gallon, triple-door fridge/freezer by Fisher & Paykel. This M8 also has the optional Surround View system by Garmin to make maneuvering in tight spaces easier; its console is nestled between the galley and centerline stairs leading to the owner’s stateroom. Owners can also opt for a lower helm station with a pedestal seat for all-weather cruising.

The 323-square-foot foredeck lounge is where the M8 diverts from its free-standing-furniture style the most. A sun pad consumes nearly the entire width of this space. Down two steps and forward, there is forward-facing straight-line seating on centerline across from an aft-facing C-shaped settee.

Accommodations can include four or five staterooms, with options for a VIP suite that consumes the portside hull and the galley down in the starboard hull. The 323-square-foot master stateroom is forward and nearly spans the yacht’s 29-foot beam, with its athwartship berth across from a console with a rising TV. There’s also a head with his-and-hers sinks to port, and a customizable space to starboard for a gym, a lounge, a gaming area or whatever else the owner wants.

Power for the M8 is twin 600 hp Volvo Penta D8 diesels. With the throttle all the way to the pins, I observed a 20.5-knot top hop as the diesels burned a combined 63.4 gallons per hour at 2,900 rpm. At 7.7 knots, reported range is 1,583 nautical miles; at 17 knots, it’s reportedly 350 nm. Turning the M8 felt smooth, running like it was on rails, and the wheel was real-time responsive to input.

The Prestige Yachts M8 is worth a look for power cat enthusiasts seeking adaptability, customization and a notable master stateroom that’s akin to one inside a small apartment. This new flagship has plenty of potential to be a desirable home on the water.

Luxurious Furnishings

The M8’s furniture is provided by four brands: Reflex Angelo, Pininfarina, Roda and Foglizzo. Regardless of where I decided to lounge while on board, there was always a place to get comfortable and take in the views.

Access Anywhere

In addition to two stairways leading to the flybridge (one in the cockpit, one in the salon), the Prestige M8 has two side-deck doors. One is forward and to port, and the other is aft and to starboard. A portside day head is accessible from the side deck.

Sun-Powered Anchorage

Hull No. 2 of the M8, which debuted at the Cannes Yachting Festival last month, has the optional “Silent Mode” package: 10 lithium batteries powered by 258 square feet of solar panels, which should allow two hours of silent operation sans generators and with zero emissions.

Take the next step: prestige-yachts.com

The post Prestige Yachts M8 Review appeared first on Yachting.

Scout Boats’ latest flagship aims to impress in more ways than one. When describing the 67 LX Series, the South Carolina-based builder coined the phrase “Expect everything.” This five-outboard owner-operator center-console is capable of offshore angling adventures and entertaining guests from the stern to the bow (even belowdecks), and it has a reported eye-watering 52-knot speed. Scout also says the 67 is beachable. It will be offered in three versions: Sport (which will be the first version built), Sportfish and Cruise.

Forward and beneath the hardtop, there is a settee with a dinette across from additional seating for one or two. This space can be connected with the interior by lowering the window forward. Inside, there is a bar with three stools. The galley is to starboard and abaft two of four helm seats. It’s equipped with two refrigerator/freezer drawers, a two-burner cooktop, a microwave convection oven and a sink. Across from the galley is a U-shaped lounge with a dining table and a flip-down 40-inch TV.

Belowdecks, there are three staterooms and what Scout calls a “theater room.” This approximately 66-square-foot space has a settee to starboard that converts to an additional berth. Also in the theater room are a 32-to-43-inch TV, a beverage center, a refrigerator and an ottoman. Lighting can be controlled by overhead and hullside power blinds. To port is the day head, which can also be accessed via the portside VIP stateroom. A twin-berth guest stateroom is to starboard and aft. The forepeak master has an island queen berth.

Power for the Scout 67 LXS is five 600 hp Mercury Verado V-12 engines. Scout says cruising speed is approximately 40 knots, and range is 400 nautical miles.

Rigged-and-Ready Cockpit

The cockpit on Hull No. 1 of the semicustom 67 LXS will have two livewells, a built-in seat with stowage aft, and aft-facing seating forward. Owners can add stowage, an ice chest, a cooktop and a sink. Deployable side decks increase the 13-foot-3-inch beam to 19 feet, 5 inches.

Take the next step: scoutboats.com

The post Scout Boats’ Super Center-Console appeared first on Yachting.