Vicem Yachts, based on the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul, has a big mission statement: “to blend craftsmanship born from 3,000 years of finely honed woodworking skills with the most advanced technology.”

The builder’s 67 Cruiser combines these essential elements and more. With a high, sea-stopping freeboard forward, a broad-shouldered 18-foot-1-inch beam, and liberal use of mahogany wood veneers throughout, the 67 Cruiser indeed looks classic while giving yacht owners some cool modern tech.

I stepped aboard at the aft deck, and the 114,000-pound yacht barely moved. The flybridge overhang extends all the way aft, perfect for weather protection and the installation of an enclosure, if desired. Three wood and glass bulkhead panels separate the aft deck from the salon. Sliding the panels to starboard opens up the space to the salon.

Inside, I ran my fingertips over the joinery, and it felt silky. The seams were barely noticeable unless I was looking for them. From the main deck to the accommodations belowdecks, the 67 has satin-finish mahogany, as well as light leather and fabrics. That level of quality finishing is also in the crew quarters aft, which most guests will never even see.

Vicem calls the 67 a social yacht, with numerous areas to relax and entertain. Guests can sit and chat with plenty of room on the facing port and starboard sofas during cocktails before dinner. With the salon’s 6-foot-7-inch headroom and the triple 32-inch-high windows on each side, the area feels open with real estate to spare. Bookshelves, backlighting and a wooden coffee table with a leather inlay add ambience.

Forward and to port is a six-seat, booth-style dinette. This can be a great spot to work on a laptop, make a call, or play with the tablet during downtime. Vicem built a 110-volt outlet and dual USB charging ports into the bulkhead for these reasons. Similar outlets and ports are found all around the yacht, in close proximity to where guests will congregate. It’s functional and thoughtful design.

The forward dinette bench seat has a backrest that flips, so the seat goes from aft-facing to forward-facing, creating a second seat at the lower helm. That helm is to starboard and equipped for longer passages or overnight watches. Side-deck doors should make line handling easier.

Vicem put the 67′s galley amidships and to starboard, keeping the chef near the guests and well-positioned to serve meals to the aft deck or the dinette. The galley can be closed off during formal affairs. Appliances include a four-burner Miele cooktop, four Sub-Zero fridge and freezer drawers, a GE microwave, and a Bosch dishwasher.

Other social spaces include the aft deck, with transom seating and a wooden dining table for alfresco meals, and the bow, with a forward 5-foot-long bench seat and a sun pad measuring 8 feet wide by 6.5 feet long. For safe transit to and from the foredeck, the covered side decks measure 19 inches wide. Rails are as tall as 38 inches.

To me, the social place to be is up on the flybridge. There is a starboard helm including dual 17-inch Garmin multifunction displays for taking care of business, but the rest of the flybridge is laid out for fun and relaxation. There are great views from the portside double-wide companion seat. A U-shaped settee is to starboard—the cushions are around 5 inches thick—and is perfect for gathering a crowd. A pair of wooden tables makes for easy passage to the seating, and they fold out to become one large dining table. An art-deco bar to port has two mounted barstools and a fridge, sink and electric grill. Aft, owners can select a davit and tender or lounge chairs and tables (or all of the above, when the tender is deployed). At night, backlighting and 22 lights in the hardtop illuminate the area.

Vicem shows its metalwork prowess via elegant backrest stanchions, highly polished handrails contoured to the yacht’s curves, and custom-designed metal-and-glass boarding gates.

The 67 Cruiser’s handling is equally strong. Capt. Larry Czocher deftly maneuvered the yacht out of the marina between several larger yachts, using single-lever controls. He had just inches to spare on each side. The yacht’s close-quarters responsiveness was excellent, and the 67 tracked well down the New River in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Other yachts of similar size had to make several adjustments to get around the bends, but the 67 made it straight through. Czocher attributes this ability in part to the instant response from the electric steering and to the yacht’s 5-foot-9-inch draft.

Powered with twin 1,000 hp Volvo Penta D13 diesels, the 67 Cruiser displayed no significant bow rise, keeping visibility unobstructed throughout the engines’ rpm range. Stability is helped in part by the 67′s hard-chine hull, as well as Humphree stabilizer and interceptor systems.

Other notable features on the Vicem 67 Cruiser include a main-deck day-head, 21.5 kW Onan generator, a hydraulic swim platform, bow and stern thrusters, teak decks, and a wine cooler. They are the kinds of features that make a yacht feel thoroughly modern, even if its good looks are as timeless as can be.

Take the next step: vicemyachts.com

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My pal Ed was deep into a rant about sailors. Ed skippers a king-size sport yacht. For him, a sailboat on the Intracoastal Waterway is little more than an obstacle to making the next bridge opening. His is a common view these days, but such disdain for a fellow boater? Surely, we must share some common genetics.

Since the first motor was screwed onto a boat, sailors have politely looked down their noses at stinkpots, but a boom of newbie powerboaters in the 1980s left them outnumbered. Sailors saw the swarm of stinkpotters as an impatient, lazy, beer-swilling cast of miscreants (fair enough). Many stinkpotters saw “rag baggers” as wind-driven freeloaders in the pastime (I suppose).

As a powerboat designer, I admit that I can’t recall a single client who didn’t insist on shoehorning as much horsepower into a boat as possible. By the 1990s, even respectable displacement brands peddled semidisplacement rides to keep pace. Since then, horsepower has only increased, and those who pay for it often have little patience for spending their quality time astern of a lesser vessel, particularly a sailboat.

The rules and signals for overtaking are clear, and proper etiquette calls for a parley by radio. Oftentimes, the only intentions signaled are issued after the fact by hand or hollered over the VHF radio. The offender typically shrugs and yells, “I’m at idle!” as he rumbles by just under planing speed. The victim is left wallowing in the wake and, if fitted with a mast, often claims the rights of a privileged vessel even if under power with the laundry in the hamper.

While I was weaned as a stinkpotter, my education in design required that I learn the ways of windblown vessels. I did so aboard a small daysailer. It was little more than a canoe, and I spent more time in the water than in the cockpit. With my diploma in hand, I didn’t give sailing much thought until years later when I received a call from my yacht-broker friend, John Weller.

“Coyle, you wanna join me for a sail on my catboat with Dick Bertram and his son Morgan?”

“Yes!” I replied.

Dick had been John’s mentor in yacht brokerage and an inspiration to me as a designer. Dick was neither a stinkpotter nor a rag bagger. Dick was a yachtsman. Aside from helping to invent modern yacht brokerage and launching the iconic Bertram Yachts brand, Dick was an America’s Cup sailor and a pioneer in offshore powerboat racing. The Ray Hunt-designed 31-footer he built, raced and put into production influenced a generation of design.

Inspired by the sail, I invested in a catboat I called Puss. At first, my stinkpotter pals laughed, but they soon begged for time aboard. I reminded Ed of his time before the mast.

“Hell of a boat,” he admitted. “With wind, the waterway was ours and that one-lung diesel cost little more than time.”

Ed was beginning to get it. One day, he might be a yachtsman. Until then, he’s just jealous.

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Welcome to the most unusual boat-show season in modern memory.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and a number of traditional fall boat shows remain in flux, builders are pressing forward, releasing new concepts and launching new models. Production, semicustom and fully custom yachts with a wealth of design and construction advancements are still finding their way onto the water. Features and options continue to evolve as well, meaning there aren’t just new boats; there also are new ways to enjoy them.

The following pages provide a look at a half-dozen concepts and yachts hitting the seas this fall. While the year 2020 definitely has been different, we all can still enjoy the new-boat excitement that begins each October.

Let’s get this party started.

The Italian shipyard Rossinavi delivered the 163-foot Lel in July, making this its first fall season afloat. The aluminum yacht took two years to build in collaboration with Luca Dini Design & Architecture, which handled interiors and exteriors. (It’s the first time the yard and design firm have worked together.) According to Rossinavi, Lel cruises at 21 knots and has a top speed of 25 knots, with a range of 4,000 nautical miles. The master stateroom is on the main deck forward with a private balcony. A VIP stateroom is also on the main deck, with four guest staterooms belowdecks.

Evo Yachts has created an Open version of the Evo R6, which premiered this past year as the flagship of the builder’s R line. The R6 Open replaces the original T-top with a roll bar and retractable Bimini top. The XTension system for which Evo Yachts is known makes the expansion of the boat’s after section possible, increasing the onboard lounging-and-relaxation space by about 40 percent. Belowdecks are two heads along with overnight accommodations for the owner and a few guests. The yacht’s top speed, according to the builder, is 35 knots with a 280-nautical-mile range.

The Ocean Alexander 27 Explorer (also known as the 27E) is the first model in the builder’s Explorer series, which grew out of the Revolution series that launched in 2018. The design adds exterior amenities including a 225-square-foot aft deck that can stow a multitude of personal watercraft, gear and tenders, or be used as a broad lounging space when all the toys are launched. The yacht’s range, according to Ocean Alexander, is up to 2,100 nautical miles. Belowdecks are four en suite guest staterooms, including an amidships master with his-and-hers heads.

The Navetta 64 is the latest addition to the Absolute Yachts Navetta line, which includes a half-dozen models from 48 to 73 feet length overall. The 64 adds new features including larger bow windows for broader views, as well as gunwales that are more open in the cockpit, creating a feeling of spaciousness aft. In the beach-club version, the Navetta 64 has a double-berth stateroom at water level, with a watertight door that can open directly onto the aft deck. Absolute calls this space a beach club by day and a VIP stateroom by night. The king-berth master stateroom is in the bow.

Say Carbon, in Germany, has introduced a new flagship: the Say 42. It replaces a previous 42 and has styling by KET in Munich. According to the boatbuilder, the yacht’s wave-cutting bow and side wings allow for maximum stability underway, including at turning speeds. At wide-open throttle, the yacht can reportedly achieve 50 knots. An optional hardtop can protect the skipper and guests from the sun, and a Seakeeper stabilizer minimizes the boat’s motion for increased guest comfort. Owners can customize the exterior paint color as well as the interior fit-out.

Van der Valk Shipyard in the Netherlands has released concept drawings for the Explorer 30M, which designer Guido de Groot penned with a fast-displacement hull. His idea was to combine a go-anywhere exterior with the interior amenities of a superyacht. To that end, the Explorer 30M has a beach club, hydraulic transom platform and five staterooms, including a master on the main deck forward. Van der Valk is also promising “exceptionally high ceilings” inside the yacht, allowing for a feeling of relaxation and spaciousness even during long journeys at sea.

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David Bowen wears his heart on his sleeve. His right sleeve, in fact, as well as his hat brim. When the former director of culture for Turks and Caicos dons the national costume, which he designed, he is proud to point out the red band representing his home island of Grand Turk among the eight colorful ribbons encircling the sleeves of his crisp white shirt.

A professional dancer and choreographer—he appeared in Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” video—Bowen spent a decade with dance and theater companies in Japan before returning home. His time abroad informed his work as director of culture. “You go anywhere in the eastern Caribbean and they have these generic cultural shows,” he says. “I wanted to be truthful to my own culture.”

Now the director of wellness, culture and entertainment at Grace Bay Resorts, Bowen still gives talks on Turks and Caicos culture, to which he has contributed much. He launched the Maskanoo Festival on Boxing Day in Grace Bay. He created the organization TUCA (Turks and Caicos) to promote traditional dance and folk music. And he wove the island’s heritage, culture and history into the national costume. “It’s a unifying symbol,” Bowen says.

What do the colors of the costume represent? The white garment represents salt and cotton (the island’s formative crops). Pink is for our flamingos and conch shell. Yellow is for our sunshine. The other colors are island-specific. For example, green is for fertile North Caicos, our emerald isle. And red represents Grand Turk and our national flower, the Turk’s head cactus.

What distinguishes Turks and Caicos culture? Because we’re an island nation, we have several subcultures. But so much connects us: our dialect, our family names, our food, our ocean lifestyle. That’s why it’s so important to harness all of that together and have a unifying voice.

David Bowen’s Turks and Caicos

Turks and Caicos National Museum (Cockburn Town, Grand Turk): You’ll see our history and culture and how we’re connected to the wider world.

Bugaloo’s Conch Crawl (Five Cays, Providenciales): They serve authentic Turks and Caicos food in one of our original settlements.

Taylor Bay (Providenciales): Go there for spectacular sunsets and clear, knee-deep water for hundreds of yards out.

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Some yachts put up a thin veneer of seakeeping confidence, stout construction materials and quality machinery. Those yachts are the opposite of the Grand Banks 54.

On this boat, where I might expect to find a facade, I instead encountered the real deal. Solid-teak mullions. Solid-teak soles. Watertight engine-room bulkheads. An air-conditioning system that doesn’t merely circulate cool air but instead creates a potent breeze. Magnetic catches so strong, they’ll never let the doors fly open in a seaway.

Resins are all epoxy vinylester. Virtually all parts of the vessel, including the hull, are vacuum-infused to minimize weight while maximizing strength. The deckhouse and superstructure are carbon fiber, ensuring structural integrity while lowering the center of gravity. And the 54′s salon furniture is all structurally bonded and fiberglassed into place, eliminating the creaks and groans that bolted-in furniture inevitably make when lesser yachts are subjected to serious seas.

Everything I saw walking through the Grand Banks 54 illustrates actual strength and serious intelligence in construction.

The 54 is the kind of yacht that begs for a ride in the rough stuff, but unfortunately, I didn’t have challenging conditions when I ran it. My time aboard was on a relatively calm Chesapeake Bay. There was quite a bit of boat traffic and thus plenty of wakes to run into and roll over—or so it would seem.

Between its 8-degree transom deadrise, warped semidisplacement hull form, and Humphree interceptor and stabilizer system, the 54 cut through 2-footers with virtually zero effect. Paralleling other boat wakes and taking them on the beam produced a similar absence of any response.

And—surprise—unlike the Grand Banks models of yore, the 54 can probably keep up with the sport cruisers out there on the water. Powered with twin 725 hp Volvo Penta D11 diesel inboards, the 54 broke 27 knots, and that was with full loads of fuel (898 gallons) and water (290 gallons). The builder says it has seen 30-plus-knots with a lighter load. Cruising at 1,800 rpm, the yacht made 18.7 knots and maintained 0.5 nmpg. Even though this hull can get up and go, it’s still efficient at displacement speeds. Idle at 600 rpm to take a 5.2-knot cruise for a range of 2,604 miles. That means owners could make a 12-day trip from Kennebunkport, Maine, to Key West, Florida, and arrive with enough fuel to putter around for another 1,000 nautical miles or so.

For owners who want to go a bit faster and run even more efficiently, Grand Banks says the 54 can be powered with Volvo Penta’s IPS950s, though the builder says the straight-shaft version runs smoother. For many long-distance cruisers, a smooth cruise is a big perk. This boat is not only comfortable but also surprisingly quiet; the engine room is insulated with 2 inches of Sorberbarrier AGC soundproofing. Sitting at the helm at all speeds, I found vibration and sound levels far below what I expected.

On a yacht of this nature, of course, I do expect to enjoy a comfortable cruise whether I’m watching the wheel from the double-wide helm seat, lunching at the L-shaped six-seat dinette, stretching out on the starboard-side settee, or digging my toes into the sisal carpet. This comfort level is also found on the flybridge. The forward half the 54′s flybridge has Stidd helm and companion seats, a dinette, and a wet bar. (The after half is dedicated to a davit and tender.) I looked closely at the beefy stainless-steel frame around the entry and noticed that every screwhead in the frame was aligned in the exact same orientation.

Veneers? Facades? Those are nice-looking but are superficial ornaments. I can find those things on plenty of yachts, but they would be anathema aboard the Grand Banks 54. This yacht is the real deal, through and through.

Walking the Walk

The nicest thing about walking from bow to stern on the Grand Banks 54 is how safe I felt. Not only are the side decks ringed with stout rails, but they’re so wide that I could stand sideways with size 12 shoes and still have 2 inches of wiggle room left over.

Function and Form

The engines aboard the Grand Banks 54 are farther forward than on many yachts, to keep the weight centered and balanced. As a result, there’s an open area between the powerplants and machinery space. Stainless-steel rails line the compartment, so owners can use the area for bulk stowage while the hydraulics and steering gear remain protected. For easy access to the machinery, Grand Banks mounts the rails on quick-release pins.

Owner’s Choice

To provide owners with customization options, Grand Banks offers the 54 in galley-up and galley-down arrangements. In the galley-up version, there are three staterooms belowdecks, with the master forward and guest staterooms to port and starboard. With the galley-down version, there are two en suite staterooms, both with queen-size berths.

Take the next step: grandbanks.com

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They really couldn’t have planned it any better. Just as the world is learning to live with the COVID-19 pandemic—including flocking to single-person watersports such as kayaking and paddleboarding—several manufacturers of fully electric, jet-powered boards are releasing new models that elevate the water-toy category for riders of all kinds.

Sweden-based Radinn, which has been building boards since 2015, has three lines of boards with different shapes and features for riders of varying abilities. Explore boards (starting at $6,550) are for beginners, while Freeride models (base price $7,750) offer an intermediate combination of stability and agility. The Carve line ($8,950 to start) is for experienced riders who really want to lean into turns and more.

And if none of those options sound ideal, competing companies offer yet more styles. Florida-based YuJet released its first product, the YuJet Surfer, this past summer. Its shape is more readily compared to that of a surfboard and is promoted as being able to rip through waves while helping to keep the rider balanced.

Companies that make electric boards also are now offering all kinds of accessories that yachtsmen can use to tailor the experience, beyond the shape of the board itself. YuJet, for instance, offers a wheel set ($99) that makes it easier to transport the 20-pound carbon board (with its battery removed) down, say, a long dock at the marina or across a beach that leads to an optimal riding zone. Radinn has standard and speed chargers ($550) that could be ideal for busy charter yachts where recharging the board’s battery needs to happen fast, to keep larger groups of riders happy. And both companies offer replacement batteries that let riders swap out the power pack at a yacht’s swim platform, to spend more time on the water.

Speeds on all of these boards are variable, topping out around 20 to 25 knots. They are thus slower than most personal watercraft, and quieter, with electric power systems. In spots where PWC are banned because of the wakes and noise they produce, these boards offer an increasingly customizable option.

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Replacing the popular Viking 61 Convertible, the Viking 60 Convertible had a higher freeboard forward and a cambered foredeck. Below the surface, there was a new hull form with a finer entry, convex sections forward in the hull and flatter sections aft, enhancing overall performance.

When I ran the 60—powered with optional 1,825 hp Caterpillar C32 Acert diesels—top speed was 42 knots and cruise speed was 36 knots.

At press time, there were four Viking 60 Convertibles on the market ranging from $1.6 million to $2.45 million.

From the Archive

“The wind was down a bit, from a sustained 35 knots from the northeast to a mere 25-knot easterly as we climbed aboard. As the inlet came into view, solid 8-footers breaking across its mouth had me wondering if we got a bit more than we bargained for. I found out soon enough, though, that we hadn’t, as skipper Ryan Higgins pushed up the throttles and negotiated the ugly inlet at 18 to 20 knots with ease.” —Yachting, December 2008

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When Apple unveiled its first-generation iPhone, people initially thought it was a cellphone. Soon, they realized that iPhones were actually pocket-size computers that also happened to make voice calls.

A similar evolution has unfurled with Garmin’s wearable technology. People are realizing that Garmin’s Quatix- and Marq- series smartwatches are in fact biometrics and data-streaming platforms.

The desire to take that kind of platform up yet another notch is how I knew I was in for a treat when the box arrived with a loaner Garmin Marq Captain: American Magic Edition smartwatch. Inside, I found a gray aluminum box with an engraving of an AC75-class foiling monohull that will be used to contest the 36th America’s Cup in 2021. On the other side of the box was the American Magic team logo. Magnets held the box’s top, which resembled an instrument display. Not even Apple touches this presentation, nor does it produce wearable technology that’s better geared for wresting the America’s Cup from its Kiwi-flagged defenders.

American Magic, the New York Yacht Club challenger for the 36th America’s Cup, partnered with Garmin to create the Marq Captain: American Magic Edition smartwatch ($1,750). It comes loaded with training and sailing-specific apps, including some that American Magic sailors helped develop. There’s also a customized America’s Cup digital watch face with local marine weather and a countdown timer to AC36.

Some backstory: Unlike during previous America’s Cup events, when sailors directly moved and controlled the sails by explosively grinding winches during maneuvers, the 2021 races will see some sailors constantly spinning two-person grinding handles to pressurize the yacht’s hydraulic accumulator. The trimmers and afterguard team use this pressure to adjust the yacht’s sails and ride height. The constant need for hydraulic pressure places tremendous physical demands on the grinders.

“Fitness is a really big deal for this America’s Cup,” says Jon Josephson, Garmin’s regional sales manager for marine.

While Cup sailors have always been fit, he says, AC36 will require next-level strength, power and endurance. Because of this, Garmin adapted existing fitness apps for sailing. The resulting Race Simulation, Fitness Test and Intervals, and Sail Grinding apps are exclusive to Marq Captain: American Magic Edition smartwatches, which also have the same sailing-specific features found on Garmin’s Quatix- and Marq-series smartwatches.

“I got to the gym the first day and was given a Garmin watch,” says Tim Hornsby, an American Magic grinder. “We’re using all of the features to maximize performance. … I don’t think of it as a watch; it’s a tool that lets me execute my job.”

Hornsby says the team uses the Garmin Connect app to analyze individual sailors’ performances and health metrics. The team then uses proprietary software to let coaches take fitness snapshots of the team.

“This lets our coaches have full access,” he says. “All of our workouts are broken down, and the coaches can see when you’re sleeping well and when you’re stressed.”

While the sailors log long days aboard their AC75-class monohull and their scaled-down 38-foot training yacht, they also spend significant time in the gym and on grinding machines. The latter is where the Race Simulation, Fitness Test and Intervals, and Sail Grinding apps shine.

“You don’t want to compare onshore training with yachtwork,” says Hornsby, who offered the comparison of riding a stationary bike and an actual road bike. “Coaches want to pull out the trends.”

While some sailors embrace biometrics, he says, others see sailing as an art form. Coaches are a different story. With the Garmin smartwatches, American Magic coaches can analyze data to recognize tendencies (say, better hydration) that can help sailors repeat their peak performances.

“Data is how you win,” Hornsby says.

The watches, the Garmin Connect app and the team’s proprietary software deliver this data to the coaches nearly in real time, along with graphing tools that let them sift through the metrics and isolate anomalies—such as a big night out. Because of this, some sailors jokingly refer to the watches as ankle bracelets.

“I’ll gladly take the tool for the benefits,” Hornsby says. “If I can see that it helps my performance, I’ll wear it.”

Letting coaches access this data when the sailors are in the gym is easy enough, but on-the-water practice sessions pose different data-gathering challenges. Because of this—and for myriad other analytical reasons—American Magic maintains six powerboats that team member Revelin Minihane manages. These boats are essentially floating information and telemetry platforms, and are festooned with Garmin instruments and computers that can access real-time data from the team’s AC75 and each Garmin smartwatch.

“There’s nowhere to hide,” Minihane says. “We can download [each sailor’s data] and see who’s putting in the power. We can monitor fatigue levels and change crew as needed.”

This ability to monitor each athlete is crucial aboard yachts that are as much airplanes as they are sailboats. “Recording data is key every day,” Minihane says. “If the telemetry goes down, we might as well not be out there.”

Another important benefit, Josephson says, is that Garmin’s sailing-specific smartwatches can stream real-time vessel data, giving sailors at-a-glance information without having to look at the screens aboard the team’s race boats.

In addition to serving as training tools, Marq Captain: American Magic Edition smartwatches are stylish enough to be worn to formal functions. “You see [skipper] Terry Hutchinson wearing it with his battle gear and also at fundraisers,” Hornsby says. “There’s nothing else that’s at all similar.”

While the benefits of real-time performance data are obvious for American Magic sailors, mere mortal boaters can also benefit from the Marq Captain: American Magic Edition smartwatch, from the gym to their helm to their corner office. Having field-tested an American Magic Edition smartwatch for several weeks, I can report that the watch is aesthetically pleasing, data-rich and great for attaining real-time health and training metrics, even if you’re not trying win the America’s Cup.

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When Riva launched the 66 Ribelle about two years ago, it introduced yachting enthusiasts to its Sportfly line, which combines a performance focus with the lines of an express cruiser and the function of a flybridge. The Italian shipyard takes that idea to new lengths with its Sportfly-range flagship 88 Folgore, which means “lightning bolt” in Italian. It’s a clever design that maintains a relatively low profile. It’s a look that should appeal to cruisers and speed fans alike. Riva says the yacht’s sporty aesthetic is partially inspired by automotive designs. It is also the result of a collaboration among Officina Italiana Design, the builder’s product strategy committee led by Piero Ferrari, and the Ferretti Group engineering department.

On the performance side of the equation, the 88 Folgore has a warped-hull form with 13 degrees of transom deadrise. Standard power is twin 2,435 hp MTU 16V 2000 M96s. Twin 2,638 hp MTU 16V M96Ls are optional. With standard power, Riva reports a 30-knot cruise speed and a 36-knot top hop. The bigger diesels reportedly bump up cruise speed to 32 knots with a 38-knot top hop. Range at cruising speed is 340 nautical miles or 350 nautical miles, respectively.

Maximizing the yacht’s outside real estate, Riva created multiple alfresco social zones. Starting at the foredeck, there’s a sun pad. Abaft the sun pad is a U-shaped lounge. The flybridge has another sun pad positioned far aft on centerline. A dining table with U-shaped seating is on centerline in the 236-square-foot cockpit. A bar with two stools, located forward and to starboard, is optional. And then there is the nearly 65-square-foot beach club. The swim platform can also be lowered to launch and retrieve a tender.

Inside, the floor plan is open from the cockpit doors to the two-seat helm that’s forward and to starboard. There is formal dining for eight to port. Cut-down bulwarks amidships provide ocean views out the glass superstructure when dining.

Accommodations on the 88 Folgore include a forepeak VIP stateroom, two double-berth guest staterooms abaft it to port and starboard, and a full-beam master stateroom amidships. The master has three layout options, including head and walk-in closet placement as well as a desk/vanity area.

Take the next step: riva-yacht.com

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The Flax 27 is a high-performance daysailer built by the German company GreenBoats using environmentally sustainable materials. Judel/Vrolijk & Co. drew the Flax 27′s slippery-looking lines, and GreenBoats built the sloop using natural fiber (reinforced) composites, which consist of linen fibers and flax-seed-oil-based epoxy rather than glass-reinforced plastics. GreenBoats also uses a vacuum-infusion process. The Flax 27′s core materials are created using recycled plastic bottles, and its deck is built with remnant wine corks.

“One-off projects are always difficult to calculate beforehand,” says Friedrich Deimann, GreenBoats’ CEO and founder, about the highest hurdle in creating the Flax 27. “We were very lucky with our client, who treated us like a partner. This allowed us to explore different alternatives during the build process and maximize the learning curve.”

While GreenBoats has initially focused on sailboats, there’s no reason that the company can’t use NFC to build high-performance, environmentally sustainable and sexy-looking power yachts. “Everything that’s built out of GRP can be build out of NFC,” Deimann says.

Take the next step: green-boats.de

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