Trade-A-Boat

This month, Horizon Motor Yachts flew me over to Kaohsiung, Taiwan for their biennial Open House. You can read all about the event from page 18, and later this year I’ll report back on two new models I had the chance to review, but for now, I want to

In a world first, luxury motoryacht manufacturer Maritimo’s international race team has beaten competition from all over the world to be both UIM XCAT World Champions and XCAT Pole Position World Champions in Dubai. They are also the first non UAE te

Halvorsen’s iconic Island Gypsy brand has been revived through the Newport 460, a collaboration from various industry veterans that is ideally suited to couples who enjoy entertaining on coastal cruises. Blending the classic lines of a ‘down east’ cr

Late in 2019, I received a surprising email. It was from Lily Li at Horizon Motor Yachts Marketing Centre and it contained an offer to come to the biennial Horizon Open House. Immediately I recalled the last time Trade-a-Boat was invited, the year I

The baby of the range comes in at 75 feet LOA with a healthy 20-foot beam. This gives room for a full-beam VIP plus two more staterooms under the deck along with a twin crew quarter down the back. One of the design features of the FD range, the on-de

One of the many selling points that catamaran spruikers will tout over their single-hulled counterparts is the ability to stretch out the space between the twin bodies. To begin with, an 80-footer isn't by any means a diminutive boat, but when it's a

When boats or vehicles are from the USA, they are typically bigger, better, faster and loaded with astronomical amounts of fancy gadgets and bling. Let’s face it, they have the population to drive large numbers of sales and, of course, ongoing futuri

Mackay is a bustling coastal city 970km north of Brisbane with a modern port and a sophisticated business sector. During its long and prosperous history, it has been known by many names — Alexandria, ‘Sugar Capital of Australia’ and, most recently, ‘

Shellfish reefs have the unenviable distinction of being the most critically endangered marine ecosystem on the planet. Globally, they are disappearing at a rate greater than the losses reported for coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses. In Australia

Enjoying your boating and maintaining good relationships with crew — including partners — is best done by learning the basics and then practising them regularly. Otherwise, a trip to the marina and the logistics of putting to sea will be fraught with

For a long-range cruising vessel, the image that comes to mind is a traditional displacement hull with classic lines, modest windows and a wood-lined interior. Horizon, however, has baulked at tradition and given their take on a long-range cruising v

Somewhere in a distant timeline there's an alternate version of you standing in a garage the size of a house, dressed in a tux, lamenting over your tired selection of cars. It's late in the social calendar for the Monte Carlo set and the Maserati and

For many, many people the gulf or bay of Naples in the Tyrrhenian Sea is famous for the wonderful, magical island of dreams, history, legends and love — Capri. This stunningly beautiful place is the jewel in the crown of every island that I have ever

Throughout their lives Wal and Chris McCadames have owned and restored everything from rowing dinghies to putt-putts, launches and trawlers. Many of these wooden boats were near derelict and would have been lost forever without the skills, care and l

As the sister brand of Zeelander Yachts, DutchCraft has big shoes to fill. But their debut model shows they have no intention of riding on the coat-tails of the success of their sibling. Rather they're taking the timeless style and extraordinary leve

After spending a morning on Pittwater with these two rigid inflatables, the old adage that bigger is better got blown into the seaweed. Highfield has been a real success story, having grown to the world’s biggest aluminium hulled rigid inflatable bui

Tohatsu's Honda-origin 200 was always an engine with plenty of grunt. But Honda has dropped the smaller displacement power head used for its 200 and 225 and standardised with the power head from the BF 250. Maximum torque is up eight per cent from 29

It’s not too late to hit the water in style this summer with this 2018 Maritimo flybridge motoryacht. It’s new to market but arrives handsomely decked out with a swag of extra features. Whether your late-summer plans involve long-range cruising, casu

Napier Port’s new tug, Kaweka, has arrived in New Zealand after a long journey from the builder’s yard in Vietnam. The Damen ATD Tug 2412 is the port’s third tug and will support an expansion project that will see the construction of a new 350m wharf

Western Australian design firm Global Marine Design (GMD) has notched further successes for its Air Rider hullform. In the latter part of 2019, Albany, WA based aluminium boatbuilder Westerberg Marine completed a new NSCV 7.5m Air Rider design for Bu

Ongoing collaboration between firms in Sydney and Hobart has resulted in the delivery of a seventh fast ferry to operate to the African island of Zanzibar. The 45m aluminium catamaran Kilimanjaro VII is the seventh vessel built for Azam Marine of Tan

VETUS-Maxwell has been highlighting newly released products at various international trade shows in recent months. Included within these is the launch of its expanded BOW Pro thruster range. The addition of two larger BOW Pro Boosted thruster models

The latest ferry to be completed to a design from Queensland firm Sea Transport Solutions is operating in its home state, supporting a Rio Tinto mining operation near Weipa. The core purpose of the vessel, which has been named The Sara and is owned b