New boat news

New boats

A look at the latest launches from around the globe

Elan Impression 43

Slovenian boatbuilder Elan has enjoyed something of a split personality for many years now; on the one hand it turns out quite flashy cruiser/racers and on the other it produces solid, reliable cruising yachts as part of its Impression range. The company’s new Impression 43 is definitely the latter and this Rob Humphreys design is big on volume and cruising comfort. Like its predecessors, the 43 features the distinctive curved coachroof, which Elan describes as a ‘semi deck saloon’. The boat features twin rudders and, to add to internal volume, the beam has been increased compared to previous models.

LM 46

The LM 46 is an interesting new design from the drawing board of Kevin Dibley. Long term readers may recall that this Kiwi designer penned the lines for the Kraken 50, a very seaworthy blue water cruiser. The LM 46 is a somewhat different proposition, as it is cold moulded using Douglas fir and Cedar, which makes for a light, rigid boat. The boat looks suitably slippery, and she is definitely a looker with her relatively low freeboard, towering rig with square topped headsail and sympathetically curvaceous lines. The boat is built in the US by Lyman Morse, a Maine-based boatbuilder and, as you’d expect from an American design, creature comforts down below abound.

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Aventura 44s

Aventura Catamarans is based in Tunisia and has a long history of producing small, relatively affordable cruising catamarans. The Aventura 44s is its latest and largest yacht and the company claims that it is the cheapest 44ft catamaran on the market. The lines were drawn up by the Lasta design studio and the result is a yacht that looks reasonably stylish while also offering a good amount of volume. The boat is definitely angled towards cruisers given that it features a stepped hull and stub keels as opposed to daggerboards, however, the manufacturers maintain that performance will be very good. The boat also features a flybridge and the standard interior configuration will be three double cabins with two shower rooms.

Bali Catsmart

Bali Catamarans rank among the masters of building high volume, comfortable cruising catamarans that cater for both the charter market and private owners. The new Catsmart stays true to those principles but she is the companys smallest boat to date, measuring in at a little under 36ft. Given that this Xavier Fay design still has all those classic Bali attributes such as solid front deck and flip up ‘garage door ‘ style rear entrance, this is bound to be a hit but there are significant differences from her bigger sisters. Perhaps most notably, there is no fly bridge, with twin helms on the sponsons being used. The sail area is also the same as its bigger, heavier older sister, the Bali Catsmart, pointing to improved performance. Standard layout features twin doubles with ensuites.

Hallberg Rassy 69

Swedish manufacturer Hallberg Rassy is synonymous with blue water cruisers with a reputation garnered on decades of turning out smart, solidly built boats. In the past, its yachts were generally in the 30-50ft range but recent years has seen a sea change and the company has experimented with bigger boats such as the 64 in addition to twin rudders and aft cockpits. The new 70 is, however, a real mould breaker just in terms of scale. The boat is designed by German Frers and features twin rudders, a powerful rig and, yes, a lot of internal volume.