New boat news

New boats

A look at the latest launches from around the globe

ICE 66RS

Italian manufacturer ICE has been turning out stylish, lightweight cruiser/ racers for sometime now and the ICE 66RS is the latest addition to its fleet and pretty much sticks to the template. The boat has been designed by Farr Yacht Design while styling comes from Luca Micheletti who has previously worked extensively with Baltic Yachts among others. The new ICE 66RS is built in a carbon glass sandwich (yum!) with a full carbon deck, which gives the boat a displacement of 26,000kg, and offers a fair indication of what this boat is; a fast cruiser/racer with a good deal of emphasis on luxury and style. Down below this is underlined by a stylish interior.

l Iceyachts.it

ClubSwan 80

The ClubsSwan 80 is the latest addition to the exciting range of turbo-charged one design racers from the highly respected Finnish manufacturer. The new yacht is designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian who also designed her smaller sisters the ClubSwan 50 and 36 and, as you’d expect, the boat shares a lot with these two yachts. The new ClubSwan 80 certainly looks equally dramatic with its inverted sheer, centrally positioned mast and huge sail area. As you’d expect, the boat is built almost entirely in carbon-fibre by Italian specialists Persico Marine, a company that has been heavily involved in the AC class in recent years. Below the waterline, the boat features a lifting, canting keel and twin rudders. The first 80 is already in the water and promises to make waves in the Maxi Class.

l nautorswan.com

Viator Explorer 42 DS

Viator is a boabuilder looking to break into the high latitude market with a range of rugged, lift keel aluminium semi custom yachts. The 42 DS has actually been afloat for the last 18 months as a prototype but the company has now started construction. The key here is a boat that is tough enough to handle the high latitudes and the tropics while also being easily sailed short-handed. To this end, the 42 comes with a strongly reinforced hull, featuring extra thick plating in vulnerable areas, a roomy deckhouse and simple sail controls. Despite the clear cruising credentials, the 42 is not designed to be slow and features a generous sail area with fat topped main plus carbonfibre spars and rod rigging as standard. Down below, the boat is comfortable and roomy and a key feature is the big navigation and watch-keeping station at the forward end of the saloon.

Balance 442

Balance Catamarans is a South African company that specialises in fast bluewater catamarans in the Outremer bracket of performance and comfort. The Balance 442 is the company’s latest model and is designed by du Toit and Berman. The boat has been constructed using E-glass with a PVC foam core and carbon-fibre for local support and reinforcement structures. Her forward-raked wave piercing bows and contemporary lines make for a purposeful looking yacht. One interesting feature is that the 442 can be ordered either with daggerboards or what are termed ‘high performance fixed keels’. Obviously, the daggerboard version will be the more polished performer going upwind.

Dufour 37

The Dufour 37 replaces the popular 360 towards the smaller end of its range. This is not a Mk2 but a new boat designed by Dufour’s favoured naval architect, Umberto Felci. The boat features fairly dramatic styling with the hull dominated by a striking portlight amidships. She also features a more powerful rig than her predecessor and sticks with the single rudder set up. Perhaps the most exciting feature is that all the cockpit upholstery is inflatable, meaning that cushions can double up as beach toys once at anchor. This sounds like a lot of fun but a surefire way of losing a lot of upholstery over time.