Trade-A-Boat

Back in March 2014 I landed the job of Trade-a-Boat Editor after fellow Kiwi Jeff Strang decided he’d had enough of the much better weather Melbourne offered and returned to Auckland. I still haven’t fully reconciled why Jeff suggested me — a markete

Lahti, the European Green Capital, has donated a piece of a music to cities threatened by rising sea levels. The piece, titled ICE, was played by the carbon-neutral orchestra of Lahti and can only be heard in cities threatened by climate change. Coas

Smartgyro, a gyroscopic stabilisation technology specialist, has introduced a new SG20 unit for boats from 45ft to 55ft. The unit is the only gyro stabiliser on the market that can be serviced, maintained, and assembled directly inside the boat, mean

An endangered seagrass is being successfully rehabilitated due to the joint efforts of citizen and UNSW scientists. Posidonia australis is a foundation species of seagrass which creates a complex and three-dimensional habitat that supports and sustai

BtB Marine is opening bookings to sleep underwater on the Great Barrier Reef with its new ‘Reef Sleep’ underwater observatory. The Lady Musgrave Experience reef pontoon, known as Lady Musgrave HQ, is 35 metres long, providing overnight ‘glamping’ acc

Honda has showcased its Outboard Marine Engine range at the Genoa Boat Show in Italy. The all-new Marine BF115, BF135 and BF150 range offer VTEC™ and PGM-FI technology for rapid acceleration and outstanding performance, along with an ECOmo system for

Navico has partnered with the E1 Series, the world’s first electric powerboating championship. The event is scheduled to kick off in early 2023, with up to 12 teams set to race on a tight, technical course reaching speeds of up to 50 knots (93km/h).

The debut of the 2022 season at the Cannes Yachting Festival saw Riviera awarded Best Layout in the 45ft to 60ft category. Absolute showcased its full Navetta range, two boats from the FLY range and the two recent Generation 2022 boats, the 48 coupe

Azimut-Benetti Group has closed the 2020/21 yachting season with €850 million, up €100 million on the previous year. Despite production slowdown due to COVID-19, the Group delivered a total of 245 boats between its two Azimut Yachts and Benetti brand

ePropulsion, a marine electric propulsion systems and services company, has launched ePropulsion AU, based in Melbourne. Electric propulsion is on the rise in Australia, with ePropulsion’s latest range of products including the Spirit 1.0 EVO, Navy 3

Sometimes the perfect boat is made elsewhere, which is what an Australian buyer found with Smuggler Marine’s 780 Super Sport. The manufacturer exported the inflatable RIB to Perth from its factory in Auckland, New Zealand, fitted with an array of opt

The S55 from Maritimo is a boat that makes you think beyond the journey, beyond the destination, and asks the question, 'What do you want to do once you get there?' A broad question is a tough one to answer with sweeping strokes in the design departm

James got his sailing start young, learning the ropes on a P Class at just six years of age. Since then, he has captained both catamarans ranging from 56–82ft and monohulls up to 92 feet out of Europe and the Caribbean. He’s also worked as a chef on

Show-time in Europe, followed by the same razzmatazz in Florida, are the places to see many of the coolest boats, so it’s a great excuse for a shopping spree, combined with an extended holiday or two. I say a holiday or two because they are distinct

Arvor has launched the Arvor 705 Sportfish, the latest addition of this new generation of dedicated fishing boats, following the 805 Sportsfish. This trailerable has two berths and cooking facilities inside the 22-foot hull, which is licenced to carr

The Antares 11 flybridge follows the coupe version launched last year, so now offers three levels of living space in this compact coastal cruiser. As the flagship of the Antares range, this 37-footer has two double cabins, galley and saloon plus flyb

The Aquila 54 builds on the success of the 44 and 36 to produce this substantial Chinese built boat, with credentials from MarineMax, one of the USA’s largest powerboat dealerships and the experienced J&J Design Group. New local dealer, Whitehaven, s

The Swift Trawler range from Beneteau is well established and several smaller models are in Australia, being ideally suited as all-weather boats, offering sun protection with generous accommodation. However, this flagship designed by Italians Micad,

The fashion for go-anywhere yachts — the Expedition class — is prompting builders such as Turkish Numarine to bring out more of these, and the XP37 is a particularly sturdy example. Ruggedness includes a full displacement steel hull, which is not Ice

The Tanna 47 promises more of its predecessor’s (Saona 47) practical layout. A semi-flybridge design lowers the sailplan and the high-volume hull with mini keels won't break any race records but will voyage anywhere safely. Notable features include a

Stepping into the classical yet contemporary wooden interior, owners will enjoy the spacious home away from home onboard their new Horizon E81 by Horizon Yachts. Founded in 1987, Horizon has delivered over 855 luxury yachts, with the manufacturer dev

Christmas Island’s coastal zone is a limited marine environment, with little soft bottom, shallow waters or sheltered habitats — but the narrow fringing reef supports bountiful marine life. Surveys have identified more than 650 fish species, of which

Set to be one of the fastest models on the market, the ISA Super Sportivo 100ft GTO is powered with three 2000hp engines to reach maximum speeds of 50 knots. Designer Marco Arnaboldi and team, along with Marco Casali of Too-Design, have combined styl

Published in January 2021, the first global census of shark and ray populations revealed that the abundance of these species has plummeted by more than 70 per cent since 1970. This decline has been more rapid in tropical waters than in temperate zone

Our review of the 7700 Powercat was one that nearly got away. We followed the build and planned a test run on Moreton Bay, Qld, when it was complete, but travel arrangements fell over, and the boat shipped to its new home in the Whitsundays. But, I e

Fresh from introducing two products to the Australian market in May, Italian company Smartgyro has launched another, aimed at boats, including light duty commercial vessels, in the 13.7m to 16.8m length range. The new unit expands the SG series, whic

The world’s first very large catamaran Ro-Pax ferry powered by dual-fuel reciprocating engines has entered service, designed by Australian company, Incat Crowther. The 123m long, 28m wide Eleanor Roosevelt was completed in Europe by the partnership o

New South Wales company, Klokan Fishing, is now operating its new tuna longliner Mira Š. Formally blessed and named in March, the boat completed its final AMSA Survey paperwork in May after a build period of some two years before heading out to fish.

Global Energy Ventures (GEV) of Australia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with technology group, Wärtsilä, under which the two companies will cooperate on the inclusion of Wärtsilä propulsion systems in GEV’s compressed hydrogen (C-H2)

Cairns, Far North Queensland, is now serviced by a pair of new tugs after Svitzer introduced Tarcoola and its sister Wajarri into service. The 28m tractor tugs have a combined bollard pull of 100 tonnes, and are expected to improve efficiency and fle

Sydney’s oldest public transport vessel, MV Freshwater, has returned to customer service after a $7 million refit to improve customer comfort and accessibility. Managing Director for Transdev Sydney Ferries, Dean Helm, said the equivalent of 3500 day

Gladstone-based marine service provider Fodico Marine reports that a new landing craft for its fleet is starting to take shape. Designed by Sydney-based naval architect, Shaun Phelps (Periscope Naval Architects), the 45-metre LCT-style vessel is also

Henderson, WA-based shipbuilder Echo Marine Group has secured a contract to build a new vessel for Pelagic Marine Services. Pelagic Marine Services is the owner and operator of the Rottnest Barge service, which has transported almost all of the freig

Kemp Group has been appointed as the Australian Distributor Sales and Service for Australasia for ProfiSeal GmbH. The German company specialises in the design and manufacture of propeller-shaft and bulkhead seals, and is primarily active in the work