Europe’s biggest on-water boat show returns next month (Sept 6-11), and we’ve picked out the cream of the crop at the 2022 Cannes Yachting Festival.
The 2022 Cannes Yachting Festival is almost upon us and once again it promises to be a bumper show, drawing in boat lovers from across the Continent and beyond.
In total, there are scheduled to be more than 400 motorboats on show, including 135 world premieres, more than anyone could hope to visit in the 5 days of the show (although Hugo and Alex are going to give it their best shot!).
So we’ve picked out a few dozen that are really worth your attention, ranging from a 32ft Italian dayboat that’s available with a marble deck to a 145ft Turkish superyacht.
The slick new design integrates plunging windows with see-through gunwales for outstanding views out
Absolute 56 Fly
The new Absolute 56 Fly is exactly the kind of boat we tend to associate with this Italian builder. On the main deck, there are open railings, cutaway gunwales and transparent panels in the transom gates to maximise visibility.
Huge drop-down side windows also help open out the main deck saloon, while bringing plenty of fresh air into the lounge. The aft galley is well positioned to keep the modular cockpit and flybridge well serviced for food and drink.
And on the upper level, the hardtop features integrated solar panels to help reduce dependence on the diesel generator during a lengthy cruise away from shore power.
Read more about the Absolute 56 Fly
Walkaround decks and stairs at both ends make the semi-enclosed upper deck a really versatile and user-friendly space
Aquila 54
You may not have heard of Aquila powercats yet but they have been hugely successful in the US and are now on their way here courtesy of UK importer Approved Boats.
Built in China with design input from the US, the Aquila line-up includes three outboard-powered models – the Aquila 28, Aquila 32 and Aquila 36 – and three shaft-drive models – the Aquila 44, Aquila 54 and Aquila 70.
We caught up with the Aquila 54 Yacht at the Palm Beach Boat Show in March, fighting with weekend crowds to see why it has proved so successful – 75 orders since it was launched last year.
Astondoa 677 Coupe
Astondoa has never been unduly worried about frightening the horses with the styling of its new boats. When the 677 Coupe is unveiled in Cannes, it looks likely to cause a stampede…
With its bold window shapes, dramatic glazed bulwarks and confident axe-bow profile, the Astondoa 677 is more than attention-seeking, it’s almost shouty – every bit as aggressive as the Spanish shipyard’s 377, but twice the size.
But once the scary styling has grabbed your attention, and it will, you’ll discover a practical sportscruiser with a lot going for it, from its hard top with opening sunroof and spacious external seating fore and aft, to a stylish Cristiano Gatto interior design.
Read more about the Astondoa 677 Coupe
Side decks rise up and over the main deck master cabin
Azimut Grande 36M
The new Azimut Grande 36M is an object lesson in the fluid integration of onboard space.
In fact, like the rest of the Grande line, it aims not just to integrate the various zones on board the boat but to eradicate the barriers that traditionally divide them.
While there are rewarding design choices all over, one of the key concepts on the Azimut Grande 36M is the semi-walkaround upper deck.
Read more about the Azimut Grande 36M
The Bering 145 was launched in Antalya on April 28 and named M/Y Heeus
Bering 145
Turkish shipyard Bering has established a reputation for building no-nonsense ocean crossing passagemakers, but its new Bering 145 flagship is its most ambitious project yet.
With a full displacement steel hull of just over 500 tonnes and an aluminium superstructure, the Bering 145 combines a fuel capacity of 95,600 litres with a parallel hybrid drive system for a range of 12,000nm at a cruising speed of 9 knots.
Under conventional diesel power the range is still a staggering 5,000nm at 8 knots; the maximum speed is 15 knots. The yacht’s hybrid system drives the propellers via electric motors that are powered by a bank of batteries that are recharged by variable speed generators.
Read more about the Bering 145
Canados Oceanic 143
The latest flagship of Canados’s Oceanic range is this impressive explorer-style yacht.
The Canados Oceanic 143 features a short superstructure and a huge open aft deck, which is dedicated to fine dining and elegant lounging about, rather than the suite of tenders and water toys generally found aboard its intrepid cousins.
But it’s still a versatile platform with a broad appeal, its triple engines offering an impressive top speed, as well as efficient low-speed cruising for a range of 4,000 nautical miles at ten knots.
Read more about the Canados Oceanic 143
The stylish D36 is one of the most original multi-purpose day boats around
De Antonio D36 Open
The replacement for the D34, the new De Antonio D36 exhibits a lot of the traits we’ve come to enjoy from the Barcelona-based yard.
While the De Antonio D36 features a longer hull then the D34, with twin steps and a deeper vee, it retains De Antonio’s classic party piece in the form of its ‘hidden’ outboards.
Available with twin 300 to 450hp motors, it uses a boxed-in sunbed section above the engines to help extend the cockpit’s usable space and minimise engine noise.
Read more about the De Antonio D36 Open
Revised windowline and sleek new superstructure look very elegant
Fairline Phantom 65
While Fairline is planning to unveil a revised Squadron 68 at the 2022 Cannes Yachting Festival, the more noteworthy and radical world debut is likely to involve the new Phantom 65.
Heralded as Fairline’s first ever ‘sportsbridge’ yacht, it aims to take the external form of the award-winning Targa 65 and add a revised windowline and a low-slung fly deck to the mix for tri-deck flexibility alongside a beautifully streamlined sportscruiser aesthetic.
With long, blade-like hull windows and a deep-set flybridge that blends gently into the curved roof mouldings and radar arch as you move aft of the boat’s centreline, it’s clearly a success from a stylistic perspective.
Read more about the Fairline Phantom 65
The new Ferretti 860 is designed to combine luxury with a surprising turn of speed
Ferretti 860
The Ferretti 860 is a supremely luxurious tri-deck motor yacht with an internal arrangement that lends itself perfectly to crewed cruising for eight.
On the main deck, floor-to-ceiling windows and cutaway bulwarks create superb views from the saloon and dining area, which is separated from the semi-raised pilothouse by the fully-enclosed galley, which enables the crew to go about their business without interrupting the day spaces.
A spiral staircase to starboard leads down to the midships owner’s cabin, forward VIP and two further guest cabins, offering outstanding space and privacy. Two crew cabins occupy the forepeak, both with twin-bunk beds and ensuites.
Read more about the Ferretti 860
Fiart P54
The Fiart P54 name may not be terribly familiar – it’s an Italian acronym for ‘factories for the application of thermo-hardening resins’ – but a start date of 1960 makes Fiart a pretty early adopter of the new-fangled boatbuilding material. The company is based in Baia, near Naples.
Designed inside and out by Stephano Pastrovich, the new Fiart P54 is a true head-turner in a competitive sector, with dramatic styling, plenty of horsepower and a lively turn of speed.
Outdoor seating is arranged in a secure central area for use when under way, and a lower lounging area aft when at anchor.
Fjord 53XL
With their bold styling, high performance and capable hulls, today’s German-built Fjords are every bit as appealing as their Scandinavian ancestors.
The new Fjord 53 XL is based on the hull of the company’s earlier 52 models, the extra length not only providing more space on deck (this model has the largest T-top and deck area that Fjord has ever designed) but also allowing the engines to be set further back, to create more volume below.
The amount of customisation on offer is mind boggling for a production boat. Naturally, hull, deck mouldings and fabric colours are up for grabs but there is also an enormous amount of play in the physical layout of the main deck as well as the arrangement of accommodation on the lower deck.
Read more about the Fjord 53XL
Grand Banks 85
As the largest boat Grand Banks has ever built, this new 87ft explorer has been designed with serious attention to how a proper long-distance cruiser tends to be used.
While the 22ft beam brings all kinds of flexibility in terms of internal layouts, hull number 1 has been specced with three enormous staterooms, plus self-contained crew quarters that provide useful overspill accommodation for guests.
Built on an elongated version of the Grand Banks V-Warp hull, which employs vacuum-infused E-Glass with carbon fibre reinforcements, preliminary testing has shown the new boat to be in its element at around 21 knots.
According to Grand Banks, that makes the hull not just safe and comfortable in rough seas but also extremely efficient for long-distance passages. Whether equipped with the standard Volvo Penta IPS 1350 engines or 1300hp MAN diesels, a range in excess of 2,000nm is well within reach.
And even at 25 knots, the new boat is expected to return class-leading fuel flow figures of just 216 lph.
Read more about the Grand Banks 85
Gulf Craft Majesty 120
Based in the UAE and celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Gulf Craft is a long-established builder of high-end motor yachts which has yet to make much of an impression in western markets.
The new Gulf Craft Majesty 120 might start to change all that, however, with its handsome profile, designed in-house along with the hull naval architecture, and a chic, ultra-modern interior courtesy of Cristiano Gatto.
The 120 is a substantial two-and-a-half-decker with two double VIPs and a pair of twin-berth ensuites on the lower deck, and a wide-body main deck design forward which allows for a generously proportioned owner’s cabin stretching across the yacht’s full beam.
Read more about the Gulf Craft Majesty 120
Invictus GT320S
An Italian yard that makes some delectable-looking boats, Invictus seems to pay as much attention to close-up finishes and design details as to their boats’ distinctive, characterful styling and competent, performance-oriented naval architecture.
This latest Invictus GT320S, also designed by the talented Christian Grande, promises to make as much of a splash as its predecessors, designed as it is around outboard power, with two 300s on the show boat – surely adequate for all but the most rabid speed freak – and the assurance that if you want even more, it can take a pair of 450s.
With the engines conveniently hanging off the back, the cockpit can come into its own, which on the Invictus GT320S is simple and spacious, with an L-shaped arrangement of bench seats and an expanse of level sole which Invictus naturally claims to be bigger than any of its rivals.
Read more about the Invictus GT320S
Jeanneau Merry Fisher 1295 Fly
This new Jeanneau Merry Fisher 1295 Fly, the flagship of the range, packs a lot into its 40ft. In the enclosed saloon, the rotating helm seat stays involved in the party, courtesy of a large C-shaped seating section to port.
And that’s echoed up on the flybridge, where there’s also space for a sunbed ahead of the helm. The main deck saloon features an aft galley, which is entirely open to the cockpit, with a fold-out bar that neatly straddles the two spaces.
In the cockpit, a fold-down bulwark and a port side door ramp up the practicality of the Jeanneau Merry Fisher 1295 Fly even further.
Read more about the Jeanneau Merry Fisher 1295 Fly
The NY40 is the second boat to emerge from this ambitious young Italian builder
Nerea NY40
Nerea Yachts’ new NY40 certainly looks the part. Like the original Nerea NY24, the Nerea NY40 is designed to combine naval tradition and hi-tech innovation with automotive design cues.
It’s tough not to love the herringbone teak decks or the contrasting mix of polished steel, open-knit fabrics, natural leathers and soft-touch lacquers.
The layout looks good too. In the cockpit, the central sunbed, framed in steel and lined with woven yarn, is big enough for three, but it can be expanded, thanks to a pair of drop-down teak tables and a convertible settee.
Read more about the Nerea NY40
Though relatively compact, the ‘entry-level’ Numarine is an authentic long-distance explorer
Numarine 22XP
Securing its spot at the entry point to Numarine’s fleet of long-distance explorer yachts, the new Numarine 22XP retains all the key features that make the larger boats so effective.
In spite of its relatively modest length, the Numarine 22XP comes with a choice of displacement and semi-displacement hulls, plus vast internal volume, a spacious flybridge and class-leading natural light, thanks to Numarine’s famously oversized geometric windows.
The new ‘baby’ Numarine also provides the space for a full-beam owner’s cabin with its own private staircase, plus three ensuite cabins for guests and a compact crew quarters aft.
Read more about the Numarine 22XP
Otam 58 GTS
Based by the sea in Sestri Ponente, near Genoa – and very handy for the airport – Otam makes big statements in small numbers.
The new GTS version of the shipyard’s popular Otam 58 joins the Open and Hard Top models and boasts a re-style by BG Design that features a wraparound windscreen and a fixed hard top, to keep the 55-knot breeze out and the sun off.
Huge quantities of horsepower and Arneson surface drives combine with high-tech construction in Aramat – a Kevlar-glass composite – and vinylester resin, to form a light, stiff, no-nonsense structure created with the sole purpose of going as fast as possible, while offering a reasonably comfortable ride, without coming apart.
Read more about the Otam 58 GTS
This elegant party platform can be specced with a galley-up or galley-down layout
Pardo 52GT
A key element of the new Pardo GT52 ‘crossover’ design is its ability to deliver a more sociable boating experience thanks to the natural continuity of its interior and exterior spaces.
It features a trio of aft windows that can be hinged upwards to integrate the internal saloon with the aft cockpit.
That cockpit is well used with a pair of aft-facing seats that connect with the alfresco dining table without obstructing the walkaround deck.
Read more about the Pardo 52GT
Pershing GTX116
Although it would be easy to call the new Pershing GTX116 a sportfly, its category-confounding style and deck layout suggest a crossover label might be closer to the mark. In stark contrast to the smoothly raked sportscruisers we’re accustomed to seeing from Pershing, it uses a near vertical windscreen positioned a long way forward, with a snub-nosed bow like the flagship Pershing 140.
And the stern is quite different too, with a trio of terraces that cascade down to sea level, culminating in a pair of transom doors that swing up and out to create a Beach Club. This unusual cab-forward design frees up the space for a more even split between indoor and outdoor entertaining zones.
The main deck cockpit, for instance, is almost as long as the saloon, with room for an aft-facing sofa and chairs, plus a ten-person dining table and a cocktail bar with stools. The living spaces are also keenly impacted by the asymmetrical layout.
With its aft lounge and midships dining area, the open-plan saloon might feel fairly conventional, but the whole structure is actually offset to starboard. That swallows up the space usually reserved for the side deck, radically boosting internal volume, but there’s still a profound sense of integration between the inside and outside spaces.
On the portside, for instance an optional fold-down terrace flows neatly into the internal saloon, thanks to a sliding side door. And two smaller side doors on either side of the bridge also give access to the bow cockpit, where a pair of sunbeds flank an optional spa pool.
In addition to space for five crew, the lower deck includes a full-beam owner’s cabin with twin ensuite shower rooms. There are also two doubles and two twins further forward but if you value an additional lounge area, the fourth cabin can also be specced as a lower dinette.
However, as you might expect of Pershing, none of this internal luxury comes at the expense of on-water performance. Even with the standard set-up of triple 1,800hp MANs on KaMeWa waterjets, you can expect the GTX116 to hit 32.5 knots. And these can be upgraded to 2,000hp for an extra three knots, a fast cruise of 29 knots and a 400nm range.
Read more about the Pershing GTX116
Prestige M48
After more than two years in development, Prestige’s first motor cat is set for its debut at the 2022 Cannes Yachting Festival, and given the ingenuity of its design, it should be well worth a look.
Rather than taking a traditional approach to the internal deck layouts, Prestige has attempted to leverage every inch of the M48’s multihull footprint by means of a full-beam lower deck that makes great use of the region between the hulls.
This is a technique we’ve seen before on boats like Fountaine Pajot’s MY5 and it’s an interesting solution. On the one hand, a low-slung bridge deck opens up plenty of fresh volume, freeing the cabins from the confines of the hulls. On the other, it could reduce efficiency by increasing weight and drag.
Read more about the Prestige M48
Riva 76 Bahamas
Based on the Perseo 76 hull, this new Riva 76 Bahamas Super has a classic retro appeal combined in the cleverest of ways with some pretty cutting-edge thinking.
It was the Riva 88 Florida that first introduced to a breathless world Riva’s cool powered hard top, which shelters the helm and cockpit, but can then swing across to cover the foredeck seating in a single smooth movement. It gets another outing here.
That might be reason enough to put the new Riva 76 Bahamas Super on your shortlist, but there’s more. Two engine options are available, from 1,550s up to 1,800s, mounted under the cockpit and driving traditional straight prop shafts via V-drive transmissions, for a maximum speed of 37 knots. With the 1,550s the expectation is 32.
Read more about the Riva 76 Bahamas
Sanlorenzo SP110
Moored stern to the quay at the 2022 Cannes Yachting Festival, the new Sanlorenzo SP110 is going to be the talk of the show.
The lower saloon, leading down from the cockpit, was clearly inspired by Sanlorenzo’s sub-brand Bluegame. But this takes that concept to the next level, literally, opening up the after end of the main deck to create an eye-catching two-storey atrium that shows anyone who might be looking in – i.e. everyone – that your boat is cooler than theirs.
It’s also faster, probably: the Sanlorenzo SP110 is a 40-knot boat, thanks to triple MAN V12s, jet drives, and a lightweight structure that features a lot of carbon fibre.
Read more about the Sanlorenzo SP110
The open sportscruiser design fits neatly into the slot between Sealine’s existing S335 and S430
Sealine S390
Bill Dixon’s latest design for Sealine is all about making the most of the summer. To that end, the new Sealine S390 features a huge shaded cockpit with two big wetbars, plus nearly 50ft² of foredeck lounging space, with flip-up backrests and a small bow bench, and an oversized swim platform with an optional waterfront barbecue.
A convertible dining table turns the aft cockpit into a neatly integrated sunpad. And the Sealine S390 also provides a pair of sunroofs built into the full-length hardtop as standard, as well as the option of manual or electric opening both fore and aft.
As part of Sealine’s ‘Sport’ line, it is of course designed to look and feel like a convertible on the water – and with its swept back windows and the ‘skeletal’ curve of its roofline, it certainly has the profile to carry that off.
Read more about the Sealine S390
Sessa F47
The successful Sessa F47 flybridge cruiser wasn’t broke, so they haven’t tried to fix it. But its restyle does include the obligatory jagged slash of hull windows and a remarkable swoop of flybridge moulding that makes it unmistakably the latest model.
Design has been sharpened up throughout, with a few more right angles where there used to be curves, and the internal colour scheme is new, but the essentials of this accomplished and capable family boat remain unchanged.
So on the main deck we find a neat cockpit with a folding table, and a busy saloon area lit up by huge windows. This has stowage space and the galley along the port side, a sofa to starboard behind a helm station with a double bench seat.
The Silent 60 is available with an auxiliary kitesail system to boost efficiency
Silent 60
If you’re interested in electric boating then a catamaran might be the way to go, with slim, relatively-low drag hulls and expansive deck and roof areas for solar panels.
Headquartered in Austria with manufacturing plants in the Far East and Italy, Silent Yachts’ new Silent 60 comes with a pair of electric motors of 170kW each, battery capacity of up to 286kWh, and solar panels capable of generating 17kWp (the ‘p’ stands for peak, or optimum sunny conditions), for a claimed cruising range at six to eight knots of around 100 nautical miles.
Naturally there are diesel generators too, both for battery charging and for powering the electric motors, in which case the 60’s maximum speed is 20 knots, with a cruising range defined by the size of the fuel tanks.
Sirena 78
According to Turkish builder, Sirena, its extraordinary new Sirena 78 is designed to be “the yacht that can do it all”.
Class-leading volume for flexible guest entertainment? Check. Long-range capabilities for adventurous voyages? No problem. A customisable interior for an easy ownership experience? All part of the Sirena 78 package.
But one of the keenest examples of that do-it-all ethos has to be the flybridge. To help cater for a variety of customers and cruising destinations, the Sirena 78’s upper deck is available in open, semi-enclosed and fully enclosed formats.
Sunreef 70 Power
Based in Gdansk and soon to be setting up a facility in the UAE, Sunreef Yachts is a low-volume producer of innovative sail and power catamarans that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
The Sunreef 70 Power joins a successful range that stretches from 60 to 100 feet, but the company also has ambitions to move into the superyacht realm, with a variety of powercat designs touted up to 50 metres.
As a catamaran, of course, and a beamy one at that, the new Sunroof 70 Power boasts a huge square flybridge shaded by a huge square hard top with sunroof, and a huge square saloon with a lower-deck companionway in each corner – plus, if you wish, a huge open-plan galley.
Read more about the Sunreef 70 Power
The integration of fly deck and bow lounge is deeply impressive
Sunseeker 100 Yacht
The Sunseeker 100 Yacht is set to usher in what the British yard calls a “new era” in flybridge design. Aggressively styled, with an unbroken window line that seems to separate the superstructure from the hull, the new 100 Yacht’s potent three-dimensional aesthetic generates huge visual impact.
But what really sets the new Sunseeker 100 Yacht apart is not so much its style as its thought-provoking reinterpretation of the tri-deck layout.
By creating a full-beam walkaround upper level with easy fore-and-aft access to the foredeck lounge, the new Sunseeker’s flybridge is able to encompass almost the entire boat’s length.
Read more about the Sunseeker 100 Yacht
Vertical bow, forward raked windscreen and an enclosed pilothouse mark a major change of direction for Wellcraft
Wellcraft 355
Wellcraft is looking to steal a slice of the lucrative European adventure boat market with its striking new Wellcraft 355.
Unlike the US brand’s previous range of centre console craft, the Wellcraft 355 features a plumb bow, a fully enclosed wheelhouse with a forward-raked windscreen and modern Scandinavian styling.
The sudden change of direction looks like a deliberate attempt to muscle in on the success of brands like Axopar, Saxdor and Nimbus under the auspices of Wellcraft’s French parent company, the Beneteau Group.
Read more about the Wellcraft 355
Windy 34 Alizé
Norwegian superyacht designer Espen Øino is a man with a stellar CV and an even more stellar reputation. Who better then to take the lead on the all-new Windy 34 Alizé – a boat designed to evoke (and improve upon) the style and performance of the much-loved 34 Khamsin?
Slotting neatly in the Windy range between the 32 Grand Zonda and the Windy 37 Shamal, the Windy 34 Alizé is every bit the performance boat you would expect.
Built with a distinctly aggressive resin-infused non-stepped deep-V hull, even the entry-level single D6-440 is expected to achieve speeds in the region of 40 knots.
