It's a summer sportsboat special with a head-to-head test of the Axopar 28, Nimbus W9 and Cormate T27
The September 2018 issue of Motor Boat & Yachting is out today and it’s a summer sportsboat special!
Outboard-powered sportsboats have experienced a boom in the last couple of years so we took the best one on the market, the Axopar 28, and forced it to go head-to-head with its newest rival, the Nimbus W9. To add a modicum of balance for the inboard sportboat we brought the Cormate T27 along as well a) because it’s gorgeous and b) because it’s one of the most talented performers in this size range. It was a a lot of fun to make the feature and video, we hope you enjoy reading and watching it just as much.
Triple threat: The Axopar 28, Nimbus W9 and Cormate T27 fight it out in the Solent chop
To get a taste of how sportsboats of this ilk are used we sent Nick Burnham to the South of France to join the annual Goldfish rally. Goldfish build boats to cover ground fast, as Nick found out blasting between the hotspots of the French riviera at face-melting speed.
Peter Cumberlidge did much the same in beautiful Arcachon, hiring a Four Winns 240 with a 225hp outboard to explore this idyllic Atlantic estuary.
If a new sportsboat isn’t for you then how about a secondhand RIB? We scour the classifieds to find four excellent used family RIBs, with the cheapest starting at £17,495.
We find a handful of quality secondhand RIBs from as little as £17,495
Away from the sportsboat theme we have our Cannes Boat Show preview. Our rundown of the most important and interesting new models that will make their debuts at the French show, including the Bénéteau Swift Trawler 47, Princess R35, Sunseeker Sport Yacht 74, Prestige 590 anmany more. We also have full boat tests of the super stylish Azimut Atlantis 51 and the versatile Aquador 35 AQ.
There’s something in the New Tech section that we never thought we would write about: a self-parking boat. Thanks to Volvo Penta, though, it’s happening. We send our tame RYA tutor Jon Mendez out to see if it works.
Don’t miss our secondhand spotlight feature on the evergreen Fairline Squadron 74/78 and the Our Boats section where we meet a new recruit who has swapped his sailing boat for an IPS-powered Princess 49.
Enjoy the issue!
