Every year MBY's team travels the world stepping on board all the latest and greatest motor yachts on the market. But which new launches stood out in the crowd for Alex Smith?
The 2026 boating season may be here, and at Motor Boat & Yachting, the search for the world’s most promising new hulls never rests. While we strive to sea trial every boat we can get our hands on, the international show circuit often demands a different approach: the static yacht tour. Alex Smith reflects on the 10 standout launches that defined 2025.
There is a specific kind of anticipation that comes with a boat show premiere. It is the moment of first contact, where a design either makes sense or it doesn’t. This year, the motor yacht industry seemed to split into two distinct camps: the masters of sociable, manageable efficiency and the bold explorers pushing the limits of custom engineering.
New standard of sociability
If there was a dominant theme to the mid-sized market this year, it was the sociable cruiser. The Marex 390 stood as a defiant answer to the freezing, blustery conditions outside. Following the footsteps of the award-winning 440, the 390 is perhaps the most sociable 40ft cruiser I have ever reviewed. It is a boat that understands how people actually live—manageable, beautifully built, and thoughtfully designed to feel like a far larger platform.
That same commitment to volume was evident at the Cannes Yachting Festival with the world premiere of the Absolute Navetta 62. We have long been devotees of the Navetta line, but the 62 takes the trawler style and injects a sense of modern grandeur. From the cutaway bulwarks and glass balustrades in the cockpit to the staggering headroom and vertical windows of the open-plan saloon, it feels distinctly Absolute—voluminous and cruising-centric without ever falling into the trap of being formulaic.
Efficient innovations
While some focused on volume, others looked to the scales. The Delta 72 is a masterclass in why carbon fibre matters. By reducing the weight of a 72ft coupe to just 31 tonnes (light), Delta has created a craft that doesn’t just hit 41 knots; it cruises at 30 knots with a fuel burn of just 6.1 litres per nautical mile. It is lightness used to create speed and efficiency in a way that traditional GRP simply cannot match.
In the multihull sector, the Aquila 46 Yacht proved that power cats are still the kings of clever deck layouts. Utilising a massive 23’ 3” beam, it offers an intermediate deck level for the bed in the owner’s cabin, preserving those all-important sea views while providing “his and hers” sinks and vast cabinetry. Whether configured with three, four, or five cabins, it remains a highly competitive piece of work.
The explorer evolution
The “Explorer” tag is often overused, but this year we saw three very different interpretations of the genre. At the bold end of the spectrum is the Galeon 430 Explorer. It is unapologetically “in your face,” sporting a rugged tugboat aesthetic with a reverse-angled windscreen and flared “cheeks” at the bow. It is a boat of extremes—from the carousel seats to the folding balconies that have become a Galeon hallmark.
For those looking for a more traditional, “solid steel” feel, the Outer Reef 780 Adventure offers a full-displacement experience with a modern twist. It is robust and heavily engineered, yet the four-cabin interior is surprisingly light. It is a serious chunk of boat with a €6.25 million price tag to match, but for the serious cruiser who wants to carry a Williams Sport Jet 435 and a Sea-Doo Spark, it makes tremendous sense.
Similarly, the Fleming 60 remains an engineering masterclass. Every inch of this command centre is designed for redundancy and access, from the twin disc gearboxes on the MAN engines to the beautifully labelled electronics. With a 2,000-nautical-mile range at displacement speeds, it is one of the ultimate liveaboard boats for those who genuinely intend to cruise the world.
Custom frontier
The latter half of our tours brought us to the world of custom aluminium builds. The Nordstar 49 Plus illustrated just how custom-friendly the Finnish pilot house market has become, offering a flagship model that can be tailored with bespoke seating zones and flybridge configurations.
Then there is the Steeler B62 Beach Club, a Dutch aluminium marvel that features one of the most unique features I have seen in years: a second helm position right in the for-peak lounge. Because of the stiff aluminium hull, you can sit in the bow and manoeuvre the boat at planing speeds with zero vibration. It is a boat that rethinks the beach club layout from the ground up.
Finally, we toured the Mulder 1700. Part of the “Favourite” range, it is a boat of spectacular beauty and Dutch craftsmanship. It balances a 22-knot top speed with a 600-mile range at 10 knots, proving that you don’t have to sacrifice style for sea-keeping.
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