THE STARS OF CANNES
MAREX 330 SCANDINAVIA
LOA 36ft 1in (10.99m) BEAM 11ft 2in (3.4m) ENGINES Single or twins up to 480hp TOP SPEED 38 knots PRICE from £323,760 inc VAT CONTACT Wessex Marine +44 (0)1202 700702; www.marex.com
With rows and rows of glittering exotica to take in, it says a lot about the brilliant design of the 330 that for us it was one of the stand-out boats at the show. What Marex has managed to fit into a shell of these dimensions borders on miraculous and, as usual, the boat is finished to exacting standards.
Some elements may seem simple but it’s taken Marex’s genius design team to think of them, like the lifting sections at the aft end of each side deck that reveal perfectly shaped storage for all of the boat’s fenders. The famous curtain canopy system has also been updated and is better than ever, requiring just the pull of one bungee to become rain and windproof without the need to fiddle with numerous tie points.
On board, the tall side door adjacent to the helm will be a welcome sight for those who go boating on their own and the two-way dinette bench, which reverses to become a twin navigators’ seat, will prove equally popular for those who go boating with a crowd.
Dinettes that convert to double berths in the cockpit and saloon supplement the two double cabins below deck meaning eight can sleep on board if needed and with single and twin engines on legs or shafts there is plenty of versatility on offer.
BENETEAU GRAND TRAWLER 62
LOA 62ft 2in (18.95m) BEAM 17ft 7in (5.41m) ENGINES Twin MAN i6 730hp TOP SPEED 21 knots PRICE from €1.38m ex VAT CONTACT www.beneteau.com
Beneteau Group is one of the biggest boat builders in the world, with a stratospheric R&D budget and the sort of design resources many production builders could merely dream of. What is abundantly clear aboard this all-new model, however, is that despite the might of its in-house armoury, Beneteau has listened to its customers – specifically its existing Swift Trawler owners – about how they use their boats to inform the design of the Grand Trawler 62.
The hull shape and propulsion choices are a case in point, dictated by feedback that most trawler owners tend to travel at single-figure speeds or in the early teens, with only the occasional burst up towards top speed if truly necessary. That’s why the 62 has a fast displacement hull, which
