I’m not gonna lie. Going to the international boat shows can be stressful. Were I to share our editorial calendar on a typical day at Cannes, Lauderdale, or Miami, you’d understand. When your faithful Power & Motoryacht editors are on the docks, we are hustling. Too often, that hustle means we don’t have the chance to get a dock-locked vessel we’re drooling over out for a sea trial. Fortunately, that was not the case when Dan Harding and I strolled up to the on-water display for Aiata during a Cannes late afternoon. Not only did we get the chance for an end-of-day exhale, we were able to crawl over—and flog—this new Turkish builder’s adventurous Wayfinder 38 in the sort of sporty conditions that make this job so much damn fun.
This was a first exposure to Aiata for Dan and me, and we found plenty to like. Today’s “Adventure” category that Axopar helped establish is blowing up with builders from Nimbus and Saxdor to Brunswick’s Navan. By launching a 38-footer with Suntop (open) and Cabin configurations—Aiata is squarely entering the mid-to-upper-end fray. The key concept with their twin-stepped, GRP-hulled builds is modularity. You can mix and match components from bow to stern as easily as you might on a high-end Sprinter van camper. To fully illustrate that, just have a look at the ‘build’ feature on the Aiata website—it’s expansive.
The stern on this Wayfinder held what the builder calls its optional “Comfort” wet bar. Atop the bar is a reversible bench that easily seats four, with a flippable backrest and a sliding track that lets you face fore or aft with an easy flip and push of a button. Lift the cushion, and there’s an optional grill, recessed fridge, and sink—it’s basically what I’d call a perfect sandbar grill and chill spec. This model also had a beautiful, telescoping leafed table just forward of that modular unit with eight sufficiently deep cup holders, sturdy grab rails for sporty conditions with the leaves closed, and a full dinette setup for eight with that table fully open and the seats behind the helm turned to face aft.
Anglers can opt to replace the wetbar with Aiata’s “Angling” wet bar. It swaps the seat with a series of rod and cup holders, a huge lifting cutting board surface, a livewell, and an optional fridge with an optional second livewell—complete with macerators. You can also add an overhead rocket launcher and a set of forward rod holders too. Need none of that? Opt for a simple flip-up rear bench seat or a completely open stern—great for diving or boardsports storage. Twin doors on either side astern offer easy water, or fish hauling.
The cockpit on our Open model bore nifty overhead mesh holders for zippered, roll-down plastic enclosures that can completely protect the cockpit. That cockpit, too, can be had with multiple seating configurations. Moored just behind our test boat was a Wayfinder with Aiata’s glass-enclosed, climate-controlled modular cockpit with AC and diesel heat. Hulls and surfaces are identical on both boats. It’s all in what you decide to bolt to it. Rooftops on either model can bear solar panels, a huge sunroof, or a solid top with racks for boards and bikes. Floors come with nonskid or a very durable and cool-to-the-touch Flexiteek.
Forward, the Wayfinder can be optioned with a big forward-facing sun lounge, a sofa, or a “camper” variation that replaces those seats with a windowed hatch cover that gives copious headroom to the cabin below for, well, camping. The “parlor,” or in this case cabin trick that left Dan and me most impressed was the scale of this hatch. It basically opens the entire lower berth area—which sleeps three via a double bed and small side berth with full wet head—to the outdoors. Couple that with a vast, optional U-shaped upper forward lounge, and you could keep an eye on the kids down below as they enjoy a movie or a game, while you, your significant other, and a few friends take in a Seakeeper-stabilized, alfresco sunset dinner.
So what of the ride and the helm? Well, that might have been the best part. Behind sun-shaded, sweeping, curved glass, our Wayfinder was optioned with Garmin controls and twin Mercury V10 350s—right in the middle of her 300/350/400 horsepower Honda/Mercury outboard options. Her stepped, high-freeboard hull planed out pancake flat, cutting through the substantial afternoon Cannes chop with no fuss. She ripped turns amidst confused 2- to 4-footers with surefooted grip via a tilt-steering wheel and I topped her out just shy of 32 knots in the snotty conditions. Had I been braver, I could have pushed her well past that, as the builder claims a top speed of 50 knots. The best part for me, though, came not in the rip-snorting drive, but when I handed the controls back off. After a day with miles of dock walking, Dan and I kicked back on the stern lounge while our captain put the boat hard over through the waves at 30-plus knots. It wasn’t relaxing, but we stayed completely dry, and with the confidence this boat gives in the rough stuff it was fun as hell.
If you’re in search of an affordable, capable, and luxurious adventurer with a slew of simple-to-customize options, find a way to sea-trial a Wayfinder.
You can also find this video–and hundreds of our other reviews–here ▶
Wayfinder 38 Specifications:
LOA: 38’
Beam: 11’6”
Draft: 2’11”
Displ. : 5,511 lb.
Fuel: 224 gal.
Water: 53 gal.
Power: 2/300, 350 or 400-hp Mercury or 2/350-hp Honda BF350
This article originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
