Some boats do more than offer a chance to get out on the water. Some boats change the game. We picked some of the most influential boats of all time and put them in this gallery.
By
PMY Editors
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Wally 118
2002 Designed by Intermarine SpA/Wally Yachts/Lazzarini Pickering
From the styling standpoint, still very influential these days. In fact, you see its influence even in present-day commercial vessels.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Bertram 31
1961-1983 Designed by Raymond Hunt
A truly iconic boat that’s still in much use today. This highly influential boat affected the design and performance of boats built by other builders like Hatteras, Pacemaker, Blackfin, and even Bertram itself. Readers Alex Cooke and Dean Kois concur.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Azimut 54 Flybridge
1993-1997 Designed by Azimut
Today Italian-styled and -built boats line every dock at most major North American boat shows. However, the original Azimut 54 was one of the first models to test the waters, initiating a huge market success for the builder. This model was also “Americanized,” which basically meant a more usable galley. Reader Les Lerner concurs and writes, “Definitely the Azimut 54 Flybridge!”
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Cheoy Lee 48 Motor Yacht
1981-1986 Designed by Tom Fexas
Okay, today she may be akin to Sonny Crockett rolling around South Beach in a pastel blazer with the sleeves rolled up, but when this Tom Fexas design was launched in 1981, her styling was cutting-edge. Long before someone coined the phrase “Euro-styling,” Fexas and Cheoy Lee were driving fresh thinking and innovation, which influenced yacht design for generations.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Century Coronado
1954-1968 Designed by Richard Arbib
When this classic runabout was launched, she was reported to be the fastest production boat on the water, able to reach speeds up to 48 knots. Designer Richard Arbib also embraced exterior styling that was a big departure from the offerings that dominated the era. One option even included a retractable hardtop. Reader Roger Giles adds, “I first saw this 21-foot classic as a 1956 model in Life Magazine and still have the ad framed and on my wall today. It speaks for itself!”
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Bayliner 4588 Pilot House
1984-1993 Designed by Bayliner
A production boatbuilder marketing a raised pilothouse at a value price in this size range was unusual for the early ’80s. This particular model made great use of divided living space, though she was eventually replaced with the 4788 (pictured) in 1994. Reader Jimmy Jacobs nominated the 4588, and represents one of the many loyal fans this boat still retains today.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Lazzara 75 LSX
2006-2011 Designed by Dick Lazzara
Leave it to the boys at Lazzara Yachts to take the quiet power and maneuverability of the Volvo Penta IPS and multiply its benefits on an express design writ large. How did they do it? First, Lazzara used four of the IPS 600 systems, each spinning two forward-facing props with 435 horsepower to move the boat up to 33 knots (according to Executive Editor Bill Pike’s sea trial in 2007). Second, those four pod drives, moving in concert, combined to amp up the maneuverability in ways that must be driven to be believed. And third, Lazzara’s isolation system insulated the modular monococque interior from any vibration, while two engine-room bulkheads (and plenty of other tricks) further distance those aboard from the already-quiet IPS. Quiet, quick, quad power: Any questions?
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Wider 42
2011-Present Designed by Tilli Antonelli and Fulvio De Simoni
Innovation is what drives the boating market. Designers are always looking for the Next Big Thing. Wider understands that—obviously. It’s not an exaggeration to say its 42 is like nothing else the boating world has ever seen. First off, she’s got so much carbon fiber onboard that even the toilet is made of the stuff. (Really think about that for a second.) The correspondingly feathery displacement combines with burly 480-horsepower Cummins QSB 5.9s matched to Arneson surface drives to let this boat roar across the ocean at 48 knots. Oh, and maybe you’ve noticed that her freaking sides pop out? Because they do. And that single groundbreaking design choice turns what would otherwise be another flashy speedboat into something that’s truly one of a kind.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Kadey Krogen 42
1976-1998 Designed by James Krogen
This collaboration between designer James Krogen and yacht broker Art Kadey captured the wanderlust of intrepid voyagers at a time when cruising under power was still not a mainstream boating endeavor. Today, notable passages are still being completed by the 206 42s built. In fact, at this writing a 42 is tied up in the Azores, while another arrived in Fiji en route to New Caledonia on a voyage that originated in Mexico.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Chris Craft 33-foot Futura
1955-n/a Designed by Don Mortrude
Reader Fred Holland gave a thumbs up for this 33-footer. Her clipper bow replaced the bull nose of the ’40s, and the express style, often known as a semi-enclosed layout at the time, led the way for the modern express-style boat of today.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Back Cove 29
2004-2009 Designed by Back Cove
The builder recognized early on that there was a trend for smaller, simpler boats, and thus launched the single-engine Back Cove 29 that has spawned an entire line.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Beneteau Swift Trawler 34
2010-Present Designed by Beneteau Power/ Joubert Nivelt
If you think about it, when would the world not embrace an efficient, single-engine cruising boat? An economical cruiser, especially one with a shippy profile complete with flying bridge, will always make sense to boaters who just have to get away, one way or another.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Marlow Explorer 65
2001-2012 Designed by David Marlow/Doug Zurn
For a while back there in the early ’90s, just a few companies had the long-range cruising market pretty well sewn up. But then along came David Marlow with his signature straw hat and amiable manner. Marlow intro’d his first boat with designer Doug Zurn … and she arguably went one better than the offerings at the time. The engineering that hallmarked the 65 and subsequent yachts (with Velocijet keels, dry-stack infusion, high-end engine rooms, and joinery magically materialized from a single hand-picked teak tree) took high-end trawlers where they’d never gone before.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Boston Whaler 16 Nauset
1961-1973 Designed by Raymond Hunt
Arguably the first production center console design (along with perhaps the Chris-Craft Dory), the Nauset 16 became the Montauk 17. The 17 is still extremely popular today. And make no mistake, the 17 remains the SUV of small boats. When equipped with a 90-horsepower outboard she is eminently practical for diving, picnicking, fishing, gunkholing, even, believe it or not, for camping. Was she rough riding? Yup. Wet? Sure. But hey, unsinkable and fun—why do you think she’s had so many imitators?
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Broward 100 Series
Mid-Late ’80s Designed by Broward Marine
Building a boat over 100 feet in a series was revolutionary when Broward first came up with idea. Frank Denison, his wife Gertrude, and sons Ken and Kip created a niche that fueled an entire market segment. Mr. “D” was not afraid to build on spec and by the late ’80s, the big aluminum motoryachts were flying off the line. The same “beam series” got longer and longer … so much so that in some cases the bottoms went from having deadrise … to flat … to dihedral (reverse deadrise). Many Browards still enjoy active cruise schedules.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Carver 36 Mariner
1984-1988 Designed by Carver
We’ve heard this voluminous design compared to a shoe and a flat iron—and that’s by the people who built the Mariner in Pulaski, Wisconsin. There’s no denying, however, that the Mariner’s tremendous use of space inspired folks to leave their condos behind and enjoy the water. At one point Carver was turning out 145 of these babies a year. An updated version (shown here) launched 10 years ago and was also a success.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Viking 66 Convertible
2011-Present Designed by Bruce and David Wilson
In recent years Viking has gained undeniable leverage in the semi-production sportfish market, thanks in no small part to the high quality of its builds like the early 55 mentioned above. And the 66 is perhaps the best of the bunch. She was the first fully infused Viking, and had an entirely new hull—one that reflected Viking’s desire to reduce deadrise aft to increase lift, efficiency, and speed. It worked. The 66 does 42 knots all out with twin 2,000-horsepower MTU 16V2000 M91s. That kind of speed, coupled with an aggressively raked forefoot and deckhouse, make this the kind of boat you can’t help but remember.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
Westport 112
1996-Present Designed by Jack W. Sarin/Greg Marshall/Taylor Olson
With fewer than 5,000 recreational yachts larger than 100 feet in the world, you know that the Westport 112 does something very right with 53 hulls in the series. Westport launched the first example of the design in 1996 and stuck to it, creating value in the construction process. The company deviated in 2010 with the introduction of an optional layout featuring a main-deck master (three boats were built that way so far). The company has always tried to minimize changes by delivering boats that are fully equipped as standard boats. “We developed our product to the point where the customers don’t need to change that much,” says Taylor Olson, director of engineering for Westport Yachts. Once upon a time, prospective 112 owners could decorate any way they liked, so long as bulkheads and stairwells were not be moved. But now, Olson says, Westport meets the needs of the customer without changing the fundamental structure of the boat.
Game-Changing Boats
We pooled the combined knowledge of our staff, our readers, and industry insiders to list 90 game-changing production boats. See the full list here ▶
