THIS MONTH'S

THE 10 KEY BOATING STORIES YOU NEED TO READ

1 WINDY WALKAROUND

Windy is developing a brand new 38ft walkaround model in a bid to grab itself a bigger slice of the lucrative adventure boat market. Called the SR38, it will be offered with inboard and outboard engines to maximise its appeal. Inboard power will come from a pair of Volvo Penta D6-440 DPI diesel sterndrives.

However, it is the outboard-powered version which is expected to be the bigger seller due to the extra performance and storage space it offers. With the biggesttwin 450hp Yamaha XTO V8s or 400hp Mercury Verado V10s it should be capable of 48 knots and 46 knots respectively.

As with the recent Shamal and Alizé models, the exterior styling is by Espen Øino, the Norwegian designer best known for his work with German superyacht builder Lürssen. The interior, meanwhile, is from British studio Design Unlimited, which also does many of Sunseeker’s.

The most distinctive element of the 38RS is a new semi-enclosed hard top linking the windscreen to a pair of contrasting radar arches amidships. In conjunction with fully glazed side panels and sliding doors on either side of the helm station, it provides full protection for the entire front half of the cockpit. The other big news is a pair of folding aft bulwarks that drop down to expand the deck space at the more exposed end of the cockpit.

There’s bathing platform access to the water here as well as a sunpad on both inboard and outboard variants. Outboard models also benefit from a large lazarette beneath the sunpad, which will accommodate docking stations for a pair of Sea Bobs. Amidships, an L-shaped sofa to starboard with a folding table that expands to meet the facing bench seat creates a big sociable dining area.

The standard layout below deck features an open plan cuddy cabin forward with a convertible U-shaped dinette in the bow and a separate heads and shower compartment amdiships. It will be possible to specify a separate forward cabin with a permanent double berth for those who want it.

The SR38 will make its debut at the 2024 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.

2 SEADECK FLAGSHIP CONFIRMED

Azimut has released the first teaser renderings of a new