10 Water Toys to Take Out This Summer


Watersports Jet Car
Was that a Rolls-Royce Dawn convertible you saw blasting down the Intracoastal? And was that a new Chevy Corvette right behind it? You would be right. That’s because the latest craze in head-spinning watercraft is the Jet Car phenomenon. The concept is simple: take a high-end luxury car, create a sort-of-similar-looking fiberglass body, mount it on a planing hull with a Yamaha Jet Ski motor, and go have fun. One of the biggest builders is Watersports Car in Miami, which offers everything from a look-alike Corvette priced from $59,000 to a six-passenger Mercedes G-Class-inspired flagship starting at $109,000, with a supercharged Yamaha producing up to 320 hp. Most are sold for the rental market, though Watersports Car is happy to supply one to private buyers. Customization options are endless.

Foilone Pegasus
Had enough of noisy Jet Skis? This all-electric, hydrofoiling single-seater can zoom across the water at 30 knots in near total silence—and with only a ripple of a wake. Meet the Pegasus from Finnish start-up Foilone. With a tube-like hull made of featherweight carbon fiber, this 16-foot-long funster has the looks of a 1960s Formula 1 race car. Powered by a beefy 14.9-kW electric motor and juiced by a pair of 5-kWh Torqeedo batteries (just like the ones used in BMW’s i3 electric car), the Pegasus can rise on its deployable twin foils at just 10 knots. Range is reckoned to be around two-and-a-half hours at its 18-knot cruising speed. Turn the wheel and it leans just like a motorcycle and slices through waves like a knife through butter. Given all that technology, the Pegasus doesn’t come cheap: a fully equipped boat will set you back close to $150,000. But the fun of driving a race car for the water? That’s priceless.

Iguana Amphibious
For those who want to avoid the sandy schlep from yacht to shore, there is the French-built Iguana Amphibious. Available as a 30-foot RIB, center console, or bow rider, each Amphibious comes with the rather unique feature of power-deployable, caterpillar-style rubber tracks, or Ground Mobility Drive, as Iguana calls the setup. Drive up to a beach—avoid the rocks, please—deploy the tracks, and the Amphibious will climb anything up to a 40 percent incline. The system’s electric drive can then scoot it along at 4 to 5 mph. And it’s just as capable on the high seas, with a choice of single or twin outboards up to 600 hp, giving a top speed of around 45 knots. Iguana Yachts USA in Coconut Grove cites the base price at about $445,000.

Chris-Craft Sportster 25
There’s no shortage of family runabouts out there—but they’re not a Chris-Craft. Take the new Sportster 25 bow-rider. With pricing kicking off at around $160,000, it’s the most affordable model in the lineup. Yet no costs have been cut to create it. You still get the teak accents, the leather-wrapped stainless-steel wheel, the divine quilted upholstery. The quality, craftsmanship, and sheer attention to detail are what set it apart. Just gaze at the custom Chris-Craft stainless-steel speaker grilles for the thumping JL Audio sound system. While most rivals in this class come with outboard power, the Sportster 25 features a single Mercury or Volvo inboard V8 with a sterndrive. Pick from a 300-, 350-, or 380-horse Mercruiser or Volvo unit (the top-dog 8.2-liter 380 Merc would be my choice). For thrill-seekers, the latest addition to the Sportster 25 fleet is a Surf Edition for the fast-growing sport of wake surfing.

Yamaha CrossWave
When can a PWC be an SUV? When it’s a Yamaha CrossWave. Fresh out of the box, this new adventure-style personal watercraft might just be the ultimate sport-utility vessel. Measuring 13 feet long and 67 inches wide, it boasts seating for four, a walk-around deck, and more storage than a PODS unit. Remove the third and fourth seats, and the stern transforms into a huge deck space for coolers, fishing gear, camping gear, or casting off. And the helm design is more like that of a sports boat, with its floating console with dual touchscreen displays. Power comes from Yamaha’s proven 200-hp 1.9-liter high-output four-stroke Jet Ski engine that can give a 50-knot top speed and a 100-mile range. It’s so groundbreaking that Boating magazine named it its 2025 Boat of the Year. Pricing starts at $32,499.

Fiat 500 Offshore
They call it the Fiat 500 of the seas—and that’s exactly what this adorable car-boat hybrid is. Launched in 2023, it is the brainchild of Antonio Pietro Maria Galasso, a young entrepreneur from Naples, Italy, who contacted Fiat owner, Stellantis, with the crazy concept of making a Fiat 500 speedboat. The result is, essentially, a glass-fiber replica of a Fiat 500 body glued to a 15-foot-long trimaran hull. It has a Mercury outboard motor hanging off the back, and buyers can choose from 40 hp, 80 hp, or 115 hp (the latter capable of hitting a top speed of 40 mph). Inside, there’s seating for four, with two bucket seats up front and two loungers in the back. While the original production run of 500 has ended, there are still plenty for sale in South Florida, most in funky pastel color schemes. Expect to pay around $79,000.

Seven Seas Yachts Venus Speedster X
Few boats are as jaw-descendingly gorgeous as this one. Inspired by the curvy lines of Porsche’s classic 356 Speedster sportscar from the 1950s, this racy 32-footer is the sistership to Seven Seas Yachts’ original 22-foot model. What sets the Venus Speedster X apart is its exquisite handcrafted interior and painstaking attention to detail, from its hand-stitched leather cockpit to its retro-style gauges and wood-rimmed helm. Power comes from either a 6.2-liter 350-hp Mercruiser V8 inboard with sterndrive, good for a 55-mph top speed, or a 100-kW electric motor and Torqeedo battery giving 26 knots. There’s also the option of a jet drive version with twin Rotax Jet Ski motors for real thrills. That lovely cockpit with its big U-shaped bench seat has room for eight in comfort, with a small cabin for post-lunch naps. Pricing starts at around $415,000.

Axopar 29 CCX
Style is everything. Take the Polish-built Axopar 29 CCX. With its needle-like stepped hull, bolt-upright bow, and reverse-angle windshield, it stands out in a marina full of center consoles like the S.S. Minnow heading to Gilligan’s Island. While the Finnish brand produces a range that runs from 22 to 45 feet, it’s this trailerable 29 that hits the sweet spot. Like all Axopars, it’s a crossover perfect for fishing or hanging out at your favorite sandbar. Three models comprise the Axopar 29 range: an open 29 Suntop, this 29 CCX with that reverse screen and hardtop, and the all-weather 29 XC Cross Cabin with its glassed-in pilothouse. A single Mercury Verado 400 or twin 250s can punch this Swiss Army knife of a boat up to a 50-knot max and cruise effortlessly at 26. The brilliant cockpit design features optional U-shaped seating, plus spin-around helm seats for alfresco dining and lots of bow seating. There’s even a small cabin with a head. Pricing kicks off at around $270,000.

Tiwal 3R
For fun-loving sailors with a need for speed and the wind in their hair, it’s hard to beat the Tiwal 3R inflatable sailboat. It packs into three bags, will fit into the trunk of your car, and can be ready to hit the water in just 25 minutes. Weighing a mere 121 pounds and with a carbon-fiber mast and boom, it can fly across the water at speeds up to 14 knots, which, in any sailboat, is fast. A French company founded in 2012, Tiwal has sold more than 3,500 examples around the globe. The craft’s 10-foot-6-inch-long hull is similar to an inflatable paddleboard but with a V-shaped bottom for directional stability. Pricing begins at around $6,850 for the more family-focused Tiwal 2, with the performance Tiwal 3R—designed for single-handed use—starting at $11,270. Splice that main brace.

Envgo NV1
Canadian tech-marine startup Envgo is reassuring future owners of its all-new, all-electric hydrofoiling NV1 sports boat that “no pilot’s license is required.” Maybe one should be, because this space-age-looking 25-footer takes off from the water and flies silently over the waves. While there’s no shortage of electric foilers on the market—the Swedish Candela C-8 is a standout—Envgo says what is unique about the four-seat, carbon-fiber-hulled NV1 is its range. Fully charged, it can go for up to 60 miles or roughly two-and-a-half hours of cruise time at speeds up to 50 mph. That’s courtesy of its 80-kWh battery pack and dual electric motors producing a combined 320 hp. If that’s not fun enough, it carves curves on its trio of deployable foils like an F-18 fighter jet on a strafing run, its self-stabilizing avionics making around 250 automated foil adjustments per second. While not yet in production as of press time, the NV1 is expected to be priced at around $450,000.
The post 10 Water Toys to Take Out This Summer appeared first on Naples Illustrated.
Categories
Recent Posts









GET MORE INFORMATION


