WWW.PMYMAG.COM JUNE 2017 / POWER & MOTORYACHT 29
Y
achts Miami Beach is perenni-
ally fi lled with the most lavish,
look-at-me yachts in the world.
From sleek silver center consoles
to superyachts and cruisers with
fold-down-in-out-and-up gunwales, aft er a
while you almost become numb to the sur-
prises that are behind every turn. Oh, look,
there’s a hidden hull door that reveals a secret
tender garage. Yawnnn, I’ve seen that before.
Because of this fact, I was surprised by how
much the Cruisers 50 Cantius surprised me.
I was fi rst introduced to the Cantius line on
a trip to Bimini aboard the 45, which left me
with the impression that what you see is what
you get with these models. Th ey’re solid, steady
boats that are neither too fl ashy, nor too dull.
Th ey’re boaters’ boats, plain and simple.
Th e newcomer to the increasingly popular
Cantius series is the 50, which falls between
the brand’s 45- and 54-footer. Th e line
ranges from a 41- to a 60-footer, and the
builder has already seen more than 300 of
these boats sold.
Walking aboard with the Director of Mar-
keting, Matt VanGrunsven, the fi rst thing I
noticed was how large the swim platform is.
At 54 inches long, the hydraulic platform can
accommodate an 800-pound tender. Looking
at the space, which included the big Kenyon
electric grill with an outlet beneath it, I real-
ized this could double as the back deck of a
house. Place a few chairs there and you have
a nice spot to enjoy a meal with your toes in
the water. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
Aft -facing seating in the cockpit, nestled
behind the galley, looks to be one of the most
comfortable spots to sit when under way.
“Th is is where I would be if I lost my turn
at the helm,” I mentioned to VanGrunsven.
“You can watch the water while being
blocked from the wind.”
He smiled. “It’s funny you say that. We had
people fi ghting for that very spot on the ride
over to the show.” Surely that’s the telltale sign
of a lasting design element.
A nice feature that was used extensivelyduring my time aboard the 45 in Bimini was
the large seating area to port of the helm. I
sat at the helm with the owner as we easily
conversed with his wife and kids, who were
in those seats. Th at experience sold me on
the confi guration. I was glad to see the same
arrangement on the 50.
Th e accommodations consist of a smart,
three-stateroom, two-head layout with ample
headroom and a contemporary-yet-not-too-
modern, charcoal-gray-stained oak veneer
throughout. Th e amidships master boasts
exceptionally large windows, a full-length
settee to port, and plenty of space, thanks to
the Volvo Penta IPS600s. Th e nice propor-
tions throughout are no accident—extensive
tweaking of full-scale mockups is a staple
of the build process at the Wisconsin-based
Cruisers plant.
Th e bow area on the 50 was perhaps my
favorite spot aboard. A large sun sail clips
onto removable poles (which have dedicated
stowage) and covers the lounge. A pop-up table
in the center looks like a nice spot to place a
laptop when “working remotely.” It’d surely be
an even better location for a bottle of wine and
snacks at sunset. Pop-up backrests lend versa-
tility to the space, so when you’re tired of laying
down (it happens), you can sit up.
“Th e lounge on the bow was a big selling
feature on the 60,” says VanGrunsven. “And
the creative top was an idea from our internal
engineering team.”
Looking from the bow down the dock at
the other Cantius models on display at the
show, I noticed just how similar the boats are,
despite their varying LOAs. Th e 50 seems to
possess the very best features and qualities of
her siblings, which is what we all hope for in
a refreshed model.
Joining the Cantius family this summer will
be the 42. If she is anything like her bigger
sibling, she, too, will be a pleasant surprise.
—Daniel Harding Jr.Cruisers Yachts, 920-834-2211;
cruisersyachts.com