Water Ski - July 01, 2018

SCAN ME

PHOTOS: COURTESY JEANNEAU AMERICA

The starting point is a 16-degree deadrise hull designed by Mi-

chael Peters, which quickly underlined his skills with offshore

boats during our runs in a lumpy Gulf Stream. The deck layout,

based on the Leader 8.5, is a walkaround with cruiser accommo-

dations and tons of seating space in the cockpit, plus sprawling

space on sun pads forward.

But, you might ask, how do they get cruiser amenities in a cabin

limited both by length and walkaround decks? Well, I didn’t say

“in” the cabin, and the galley is a console opposite the helm,

holding a sink with folding faucet and a single-burner stove, plus

stowage. A stainless-steel Isotherm fridge is tucked under the

helm console, and it’s probably worth supplementing with an ice

chest if you’re planning a long weekend because the fridge would

be challenged by a couple of six-packs.

The Leader 9.0 is outboard-powered, which results in a large

and quite usable cockpit, abetted by the discovery by this huge

To view a photo gallery of the

Jeanneau Leader 9.0, scan this

tag or visit boatingmag.com/3083.

BOATINGMAG.COM | JULY/AUGUST 2018 | 69