Nick Burnham picks out 4 of the best compact hardtop motor boats on the market now, from a 2006 bargain to a nearly-new Bavaria
The popularity of compact hardtop sportscruisers was evident from the moment of inception. When Sealine launched its new 29-footer almost 20 years ago in both open (S29) and hardtop (SC29) variants, four out of every five buyers stumped up the extra £6,000 for the protection and convenience of the SC29’s sliding roof.
These days many boat builders no longer even offer fully open cockpit sportscruisers, such is the weight of customer demand for some form of weather protection.
So here are four great examples of secondhand sub-40ft hardtop sportscruisers currently for sale – from that seminal Sealine SC29 via a Bavaria that could be ordered with three different cockpit layouts offering varying degrees of shelter, to a brace of Jeanneaus at opposite ends of the age and price scale.
Jeanneau Leader 33
Built: 2018
Price: £185,000
The great thing about Jeanneau is that, by having so many model lines, the manufacturer is able to fine-tune specific models for a specific purpose. So, at the circa mid-30ft mark, buyers could choose between the deck saloon NC11, the utility-biased Merry Fisher 1095 (in pilothouse or flybridge format) or the sportscruiser Leader 33, which was available in open cockpit format, or the Sportop open-backed hardtop version you see here, which keeps the same cockpit layout but adds the convenience of a roof.
Convertible seats at both ends of the dinette add versatility to the sociable cockpit layout
Interior
At this size point, the vast majority of sportscruisers have a dinette forward and a mid cabin aft, occasionally with the twist of squeezing a fore cabin in to create a two-cabin layout at the expense of a much smaller dinette. The Leader 33 is different. This boat has a very short double bed in the bow, and a short but wide dinette directly aft of it.
For sleeping, you simply remove the dinette cushions, pull out a sliding bed extension and drop those cushions back on top, and voilà (as they say in France) – a full- length bed! A sliding bulkhead then encloses this area to create a fore cabin, giving a two-cabin layout at night, but a decent dinette during the day. Cunning.
Exterior
The cockpit has a few tricks up its sleeve too. There’s a large and sociable dinette on the port side, but the backrest of the aft section drops flat to create a sunbed. The front section, meanwhile, can be flipped up and forwards to create a raised forward-facing bench at the same height as the starboard helm.
Performance
Available with either twin 220hp sterndrive diesels or lighter and more powerful twin 250hp petrol outboards, we tried both during our original sea trial. The outboards were faster at 36 knots versus 30 knots for the diesels, but at the metaphorical cost of more noise and the real cost of burning more, and pricier, fuel. Based on dockside prices at the time, we calculated the outboard boat would cost approximately three times as much to cruise at 25 knots.
The bed extends over the seating area at night and retracts for daytime use
Seakeeping
Another excellent Michael Peters-designed hull delivers a sporty drive, banking keenly into turns and running confidently through a chop.
Jeanneau Leader 33 specifications
Length: 34ft 9in (10.6m)
Beam: 10ft 10in (3.3m)
Draft: 3ft 2in (1.0m)
Displacement: 5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 525 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta D3-220 220hp diesel engines
For sale: One Marine
Sealine SC29
Built: 2006
Price: £79,995
When Sealine launched the SC29 in 2005, it was a heartland model for the brand, replacing the successful S28 (400 boats sold between 1996 and 2005) and prior to that the 285 Ambassador (made famous by Howards’ Way). However, this was no mere update. A completely new model, it was built using resin-infusion and had a twin-stepped hull, the option of a hardtop (there was also an S29 open version) and a tonne of innovation. It was also the end of an era, being the last sub-30ft Sealine ever built.
The SC29’s manual sunroof really does offer the feel of an open boat when fully retracted
Interior
The interior followed the layout of its predecessors with a horseshoe of dinette forward that converts to a double berth, galley opposite the heads in the middle and then a mid cabin with a double berth aft. But an extra foot of length and six inches in the beam help it to ‘breathe more easily’ than the previous S28. The galley, for example, is a useful L shape and includes a gas oven as well as the two-burner hob.
Exterior
Outside is where it gets clever. The manual sliding roof is easy to operate – just unclip two catches on the windscreen header rail and it pulls open. In fact, as mentioned in the introduction, Sealine sold four times as many SC versions as it did open S29s. Other neat tricks include a helm backrest that folds forwards to increase the cockpit seating, dedicated storage for the cockpit table and sunpad infill, and a drop-in raised section of floor at the helm allowing a view over the header rail.
Performance
Sealine offered a single petrol engine at launch, although that was mainly there so the marketing team could advertise a starting price of below £100,000. A single Volvo Penta D6 was another option but the vast majority went out with twin Volvo D3 diesels, initially offering 160hp each, or 190hp when it was uprated at a later date. Figure on a top speed of somewhere in the region of 30 knots.
The horseshoe shaped dinette converts to a double bed with the aid of an infill
Seakeeping
Ex-powerboat racer Ocke Mannerfelt came up with the stepped-hull design, to aerate water passing under the hull at speed and reduce drag. Roger Tucker, famous for designing the Mini Metro, created the rest. Given that it’s a relatively small sportscruiser, it performed well out at sea.
Sealine SC29 specification
Length: 29ft 11in (9.1m)
Beam: 10ft 5in (3.2m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 4.2 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 478 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta D3-190 190hp diesel engines
For sale: Ancasta
Bavaria S36HT
Built: 2022
Price: £245,000
Launched initially as the 360 Sport in 2015, the interesting thing about the S36 was the range of superstructure options. Buyers could opt for a completely open cockpit with just a slim radar arch overhead, or a Coupé model that put a roof over the top of the cockpit and doors at the back to create a deck saloon. But the HT (for hardtop) split the difference, offering overhead protection but remaining open-backed to allow the cockpit area to stretch from the windscreen to the transom.
Horizontal wood grain adds to the more upmarket feel of the 360 Sport and S36 models
Interior
Bavaria was looking to up the interior ambience when the 360 Sport replaced the previous 35 Sport, and one of the ways it did so was incredibly subtle. The wood grain of the cabinetry (available in ash, teak or mahogany) was rotated 90 degrees; sailboats have vertical grain, luxury motorboats, the thinking went, have horizontal grain. A central double bed in the fore cabin replaced vee berths (an extending section allows owners to prioritise either floor space or bed length). The mid cabin is particularly generous and the saloon and galley between them enjoy unusually good headroom.
Exterior
The height of those tall topsides is cleverly disguised by a thick hull band around the windows. This in turn allows for a relatively low superstructure and sleek appearance without losing internal headroom. On all three models the cockpit layout remains the same; helm to starboard, large dinette to port (the front section flipping to provide forward-facing seating) opposite a wet bar and then another outside seating area aft. It meant that the Coupé version worked equally well despite the cockpit doors. The solid sliding roof doesn’t open as far as a fabric one but it is more durable.
Performance
Twin Mercruiser petrols were the fast but thirsty option, a single Volvo Penta D6 370 the parsimonious diesel one. But most boats got the twin D3 220hp diesels. Adequate rather than ample, they nonetheless offered near 30-knot performance.
Good headroom, natural light and a double centreline bed in the spacious forward cabin
Seakeeping
Solid and capable, although the full bow, which does so much to create internal volume, can throw up a bit of spray in a head sea – you might be glad of that hardtop in bumpy conditions.
Bavaria S36HT specifications
Length: 35ft 5in (10.8m)
Beam: 11ft 9in (3.6m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 7 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 520 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta D3 220hp diesel engines
For sale: boats.co.uk
Jeanneau Prestige 34S
Built: 2004
Price: £84,950
Compact hardtop sportscruisers were still pretty rare during the early part of the century. In fact, the Jeanneau Prestige 34S, launched in 2004, was among the first. Styled by Italian designers Vittorio Garroni and Musio Sale, it was offered as a fully open boat or as this Sport-Top derivative, complete with a solid GRP power sliding roof section. The Prestige moniker proved so successful that it was eventually hived off to create a completely new brand for Jeanneau’s larger boat division.
Semi-circular dinette makes for a sociable layout, although the cushions are a little thin
Interior
The cabin-at-each-end layout, split by a dinette to starboard and galley and heads to port, is nothing new but there are a couple of interesting features. Double doors to the fore cabin are designed to be left open during the day to make the interior feel more spacious, and a high moulding in the cockpit that pushes the seating further aft on the port side allows a generous lobby area as you enter the mid cabin, giving a feeling of space but also plenty of room to change.
Exterior
There’s more than a hint of supersized Leader 805 in the curve of the transom and arrangement of the cockpit seating – a semi-circular dinette to starboard behind a double helm and a chaise longue to port pushed back by that mid-cabin lobby moulding. It is far larger than an 805, of course, and there’s a useful lazarette beneath the floor plus more generous storage beneath the helm seat.
That hardtop, though something of an add-on, blends well with the windscreen frame. Like the 805 Leader, asymmetric side decks favour the starboard side for wider, easier access to the foredeck.
Performance
All twin installations, smaller (but more modern) 210hp Volvo Penta D4 were available at launch, as well as 280hp V8 petrol engines. But the twin 285hp KAD300 motors fitted to this boat were initially the pick of the range, giving a healthy mid 30-knot top end and a 27-knot cruise at an easy 3,000rpm.
Gloss woodwork looks a bit dated these days but helps lift the cream coloured interior
Seakeeping
There are shades of the 805 Leader in the hull design too, with its generously flared bow helping to maintain a dry ride and the ability to flatten whatever Solent chop we could find on test.
Jeanneau Prestige 34S specifications
Length: 34ft 6in (10.5m)
Beam: 11ft 11in (3.6m)
Draft: 2ft 10in (0.9m)
Displacement: 6 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 700 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta KAD300 285hp diesel engines
For Sale: Sea Ventures
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