Today’s cabin cruisers combine luxury accommodations and amenities with modern performance, and for many boaters, owning one represent the ultimate way to enjoy the boating lifestyle. But which cabin cruisers deserve to be called best as the 2023 model year hits the water? We searched high and low to nail down the options that set the bar for this type of watercraft, and if you imagine yourself owning a cabin cruiser your dreamboat will almost certainly be found on this list.
2023 Beneteau Antares 7
Among the smallest cabin cruisers you’ll find (and the smallest in our roundup) is the Beneteau Antares 7, which has a fully enlosed helm station with a dinette to port, and a V-berth in a forward lower cabin. What’s truly impressive about the layout is that they managed to design in a fully enclosed head compartment, an unexpected perk on a boat that’s just 24’6″ long and 8’2″ wide. The cockpit is open and the Antares 7 will make a good compact cabin cruiser for those who enjoy angling as well as cruising; a fishing version is available, too, which has a livewell, fishing rod holders, and tackle stowage. With power options up to 200-hp, the boat can hit speeds of around 35 mph. Added bonus: thanks to its small size the Antares 7 is one of few cabin cruisers that can be easily trailered, launched, and loaded.
See Beneteau Antares cabin cruisers for sale on Boat Trader.
2023 Cruisers Yachts 50 GLS
The 50 GLS is undoubtedly one of the most unique cabin cruisers hitting the water this year, as one of the largest boat’s we’ve seen that has an open bow cockpit for day-boating enjoyment and a trio of Mercury V-12 600-hp outboards riding on the transom. Offering the best worlds of both bowriders and cabin cruisers, this boat has a cabin on the starboard side with a salon with a galley, two private staterooms, and a head compartment with a seperate shower stall. The massive open aft cockpit has three seating untis incorporating a pair of loungers, but it can be expanded in the blink of an eye because the hullsides swing down to water-level and essentially turn the entire area into one gigantic swim platform – a “beach club,” in yacht parlance.
See Cruisers Yachts 50 GLS cabin cruiser boats for sale on Boat Trader.
2023 Greenline 58 Fly Hybrid
The 2023 Greenline 58 Fly Hybrid is due to launch this summer, yet this cabin cruiser has already been making headlines. The big news: the 2023 58 Fly Hybrid will come equipped with Greenline’s next-generation hybrid electric HDrive system. This incorporates a pair of 25 kW electric motors with diesel engines, a 50 kWh lithium-polymer battery bank, solar panels on the coach roof and hard top, and an energy management system. Net result? Nearly silent and zero emission cruising at speeds around six knots, for limited ranges. Yet the boat also offers traditional performance when running via diesel power and can cruise at a max speed up to 26 knots via a pair of optional 715-hp Cummins QSM 11 diesels.
See Greenline 58 Fly Hybrid cabin cruiser boats for sale on Boat Trader.
2023 Hunt Yachts Ocean 76
The Hunt Yachts ocean series features classic looks inside and out combined with modern, exceptional performance. Despite its 135,000 pound heft it can hit speeds of 31 knots and cruise comfortably at 27 knots, powered by a pair of 1,900 horsepower Caterpillar C32 diesels. The enclosed pilothouse version was introduced for 2022, but this boat remains so impressive we didn’t see another cabin cruiser worthy of bumping it off our list. Complete with an L-shaped settee and a wet bar behind the upper station plus an open flybridge extending aft over the cockpit, “grand” may be the best way to describe the upper station. Inside the yacht stays true to the Hunt heritage, with varnished wood cabinetry and furniture, teak and holly soles, and polished stainless-steel hardware.
See Hunt Yachts Ocean 76 Flybridge cabin cruiser boats for sale.
2023 Jeanneau DB/43 IB
The 2023 Jeanneau DB/43 IB is among the modern cabin cruisers to include an open bow compartment as designers endeavor to combine day-boating pleasure with a multi-stateroom cabin boat. Unlike most new entries, however, this craft is an inboard powered by a pair of Volvo Penta D6 380-hp engines rather than a brace of outboards (a DB/43 OB outboard version is also available). The main advantage? There’s a huge, uninterrupted swim platform on the back, with no engines taking up any exterior space. Also unusual is that the cabin gains extra space (by shifting the galley out to the cockpit), enabling Jeanneau to include two private heads to go along with the staterooms. Exterior space is gained by including swing-down cockpit gunwales. Note that the DB/43 won the European Powerboat of the Year award for 2023.
See Jeanneau DB/43 IB cabin cruiser boats for sale on Boat Trader.
2023 Nimbus W11
Although Nimbus is a relative newcomer to the US market, this Swedish builder has been around for decades. Last year their C11 made our top 10 and this year a new version, the W11, rates top billing. The boat boasts high performance abilities with a pair of Mercury V10 outboards producing top speeds in excess of 40 knots, riding on a twin-stepped hull. Unlike the other model, however, the W11 is very socially-oriented and is set up for activities ranging from sunbathing to entertaining guests to cruising. There are adjustable seating arrangements, multiple loungers and sunpads, an outdoor galley, and the cabin is ringed by recessed sidedecks so walking forward to the bow cockpit lounger and sunpad is safe and easy.
See Nimbus W11 cabin cruiser boats for sale on BoatTrader.
2022 Prestige X-Line X60
Announced last year for the 2023 model year, the X-Line X60 is the second X-line model (joining the X70) and follows the same core design concepts of open spaces, natural light, multiple zones of relaxation, and bringing the great outdoors inside as well as outside. The cabin opens up to join the cockpit via a huge sliding glass door, the saloon is surrounded 360-degrees with windows, and the flybridge hard-top has an opening sunroof. A highlight is the “infinity cockpit,” connected with the cabin via an electric sliding glass door. Belowdecks there are three private staterooms including a full-beam master. There’s also an option for a crew’s quarters. Added bonus: the X60 incorporates Seanapps remote monitoring and scheduling app.
See Prestige X-Line X60 cabin cruiser boats for sale on BoatTrader.
Note: Prestige has announced the new flagship M8 power catamaran is coming for the next model year, so keep your eyes peeled for the latest from this builder.
2022 Sea Ray Sundancer 370 Outboard
Sea Ray boats have evolved quite a bit in recent times, and none show the most modern changes more than the new Sundancer 370 Outboard. Another hybrid between a cabin cruiser and a bowrider, the 370 remains the newest cabin cruiser in the builder’s lineup and has a full cabin with a forward lounge/convertible V-berth, an aft mid-cabin under the helm, a galley, and an enclosed stand-up head. Yet standing abovedecks you’d hardly realize how much cabin there is down below, because there’s little sacrifice made in useable space topsides. The helm-deck transitions neatly into a port-side walkthrough that takes you up to a bow cockpit with wrap-around seating, a convertible dinette table, and removable filler cushions that turn the entire area into a sun lounge.
See Sea Ray Sundancer 370 Outboard cabin cruiser boats for sale on BoatTrader.
2023 Tiara 48 LE
Following on the heels of the 48 LS, which has an open bow and combines sporty performance and an abundance of outdoor recreation, comes this year’s 48 LE. Rather than have an open bow the LE model has a full cabin forward and a full enclosure around the helmdeck. The layout is designed to incorporate multiple social areas and has an aft cockpit set off by a huge rotating aft lounge and a “beach terrace,” similar to the one on the LS, which folds down to turn one side of the cockpit into a gigantic swim platform. There’s also an adjustable lounger on the bow. But the cabin is more substantial, with a galley to starboard, a settee and dinette to port, helm and passenger’s stations, and a two-stateroom, two head arrangeent below. The master stateroom is full-beam, and has an additional settee.
See Tiara 48 LE cabin cruiser boats for sale on BoatTrader.
2023 Wellcraft 355
The 2023 Wellcraft 355 represents not just a new boat for this storied builder, but also a new direction. The company hasn’t built a cabin cruiser in many years, and this one is as modern-looking as they come with a raked-back pilothouse, plumb bow, and canted hard top. A triple-wide lounger sits atop the bow, and the aft cockpit is kept open for enjoying the outside. Inside the upper cabin there’s a dinette (which converts into a double berth) behind the helm station and a galley aft of the passenger’s seat, while down below there’s a stateroom with an en suite head. Performance is a high point, too, with outboards up to 1,050-hp total blasting the boat to a top-end that hits the 60-mph mark.
See Wellcraft 355 cabin cruiser boats for sale on Boat Trader.
To learn more about cabin cruisers in general and find out what life is like aboard one, see Cabin Cruiser Boats: An Owner’s Guide.
Editor’s Note: This article was last updated in April of 2023.