Why Winter is boating's best-kept secret
by Miranda Powrie, boatseekr.com 28 Jul 18:13 NZST
2025 Townson Songbird 11.4m Sedan Cruiser - July 2026 © Boatseekr
Come the first cold snap, the covers go on, and the marina settles into a long wait for Labour Weekend. It's a shame, because those who keep cruising through winter know that some of the best days on the water happen in the months everyone else writes off.
The trick to winter boating is the settled High (anticyclone). The mornings start crisp, the water goes to glass, and by midday the sun has real warmth in it, a little glimpse of summer, handed back when you least expect it. It asks less than you'd think: watch the week, spot two fine days in a row, and slip out for an overnighter. Short hops, close to home. Just enough to remind you why you bought the boat.
Pull into a favourite bay in July, and you'll often have it to yourself. No jostling for swing room, no anchor set over the top of yours at 5pm. The air cool enough that a walk ashore is a pleasure, and you come back pleasantly warmed through. Then the light goes early, and that's the point. The boat gets buttoned up, the cabin warms, and there's nowhere you need to be. A cup of tea, a good book, cosy up in a warm bunk and while the night away.
A boat built for it
Almost anything will do a fine winter's day, but some boats simply lean into it, the common thread is shelter and warmth. The older classics understood this instinctively.
The Salthouse Classic 36 Kailua, a 1961 kauri beauty, carries her engine amidships to hold the heat and encloses her aft cockpit fully with clears.
Songbird is a Bill Townson design and build launched late 2025, and can be best described as a yachtsman’s launch, with a comfortable and sheltered sedan layout.
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Newer launches like the Salthouse Corsair 44E flows on one level from cockpit to helm, with a diesel heater and a proper galley for the long evenings.
For cruising in any weather at all, the Nordhavn 47 Southern Star offers a heated pilothouse and a galley you'd be glad to have at home.
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Sail Through the Cold
A good canopy does much the same job as a hardtop, and a heater below does the rest.
This beautifully appointed Hanse 458 has a spacious and sun filled cabin with a diesel heater for cooler cruising.
For space, the Nautitech 46 catamaran Mariel opens her saloon through to a sheltered aft cockpit indoor-outdoor living that works as well in July as January.
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So don't pack it away just yet. Wait for the high, pick your window, and steal a night or two while the rest of the fleet sits under covers. Winter cruising is a slower, quieter pleasure, and a reminder on the stillest mornings that summer will be back before you know it.