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One of the things I've learned in my years of owning and testing boats is that when you're getting ready to buy a new one, you need to not only ask yourself some hard questions but answer them realistically. When it comes to motoryachts, two of the most crucial interrogatories are, "Do I want/need a crew?" and "How fast do I want/need to go?" (Distinguishing between "want" and "need" is an even more basic issue, the discussion of which belongs somewhere other than a boat magazine.)
As to crew, it basically comes down to one of two viewpoints: "We want someone aboard to do all the hard stuff" or "We want to buy the biggest boat that we can afford and handle her ourselves."
The question of speed is not so easily settled. Most people don't want to go slow—but what constitutes slow? The more pertinent question is, how fast can you comfortably go in anything but dead-calm conditions? For most cruisers, a boat that tops out somewhere around 20 knots can usually provide all the velocity they're ever likely to use.
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That being the case, a cruising couple who doesn't want a crew and is looking for a practical level of performance will find the Horizon 68 Skylounge an enticing option. She can indeed manage 20 knots on flat water with a real-world (1,050 gallons) fuel load, and her SCRIMPed and foam-cored Greg Marshall-designed hull (which, like the entire boat, is built to ABS standards but is not ABS certified) should allow you to stay within shouting distance of that number even when things get stinky. A 1,400-gallon fuel capacity means you can easily manage ten hours of running between fuel stops, probably well beyond what either of you would care to endure.
But what really makes the 68 work so well for a twosome is her enclosed bridge, or as Horizon calls it, skylounge. You'll be comfortable here in nearly any weather—if things get really nasty out, just dial back the C18 Cats to 1500 rpm (12.2 knots), turn on the optional Trac stabilizers, crank up the stereo, and settle into the Stidd helm chair for a lengthy but relaxing passage. Have guests aboard? They can stretch out on the comfortable L-shape dinette aft, from which they can view the 26-inch LCD TV that pops up from the port-side nav station. Feeling hungry? There's no need to venture outside, thanks to the interior stairwell to the saloon. Although I found it steep and tight, I couldn't deny its convenience. And if anyone feels nature's call, they can answer it without leaving the skylounge, as there's a roomy day head with a Tecma MSD in the aft starboard corner, right by the sliding door to the boat deck.
The Horizon's skylounge is so comfortable, it'll make any decisions about crew for you. Why would you pay someone else to sit up here in this kind of luxury and enjoy these fine sightlines, especially when helming the 68 is so effortless? Quick (three and a half turns lock to lock), power-assisted steering combines with a tight turning radius (about four boat lengths at WOT) to create a surprisingly sporty feel that belies the 68's 55-ton displacement. She heels ever so slightly into hard turns and accelerates well considering her size. Bow (standard) and stern (optional) thrusters take the sweat out of close-quarters maneuvering, and the optional ZF wired remote (it controls both gears and both thrusters) makes backing into even a tight slip a one-person operation. Line handlers will have it easy, too, thanks to 11⁄2-foot-wide covered side decks.
But such luxury has its price. The standard 68 Motoryacht has a lower helm; order the Skylounge version (a $128,000 option), and the lower station is replaced by a large country kitchen. The table and U-shape seat to port are huge—they can probably seat a dozen—but more important, there's a view no matter where you sit, since there's glass all around. There are also port and starboard watertight doors that lead to the side decks. Alas, the port one requires removal of a seat and a cushion before you can access it, and even then you'll have to slide around the dinette table. Clearly it's a vestige of the Motoryacht version and, while not terribly practical, is nonetheless an asset.
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