“License-free” boats: two open boats for all budgets compared

Since time immemorial, going to sea has been synonymous with freedom. So, what better example than a small boat – cheap – with a motor without a license, easy to use and ready to use? Between dream boats, today we compare two far more “humane” solutions that are perfect for beginning to discover this amazing world that is boating. Will one of these two be your first boat?

Kolmarine Teorema 20 Open + Suzuki DF40A EVO

A combination that we tried at the last Genoa Boat Show and immediately won us over. Kolmarine is a shipyard from Lombardy that has made a name for itself for the value for money it manages to offer while maintaining a handcrafted construction. The smallest size, the 20-footer (just under 6 meters) exists in two versions, Open and Sundeck. And already this is an interesting opportunity: there are not many yards that, on this size, offer the version with a pontil bow, which means large sundeck with volume below deck for a berth and a toilet. Otherwise, even in the simplest Open version (the one we tested) it confirms itself as a solid, usable design with walkaround layout: a vehicle of substance.

Engine and price

In this case, the star of the package is Suzuki’s new little 40-hp, which came with a price tag that redefines the balance in the license-free segment: just €4,500 including VAT. The block is the well-proven 941 cc 3-cylinder, which in our test (with three people on board), took us to 22 knots, with an impressive consumption of just half a liter per mile at a cruising speed of 17 knots.

But how much does the whole package cost? Just think, during the Genoa Boat Show, there was an active promotion, which literally sold out, that allowed you to take home boat and motor for €20,000. Now, Teorema 20 Open starts at €14,750 excluding VAT, a figure that puts the package at less than €25,000 ivato.

4XC Design H19CC + Honda BF40E

Meanwhile, who is 4XC Design? A brand that defines the collaboration between two industry icons: the Ranieri International and Honda Marine shipyards.

The layout is that of the classic open center console, a category of which Ranieri International is simply master. At the bow is the dinette with a table that converts to a sundeck, while at the stern a settee frames the mirror, leaving a passage to the left for easy access to the water. Numerous stainless-steel handrails are almost everywhere, which are very important on these square footage to always be safe even in rough seas.

In this case, the real treat is sharing the hull designed by Ranieri Int. that already mounts a step, a rarity on an inexpensive boat, moreover considering that the length is just 5.5 meters.

Engine and price

Both the hulls we will see have a wide of range of applicable power, great in case you have a license and prefer to have a safety margin, or for future upgrades, also considering the possibility of doing the new D1 “license.” But the real hunting ground on these metrics is 40 hp, which, after all, given the weights involved, is enough and more to satisfy the vast majority of uses. In this case, Honda recommends its BF40E, going for a package that starts at €25,475 excluding VAT.