Used boat expert Nick Burnham picks out four of the best open sportscruisers on the market, from the likes of Sunseeker, Sealine, Windy and Neptunus…

The worst thing about open sportscruisers is always the canopy, and the bigger the boat, the bigger the canopy and the greater the swearing and the hassle.

It’s precisely why hardtop sportscruisers have become very popular. So popular, in fact, that many models, the Princess V40 for example, now only come with the option of a hard top. It’s easy to see why. Remove the small aft section of canopy, press a button to slide the roof open and voila, an open cockpit.

However, it’s just not the same. The sides of the hardtop mean that the effect is more akin to a car with a sunroof rather than a convertible. And you can’t fit a bimini of course, only shut the roof.

So the effect is the reverse of what you actually need, the sun beating down from above but the sides enclosed, whereas a traditional sportscruiser is a fully open experience with the ability to provide shade.

So this month we’re celebrating the best open sportscruisers because there’s no finer feeling in the world than helming such a boat in fine weather.

4 of the best open sportscruisers for sale

Neptunus Carlton S41

Built: 2002
Price: £95,000

Neptunus is a marque that you may not have come across. A Dutch yard, it built some very solid craft, mostly big flybridge boats but also the occasional sportscruiser, like this one.

Interior

A broadly conventional interior for a 40ft sportscruiser, it has the owner’s cabin in the bow, a mid cabin back aft with two single beds that run transversely beneath the cockpit, and a…