45 Cross Cabin

The Axopar 45 Cross Cabin is the flagship of the Finnish builder's lineup and the biggest Cross Cabin layout they make. Axopar has been building stepped-hull outboard boats out of Finland and Poland since 2014, and the Cross Cabin range is the brand signature. The 45 sits at the top of our 2026 European dayboat guide because the hull, the layout, and the Mercury Verado pairing all add up to a 45-foot dayboat that nothing American directly competes with.

What is the Axopar 45 Cross Cabin?

The 45 Cross Cabin is a 44-foot 11-inch vacuum-infused fiberglass dayboat-and-weekender. Beam is 12 feet 8 inches. Draft is 3 feet 1 inch. Dry weight is roughly 21,400 pounds. Fuel capacity is 317 gallons. The hull is Axopar's stepped design, with twin steps in the running surface that reduce wetted area at cruise and let the boat cruise efficiently at 35 knots on twin or triple outboards.

Two engine options. Twin Mercury 600 V12 outboards at 600 horsepower each is the standard package and delivers a 35-knot cruise with a 50-knot top end. Triple Mercury 400 Verados at 400 horsepower each is the upgrade with three engines for redundancy and a slightly higher top end. Joystick Piloting is standard on both packages.

The Cross Cabin layout is the brand signature. The wheelhouse sits amidships with a real two-berth cabin underneath. The cabin has standing headroom, a small galley with a sink and a single burner, an enclosed head with a sink and a marine toilet, and a forward berth that converts from V-berth to a queen. The cockpit aft of the wheelhouse converts from sun lounge to dining table to a clear walking deck depending on configuration. The bow forward of the wheelhouse has a second seating area with cushions that lay flat for sunbathing.

I walked through a 2024 hull at the Newport boat show last fall, taking the cockpit conversion through three configurations and stepping into the cabin between each one. The build quality up close is real. The hardware feels right. The non-skid texture is clean. The hatches close cleanly. What you don't get is the absolute volume of an American 45-foot cabin cruiser. The cabin is for two adults overnight, not for a family of four.

Who is it good for?

Mediterranean-style day-trippers and coastal cruisers are the core buyer. Owners running 30 to 60 miles a day from a marina out to an anchorage, lunch aboard, swim, run back. The boat is built for that program. Florida East Coast, Long Island Sound, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco Bay, and any Mediterranean port are the natural home for the boat.

Owners stepping up from an Axopar 37 Cross Cabin are the second profile. You get more cockpit volume, a real cabin, and a triple-engine package option that the smaller boat doesn't offer. The third profile is the buyer who wants distinctive looks and is willing to pay for them. The 45 is one of the few new boats at this length that doesn't look like every other 45-foot cabin cruiser in the marina.

Who is it not good for?

Tournament fishermen should not buy the 45 Cross Cabin. The cockpit converts to multiple modes, but rod stowage, livewells, and a tournament-spec transom layout aren't part of the build. Anyone who fishes hard wants a Viking 52 Convertible or a center-console at this price point instead.

Owners running daily in heavy chop should also walk past. The stepped hull is fast and efficient on flat water and rough on a steep head sea. The boat is built for cruising in moderate conditions, not for offshore work in real wind.

Families of four wanting to overnight aboard are the third exclusion. The cabin sleeps two adults comfortably. A family of four wanting real beds, a real galley, and a real head should look at the Sea Ray Sundancer 320 or a similar express cruiser instead, which gives a real four-person sleeping layout at materially less money.

Pricing

New 2026 pricing on the 45 Cross Cabin runs roughly $850,000 to $1.15 million depending on engine choice, electronics, climate package, and option lines. The base twin Mercury 600 V12 build lands near the lower end. The triple Mercury 400 Verado build with full Garmin glass, the climate package, the cockpit conversion kit, and full enclosure pushes past $1.15 million. Allow another $50,000 to $100,000 for custom paint, davit upgrades, and trim packages.

The used market is still young because the model launched for 2022. Listings span roughly $680,000 at the bottom (early 2022 hulls with the base engine package) to $960,000 at the top (2024 hulls with triple 400s and full options). The sweet spot for a buyer in 2026 is a 2023-2024 hull with triple Mercury 400 Verados and 200 to 500 hours, which lands in the $780,000 to $900,000 band. Five-year depreciation curves on the model aren't fully established, but the early data suggests the boat holds price well in markets with active Axopar distribution.

What works

• Stepped vacuum-infused hull cruises at 35 knots efficiently. Fuel burn at cruise is materially lower than a deep-V at the same speed.
• Cross Cabin layout puts a real two-berth cabin amidships with standing headroom. The cabin volume is genuine.
• Twin Mercury 600 V12 or triple Mercury 400 Verado outboards. Both packages are current Mercury with Joystick Piloting included.
• Cockpit converts from sun lounge to dining to running mode. The layout flexibility at this length is unmatched.
• Distinctive Finnish-design looks. The boat reads as different in any marina.
• Outboard-driven, so service is at any Mercury-experienced yard rather than tied to a specific yard network.
• Bow seating forward of the wheelhouse adds a second usable lounging area.

What doesn't

• New MSRP starts near $850,000 and pushes past $1.15 million on the triple-400 build with full options.
• Stepped hull at low speed takes some learning. New owners report a learning curve in tight marina maneuvering.
• Spray reaching the helm and ride quality in a steep head sea are average. The boat is built for moderate conditions.
• Cabin is for two adults, not for a family of four overnighting.
• U.S. dealer network is still growing. Parts logistics for Finnish-built components can take weeks on warranty work.
• Triple Mercury 400 Verados put real weight on the transom. Trailering at this configuration isn't realistic.
• Resale depends on regional demand. East Coast and Florida price the boat higher than inland.

Year-by-year notes

The 45 Cross Cabin launched for 2022 as the flagship of the Cross Cabin range. The 2023 model added the triple Mercury 400 Verado engine option alongside the continuing twin Mercury 600 V12 build. The 2024 model refreshed the electronics package to current Garmin glass and added the climate package as a near-standard option. The current 2026 catalog continues on the 2024 layout with minor trim updates. There is no defect cutover year worth screening for at this point, but the 2022 first-year hulls had a few owner reports of cockpit hatch alignment issues that later production has cleaned up. Verify hatch seal condition on those hulls.

Cost of ownership

Annual recurring costs on a 45 Cross Cabin used 100 hours a season are real but lower than a comparable inboard. Fuel at roughly 35 gallons per hour cruise burns 3,500 gallons a year, which at $5 to $6 per gallon dockside is $17,500 to $21,000 a year. Slip rental at a Florida East Coast marina at $20 a foot per month is roughly $11,000 a year. Bottom paint and detail on a 45-foot hull is $5,000 to $8,000 a year. Mercury Verado service intervals on twins or triples follow the manufacturer's 100-hour schedule. A service kit costs $400 to $700 per engine in parts, plus dealer labor of $400 to $600 per engine. Generator service, watermaker if fitted, and climate package service adds another $4,000 to $7,000. Insurance on a $800,000 hull value is $9,000 to $14,000 a year.

A five-year hold on a 2024 used 45 Cross Cabin bought at $850,000 with 300 hours, used 100 hours a season out of Stuart with marina-slip storage, lands at roughly $80,000 to $110,000 a year all-in including insurance, fuel, service, slip, and amortized capital cost.

Best year and trim to buy

The 2023-2024 Axopar 45 Cross Cabin with triple Mercury 400 Verados, current Garmin glass, the cockpit conversion kit, and the climate package is the right buy in 2026. Hours between 200 and 600 are the sweet spot. Triple 400s hold resale better than twin 600s on the U.S. market because most buyers prefer the redundancy and the slightly higher top end.

Verify four items pre-purchase. First, the stepped-hull bottom and the spray rails show no impact damage. Stepped hulls are unforgiving on bottom contact, and a single grounding can affect performance. Second, the cabin air conditioning works at the dock on both shore power and the genset. Third, the hatch seals close cleanly on a hose test (especially on 2022 first-year hulls). Fourth, the Mercury service file shows current 100-hour service on all engines at the right hour mark.

Alternatives

The step-down within the Axopar lineup is the Axopar 37 XC Cross Cabin, which covers the same Cross Cabin brief at a smaller size and a much lower entry price. The U.S.-built cross-shop is the Regal 33 XO, which leans more toward sport-cruiser use with a Volvo Penta sterndrive package at materially less money. For the same weekending brief at a more traditional American layout, the Sea Ray Sundancer 320 covers the brief at a smaller length and a fraction of the operating cost.