About this tender
The Axopar 45 Sun Top is the open-deck variant at the top of Axopar's current range - a Finnish-built GRP dayboat that prioritises usable deck space and outboard accessibility over the enclosed cabin volumes of the Cross Cabin and Cross Top siblings. At 45 feet nominal, it sits at a scale where the tender-to-superyacht relationship becomes genuinely useful: large enough to carry a credible guest group at pace, compact enough to be considered for davit or crane deployment from a vessel of 60 metres and above.
Axopar's build philosophy has been consistent since the yard's founding in 2014: vacuum-infused GRP hulls, a sharply raked deep-V entry, and a deck layout that keeps wet-side and dry-side zones clearly separated. The Sun Top variant adds a fixed overhead shelter without closing in the cockpit, which suits programmes where owners want UV protection and a dry helm station without the weight and windage of a full hardtop structure. That balance is what keeps this body style relevant for captains who want a capable sea boat rather than a floating lounge.
We'd position the 45 Sun Top alongside the Brabus Shadow 500 and the Frauscher 1017 GT Air as open-format performance tenders at this length. Axopar's production volume and dealer network give it a meaningful advantage on lead times and parts availability - both practical considerations when a tender is expected to be operational throughout a charter season rather than sitting on order for eighteen months.
Highlights
The four details we'd point out first to a captain who hasn't seen one on the water yet.
The fixed sun-top canopy provides helm and guest shelter without enclosing the cockpit, preserving the open-air character of the deck. This matters for programmes where guests want exposure to the environment and captains need unrestricted sightlines to the water around the boat.
Axopar builds on a vacuum-infused GRP laminate schedule developed over successive model generations. The process reduces resin weight and improves structural consistency hull to hull - relevant when you are specifying a vessel that will be handled by different crew members across a season.
The sharply raked deep-V entry that distinguishes Axopar's smaller models scales through to the 45, giving the hull manners in short-period chop that purely flat-bottomed dayboats of similar length cannot match. Useful for programmes that operate across open fetch rather than exclusively in sheltered anchorages.
Outboard propulsion keeps the engine weight aft and the bilge clear, simplifying serviceability on passage stops where a main-engine workshop is not available. Multiple engine options from Axopar's configurator allow the power package to be matched to your programme's range and speed priorities.
The 45 Sun Top sits alongside the Cross Top and XC Cross Cabin as Axopar's largest current production hull. Buyers specifying at this length are getting the yard's most developed structural and hydrodynamic work, with the advantages of a volume production supply chain behind the build.
Gallery
The full specification
Specifications, prices, availability, and performance figures are supplied for guidance only and remain subject to confirmation by the yard, seller, broker, survey, contract, and final specification.
Questions, answered
Last call · Available
Axopar · Helsinki, Finland
Tell us about your yacht, your programme, and the missions 45 Sun Top needs to handle. We come back within 48 hours with a written assessment - fit for the brief, lead time, and trade-offs against alternatives in the same band.
Prefer to talk? +44 (0) 77180 88055 · other ways to reach us
