Sail Magazine

by Tom Dove

Veteran new-boat reviewer Tom Dove divides his time between Annapolis, Maryland and Florida

Lagoon 450

by Tom Dove, Posted March 11, 2011

Innovate. Sell. Innovate again. That’s the “Lather, rinse, repeat” cycle of a successful boatbuilder.The Lagoon 450 is a fine example of this maxim at work. The Lagoon catamaran company first introduced an open flybridge design with its Lagoon 440 and sold hundreds of them over several years. Once that business was rolling along well, they changed the design to create the 450—and already

Beneteau Sense 50

by Tom Dove, Posted August 10, 2010

This design from Beneteau marks a new approach to accommodations and deck layout in a boat that'll make an excellent coastal cruiser with offshore capability. Among the innovative features is a catamaran-like cockpit layout with a dinette opposite a conventional bench seat. SPECS: LOA: 49ft 15in BEAM: 15ft 9in DRAFT: 5ft 5in (std) 6ft 9in (shoal)

Dufour 45e

by Tom Dove, Posted August 4, 2010

The flagship of Dufour's Performance line up, the 45e promises speed and power in a package that's also tailored for comfortable cruising. This Umberto Felci design has a tall, triple-spreader fractional rig and a choice of keels, the deeper of which gives her a draft of 7ft 6in.

Sabre 456

by Tom Dove, Posted August 3, 2010

A reincarnation of the Jim Taylor-designed Sabre 453, the 456 is built using the latest resin infusion techniques to create a strong, light hull. This is a long-legged passagemaker that'll get you where you're going quickly and comfortably.

Renovatio: The Passport 615

by Tom Dove, Posted April 23, 2010

Passport Yachts has been building semi-custom voyaging sailboats for three decades. For the last 20 years these boats have been produced in a modern facility in China. Thom Wagner has been the force behind the company from the beginning, and he still is the man to see when you are ready to buy one. His latest project is the Passport Vista 615 Twin Cockpit, designed by Bill Dixon.

Turkish Delights

by Tom Dove, Posted April 15, 2010

We had already concluded, after only a few days in Istanbul, that we’d never figure out the Turkish language. Then we saw our Sunsail charter boat. The stern carried a French flag and the boat’s name: UAGIZ. My wife, Kathy, and I have dealt with a lot of foreign languages, but this one truly had us scratching our heads. And asking a dockhand didn’t help much. I heard “Oo-gosh,” and

Sensei 9M

by Tom Dove, Posted October 1, 2009

“You said this is not a raceboat,” I grinned, as the new Sensei 9M sliced across the mouth of the Bosphorus with Istanbul’s Blue Mosque dead ahead. The wind was only 8 to 10 knots and the silver hull was knifing through the light chop at nearly 6. I had trouble believing I was able to take a boat right from the factory, only minutes after it was first rigged and launched, and

Hunter Edge

by Tom Dove, Posted August 17, 2009

Every sailor’s perfect boat would be big enough to accommodate the whole family in luxury, perhaps 80 feet or so, and would have a draft of one or two feet for easy gunkholing, an efficient sail plan, good stability and speed, and mechanical aids for handling lines. The mast would lower easily to get under bridges. Oh, yes. It would not cost too much, would be beautiful to

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 50DS

by Tom Dove, Posted February 2, 2009

Sailors who carry a folding multi-tool on their belts will tell you that they do so for safety reasons and also because there’s great value in versatility. They know that even though they may not be carrying the perfect tool for a job, they have something that can do a variety of jobs pretty well. Jeanneau’s Sun Odyssey’s DS series is rather like that.If you were custom-building a yacht to

Bavaria 38

by Tom Dove, Posted December 10, 2008

Even with the declining dollar, it’s possible to own a European cruiser that offers decent value for the money. Bavaria has built thousands of boats since it began in 1979, and the new Bavaria 38 Cruiser is a chip off the old block. With its moderate displacement, ballast, and sail power, it’s not extreme in any way, yet it does have a slippery underbody that gives it a performance