Sail Magazine

by Peter Nielsen

Peter Nielsen is SAIL’s Editor-in-Chief.

Bavaria by Farr

by Peter Nielsen, Posted September 21, 2010

Germany’s Bavaria Yachts, not long ago the 800-pound gorilla of European boatbuilding, took a pummeling during the recession. For years its philosophy of strict engineering practices and budget control had seen its value-priced cruising boats flying off the factory floor. By 2007 the factory was cranking out nearly 3,500 boats a year to feed a seemingly insatiable, mainly

Cape Crusaders

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 12, 2010

It started, as so many of these things do, over a beer. At the time, a circumnavigation of Cape Cod sounded easy. After all, it’s our home territory.That conversation took place sometime in 2003, and here we were last summer, still planning this epic voyage. Not that we hadn’t tried. Twice, SAIL editors had set off in Corsair F-24 trimarans borrowed from the Multihull Source in Wareham,

How Swede It Is

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 10, 2010

Many of the world’s most desirable sailboats come from Scandinavia. Hallberg-Rassy, Najad, Mal, X-Yachts and Swan are just a few of the excellent brands built around the Baltic. One name that doesn’t resonate with American sailors is Arcona, for the simple reason that until recently, this young Swedish yard has not had an importer in the United States. It has, however, established a good name

Beneteau 58

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 10, 2010

Beneteau's flagship is an excellent example of the new generation of boats in the 50-60 foot range that are coming out of France. It looks great on the water, sails very well, is well built and nicely detailed, and has all the space above and below decks that you could reasonably want.

Class of the Month: Snipe

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 5, 2010

“Serious racing, serious fun…” The Snipe class motto neatly sums up the appeal of this ubiquitous dinghy. Fifteen and a half feet long, light and uncomplicated, easy to trailer and launch, the Snipe is a boat that never gets old. Go to any Snipe regatta and you’ll see septuagenarians mixing it up with teenagers, pro sailors battling it out with Sunday-afternoon amateurs.The boat’s

Old Boat Nightmares #3

by Peter Nielsen, Posted August 3, 2010

After we’d sailed our boat for a year, we decided to pull the mast and have the old paint blasted off so that we could recoat it. It turned out that it wasn’t just the paint that was in poor shape. As we started picking away at the old paint it became obvious that the mast was more corroded than we’d thought. Even worse, close inspection revealed cracks around a couple of the T-ball sockets on

Replacing Your Lifelines

by Peter Nielsen, Posted July 29, 2010

When we acquired our “new” boat I saw at a glance that the plastic-sheathed lifelines were junk. Not only were they too thin–she had been used only for racing, so I guess the wire was underspecified to save a few pounds – but they were all too obviously old and dangerously corroded. I once saw a friend fall overboard because a rusty lifeline gave way, so I knew I would replace them as soon as

Cockpit Control

by Peter Nielsen, Posted July 29, 2010

If you are one of the many thousands of sailors who own a boat built before lines-led-aft became ubiquitous, and you want to be able to sail your boat without leaving the cockpit, leading halyards and reefing lines aft can be a relatively easy upgrade

Marblehead 22 Daysailer

by Peter Nielsen, Posted July 6, 2010

Admirers of the growing armada of beautiful daysailers should be familiar with the work of Doug Zurn. The Marblehead, Massachusetts-based designer drew the gorgeous Bruckmann 42, a fast daysailer/weekender with traditional lines above the waterline and ultra-modern foils down below. Zurn's latest design is the Marblehead 22, which builds on the blend of classic looks and up-to-the-minute

Installing a Wheel Pilot

by Peter Nielsen, Posted June 24, 2010

For cruisers with boats much longer than 35 feet, or those planning to head off on an extended blue-water cruise, an autopilot with a hydraulic or electric ram connected directly to the steering quadrant or rudder stock is almost mandatory. Modern below-decks pilots are powerful and reliable. They are also expensive, and coastal cruisers must balance the cost and complexity of such an