There’s a new 52-footer on the way from Island Packet, along with new models from Fountaine Pajot, Hanse and Salona
Island Packet 520
Florida’s Island Packet Yachts will introduce a new 52-footer at next year’s Miami Strictly Sail event. The Island Packet 520 is the biggest boat yet from Island Packet, and is the first new model in several years if you don’t count the Blue Jacket 40 collaboration between former Tartan/C&C designer Tim Jackett and Island Packet head Bob Johnson.
The 520 is very much a Johnson design, building on core Island Packet design features like the full keel, sturdy masthead cutter rig with a staysail set on a Hoyt jib boom, commonsense deck layout and spacious aft cockpit—not to mention the trademark ivory gelcoat.
Belowdecks the 520 is fitted out to the usual high IPY standard in rich teak trim, and can sleep up to nine people in three dedicated cabins and the saloon. There are large staterooms aft and in the bow, with the third cabin forward having the option of bunks or a large double berth. The drawings show a large seagoing galley and a forward-facing nav station.
This looks to be a powerful and comfortable bluewater cruiser that can be easily handled by a couple.
Specifications:LOA 52ft 2in, LWL 43ft 2in, Beam 15ft 4in, Draft 5ft 3in, Disp. 42,500 lbs. ipy.com
Fountaine Pajot Saba 50
Fountaine Pajot has been on a roll for the last few years, steadily updating its model range in a way that has seen it emerge from recession in better shape than many other builders. The Saba 50 replaces the Salina 48, and is very much a sistership to the Sanya 57 and Victoria 67 introduced over the last two years. The design team of Olivier (hull) and Isabelle (interior) Racopeau has come up with another fine blend of practicality and style that could easily become the French company’s top-selling model.
Accommodations are exceptionally open and airy, with light streaming into the saloon through wraparound ports and overhead skylights. The four-cabin “Maestro” layout boasts a huge owner’s cabin that could also double as an office, while the five-cabin “Quintet” version has a separate skipper’s cabin and six—that’s right, six—heads.
Even with a full complement of guests, the boat shouldn’t feel crowded—between the saloon, the aft cockpit, a large forward cockpit area and a lounging area adjacent to the helm on the flybridge, there will always be somewhere to get away from the crowd.
Specifications:LOA 49ft 2in, LWL 49ft, Beam 26ft 3in, Draft 4ft 1in, Disp. 34,600 lbs. Fountaine-pajot.com
Salona 60
Big, bold and beautiful, this Jason Ker design has finally been splashed after a lengthy gestation at the headquarters of Salona Yachts in Croatia. Ker is known as the proud progenitor of a number of lightning-fast racing yachts, and although this sleek aft-cockpit 60-footer has not been optimized for racing it should prove a rewarding ride for a trophy-hunting owner.
This marks Salona’s entry into the rarified world of semi-custom boatbuilding, as there is plenty of scope for an owner to impose his or her own stamp on the boat. There are three layout options based around two large guest suites aft and a vast stateroom forward, offering up to five cabins including crew quarters. Unusually, the galley is set forward, which eases the transition from cockpit to saloon, but means thirsty crew have to walk a bit further to grab a beer.
Ker is something of a keel specialist, and the S60 has several options, ranging from the standard 10-foot-deep T-keel to a lifting keel that draws a more forgiving 7 feet when retracted. It offsets a tall triple-spreader fractional rig sporting either a self-tacking jib or an overlapping headsail. The polar diagram shows excellent speed potential at every wind angle, and offwind speeds in the mid-teens should be easily achieved. And if that’s too sedate, Salona also has a 67-footer on the drawing board.
Specifications:LOA 62ft, LWL 58ft 5in, Beam 17ft 6in, Draft 8ft 2in (min)/11ft 5in (max), Disp 52,910 lb. Salona-america.com
Hanse 675
On course for an early 2015 launch, the new Hanse 675 is an imposing yacht that sets a new size benchmark for production sailboats. It replaces the 63 as the flagship in the German builder’s line, heading up an impressive range that has been almost completely renewed over the last two years.
Hanse offers more interior options than just about any builder, and the three base layouts—five-cabin, four-cabin, three-cabin—devolve into a bewildering number of permutations to suit just about any sailing and living style. It’s highly unlikely that any two of these boats will be the same. Hanse’s interior treatments have a style of their own and the spacious interior is lit not only by a multitude of deck hatches and portlights, but by no fewer than 24 hull ports.
In every other way, the 675 is a Hanse through and through—Judel & Vrolijk have drawn a voluminous hull with plenty of beam carried well aft for offwind power, a single deep spade rudder, and a choice of deep or shoal-draft T-keels. The fractional rig can be ordered with either fully battened or in-mast furling mainsails, and there is an option for a slightly overlapping headsail instead of the standard self-tacking jib.
Specifications:LOA 68ft 7in, LWL 61ft 3in, Beam 19ft 4in, Draft 8ft 5in (min)/9ft 8in (max), Disp 70,547 lb. hanseyachts.com
