The SAIL Top 10 Best Boats

The 601 is the second of a string of new one-designs from the Finnish builderOf the 950 yachts racing at Skandia Cowes Week last summer, only one was referred to by her crew as “a bit of a weapon.” This was fitting flattery, for Sir Peter Ogden’s Spirit of Jethou was exactly that, with her black hull, sleek coachroof, and carbon-fiber sails.Even so,

This flagship of the Fountaine-Pajot fleet made its U.S. debut at the Strictly Sail Show in Miami, Florida, last February. The 60-footer reflects the builder’s decade of experience building its 56-foot Marquises design, with its well-proportioned sailplan and well-apportioned interior spaces. This new model has slightly wider hulls than the 56-footer, which has created more

The French design team of Berret/Racoupeau has come up with this new aft-cockpit yacht with a futuristic cabinhouse profile that is sure to turn some heads when it is introduced this fall. Dual steering stations provide clear access to the transom, and the composite arch overhead gets the mainsheet out of the cockpit and provides support for the bimini top.

Following a number of successful collaborations with the Judel/Vrolijk design team, Najad has improved the windward performance of this new 44-footer by giving it a narrow V-shaped entry forward. For solid downwind performance, the aft sections have a more pronounced U shape and slightly more beam. The keel is also deeper and narrower than on previous models, and the spade rudder is well balanced

Belgian builder Etap is no stranger to innovations, and the new Etap 24i is filled with them. This little cruiser has most of the clever features of its bigger siblings, including the ability to sail even when filled with water; it has an optional shoal-draft tandem keel to make trailering easy, toerails that double as cleats, and the best antiskid decks you’re likely to

How can a 38-foot cruising boat feel more like a 45-foot cruising boat? The Regina 38 is a Swedish import that answers that question, making this pilothouse cruiser an attractive new addition to the sailboat market’s growing segment of mid-size cruising boats. While many sailboats with a too-big pilothouse feel cramped on deck, the Regina 38’s pilothouse is the right size.

Contest Yachts has been building well-found cruising boats for decades. Its 50-footer is a proven passagemaker with thousands of open-sea miles under its keel. But with the trend clearly moving toward larger semi-custom designs, Contest is offering a new 65-footer that it believes will fill a niche. With a masthead rig and powerful sailplan, the yacht has been designed to perform well over a full

Legendary sailor and designer Ted Hood has created a larger version of his 48-foot motorsailer and is building it on a custom basis at the TeKad facility in Tuzla, Turkey. While many of the belowdecks features are similar to those of Hood’s well-known Little Harbor 54 and 60 designs, the waterline on this yacht is far longer, the freeboard is much higher, there is a flush deck, and, of course,

This 298-foot classic three-masted schooner designed by Gerard Dijkstra & Partners and built at Royal Huisman in Alustar aluminum for an American client was finally sailing at the end of September. The fore-, main-, and mizzenmasts were all built in aluminum by Rondal; the topsails can be furled in the mast while all the lowers furl into carbon booms. All deck hardware was

Although based on the same concept as the German Frers–designed 46-foot bluewater cruiser that this Swedish builder has produced for many years, the HR 48 has an entirely new hull and layout. Interior space has been expanded with a longer waterline and has been brightened with larger side windows. The aft cabin is wider and is available with either two bunks on each side or