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Boat Reviews

Boat Review: Hunter 40

Hunter Marine—now known as Marlow Hunter—celebrated its 40th birthday and a recent change in ownership by introducing its latest mid-size cruising boat, the new Hunter 40,

Boat Review of Hanse 415 Cruiser

The Hanse 415 is superficially like a lot of new production cruising boats in the 40-foot range. It has a plumb bow, generous beam carried well aft, a comfortable cockpit, dual helms and a walk-through transom leading to a drop-down swim step. Like many new cruising boats today, it’s also designed to be fast and easy to handle. But as I found out during a test sail on Narragansett Bay last fall, not all 40-foot “performance cruisers” are created equal.

Gemini Legacy 35

The sound of water rushing past the foils and propellers took on a note of urgency as Gemini’s Robin Hodges cranked in the genoa and pointed the Gemini Legacy 35 higher into the 10-knot breeze.

Boat Review: Leopard 48

It’s good to be a multihull sailor these days. Advances in materials and design have not only revolutionized the market, but it seems the innovations just keep coming. Case in point: the Leopard 48, a boat that employs the latest in catamaran thinking to deliver a platform that is as fun as it is comfortable.

Boat Review: Zen 24

It’s not often that we here at SAIL get to test-sail production sailboats from Japan. Personally, this is the first one I’ve ever sailed, in a test or otherwise. It is a remarkable little vessel.

Fountaine Pajot Hélia 44

Although multihull innovation at the racing end of the spectrum gets the lion’s share of the press, no less of a revolution in design has been taking place among cruising multihulls: case in point, French multihull builder Fountaine Pajot’s new Hélia 44, a boat that in its own way is as cutting-edge as a carbon fiber racer.

C&C 101

It was déjà vu all over again. Motoring back to the dock at the end of the boat test, I couldn’t help noticing the distinctive lines of well-worn Tartan Ten sitting on the hard.

Flagship: Best Boat 2012 Passport Vista 545 CC

I have always admired Passport Yachts for their beauty, performance and detailing, but stepping aboard the new Passport Vista 545 CC, SAIL’s 2012 Best Boat in the Flagship Monohull category, I felt an especially strong sense of déja vu.

Best Boats 2013 McConaghy 38

The Aussie-bred McConaghy 38 takes skiff sailing adrenalin and repackages it in a low-slung sport boat that redefines the genre. It came as no surprise that our Best Boats team found little not to like about this 7,000lb, all carbon, elegantly Spartan sloop.

Flagship: Best Boats Swan 60

Since the moment of its inception in 1967, Nautor’s Swan has been the epitome of a Scandinavian boatbuilder—highly regarded for its traditional boatbuilding skills, its exquisite woodwork and cabinetry, and its exceptional attention to detail.

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Aquila Goes Sailing 

A major powercat brand is turning towards new horizons with the announcement of three new sailing cats to join their lineup.

Lydia Mullan

From the Editor: Watch Change

I have a confession to make: I recently read one of John Kretschmer’s books for the first time.  You’d think someone who’s made a career

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This Day in History: Tracy Edwards

Tracy Edwards led the first all-female circumnavigation during the 1989/90 Whitbread Round the World Race and has been a bold advocate for women and girls ever since. 

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