Late last fall, I looked over a partly completed hull sitting in a small workshop at a boatyard in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Even minus keel, paint, trim and other essentials, it was apparent that this would be a fast and attractive boat. Less than four weeks later, with snow carpeting the small islands off Marblehead, the boat was being sea-trialed; and yes, it was indeed fast and
French builder Dufour Yachts added this sparkling new 40-footer to its range of Umberto-Felci-designed performance cruisers late last year.
Most production boats are conceived with a design brief from a builder who has a targeted market in mind. Not so the Landing School 30 (LS-30). Its built by students at a non-profit boatbuilding and design college. The Landing School and its resident designer, Steve Dalzell, design and build boats as part of the curriculum: selling them is an afterthought. As a result, only two or three LS30s
Fountaine Pajot has been building catamarans for more than 30 years. Over that time, the company’s boats have changed in evolutionary steps rather than quantum leaps, with hundreds of them being field-tested every day in charter fleets around the world. The new Lipari 41 is a further refinement of the simple, strong, spacious craft this builder has always produced.
As we strolled across the grounds at the New York Yacht Clubs Harbour Court facility in Newport, Rhode Island, Al Johnstone described the design brief for his new J/97 racer/cruiser. I thought we needed an entry-level sprit boat thats a little more user-friendly, non-intimidating and family-cruiseable than the J/105, he said.CONSTRUCTIONStructurally, the boat is
Using a bow thruster to get a 36-foot boat off the dock was new to me, but fair to say, the folks at Island Packet know what they’re doing. Without the thruster we would have required a heap of pulpit shoving and gear shifting to escape that narrow corner of the marina, so our easy exit to San Francisco Bay provided the perfect introduction to the Estero, the latest offering from a company where
You said this is not a raceboat, I grinned, as the new Sensei 9M sliced across the mouth of the Bosphorus with Istanbuls 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
Since he formed Outbound Yachts just over 10 years ago, Phil Lamberta former merchant mariner, racing sailor, and wanna-be yacht designerhas demonstrated a deft appreciation of what it takes to successfully blend performance and comfort in an offshore cruising boat. His Outbound 44 and 46 performance cruisers, both designed by the late Carl Shumacher, are much admired among
When Nautor Swan built its first boat the venerable Swan 36, Tarantella in 1968, the Finnish builder used a revolutionary new hull material called fiberglass. Forty-some years later Swan is again pushing the envelope, this time with DSK, an all-carbon, flush-deck, 90-foot German Frers-designed rocketship.Compare the two boats and you quickly
This handsome racer-cruiser from the board of Mark Mills is designed to the IRC rule. It promises sizzling performance with family-friendly accommodations. A retracting pole for an A-sail is optional, or you can fly symmetrical spinnakers from the tall double-spread aluminum mast. Down below, there are three double berths, standing headroom, and a functional galley. LOA 35ft
You see a boat raise the Z or zulu flag (four triangles of yellow, blue, red and black). What are they signaling?A) Going alongside for
Building the custom 40-footer was a master class in project management, hands-on skills, and New England sailing industry collaboration.
Managing Editor Lydia Mullan and her team found themselves on a sinking ship 200 miles from shore one year ago today.
Earning a Special Mention in our Top 10 Best Boats for 2025, this expedition yacht leaves no detail unattended and no dream unimagined.
Passagemaking is requires its own special set of skills.
You’ve read about the misadventures of the J/122 Alliance over the past two years, from an eventful Annapolis-Newport in 2023 to her ultimate sinking in
Accon Marine releases a new line of streamline folding chocks for an uncluttered look on deck.
The J/42 Allegiant set a new milestone in the Annapolis-Newport Race this year as the first all-female team to complete the race.
A cruising family and two friends have recovered the University of Washington’s Seaglider in the Pacific, after learning about the plight of the damaged automated underwater vehicle from a story in SAIL.
Named for the author of Around the World in 80 Days, the Jules Verne Trophy commemorates the fastest circumnavigation on record. Which of the following
