Sailboat News

Boat Review of Hanse 415 Cruiser

June 19, 2013

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

June 17, 2013

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

June 7, 2013

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.

Morris Yachts Introduces the M46

June 5, 2013

Who among us isn’t a sucker for pretty overhangs, a sweet sheerline and a flush deck? There isn’t a boat in Morris Yachts’s M-series line of Sparkman &Stephens-designed modern classics that’s not a head-turner, and the new M46 is no exception. There’s more to this beauty, though, than meets the eye: good performance was near the top of the design brief.

The Boats of Strictly Sail Miami

June 5, 2013

Something has happened to the Strictly Sail component of the Miami International Boat Show over the last five years. Each February, I’ve seen a drop in the number of monohulls and an increase in the number and variety of multihulls. This year, I twice attempted to count the number of catamarans; each time I was distracted and lost track somewhere around the mid-20s. Granted, there were a few brokerage boats in there, but it was an impressive turnout nevertheless, with plenty of new models amongst the evergreens.

Blue Jacket 40: a Fin-keeled, Twin-wheeled Performance Cruiser

June 4, 2013

We sail the Blue Jacket 40, a fin-keeled, twin-wheeled performance cruiser from Island Packet Yachts If you were asked to sum up any boat you sailed in just two words, it’s a fair bet that some of them wouldn’t be “family-friendly.” Thankfully, the phrase that stuck in my mind after our test sail of the new Blue Jacket 40 was this: sailor-friendly. Given the boat’s unusual but impeccable design pedigree, it could hardly have been anything else.

Doing it with Elan

May 22, 2013

European builders are showing renewed interest in the American marketplace. Three boats from Croatian builder Salona Yachts made their U.S. debut at February’s Strictly Sail show in Miami, and now Elan Yachts, from neighboring Slovenia, has announced a push into North America.

Artemis Racing AC72 Capsize Review Underway

May 13, 2013

After the tragic capsize of the Artemis Racing AC72 on May 9 that resulted in the death of team member Andrew “Bart” Simpson, the team, America’s Cup organizers and the San Francisco Police Department are working together to review the circumstances surrounding the incident.