Sailboat News

Flagship: Lyman Morse 55

February 20, 2013

If you want an honest, unpretentious yet upscale bluewater cruiser with a solid design and build pedigree, this Chuck Paine/Ed Joy creation could be the boat for you. The hull is a resin-infused solid fiberglass laminate, with a cored cabintop and deck. Simplicity, ruggedness and reliability were key criteria in specing the masthead rig and high-quality mechanical systems; a crew of two should easily be able to handle this 45,000lb-displacement yacht.

Fountaine Pajot Hélia 44

February 19, 2013

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.

Just Launched: A Trio of Cats

February 6, 2013

The last year has been kind to cruising-cat aficionados; most established builders have introduced new models, and some yards are showing their wares in the United States for the first time.

The Blue Jacket 40

February 1, 2013

One of the true stars at the recent Strictly Sail boat show in Chicago was the Blue Jacket 40, which made its world debut there.

C&C 101

January 11, 2013

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.

Sail Design: Art or Science?

January 9, 2013

Two different boats, two different sail programs, and yet a surprising number of similarities: among them, the fact that even in this era of gee-whiz computer modeling, the human element still plays a major role in a sail’s ultimate success.

Flagship: Best Boat 2012 Passport Vista 545 CC

January 6, 2013

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.

Just Launched: Petrel

January 4, 2013

It is not very often that Hull #2 of a design beats Hull #1 onto the water by a couple of decades—which is why Jay E. Paris, longtime technical editor of SAIL and designer of the 32-foot cruiser Petrel, laughs ruefully as he looks back at the lengthy build timeline of his boat.

Morris Yachts Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

November 19, 2012

The room went silent when the photo of Tom and Cuyler Morris flashed up on the boatshed wall. The classic wooden building in Northeast Harbor, Maine, was ground zero for a weekend of parties and raft-ups hosted by Morris Yachts to celebrate its 40th year of building boats.

Best Boats 2013 McConaghy 38

November 14, 2012

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.