Back in 1998, when Finnish builder Nautor was acquired by Italian fashion magnate Leonardo Ferragamo, many Swan aficionados worried that the core values of this iconic breed of cruiser-racers would be lost in a blaze of Euro-finery. But the Italians have since done a superb job of injecting their own unique sense of style into the brand while also retaining Nautor’s strong
Britain’s boatbuilding industry is a shadow of what it was back in the 1970s and 80s, but a handful of boutique yards still thrives around its shores. One such is Northshore Yachts, whose Southerly range has survived four decades of the boom-and-bust cycles that saw once-mighty production brands tumble.
Jeanneau’s Sun Odyssey 409 replaces the very successful Sun Odyssey 39i in the French builder’s fleet of performance cruising boats. With its angular styling and solid performance, the 409 won accolades as the 2011 European Yacht of the Year in the Family Cruisers category.
It’s fall, and boat show season is upon us. It kicked off on the East Coast with the Newport International Boat Show, in France with the Grand Pavois de La Rochelle, and in England with the Southampton Boat Show. A jetlagged Peter Nielsen visited all three in one week. Here’s what he saw…
The Hunter e36 feels right from the moment you step aboard and is somehow more than the sum of its parts. In both appearance and functionality, it works well and is a pleasure to sail. Construction The hull and deck on the e36 are standard for Hunter, with balsa coring above the waterline and solid fiberglass below. The layup includes a modified
This past summer, SAIL magazine had the opportunity to test sail and video the better part of the new Bavaria Cruiser line—including the Bavaria 32, 36 40—at the Bavaria Yachts USA headquarters in Annapolis, Maryland. Earlier this year, executive editor Charles J. Doane also took the Bavaria 45 out for a heavy-air trial off
The Aquila 45 integrates IRC (International Racing Class) design features in a comfortably sized inshore/offshore racer-cruiser. Despite its high performance the boat is specifically configured to accommodate short-handed sailing. aquilasailingyachts.com SPECS LOA: 43ft, 8in Beam: 13ft 9in Displacement:
The latest in the new Catalina line that began with the 445 in early 2009, the Catalina 385 includes a moderate beam carried well aft for a spacious cockpit, modest freeboard for reduce windage and a comfortable, practical interior belowdecks. catalinayachts.com
The Herreshoff 20 is a unique new production boat based on an 80-year-old design created by Capt. Nat himself that was never built. In addition to serving as a sharp little daysailer, the Bristol Boat Company, which manufactures the boat, is also promoting it as a one-design racer and sail trainer.
The PT-11 is a semi-custom production boat with performance to spare. The boat also serves well as sprightly cruiser, capable of accommodating a refrigerator, watermaker and even a heating system without becoming overloaded. performancemultihulls.comSPECSLOD: 36ft, 1inLWL: 35ft 1inBeam: 28ft
In little over a week, Mia and I head to Falken, 59° North’s Farr 65, for the last passage of 2023. The boat is docked
Yacht Thruster, celebrating 15+ years, is a compact & powerful bow/stern thruster, installed on thousands of sailboats from 30ft – 75ft. The minimally invasive mounting
A 20- to 30-knot northerly wind and temps hovering around 39°F on the edge of the Baltic Sea in November are not generally considered prime
Clare Thompson did not fall into sailing in the usual way. She was in her early 20s in the mid-1960s, an unwilling patient in a
You never quite know what’s going to happen on a test sail; often, these boats are fresh off the presses, so to speak, still being
As the 70-foot Sunseeker drifted down on us in the dark, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I lurched forward on deck in my bathrobe,
It was early summer, and twilight had stretched itself across the sky with feline languor. The afternoon breeze had dwindled to a zephyr, and we
Small boat sailors interested in performance and even simply sailing well know how important it is to be able to feel shifts and changes in
Top 10 Best Boats Each year SAIL’s expert review team spends boat show season—and sometimes months leading up to it—sea trialing and inspecting the new
