When Garry Hoyt began thinking about a new 28-footer, he wanted to avoid the two things he felt were keeping sailors from spending more time on the water. The first was an overly complex sailplan.
Catalina’s 445, introduced in 2009, won multiple awards and attracted much interest from buyers. According to Catalina VP and design maven Gerry Douglas, the only complaint some potential buyers had was that the boat was a bit bigger than what they needed or could afford. Hence the straightforward design brief for Douglas’s new boat, the 355, introduced at the 2010 Annapolis boat show: scale down
The words sleek and fast arent normally associated with the Prout name. Words like sturdy and well-finished more typically come to mind. Nonetheless, the new Prout 50SW is very different from thehow to say this diplomaticallypeculiarly English Prouts of the 1980s and 1990s. The signature mast-aft rig of those earlier boats, with their tiny mainsails and huge jibs, is long gone, as is the
It was one of those days a boat reviewer lives for: a solid 20 knots of wind, occasionally gusting toward 30; a cloudless blue sky; and a sharp performance cruiser with a couple of pro sailors aboard, all dialed up and ready to go. This example of Dufours new 40E had not been in the water long, and I happily seized the chance to put it through its paces during a visit last March to the factory
Two days after the close of the Newport Boat Show, we had a chance to take out a couple of the smaller new boats wed visited there, the Scandinvian Cruiser and Class 2M. Despite their diminutive size, both were standouts at the show, with their striking good looks, unique design and excellent build quality.Quick but forgivingThe first boat
Two days after the close of the Newport Boat Show, we had a chance to take out a couple of the smaller new boats wed visited there, the Scandinvian Cruiser and Class 2M. Despite their diminutive size, both were standouts at the show, with their striking good looks, unique design and excellent build quality.Quick but forgivingThe first boat
Once, in the interests of research, I spent an afternoon bobbing around in a liferaft. Ever since, Ive had an obsession with bilge pumps, because what I learned was this: I dont ever want to spend time in a liferaft again. The discomfort was one thing, and should not be downplayed, but what really got to me was the sense of helplessness. A liferaft is a passive device, at the mercy of wind and
The Farr-designed First 40 is the follow-up to Beneteaus highly successful First 40.7, a boat that won a series of key international races and quickly established itself as a performer. Over the boats 11-year lifespan, Beneteau has sold more than 800 First 40.7s to customers around the globe. Launched in Europe a year ago, about 100 of these new 40-footers have already been sold, and the design
Germanys Bavaria Yachts, not long ago the 800-pound gorilla of European boatbuilding, took a pummeling during the recession. For years its philosophy of strict engineering practices and budget control had seen its value-priced cruising boats flying off the factory floor. By 2007 the factory was cranking out nearly 3,500 boats a year to feed a seemingly insatiable, mainly
According to designer Alan Johnstone, the brief for the new 36ft 6in J/111 one-design was for a boat that he and the rest of the J/Boats crew would want to sail—and it shows. During a recent daysail off Newport, Rhode Island, hull #1 reveled in picture perfect sailing conditions, with winds out of the east in the mid to high teens. Sailing to windward, the boat was balanced and easy to
There are times when you need to ease sheets smartly, but on most self-tailing winches that means removing a winch handle, taking the line from
There are times when you need to ease sheets smartly, but on most self-tailing winches that means removing a winch handle, taking the line from
The Cruising Club of America (CCA) is a collection of 1,400 ocean sailors with extensive offshore seamanship, command experience, and a shared passion for making
Sahula rests at anchor just offshore of a deserted sandy islet and a comfortable swimming distance inshore of a fish-laden coral reef. Not another soul
While vacationing in West Cork, Ireland, in August, one of my goals was to spend some time sailing with Don Street. It says a lot
The sailing sisterhood was out in force on Labor Day weekend in Annapolis for the second Fleet 3 J/105 Women’s Regatta. Host Sailing Club of
Elan Yachts has created the second model in its cruising Impression line with an eye to the ultimate voyaging boat, with comfort, ease of use,
For those of us on smaller boats, it’s always a challenge to figure out how and where to place enough solar panels to power our
It’s about a two-block bike ride from Bill Pinkney’s house in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, to the marina where a 44-foot Norseman catamaran is moored. He
When talking shop among sailors or reading about safety at sea, ventilation is not a topic that comes up much. Evidently it’s secondary to things
