Boats

Hanse 78 Premium

by Sail Staff, Posted March 1, 2012

Who’d have thought, just a few years ago, that production boatbuilders would soon be edging closer to super-yacht territory? Falling just a shade short of 80 feet, this semi-custom yacht opens up a new market for the prolific German builder.

Best Boat 2013 Fountaine-Pajot Sanya 57

by Sail Staff, Posted March 1, 2012

The bigger the catamaran, the better looking it tends to be. Attempts to maximize the living spaces in smaller cats can result in rather dumpy boats, but if a designer/stylist has plenty of LOA to play with, the result can be downright elegant.

Stephens Waring 75: Isobel

by Charles J. Doane, Posted March 14, 2012

It will be interesting to see how long Richard Schotte stays faithful to his latest boat, Isobel, a custom Stephens Waring performance deck-saloon cruiser that was launched at Brooklin Boat Yard in Maine last July. Schotte, it would seem, is the sort of client designers, builders and brokers dream of.

J/108

by Adam Cort, Posted March 13, 2012

It was the perfect test for the new J/108: we were in Key West, and the light southerly breeze was opposing an ebb tide, creating a nasty chop in the shipping channel, so we opted instead to make an end run through the thin water between Sunset Key and Wisteria Island.

Just Launched: A True Babe

by Peter Nielsen, Posted March 13, 2012

Back in 1935, the young Olin Stephens designed a 30-foot sloop called Babe. It was design #97 from his prolific pen, crafted to the rules of the Miami-Nassau race. Stephens drew a hull with a fairly plumb bow and squared-off stern, not at all in keeping with the ‘30s fashion of long overhangs on a short waterline.

BoatUS: LightSquared Still Threatens GPS

by Adam Cort, Posted March 5, 2012

Two weeks after declaring victory in its battle to defend GPS, BoatUS is cautioning sailors and other GPS users that they’re not “out of the woods just yet,” following a Federal Communications Commission decision to extend the public comment period on the issue to March 16.

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 44DS

by Adam Cort, Posted March 2, 2012

I tend to look askance at boats like the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 44DS, under the assumption that dramatic styling and scads of space belowdecks leave little room in the design brief for performance. In the case of the 4DS, though, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The Matrix 450

by Andrew Burton, Posted February 8, 2012

After Matrix Yachts’ president, Peter Wehrley, retired from his job as a structural engineer to operate charter boats in the Caribbean with his wife, Fiona, they soon saw the potential for a large catamaran in the charter trade. Peter’s son, Mark, also captains boats in the charter trade and has now joined the family firm. The Wehrleys’ extensive sailing experience is readily apparent in the Vision 450’s systems, layout and style.

Gunboat Opens Boatyard in North Carolina

by Meredith Laitos, Posted February 1, 2012

Gunboat, manufacturer of high-end racing and cruising catamarans, announced the opening of its new boatyard in Wanchese, North Carolina. The company will employ 71 people at the new 30,000 square foot facility, from which it will be able to haul, launch, sea trial and service boats year round.

Beneteau Sense 43

by Charles J. Doane, Posted January 24, 2012

This 43-foot offering doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as its big sister, the new Sense 50, but it does demonstrate that the Sense design concept can translate successfully into a significantly smaller hull.