Sail - New Boat & Gear Review

I confess, there are times the thought of having to write the editor’s note for SAIL magazine’s annual New Boats & Gear issue fills me with dread. It is, after all, the same old thing all over again, year after year—right? Or is it? In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Granted, the basic subject matter remains the same—the latest in boat design and gear from the sailing industry. However, beyond that any and all redundancy ends. Paging through SAIL’s very first New Sailboat Review issues, which we began producing the better part of a decade ago (building on the momentum established by the SAIL Buyers’ Guide, established in 1970), I see boats that were very different from those we’re reviewing for 2019. Back then, foiling, for example, was still…

FIGARO BENETEAU 3 Just two years after Beneteau debuted its Figaro 3 concept, the world’s first “production foiling one-design monohull” is now available to the general public, not just for viewing, but for purchase. Central to the lightweight boat’s revolutionary performance is a pair of radically curved foils that project from the side of the hull and provide the necessary righting moment for the boat to stand up to a press of sail in a blow. Other features drawn for Beneteau by naval architects VPLP include twin rudders, a sprit from which to fly a large A-sail, a hull with chines, and a bow that looks optimized for blast-reaching and is straight out of the IMOCA 60 playbook. It would be hard to imagine a more exciting new monohull design than…

When it comes to sailing, the first boat a newbie sets foot on can make all the difference in the world—which is why our editors were especially impressed with the new Zest training dinghy from RS Sailing when they selected it as one of their winners in SAIL’s 2018 Best Boat contest. Its sprightly yet predictable performance, user-friendly ergonomics and easily handled rig all combine to make the boat easy, safe and fun to sail. A bright yellow sculpted thwart seat provides inboard seating for small crew not yet comfortable with hiking and doubles as a rowing seat when the optional oarlocks and oars are in use. Intermediate side-seats and comfortable side-decks in the main cockpit also allow both less and more experienced sailors to stay comfortable while driving the boat.…

We’d only been out on Miami’s Biscayne Bay aboard the Corsair 760R a few minutes when Corsair Marine marketing manager Shane Grover and I began bemoaning the fact neither of us had a GPS with which to determine our boatspeed. Moments later, though, we both came to the same conclusion: who the hell cares? At the time we were ripping our way back and forth under jib and full main in about 14 knots of breeze, and the boat was cookin’. Shane was sitting in the cockpit, and I was well outboard on the windward ama, steering with the help of the tiller extension. Spray was shooting up through the tramp, and we were leaving an impressive rooster tail astern as we chewed up the distance between ourselves and the buoys…

Hanse Yachts is currently updating its entire line, and one of the more recent models to debut as part of this effort is its midrange 388, an evolution of the popular 385. Although the new boat bears some obvious similarities to its predecessor, the improvements that have gone into its creation are more than just skin deep, and the result is a fine cruiser. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Although Hanse is based in Germany, its hull layups are done at a dedicated factory just over the border in Poland. Hanse’s extremely efficient production line system has got this process down to a fine art, with hulls typically needing around 10 days in the mold before they are shipped to Germany. Once there, the rest of the work is done: including everything from systems,…

French catamaran builder Lagoon created an unimaginable following when its launched its 380 nearly two decades ago. With over 800 of the boats built to date, it appealed both in size and price to couples with cruising dreams. No model launched since has been successful in pushing the queen off her pedestal. But that may change with Lagoon’s newest introduction, the Lagoon 40. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION The Lagoon 40 replaces the previous 39 and the 400 models. Designed by VPLP, the new cat adopts the styling of her larger siblings, including more angular transoms, longer rectangular hull ports to let light stream in below and a coach-roof that flows into an upward-angled composite hardtop, which gives the boat an aggressive look. The wraparound windows are still vertical, but their elongated look gives…