Table of contents for Buyer's Gd & Review 2024 in SAIL

When I first moved to Annapolis many moons ago, there were still production sailboat builders on the water-front, and one of them was in a shop between my office and the place I would sometimes go get coffee or a sandwich. It was impossible to walk past and not slow down and be drawn into what was happening inside. Frequently, the shop doors were open, so I could hear and see and smell (before such things were regulated) these works in progress. I’d been in and around sailboats all my life to that point, but I’d never actually spent time hanging around a boatbuilding shop. And the more I learned about what went into building the boats I’d been playing around on, the more impressed I was. As time has…

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, and blue-water capabilities all part and parcel of the design brief. Double or even single handing is possible thanks to strategically placed winches and an optional furling main. A self-tacking jib comes standard, but it can be upgraded for other options including a genoa and gennaker. An L-shaped keel will enhance navigation with a shallower draft while offering (main the benefit of hooking less sea grass. Twin helms and twin rudders are made in-house and optimized for rigidity, endurance, and control especially when heeling. The cock-pit has ample locker space, including a place for a life raft. Elan hasn’t forgotten comfort on deck either. The…

With the new HH44-SC, HH Catamarans is producing a luxury, high-performance cat for cruising families and couples and answering what HH CEO Paul Hakes says has been sailors’ frustration at “the slow pace” of the marine industry’s adoption of electric-based technologies. This model places two helms in the aft cockpit, with all sailhandling lines led under deck to them. Both have a “swing helm” allowing the wheel to be moved on a single pedestal into multiple steering positions. Behind them, vertical transoms incorporate drop-down, folding doors that effectively add 4 more feet to the boat while at anchor. Helm placement also let HH lower the coachroof, in turn lowering the boom height, which translates into a lower center of effort and the ability to put more power into the sails.…

The new VPLP-designed Outremer 52 is something of a natural hybrid between its enormously popular predecessor, the 51, and the more recent 55, expanding upon design innovations from the latter. It’s also a response to owner feedback, representing four key design priorities—performance, safety, quality of life, and simplicity of navigation. Notably, Outremer designs its boats for customization, using modular layouts to make it easier to accommodate owners’ specific needs. A particular highlight of this approach is the 52’s “My Free Space,” a convertible cabin in the port hull that can be fitted with different layouts including a workshop, an office with bunk beds, a storage space, and a double cabin. Outremer has borrowed structural technology from its sister brand, Gunboat. This has created a lighter boat for better performance, with…

Southern California was serving up a strong dose of its May Grey/June Gloom weather when I arrived in Santa Barbara. With a thick marine layer and cool temperatures, the breeze was light and the seas were flat. I had arrived to test the Oyster 495, a new model from a family of cruisers I’ve held up as ideal true bluewater boats for as long as I can remember. To my surprise, it was hull No. 1, which had cruised the Mediterranean last summer as Carpe Diem. She had been shipped halfway around the world to new owner, Rob, who renamed her Genevieve after his granddaughter. Rob’s aim was to find a boat he could singlehand along coastal jaunts, and he bought her without ever setting foot aboard. Given how easily…

Even before they joined forces with Beneteau back in 2018, Seascape’s Slovenian principals, Andraž Mihelin and Kristian Hajnšek, were brainstorming with their go-to French designer, Sam Manuard, on how to create a truly multipurpose 36-foot performance boat. Their goal was to build a boat that would broaden the base of sailing—a boat for those who want an aggressive but easy-to-manage club racer, for those who want to get into the rapidly growing shorthanded distance racing game, and for those who simply want to go cruising on a vessel that is fast and fun to sail. Once Beneteau was aboard they conducted some detailed market research and learned: 1) their boat should plane easily; 2) it should have a salon for lounging, not dining; 3) it should have a real nav…

Whether offshore on the same course for days at a time or short-tacking through a new inlet, I’m always finding new ways to torture my jib sheets. Most days they live coated in salt spray, baking in the sun, and getting dragged across lifelines, shrouds, and nonskid. I never strayed from conventional cordage options until a couple years ago, and I’ll now never look back. Ocean Line from Lanex Yachting USA, based in Jamestown, Rhode Island, is now my go-to. It is a double-braid polyester line with Cordura infused into the cover. If you are trying to figure out where you have heard of Cordura before, it was probably from that backpack or pair of boots that lasted forever and is still in your closet. It is an exceptionally durable…

Last year, we reviewed the new Hallberg-Rassy 400 and deemed it one of SAIL’s Top 10 Best Boats for 2023. Interestingly, it came to the U.S. ahead of its immediate predecessor, the center-cockpit 40C, which this year is making its U.S. debut though it was launched ahead of the 400. It’s the same handsome, powerful-looking hull as the 400, with twin rudders, plumb bow, and integral bowsprit for setting A-sails, as well as a three-spreader Seldén spar with in-mast furling. The well-sheltered cockpit has the same measure-ments of the H-R 44, with a single helm providing immediate access to all sailhandling and engine controls including throttle, autopilot, and bow and stern thrusters. Electric winches and smart placement of controls on the helm make shorthanded setting, trimming, and reefing a piece…

Beneteau’s new 37-footer is the latest in the seventh generation of the French builder’s Oceanis line, which began in 1986. It updates the popular 38.1, now in its its ninth season, and according to a media release, the brief given naval architect Marc Lombard and Nauta Design, who developed the deck and interior, was better performance and more volume. In terms of the former, easy sailing is the driver, with a self-tacking jib on the standard version, no backstays, and inmast furling an option. The First Line version makes things a little more interesting with a square-top mainsail and a genoa adding 12% more sail area. Sailhandling lines are led aft to two primary winches in front of the dual helm stations controlling twin rudders. Two more winches are at…

Xquisite Catamarans are well known as comfortable, well-built, long-distance cruising cats, with all of the luxury one would expect—the antithesis, in other words, of minimalism. Which is why Xquisite’s new offering, the 30 Sportcat designed by François Perus, causes a double take. With a rotating carbon mast, carbon deck beams, displacement of just 1,872 pounds, North 3Di sails, an interior whose greatest luxury is a mattress, and a construction methodology that lets it be dismantled and fit onto a trailer or inside a 40-foot shipping container, this little rocket is just begging to be sailed fast—and that is precisely its purpose, according to Tamas Hamor, Xquisite’s founder and CEO. “That was the goal—the best training boat for people to learn how to sail, but it’s fast enough for people who…

When you do multiple boat tests in a short period of time, the experiences can blur, so when a design sticks out, it’s safe to say it’s notable. And the robust little sister to last year’s Balance 482—the newly launched 442—stands out for a multitude of reasons, not least because sailing her on a breezy autumn Chesapeake Bay day left me fantasizing about taking one to the horizon and back, lacking for nothing and having a helluva lot of fun. The smallest sibling in the Balance Catamarans family, this 44-footer is the work of designer Anton du Toit, built in Cape Town, South Africa. The design borrows heavily from her bigger sisters (the 482 and the 526) with features like a sleek cabintop and slightly reversed bows. The hulls, deck,…

Just when monohull purists have become accustomed to catamarans, there’s a cosmic shift to three hulls. Trimarans certainly aren’t new, but their popularity is growing, especially with cruiser-friendly versions like the NEEL 43. The newest of the French builder’s family, the 43 combines the familiarity of a monohull with the stability of a cat, and it can outsail both. The NEEL 43 is the work of designer Marc Lombard. The central hull supports the Z-Spars fractional rig balanced by the 5-foot fixed keel. From the side, the NEEL 43 looks like a catamaran with a sleek coachroof and a large aft cockpit. The construction is a mix of approaches including a traditional foam/vinylester sandwich, carbon reinforcements in high-load areas, and a glass/flax cloth mix with a cork core in non-structural…

Here at SAIL we get a dizzying number of emails and media releases about new products and gear, and sometimes we just have to sit back and say, wow. So many innovations, so many clever ideas, so many ways to make our boats easier to care for, our sailing more fun. There’s really no end to the possibilities, and there’s a kind of energy and anticipation in watching what sailors themselves and people in the industry come up with to solve problems or to make something more functional, or environmentally sustainable, or seaworthy—in short, to make our boats and our sailing lives better. In the pages following are a few noteworthy examples. There are times when you need to ease sheets smartly, but on most self-tailing winches that means removing…

If you go over the side offshore, you’re dead. If we get you back, you’re lucky. The edge of the boat is a 2,000-foot cliff—you go over, the consequences are the same, it just takes a little longer.—Andy Schell, 59° North Sailing SAIL, April 2019 Coast Guard statistics are sobering. In the six-year period from 2016 through 2021, a total of 1,771 souls fell overboard in U.S. waters, and 64% of them perished. Any discussion of sailor overboard procedure, equipment, and technology must start with an emphasis on prevention. Good nonskid, plentiful handholds, proper use of tethers, physical fitness, and most importantly, situational awareness, are all essential in keeping crew on the inside of the rail. Unfortunately, sailors still do fall over the side, and it’s important to consider the…

Hot on the heels of its First 36 (a 2023 SAIL Top 10 Best Boats winner), Beneteau launches its First 44, an undeniable eye-catcher. Taking a page from their work with the Figaro design, Beneteau has given the “cruising” version of this boat water ballast to enhance shorthanded sailing performance. The First 44 features four winches, a fixed centerline block for the mainsheet, an aluminum mast that’s set further aft carrying a 570-square-foot mainsail and same for the genoa, and a solid, cast-iron, T-shaped keel drawing 7 feet 1 inch. This version has the option of two 92-gallon water ballast tanks beneath each aft cabin that can be filled and drained via electric pumps operated at the helm with the push of a button, offering shorthanded sailors the ability to…

After selling more than 200 Hanse 460s in just a few years, Hanse is rolling out the big sister to this popular mid-sized model—the 510. Designed by Berret-Racoupeau, the design brief focused on fast, comfortable cruising and easy sailing. Performance is enhanced by the wave-piercing reverse bow and chines fore and aft that maximize volume above the waterline while keeping less wetted surface below. The boat is semi-customizable with numerous options for every area of the boat. The cockpit’s primary function is pleasure, with large seating areas port and starboard with a table at each. Owners have the option of a T-top to shelter the cockpit. A clear path from companionway to the stern bisects the tables. Aft, a large platform folds down to reveal a massive dinghy garage. The…

The new Italia Yachts 12.98 fits neatly between its big sister, the 14.98, and smaller sibling, the 11.98, in size, design, and purpose. While the bigger 14.98 is geared toward the speed-oriented sailor with luxurious long-term cruising in mind, and the 11.98 is focused more on the racing end of things, the 12.98 does a bit of both. Cossutti Yacht Design has drawn a sleek, lean-looking hull with a comparatively narrow entry and more defined fore and aft rake than other models. “The result is a smaller wetted surface area for the benefit of performance in light wind conditions. Aft waterline sections allow a variable dynamic length, short in light wind, longer with increasing speed,” the builder’s website notes. As with the 14.98, this boat has two versions, the more…

I first saw Beneteau’s Excess brand of sailing catamarans in 2019 in Düsseldorf, Germany, with a room full of marine journalists, some of whom, like me, weren’t convinced of the brand’s vision. Most were perplexed, some got snarky. The models were based on modified Lagoon designs, and none of line made sense—not the marketing, positioning, or design. But two years later, Beneteau revamped the brand’s management and messaging and launched the Excess 11, which was new from the keels up. Fast forward another two years and another from-scratch hull in the form of the Excess 14, which made its U.S. debut at the Miami boat show in February, and now it’s safe to say that the brand has evolved and is living up to its initial promise. The design by…

After a full day ashore hiking, exploring, and stopping off at a beach bar, I watch the sun set on the anchorage. I’ve always loved how it looks like a field of stars at night, its own constellations changing as the wind oscillates. Hopping into my dinghy, it’s easy to see that some of these transient stars are glowing more than others. I always head for the brightest one, and right below is Ben-Varrey, welcoming me back home. The credit goes to Weems and Plath for their line of OGM navigation lights—in particular the LX TriColor/Anchor LED Nav Light with Photodiode and Strobe, installed two seasons ago. The rugged compact unit, with a full-body heat sink for extended LED life, toggles between a tricolor light and a white anchor light,…

The ubiquity of smartphones means we all have a powerful tool for protecting the environment right in our pockets—if we stock them with the right apps. Ghost Gear Reporter is one app that sailors would do well to have on hand. It allows folks to log the location of derelict fishing gear discovered along the shoreline, on the water, or on the seabed via a simple, user-friendly form. The app relays that information to local conservation organizations for clean-up, where possible. An estimated 800,000 tons of commercial fishing gear winds up in the ocean annually, and it routinely ensnares sea life. The app lets users specify the location, type, and details of the gear, including simple diagrams and definitions to help users provide the most clear and useful assessment information…