Hunter 40 •

Last year, when Hunter filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was subsequently purchased by Marlow Acquisitions, LLC, it was hard to see what direction the new company would be headed. The big question within the industry was will this be a Hunter of the past or will the new owner, who builds cruising trawlers in China, take the company in a different direction? With that in mind, I arrived to test sail the new Hunter 40 in Annapolis, Maryland, and came away with a positive understanding of what Marlow-Hunter, LLC, has on the horizon.

Having sailed quite a few brand new Hunters over the years—ranging from the 36 to the 50 and most recently the newest Hunter 39—I thought I knew what to expect before meeting up with Steve Pettengill to give the newly minted Hunter 40 a test drive. I was wrong.

Walking up to the boat, I could clearly tell this wasn’t a Hunter of old, as a host of new features caught my eye before stepping aboard: hard chines, razor sharp cabin windows, a hard Targa top, a fold-down swim platform and a beautiful blue hull with contrasting tan decks. This boat looked like a Hunter, but with a whole new attitude. Clearly, the fresh look is not only a celebration of Hunter’s 40th year of boat building, but a sign of the direction the new company is headed.

Steve and I chatted about the design and evolution of the 40 as we motored our way through anchored boats and out of Back Creek. From our conversation, I got a sense that Hunter and their designers, chiefly Glenn Henderson, are making a concerted effort to breathe new life into their products. To achieve that goal, they are taking what they’ve learned in 40 years of boat building and design and incorporating recent industry trends to make a cruising boat that is fun to sail, easy to use and forgiving at sea, without breaking the bank.

SAILING TRIALS
Once we cleared the channel, Steve passed me the helm and I took us up into a stiff northeasterly breeze to roll out the main. The control lines, led from the deck-stepped Selden mast and in-mast furling mainsail, run neatly back to the cockpit, which allowed Steve to make quick work of rolling out the vertically battened Doyle mainsail. When the loose-foot was trimmed tight, I fell off the wind to get the main drawing and shut down the 40 horsepower Yanmar diesel. We then rolled out the 110-percent jib and, as Steve trimmed for a close-hauled course, the 40 gently healed and accelerated.

With the wind at a steady 18 knots and gusting to 25, I wanted to see how this blue beauty handled going to weather and positioned myself to leeward at the starboard helm for a clear view of the tell tales. This was one of the first test sails on the boat, so Steve spent time tweaking leech lines on both sails before settling into one of the stern seats to enjoy the ride.

I rarely expect in-mast furling mainsails to perform well in the wind range we had, so I was surprised as we clipped upwind at an easy 7 knots at 45 degrees off the wind. The boat pushed hard, yet forgivingly, to weather and I could tell the hard-chines gave the 40 a little more stability than her predecessors.

We decided to throw in a couple tacks and as the bow moved through the wind it was easy for the two of us to get the jib trimmed in a timely manner. The cockpit of the 40 is similar to Hunters of recent past, sporting a stainless steel arch with a redundant mainsheet, which gives crew the ability to trim from the helm or at an electric winch to starboard of the companionway. The jib sheets are led aft to well-placed winches near the helms and halyard and control lines are conveniently located within arms reach under the dodger, all making for seamless line handling.

Like all newer Hunters, the 40 has a B&R rig with swept-back spreaders that eliminates the need for a backstay and allows for a high-roach, full battened mainsail if the buyer opts to go with a standard main. In the breeze we had, I felt that any extra mainsail area would have given us just a tad too much weather helm, but a single reef would have kept the rail out of the water.

After tacking upwind, I wanted to fall off onto a reach and Steve obliged by trimming the sails as needed. On a beam reach, we effortlessly hit the boat’s hull speed of 8 knots and I hooted-and-hollered as we got close to 9. When broad reaching, the 40 had a nice feel to it and we settled in before putting the boat through a few jibes. Once again, sail handling was smooth and I enjoyed how the arch configuration kept the mainsheet and boom well above the heads of the crew, especially in the moderate to heavy wind.

Though it may have been the last thing we wanted to do given the breeze, we reached towards Back Creek to test the new Spade anchor hanging on the bow roller. After rolling the sails up just as easily as they came out, we turned into the wind, stopped the boat and dropped the anchor over the bow. As the wind blew us down, we rolled out the anchor and chain, which made a quick and abrupt grab that snapped the bow back up into the wind. We don’t often anchor on test sails and I was happy with both the Spade anchor and Lewmar windlass in releasing and retrieving our ground tackle.

When the hook was firmly set, we tested out the fold down transom, which is a first for Hunter. The platform size is generous and Hunter has creatively designed a ladder that is swimmer friendly and stows away smartly. The platform itself was easy to deploy and retrieve and is a perfect height to swim from or to load and unload from a dinghy.

I was still at the helm as we entered Back Creek and I wanted to see what the boat could do under power. With the 40 horse power Yanmar and saildrive, I powered up and we quickly hit 7 knots of boat speed. After whipping by anchored boats at a good clip, I slowed down to see how well the boat would back-and-fill in a tight space without a bow thruster. Much to the chagrin of the occupants on nearby anchored boats, I spun the 40 around like a ballerina in nearly her own length, then zigged-and-zagged in reverse to get a feel for her handling.

Overall the Hunter 40 was a spirited sailing boat on all points and my pre-conceived notions from other Hunters were proven wrong as the hard chine provided more stability than her D/L ratio of 183 suggests. With an SA/D of 20.38 she is a relatively sporty boat that sails fast and would probably do just as well in light air as in the breeze we had. Under power the 40 operated with ease and I would have felt comfortable backing into a narrow slip or making a hairpin turn in a tight fairway.

LIVING ABOARD
The style shift for Hunter continued below decks as what I thought would be a standard interior from their previous models gave way to a living space that clearly got a joinery upgrade. The first thing that caught my eye when I stepped down the companionway was the hardwood cabin sole. Gone were the shiny laminate floors that had a nice appearance, but turned into an ice skating rink when wet—which I experienced first-hand a few years back during a particularly rough delivery. The new hardwood sole was impressive as I lifted it to poke around the bilge, not only was it more stout and better fitting, but it looked much cleaner as well.

The Hunter 40 comes in two cabin configurations, a standard two-cabin layout with a v-berth and large aft cabin, or a three-cabin version with a v-berth and two aft cabins. The boat I sailed was the two-cabin version and from first inspection it would be hard to choose between them, as they are both roomy with plenty of storage and good access to heads and showers. Aft cabins are typically not blessed with an abundance of headroom above the bunk, but the 40’s aft cabin had a good bit more than I expected. Hanging lockers to port and starboard, plus storage bins on either side of the island queen berth make for enough space to house gear and clothing for a long weekend or a month. Direct access to the head and shower on the port side give the cabin a functional walk-through style and the easy engine access from this cabin will appease any discerning engineer.

From the companionway, an L-shaped galley is set to starboard and the navigation table is to port. Corian countertops give the galley a nice aesthetic touch and separate refrigerator and freezer units offer plenty of room for food and drinks. Above the counter is Hunter’s unique storage cabinet that is fitted with a small fan and LED light that acts as a dryer and dish storage rack. Forward of the galley is a U-shaped dinette to starboard with a table that drops down to make an extra bunk and a settee to port with storage cabinets above. Large windows and hatches make for good lighting and ventilation and handholds on both sides allow you to move forward and aft with ease while underway.

Just like the aft cabin, the forward cabin is another comfortable living space. With a large centerline bunk, hanging lockers and cabinets for storage, a bench seat and direct access to a head and shower, you couldn’t ask for anything more in a guest cabin.

BWS’ THOUGHTS
After sailing this boat, I got a clear sense that while the Hunter 40 is similar to its recent relatives, there is clearly a change going on in the way the company is designing and building boats. With this new model, Hunter has borrowed some popular features from their previous designs—the overhead arch and B&R rig to name two–and added a handful of new features—the cabin sole, hard chines, hard top and fold down transom—to give the boat a fresh and appealing look. I envision the Hunter 40 as an excellent coastal cruising boat for a family or a couple, and like with most Hunters in this size range, the 40 is clean, easy to use and comes in at a price point that will make any potential buyer happy.

Hunter 40
LOA 40’0”
LWL 36’3”
Beam 13’2”
Draft 5’2” (shoal)
Draft 6’8” (deep)
Displ. 19,700 bs
Mast height 61’9”
Sail area 1,006 sq. ft.
Fuel 50 gals.
Water 90 gals.
Holding 40 gals.
Engine 40-hp diesel

Marlow-Hunter Sailboats
Route 441, Post Office Box 1030
Alachua, Florida USA 32616
www.marlow-hunter.com

Beneteau Sense 46 •

As I stepped out of the car, clouds hurried across the sky, giving way to sunshine and what promised to be a picture-perfect day to sail the new Beneteau Sense 46 in Annapolis, MD. With hard chines, a generous beam and large cockpit, it was easy to spot the Sense 46 from the parking lot. Up close, the boat looked as though it could sail well and carry all of my friends, family and co-workers at the same time.

The Sense 46, which rounds out a fleet that includes the 43, 50 and 55, had debuted just days earlier at the United States Sailboat Show. I was happy to climb aboard for the first time, as I had failed at several prior attempts during the show due to a constant crowd.

Glistening as the sun worked to dry off the morning dew, I walked the deck while we motored out and could not help but feel seduced by the boat’s clean and functional layout of running and standing rigging. The mainsheet is out of the way, conveniently located on an arch above the companionway, and halyards and control lines are led aft under the deck to well-placed clutches and winches that make for easy sail handling when shorthanded.

After picking up a few extra crew members, we rolled the sails out and were soon slaloming our way through anchored boats in Annapolis Harbor. The breeze was at a consistent 15 knots and we smoothly reached downwind away from the waterfront. With five of us in the cockpit, there was plenty of room to spread out and we tucked in a few jibes before turning upwind to see what this beamy broad could do close-hauled.

The 46’s beautifully cut radial mainsail and slightly overlapping genoa efficiently devoured every bit of wind coming at us. The boat we sailed had a roller furling main and genoa, though there are several sail plan options including a full-batten main with lazy jacks and a lazy bag, a code zero, an asymmetric spinnaker with sock, and an inner forestay with a self-tacking staysail.

With just a slight heel, we turned 15 knots of true wind into an effortless 6 to 7 knots of boat speed. Taking every wind shift that came off the Naval Academy in stride, the 46 easily tacked between 90 degrees and I was astounded at how quickly this 14.5-foot wide, 26,000-pound boat accelerated each time the jib was trimmed on our new course. This immense stability and responsiveness were part of the strategy laid out by Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design when they sat down to design the Sense fleet. With an LWL of 42’5’’, a wide beam and hard chines, the designers clearly meant for this to be a fast and stable boat. In creating the Sense series they are really trying to attract boat buyers who might be looking towards a catamaran, and in my mind, they’ve come about as close as you can in matching the stability of a multihull.

Not only was I thoroughly impressed by the Sense’s stability and performance, but I marveled at how easy she was to steer. I positioned myself to leeward so I could get a clear view of the telltales, and with just a few fingers on the helm, I steered the boat upwind. I couldn’t help but think I wasn’t doing much as it seemed the Sense was driving itself—I was merely there as a guide. I wondered aloud if the boat had twin rudders and was told it does, which made sense as steering seemed almost too easy.

Though I didn’t want the ride to end, we sailed back for the channel, fired up the 75-horsepower Yanmar and made quick work of putting the sails to bed. In the flat water of Back Creek I gave the 46 some power and we easily jumped up to 7 knots of boat speed. Fitted with Beneteau’s joystick “dock and go” system, sail drive and bow thruster, the boat was incredibly easy to maneuver under power in a tight space. I was charged with the task of backing into a slip that the Sense’s beam made look very narrow, but even with a stiff crosswind she handled easily in reverse and I only needed one slight touch on the bow thruster to keep us in line.

The Sense 46 was a fun and easy boat to sail. I have sailed a lot of newer boats in this size range and the 46 clearly has a uniquely stable design. I was impressed with her upwind and downwind performance and ease of handling under power. I can definitely see this boat doing as well as her fleetmates.

LIVING ABOARD
Space is not at a premium on the Sense 46. Starting with a huge open cockpit, it just gets better as you go forward. Keeping with the desire to lure potential catamaran and powerboat buyers, the designer of the Sense series split the boat into three distinct living spaces—a patio-esqe after deck, a communal living room and galley amidships, and two private sleeping cabins and heads forward.

Because the beam is carried so far aft, the cockpit becomes a spacious area not only for sailing the boat, but for entertaining as well. I can easily imagine this boat parked in a far-flung anchorage with a dozen dinghies attached to the stern and a party of people enjoying a sunset.

Not only is the cockpit a great place for entertaining, but it is also functional. The winches and lines are placed in easy to get to (and trim from) locations, and the helmsman has multiple steering options, including port and starboard two-height adjustable steering seats. The stern access for swimming and getting in and out of a dinghy is one of the best I have seen on boats in this size range. Also, because the boat does not have starboard and port aft cabins, there is abundant storage space on deck, including a locker to store gas, a liferaft storage compartment, and space for a generator (which we had).

Moving forward into the saloon and galley, you take a couple easy steps down and are instantly dazzled by the top-notch interior design done by Nauta Design. The lighting is soft and comfortable, with LEDs used throughout and large windows and hatches that let in an abundance of fresh air and sunlight. The Fruitwood Alpi joinery adds to the light and airy feel and perfectly compliments the cutting edge Euro styling. The interior headroom ranges from 6’1” to 6’7”, and handholds are well placed for moving around the cabin while underway or in a rolling anchorage.

To port is an inline galley with a substantial amount of counter space, top-loading fridge, two-basin sink and plenty of storage. The rest of the saloon is well laid out, with a large, U-shaped settee, functional nav station with a 15-degree tilting seat to compensate for heel, and a center island perfect for leaning against while cooking at sea or holding onto as you pass forward. Plus, it has more storage space and can be fitted with a flatscreen TV that pops up from the inside.

Forward of the saloon are two staterooms and heads. The guest cabin is to port with a queen-size berth and an en suite shower room and sink. Across to starboard are the head and another sink—easily accessible for visitors. The forward cabin is clearly the owner’s suite and features an island berth and an en suite head and shower. Large windows to port and starboard, coupled with a hatch above the bed, give the cabin a nice open feel. Hanging lockers, cubbyholes and cupboards are well placed in each cabin and offer enough space to store clothing for a week or a year.

BWS THOUGHTS
Beneteau clearly has something good on their hands with the Sense 46. The boat exceeded my expectations in terms of sailing ability, and the open aspects of its design—both inside and out—really caught my eye. I envision this boat as an excellent family cruiser, and every owner will want to invite friends out for afternoons and weekends of smooth sailing.

The Sense series is certainly unique, and discerning buyers who take a good look at its features and design will fall in love. And when they do, I hope they invite me along for a sail!Andrew Cross is a USCG licensed captain and US Sailing certified sailing and navigation instructor. After putting thousands of miles under his keel on the East Coast and in the Caribbean, he and his wife Jill now reside in Seattle on their Grand Soleil 39, Yahtzee. Catch more of Andrew’s expertise in each week’s edition of www.cruisingcompass.com.

Beneteau Sense 46
LOA46’4’’
LWL45’4’’
Beam14’6’’
Draft6’9”
Draft (shoal)5’9”
Displ.26,007 lbs
Sail area1072 sq. ft.
Fuel 106 gals.
Water182 gals.
Engine 75 hp

Beneteau USA
1313 West Hwy 76
Marion, SC 29571
843-629-5300
www.beneteauusa.com

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 41DS •

The October afternoon we set off from the docks in Back Creek near Annapolis, we had aboard Jeanneau America president Paul Fenn and national sales manager Jeff Jorgenson plus BWS’s new online editor Andrew Cross. Good sailing hands all around. Andy took the helm as we dropped the mooring lines and expertly backed the 41DS out of the marina and into the channel, then spun it around and put the throttle down as we headed down creek and into the Chesapeake Bay.

Under power, the 41DS handles easily and well. With a sail drive powered by the standard 40hp diesel, the prop is well positioned to keep water pressure on the rudder, thus even at slow speeds the boat turns with assurance. Straight ahead, the boat will motor at 6.5 knots at a conservative 2000 rpms, yet will climb to her theoretical hull speed of 8.04 knots without much bother at 2800 rpms—just short of the maximum we noted given the fixed three bladed prop.

Out in the bay we rolled out the mainsail and then headed off to roll out the jib. As we did this we made use of the electric winch on the cabintop to haul out the main’s clew and then trimmed the main with the cool new reversing sheet winches built by Harken. The mainsail has been set up with a double-ended main sheet that tails to sheet winches at both helms (the 41 has twin wheels). This arrangement allows the helmsman to trim the main from either wheel, and the reversing winch action allows him to do so with the push of a button—in or out.

With battenless mainsail drawing, we next rolled out the 106 jib and sheeted it in. There is a story about the small size of the jib that has a lot to do with the action of the reversing sheet winches. In the not too distant future, you will be able to instruct your autopilot to tack. The instruments will change the helm appropriately and then ease the working, leeward sheet while the windward winch grinds in the new sheet as the boat’s bow passes through the eye of the wind. What you have is a self-tacking sloop with a slightly overlapping jib. This is new technology that Harken and the major electronics companies are working on in order to make sailing simpler and easier.

With the sails drawing, we hardened up onto the wind and trimmed for close-hauled sailing. The main was fairly flat, so we could crank it in to an impressive degree. The jib, with tight sheeting angles to the genoa cars on tracks on top of the cabin house, was a handsome blade sail that trimmed up well and gave the boat a remarkably close sailing angle of 40 degrees true wind. In the 10 to 12 knots of breeze, we were able to eek out nearly 7 knots upwind.

As we fell off the wind we could feel the 41 make use of her highly efficient hull despite the lack of sail area in the headsail. For cruising, sailors would want to add a fairly flat cut reacher on a roller to give the 41 some sporty speed and deeper angles off the wind.

The 41DS showed itself to be a handy cruiser that motors well and maneuvers easily in tight quarters and a fine sailing design that is intended to make performance cruising easier than ever. This boat can certainly be handled by a couple and is also a cinch for those who sail alone.

THE DESIGN
Philippe Briand did the basic hull design work when he drew the lines for the Jeanneau 409. The 41DS uses the same hull, keel and rudder as the 409 but has been given an entirely different deck and interior. The 409 was one of the most successful new designs in Jeanneau’s line in recent years and has earned the reputation of being a quick and capable racer-cruiser.

The distinctive features of the hull are the nearly plumb bow, the forward-raking stern profile with a modest swim platform, and the hard chines in the after sections of the hull, which expand interior volume in the after cabins and add a touch of hull stability when power reaching.

On deck, the cockpit of the 41DS makes you feel like you are on a 45-footer, with twin wheels, a handsome teak table and long bench seats. The stern platform has a telescoping swim ladder, a locker for masks and snorkels, and a hand shower. The cockpit has a teak floor and inlaid teak in the seats. The helming positions from both sides are comfortable, secure and close to all sheets and winches.

The raised deck design creates a very secure cockpit as the coamings rise to meet the curved angle of the cabintop and form one simple arch profile. When you climb out to go forward, a well-placed teak step gets you to deck level. Going forward, the sidestays run to chainplates at the cabinside so they are not in your way. The foredeck is large enough to carry an eight-foot RIB upside down when on passage.

All in all, the cockpit and deck layouts are the result of extensive design experience that puts safety and sailing qualities on level footing with style and comfort.

The 41DS’s non-dimensional design numbers are right in the middle of production cruisers, with a displacement-to-length ratio of 166, a sail area-to-displacement ratio of 17.2 and length-to-beam ratio of 2.77.

LIVING ABOARD
The 41DS comes in only one version, with a master cabin aft featuring a huge double berth, a large en suite head and a separate shower. We tested the headroom of the berth since it is tucked under the cockpit sole, and yes—a six-foot human can sit up without banging his or her head.

The forward guest cabin is only slightly less elegant and commodious, with a double V-berth and a second large head and shower.

The saloon has an L-shaped galley to starboard at the foot of the companionway stairs; the galley has twin stainless steel sinks with a unique sink cover that folds back to offer a useful place to store cups and so forth in bouncy weather. The fridge is huge and the propane stove more than adequate for two couples living and eating aboard.

The dinette will seat six around the table with four on the fixed seats and two on a portable bench. Across from the dinette is a bench settee with the chart table at its after end.

The boat is illuminated during the day via a host of opening hatches and windows and at night by arrays of flush-mounted LEDs and LED lamps at the berths and chart tables. The interior spaces feel huge and bright and will make anyone comfortable, whether sailing offshore or moored to a marina.

The fit and finish of the new generation of Jeanneaus continues to impress with attention to detail and the depth of the seamanship that informs decisions about where to put things and how to build them—enough to make any owner proud.

BWS THOUGHTS
BWS was the first magazine in North America to test the new 41DS and the first to publish a review based on a test. And we feel honored to be the first to say that the new Jeanneau takes sound production building efficiencies and methods and uses them to create a new boat that can fulfill the sailing desires of almost any cruising couple.

The 41DS is easy and fun to sail and fast to boot. The cockpit is as comfortable as any you will find in this size range, and the sailing systems are innovative. Down below, the somewhat traditional interior (by modern Euro standards) will appeal to the American market, as will the overall quality of the craftsmanship that goes into the boat.

Like the 409 in the racer-cruiser slot of the market, the new 41DS promises to offer her owners a ton of great cruising at a price that is a very good value both today and in the future, when you may want to move up to a larger boat.

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 41DS
LOA40’6”
LWL36’0”
Beam13’0”
Draft6’9”
Draft (shoal)5’0”
Displ.17,330 lbs.
Sail area720 sq. ft.
Water50 gals.
Holding40 gals.
Fuel40 gals.
Engine400hp
SA/D17.2
DL166
LWL/Beam
2.77

Jeanneau America, Inc.
105 Eastern Ave. Suite 202
Annapolis, MD 21403
410-280-9400
www.jeanneau.com

Morris M52 • A graceful Sparkman & Stephens design, the new M52 is a sailing craft of which dreams are made.

In an age when so many cruising boats are evolving toward hulls with large interior volumes, long waterlines and short rigs suitable for the Intracoastal Waterway, the new Morris M52 looks like a throwback to another simpler, more gilded age. With her long, sweeping sheer-line, graceful overhangs fore and aft, and low, squared-off cabin with a classic butterfly hatch, the 52 evokes the beautiful classics from the days of Herreshoff, Alden, Rhodes and Burgess. Even among all of the amazing sailing yachts that were in Newport, RI last summer when we sailed the new 52, the boat stands out as a true thoroughbred.

We joined the 52 at the Newport Shipyard and were happy, in this instance, to remove shoes before climbing aboard—not something I generally like to do. But the immaculate teak decks, the shining stainless stanchions, hardware and winches, and the varnished teak toe rail and trim together announced that this was a proper yacht that we did not want to scuff.

We fired up the engine and were pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was in the cockpit; the splash of the exhaust was louder than the engine itself. We dropped lines and motored carefully from the crowded marina into Narragansett Bay. The 52 has a high aspect spade rudder and a bulbed cruising fin keel. Under power it steers effortlessly and when we had to back the boat into her slip at the end of the day, it steered in reverse without griping or sideways prop walk.

The 52 is rigged with an 80-foot tall carbon spar, an in-boom roller furling mainsail and a self-tacking fractional jib. All of the running rigging leads belowdecks via conduits and aft to the control stations, i.e. huge electric winches and line clutches on either side of the helm. This keeps the decks free of clutter and enables one person at the helm to manage all aspects of sail trim with the push of a button or two.

In-boom furling mainsails can be tricky to furl and unfurl without getting overrides on the boom’s mandrel since the boom itself has to be set up when furling at an 89.5 degree angle to the mast. The 52, however, was equipped with the new Holmatro boom vang, which has a preset adjustment that positions the boom exactly with the press of a button. The main unfurled and hoisted and later rolled up without any snags or overrides. This detail says a lot about how the 52 has been set up for simple but precise sail handling.

The 52 was equipped with beautiful sails and the rig itself was tall by modern standards, so we had a lot of mainsail to control. We rolled out the jib on its Harken electric furler and trimmed for close-hauled sailing out of the mouth of the bay. The first sensation when she puts her shoulder down and accelerates is the sense of raw power in the rig; then you notice how close you are sailing to the wind. Being long and narrow and with tight sheeting angles, the 52 claws to windward like a 12 meter, and once in the groove she stays balanced and straight as an arrow. In light airs, she is a rocketship to windward.

We tacked out to sea for a while and then flopped over and broad-reached our way homeward, jibing from reaching angle to reaching angle as we went. With the small self-tacking jib, you can’t run dead downwind efficiently, so tacking downwind is the way to go. Off the wind, the 52 slipped along gracefully and had a remarkably good turn of speed.

Like her little M-Yacht sisters, the 52 is a fun and fast boat to sail. With all lines led aft to the helm, it is easy for one person to manage trim, and with the rig set up for multiple sail adjustments it is easy to perfect sail shape to the breezes and angles you find when coastal sailing.

MORRIS STYLE
Below decks, the 52 offers a simple, elegant interior finished in the finest Maine-built fashion. With only 14 feet of beam to work with, the saloon feels narrow by modern standards, but has everything you need for comfortable living aboard and fine entertaining.

The master stateroom forward has a queen-size berth built on the centerline, a full height hanging locker, and plenty of storage space for clothes, shoes and linens. The master head compartment is well laid out with a separate shower stall.

The saloon has a U-shaped dinette to port and a bench settee to starboard with the chart table at its after end. The galley is compact but has ample counter space for preparing meals and washing up, and easy access to the fridge and storage compartments.

The 52 comes standard with a guest cabin aft and to port, with a day head just forward of it. The version we sailed had this good-size cabin plus a single pilot berth built into starboard aft of the galley so there was room aboard to sleep five comfortably.

With raised panels on the bulkheads and doors and the antique white and varnished cherry joinery, the 52 has a classic look that has endured aboard American yachts for generations and will no doubt endure for generations to come. Not opulent, but certainly very elegant, the 52 has the feel of a family heirloom.

BWS THOUGHTS
We have sailed and reviewed a lot of boats over the years and always enjoy the opportunity to sail a new Morris. Like his father Tom, Cuyler Morris understands that there will always be a market for craft that are built with passion to a very high standard. Throughout the boat, every detail has been thought through and then crafted by hand to be highly functional and amazingly attractive. Whether you are staring at your own reflection in the deep varnish of the saloon table or trimming the mainsail to the nth degree with well-positioned winches, clutches and buttons, you know that sailing an M52 is a very special and unique experience.

Morris M-52
LOA 52’11”
LWL 38’02”
Beam 14’00”
Draft, standard 6’8”
Draft, shoal 5’8”
Displacement 34,064 lbs
Ballast 11,391 lbs
Ballast, shoal 11,947 lbs
Sail area 1,414 sq ft
Air draft 80’
Water 100 gals
Fuel 80 gals
Holding 40 gals

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 509 •

The trade winds were huffing and puffing the afternoon we got out on Miami’s Biscayne Bay to test sail the new Jeanneau 509, which made for fun and sometimes exciting sailing. The big Philippe Briand design was certainly up to every bit of it.

I had come aboard on the fly from another much smaller cruiser and was immediately taken with the stability and poise of the 509. As I took the helm, the crew aboard tightened the sheets so we could head up to close-hauled. With a flat cut in-mast furling mainsail and a 125 percent genoa, the 509 was not overpowered even as the breeze gusted to 18 knots or so. And because of her generous beam she sailed very flat and transformed wind energy almost directly into boat speed until we were sailing along happily at 8.5 knots upwind.

We threw the 509 through a few tacks to see how she behaved and can report that she carried her moderate displacement through the tacks well and maintained boat speed as we trimmed and then accelerated up to 8+ knots again in a few boat lengths. Philippe Briand certainly knows how to design slippery boats.

Cracking off to a broad reach we felt the 509’s real power. We were at 9 knots more often than not, which is getting close to hull speed in about 13 knots of apparent wind.

For the fun of it, we sailed the 509 back up the narrow channel to Miamarina and, having got our signals crossed, parked her for a moment on a sand bank. With the mainsail aback and the engine in full reverse we got her off again without fuss and discovered that the boat handles very well under power and in close quarters.

The 509 is a fine sailing boat that has a good turn of speed. She is easy to handle, and with roller furling sails can be got underway in a heartbeat and put to bed just as quickly.

COMFORT ABOARD
In the 1990s, Jeanneau came up with a design concept for their boats that has evolved ever since, but is still very much true to the philosophy that the boats, particularly the larger models, should be comfortable to live aboard, have excellent sailing characteristics and be convenient for the crew.

It starts with an open transom and swim platform aft, which makes a good boarding platform from the dinghy as well as a swim platform and an outdoor shower. In the current models such as the 509, the old sugar scoop design has given way to a square stern profile with a central panel that folds down to make a huge aft platform.

The helm is divided into two wheels, so the helmsman always has a good view forward and there is a clear passageway to the aft platform. This idea really developed when the boats grew a lot of beam aft, and in the 509—with a chine in the aft sections—the cockpit is wider than ever. This makes for more room in the cabins below and adds to the volume and comfort of the cockpit, where the crew will spend most of its time in summer weather. The cockpit table, with the chartplotter mounted neatly in its aft end, will seat eight for dinner and the whole cockpit area will be comfortable for 12 or more for sundowners.

Down below, the new 509 has four optional interiors—three with an in-line galley on the starboard side and one with an aft galley. And, you can have it with four double cabins or three double cabins. You can also add or subtract heads as your cruising style and family requires. The owner’s version has a large double cabin forward with an en suite head and shower stall. The two guest cabins are aft in the stern quarters, yet they are very spacious and comfortable because of the extra hull volume in the aft sections. The saloon has a U-shaped dinette with two freestanding chairs to complete the seating. Across from it is a bench settee that can convert into a shorter bench with a table at one end. The chart table is just aft of the dinette and faces aft.

Jeanneau has always finished its interiors with fine marine-grade woods, whether teak or other types. The new boats use a synthetic wood called Alpi that has a uniform color and grain and will not delaminate. The interior of the boat we sailed was a very warm honey-colored veneer offset by white overhead panels and attractive off-white overheads and hull liners. The net effect is of a boat with very good ventilation and tons of natural light in all of the living spaces.

Over the years, Jeanneau has built many boats with variations of this layout that have proven to be excellent cruising homes for couples and families. And, in our experience, the larger Jeanneaus are excellent sea boats with long legs for quick passage-making and reliable systems and rigging setups for safety and performance. Whether coastal cruising with nightly anchorages and easy daysails or passage-making, the overall design and execution of the new 509 will get you home better rested than when you left. And that makes for happy and safe cruising.

BWS THOUGHTS
As part of the enormous Groupe Beneteau, and now as a market leader in North America, Jeanneau has the ability to build boats that maximize the group’s economies of scale while keeping pricing at reasonable levels. This combination has made it hard for others to compete. In the end, sailors will benefit from this evolution.

It is now possible to buy a 50-foot cruising boat such as the 509 at a relatively fair price and know that you are getting a high quality, durable and safe boat that combines the latest in modern construction technology with the design brilliance of Philippe Briand and the in-house Jeanneau engineering team. Rest assured that with the 509, you can sail anywhere you want in comfort and style.

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 509
LOA 50’5”
LWL 45’8”
Beam 15’8”
Draft (std.) 7’5”
Draft (shoal) 5’8”
Displ. 30,644 lbs.
Water 163 gals
Fuel 63 gals
Sail area 1,227 q. ft.
www.jeanneau.com

Pacific Seacraft 61: Catari • People who build boats—particularly those who create custom boats for special clients—are in the business of making dreams come true. It’s not always easy, but put together a collaborative client who knows what he wants, a famous designer who has the skill and imagination to bring the vision to life, and a builder with the skills and integrity to turn the drawings and specs into reality, and you have something very special.

That’s just what has been happening over the past two years, as yacht designer Bob Perry has worked with a special client in Annapolis, MD. The client was already working with Steve Brodie, owner and president of Pacific Seacraft Yachts in Washington, NC, and their mutual goal was to come up with a suitable cruising boat for a family to roam the planet’s oceans. The result, as shown here, is a truly handsome 61-foot ketch that is long and lean and appears to be itching for blue water. Catari has a traditional flair with a springy sheer, ketch rig, counter stern and raked transom. On deck, the design has been given two cockpits—one for handling the ship and one for relaxing and light sheet handling. The aft cockpit has a rigid dodger that will protect the crew in sour weather.

Under the water, Catari has a fairly high-aspect spade rudder and modern cruising fin keel with the ballast positioned quite low to enhance stability. Although it is hard to see from the drawings, the hull appears to have a sweet shape that will reduce—if not eliminate—pounding when sailing to windward.

Below decks, the custom cabin layout is very much the client’s choice. In the instance of Catari, there are two entrances below decks—one into the aft cabin from the aft cockpit and one into the saloon from the center cockpit. The master cabin aft is spacious with a big double berth, a sea berth, and a huge head and shower.

Perry is a good cook and has drawn many excellent galleys for his discerning customers over the years. His client for Catari is also a foodie, so the galley looks like a masterpiece. In fact, Mario Batali will probably want to start sailing if he happens to catch a glimpse of Catari’s kitchen.

Pacific Seacraft is building the hull mold this summer and will start work on Catari in the fall. The idea is to make the 61’s hull and deck the key elements of future semi-custom yachts for owners who want to create an interior and sailing rig that fits their own sailing dreams.

Making magic. Fulfilling dreams. Not a bad way to spend a day—or two years. For more on Bob Perry, visit www.perryboat.com. For the scoop on Pacific Seacraft, visit www.pacificseacraft.com.

DESIGNER’S COMMENTS: ROBERT H. PERRY
This design project started life as a 49-foot “simple” cruising boat for an Annapolis couple. But there was no hurry, so the client and I took our time and indulged ourselves by exploring a myriad of approaches. In time, our simple 49-footer became a fairly complex 61-foot ketch with design solutions to satisfy all of the client’s potential cruising needs. It’s been a long process, but one I have enjoyed every step of the way. The client is happy and I am happy.

But I can’t take all the credit. Over time, the client and I assembled a team to work on the project. There is, of course, Pacific Seacraft owner Steve Brodie, and Steve’s foreman, Thumper Brooks. A buddy of mine, world-class sailor Tim O’Connell, came on board to help with the deck layout and sailing systems. All of the conceptual 3D rendering work was done by my pal Rick Beddoe. Engineering is being done by Ivan Erdevicki, a long-time associate of mine who works in Montenegro. Final 3D renderings are being done by Jody Culbert, who has the daunting job of translating my 2D scratches into extremely accurate and very beautiful 3D models in preparation for CNC tooling.

The most unique feature of this big, fast ketch is the dual cockpit configuration. We tossed around ideas about where the cockpit should be, but couldn’t decide whether to have an aft or center cockpit. Each has distinct advantages, so we went with both. The handling of the boat will be from the aft cockpit, while the center cockpit will be for lounging and al fresco dining. Some halyards and controls are led to the center cockpit to minimize the pile of lines aft. PSC has done extensive, beautiful, full-size mock ups of both cockpits to verify that the details and contours all work.

The interior revolves around the big galley, as my client is a great cook. The workshop adjacent to the engine room has been designed to double as a nursery should a small child be aboard. I have given a lot of attention to every available cubic inch of interior volume in keeping with the client’s demanding requirements.

Because we have a traditionally raked transom and counter stern, a swim step aft was out of the question. Instead, I have gone with a transom door that hinges down to provide a boarding platform.

The ketch rig was the owner’s preference. Why? Because he likes ketches. The ketch rig offers unique advantages for a large cruising boat and suits the classic hull proportions of this design. I have configured the rig so that the mizzen will be a true driving sail and not just an ornament or a place to mount the radar.

I like to think I am my own worst critic. It often takes me a while to warm up to my newest design. But at this stage, I know Catari very well and I really like it.

BAVARIA VISION 46  • Last summer, we spent a day in Annapolis, MD with the Bavaria USA team getting a first look at the brand new Bavaria Vision 46. Included in the party was Daniel Kohl from Germany, who is the chief of new sailboat development for Bavaria. Among other achievements, Daniel sailed Star boats for the German team in the Olympics. He definitely knows the pointy end from the square end.

As we expected, the Chesapeake was a millpond all morning, so we spent a few hours pulling the boat apart and delving into the process of how the new Farr design came about.

THE VISION
Two years ago, Bavaria was acquired from Bain Capital by a new investment group, which brought in a new set of managers to run things. With this sweep at the top, the company was poised to build on existing strengths and then move in new directions that they see as the future of yacht building. The Farr-designed Cruiser series that was introduced to North America last year was a theme created by the prior management team and tweaked and improved by the new team.

The Vision 46 is the first of the Bavarias to come from the new management team and from Daniel, who spent six months traveling to seven countries to meet with dealers and interview Bavaria owners, prospective buyers and cruisers. With reams of hard and soft data in hand, Daniel and his team sat down with the designers at Farr to come up with a hull and layout that satisfied the needs of the market.

The result was the Vision 46, which was created to make the most of elegant on-the-water living, provide true comfort at sea and at the mooring, and act as a modern push-button sailboat that will be easy for a singlehander or a couple to handle in all conditions. That was the vision.

PUSH-BUTTON SAILING
With the sea breeze still hours away, we took the opportunity to put the 46 through its paces under power. The boat is equipped with Bavaria’s Dock Control system, which allows joystick maneuvering in very tight quarters. The system employs retractable bow and stern thrusters and the main engine to maneuver the boat forward, backward, sideways and at any angle fore and aft.

The 46 was moored in a tight berth next to the Chart House with a boat ahead of us and only about 25 feet of channel to navigate out to the open water. We dropped the mooring lines and Daniel manipulated the joystick so the 46 crabbed directly sideways. Once clear of the boat ahead of us, he pushed the joystick forward and the boat motored ahead; all he needed was a couple of small tweaks to keep the boat straight and the topsides clear of the boats on both sides.

Once in the clear, Daniel handed over the joystick and, with about a minute of instruction, left me in control. Even if you didn’t grow up playing video games or toying with model cars or airplanes, the joystick is easy to use. I was able to get the boat to spin neatly in circles, crab sideways, and move at any angle I chose. In 10 minutes I had it nailed enough to be confident I could back the 46 down the narrow channel and into her slip in reverse.

I lined up the channel and then backed slowly, moving the bow and stern back and forth to keep us in mid-channel. I stopped the boat abreast of her slip and then held the joystick over and we crabbed sideways up against the dock. Nothing to it.

Another push-button option that Bavaria will make available is the new Trim Control system. Using Lewmar captive winches on the main and jib sheets and the auto-tack function on the autopilot, Trim Control allows you to trim, ease, tack and jibe by pushing buttons at the helm. The boat we sailed in Annapolis did not have the Trim Control option.

While Trim Control and Dock Control add a level of complexity that may be daunting to some, the technology is not particularly exotic and both systems can really enhance the whole sailing experience. The only physical hazard will be thumb calluses from button pushing.

LUXURY
In the many interviews that Daniel and his team conducted, the overwhelming majority of skippers and couples emphasized how heavily comfort and style weigh on their decision about which boat to buy.

Starting with the cockpit, the 46 has a fold-down transom that makes a good swim platform and dinghy landing. The aft back seat between the helms folds up to allow you to step down to the platform. With twin wheels, access aft is easy and the helmsman has great visibility from both sides.

The companionway has been offset slightly to starboard, which makes room for an L-shaped dinette to port and a bench seat to starboard. The outside dinette has a table that can be lowered and incorporated into the seats to make a large sunning bed where two adults can stretch out comfortably.

The low arch of the cabintop gives the 46 a contemporary look without making the boat look bulbous in any way. The angle of the cabintop as it runs into the cockpit provides a nice high back to the bench seats on both sides. These two nooks in the cockpit, well protected by the cabintop and a dodger, will be where you hang out while on watch or just reading at anchor. The design of the backrest all around the cockpit is ergonomically perfect for old backs like mine.

Down three steps in the saloon, you have the galley to port with the sinks on the boat’s centerline so they will drain on both tacks and the huge fridge and stove outboard. The aft cabin is accessed through the galley. There, you will find two large single berths with ample space between them for climbing in and out. This is a great guest cabin or will work well for two children.

The main head and shower stall are to starboard and the space is large enough to double as a wet locker while underway. Aft of the head, there is another cabin that can either be a huge starboard cockpit locker with adjustable partitions, or a third sleeping cabin with a single bunk.

The dinette is L-shaped and, like the cockpit arrangement, has a table that can be lowered to form a large double berth. To port is a bench settee that has a table in the middle section that can raised and lowered to suit your needs.

The master stateroom forward has a centerline double berth with storage under it and plenty of hanging space. The cabin can either have a small enclosed head or the space can be used to build a desk that can be used as an office or as a vanity.

The finish of the interior joinery is of a very high quality and the construction of drawers, doors, cabinets and bulkheads has a traditional quality about it that belies the ultra-modern look.

There are seven deck hatches, a large forward window and large side windows, so the boat’s interior is flooded with a huge amount of light and there is excellent ventilation. The boat we sailed had Oceanair screens and blinds on the hatches, and Venetian-style blinds on the forward and cabin-side windows.

The large square ports in the hull in each of the cabins gives a great view of the harbor outside when you are lying on your bunk or seated in the saloon.

The living spaces of the 46 have been laid out for the way we live—outdoors during the day and perhaps for the evening meal, and then down below for the evening and night. The boat will entertain a small crowd (say 20 people), can accommodate up to eight for meals, and happily sleeps four with room for two more in a pinch.

WIND AT LAST
We set off in mid-afternoon in search of the sea breeze. Off the U.S. Naval Academy we rolled out the big mainsail with its vertical battens and then the 110 percent genoa. The Elvstrom sails on the boat were as nice a set of roller sails as I have seen. No doubt an Olympic sailor is particular about the sails he specs for the boat.

All of the halyards, the mainsail control lines and the vang run through a deck-top conduit to a winch on the cabintop, and the two jib sheets run aft to the primary sheet winches on the coaming. The mainsheet does not have a traveler; instead, the sheet is double-ended and led through blocks on the cabintop, then along the boom to the mast, then aft on both sides to after winches next to both wheels. This arrangement allows you to use the mainsheet and the vang to shape the mainsail, whether by hauling it to windward in the light stuff or to leeward to depower the sail. Very simple.

The jib sheets inside the lower shrouds, so the sheeting angles are tight. This translates into excellent close-winded sailing. We tacked the 46 inside 80 degrees.

The wind stayed light until it was just about time to come in, but did in fact start to puff above 10 knots for a while. In the stronger breezes, the 46 showed what she is made of Upwind, she put her shoulder down and steadily accelerated. We suspect the new instruments had not been calibrated so the 21 knots on the speedo was probably a bit high. In fact, in 10 knots of wind and cracked off slightly, the 46 sailed easily at 6+ knots; off the wind she held 6 and probably hit 7 in the puffs.

The boat sails easily, is handy, and the sailing rig has been very well thought out. The new Vision 46 will make a handsome and comfortable family cruiser that can take you anywhere you might choose to go in luxury and style.

Bavaria Vision 46
LOA45’10”
LWL42’2”
Beam13’8”
Draft5’6”
Displ.27,116 lbs.
Sail Area1,109 sq. ft.
Air draft63’6”
Water153 gals.
Fuel55 gals.

Bavaria Yachts USA
Annapolis, MD
410-990-0269
www.bavariayachts.com
info@bavariayachts.com

Beneteau Sense 55 •

On the Saturday afternoon of the Strictly Sail Miami show, Beneteau USA’s president Wayne Burdick and a few others played hooky from the show and slipped away for a sail on the brand new Sense 55. “Slipped” is probably not the right word, as we intentionally caused quite a stir—a stir that you can only make with the patented Dock & Go system that Beneteau now offers as an option on their larger boats.

Here’s what happened: we dropped the stern lines, and using the fully rotating sail drive unit aft and the bow thruster forward—both of which are linked to a joystick at the helm—Wayne maneuvered us forward so we could remove the bow lines from the slip’s piling. Then, he steered us into a fairly wide spot between the docks at the boat show and the opposing slips and proceeded to spin the beamy 55-footer in fast pirouettes that basically had her twisting herself in circles. To say we attracted a crowd on the docks would be understatement. People all over the show stopped in their tracks and watched with mouths agape. It was quite a display.

SEA TRIALS
Point made, Wayne switched to standard motoring mode and drove the 55 from the marina down the channel toward Government Cut. We were headed for the open sea. It was a lovely tropical afternoon with the sun slowly setting. The easterly trade wind was light but steady and building as we got closer to open water.

We rolled out the mainsail and then the 105 percent jib so we could tack our way seaward in the narrow channel. The 55 handled well as we threw her through tack after tack. The boat has twin wheels and twin rudders, so even when heeled slightly the rudders bite the water firmly. Plus, you can always steer from whichever side of the cockpit gives you the best view of the sails and surrounding channel. The 55 tacked inside 90 degrees and the small headsail was a snap to trim.

In the building breeze, the 55 tended to translate wind pressure into forward motion more than into heeling angle. The boat has 16 feet, four inches of beam, which gives the hull a lot of initial stability. With a very broad transom, that stability is enhanced, while the hull has been given extra volume aft to accommodate the large cockpit and storage lockers.

The 55, like her little Sense sisters, likes to be sailed very upright. The hulls have chines in the after sections and you don’t want to heel the boat beyond the chines. The chines do not add a lot of stability as they do in Volvo or Open Class ocean racers, but they do add a little and enhance volume. The Sense 55 is quite like a catamaran or trimaran that always sails upright—hence the “mono-maran” moniker.

We close-reached out into the open waters of the Florida Straits at a very pleasant 7 knots and then cracked off a bit more so we could watch the speedo climb past 8. With the twin rudders, the 55 steered like she was on rails and held her line very nicely—easy on both the helmsman and the autopilot.

The sun was just setting as we turned for home. Easing sheets even more, we ran up the channel toward the bright lights of Miami with the genoa and main pulling us along at a good clip. Under sail, the Sense 55 has an easy motion, a good turn of speed in all wind angles, and is set up well for a couple to manage all sheets and control lines. Under power, the boat is fast and maneuverable. And with the Dock & Go feature engaged, moving in and out of slips and negotiating tight docking situations is a snap.

LIVING ABOARD
The new 55 is the third boat in the Sense line and also the largest and most elegant. The Sense concept is based upon the company’s desire to create boats that truly embrace indoor-outdoor living in much the same manner as cruising cats. Plus, Beneteau wanted to separate the private sleeping cabins from the public living spaces—again, in the same way catamarans do.

The result is a layout that has three distinct tiers designed for three specific purposes. Starting with the feature you notice first—the stern—the cockpit is exceptionally large due to the expansive beam and the added space provided by the fold-down transom. With long bench seats, two helmsman’s seats and a huge drop-leaf table, the cockpit can accommodate 10 to 12 adults for sundowners and eight for a meal. The cockpit is the “patio” for outdoor living in warm climates. The boat we sailed in Miami had a dodger and bimini top installed to provide shade and a third insert could be zipped into place for full coverage.

A very interesting feature aboard the boat we sailed was a cockpit arch incorporated into the bimini that was used to mount three large solar panels and two high output Air Breeze wind generators. In addition, the arch had davits built in so the dinghy could be raised out of the water. This green energy system can deliver in excess of 150 amp hours daily without the need to run a carbon-emitting genset or engine.

Another option in the cockpit is to upgrade the large port sail lockers into a small sleeping cabin. The cabin has an opening port into the cockpit for ventilation, and in good weather you can sleep in the cabin with the lid of the cockpit seat raised.

The companionway has only three steps, so you are not descending into the boat but simply migrating down and forward into the interior “living room.” This is where the family or crew will assemble in cooler climes or at night for dinner around the large dinette table to port. People always gather in the kitchen at mealtime, so the layout is perfect, with the long galley to starboard, the couch-dinette to port and the opening windows facing aft into the cockpit for the overflow crowd.

In the middle of the living room there is a pedestal that serves several functions. It is a good place to brace your behind when cooking on the starboard tack—not that you want the boat to heel very much. It has a fold-down seat that adds three dining positions to the dinette. And, it houses the retracting flat screen TV.

The chart table faces aft next to the companionway. Because most sailors use their chartplotter or laptop for navigation, the table has been kept small and unobtrusive.

In the new 55, Beneteau has pulled out all the design and quality stops. The floors are a handsome parquet configuration. The countertops are Corian and the cabinet and locker doors are highly lacquered with a crisp and shiny white finish. Throughout the saloon, windows and hatches admit bright light and plenty of ventilation.

Going forward, you enter the private area of the 55, where there are three large sleeping cabins, each with an en suite head and shower. The master cabin forward has a centerline double that you can climb into from the sides, which makes nocturnal errands less disturbing to one’s partner; this design also makes the bunk easier to make than a standard V-berth. On the after bulkhead, a neat desk—which could be a computer platform or a vanity for powdering noses— has been included. The forward head and shower are separate compartments, so they can be used at the same time.

The two guest cabins are across the hallway from each other and have good double berths, hanging lockers and plenty of storage. The heads do not have separate shower stalls. The Pullman-style berths are angled in such a way that they will be fairly easy to make up and will allow partners to come and go without having to perform acrobatics.

The finish of the Sense 55 is very much up to custom yacht style and detail, as is true of the Oceanis models in the 55+ range. In this new Sense you have a boat that is as thoroughly innovative as any in the marketplace and designed not just for modern chic, but for the way we like to live on our boats. For a family of four or three couples, the Sense has ample room—everyone can have their own private cabins and heads, yet all can gather in the galley-saloon at mealtime or lounge in the cockpit when the weather is warm and fine.

Underway, the 55 delivers the sailing performance that makes cruising modern designs so much fun. You will be sailing at 8 knots most of the time and will see speeds over 10 regularly, particularly if you upgrade to a folding or feathering propeller. This speed enables you to cover lots of ground in short amounts of time and adds to the excitement and fun of passagemaking.

Under power and around the docks, the 55 really shines. She can achieve very high average speeds on windless days and deliver easy and trouble-free docking if the optional Dock & Go system has been installed. Those looking for a large family cruiser that offers all of the performance and comfort you could need, plus the elegance of a large luxury yacht, will find that the new Sense 55 fits the bill very nicely.

Beneteau Sense 55
LOA 55’0”
LWL 52’3”
Beam 16’4”
Draft 7’9”
Displ. 40,000 lbs.
Ballast 10,800 lbs.
Sail Area 1,600 sq. ft.
Fuel 219. gals
Water 256 gals.
Mast height 78’5”

Beneteau USA
www.beneteauusa.com
843-629-5300

Seaward 46RK by Hake • Smooth sailing on Biscayne Bay in Hake’s newest model.

Tacking was easy, with the helmsman just turning the wheel until she was on the new tack while watching the self-tacking jib come over on its own. We tacked through 90 degrees sailing at 5 knots in the light wind. We hardened up to close-hauled with the apparent wind at 13 knots and 30 degrees off the bow with only five to 10 degrees of heel. The retractable keel was set at halfway down, as were the twin rudders, yet the 46RK tracked with almost no leeway.

Off the wind we unfurled the colorful gennaker and broad reached in only 6 knots of apparent, making 4.3 knots with no heel. The retractable keel offers a quick way to reduce wetted surface area, allowing the 46RK to maintain good speed off the wind in light air.

Nike Hake, designer of the Seaward 46RK, noted that there are skegs in front of the props to protect them when beaching and these, combined with the twin rudders, allow her to both track and maneuver well. The 46RK has rack-and-pinion steering, which is bulletproof but usually stiff, yet on the 46RK it was smooth and the helm had a very balanced feel.

In Miamarina, the 46RK showed off catamaran-like maneuverability, turning around in the tight fairway using only her twin Yanmar 54hp engines and not even touching the bow thruster. The twins allow very smooth operation in their best power/efficiency range. At 1200 RPM we made 5.4 knots with the engines so quiet we barely knew they were on. Powering up to 2400 RPM, the 46RK easily did 8.1 knots with the engines still at a comfortable sound level.

Biscayne Bay was calm, so our only experience with waves involved taking the wakes of Miami power boaters. In the wakes, the 46RK handled like a much heavier boat, taking them with little pitching and smooth roll damping. Yet, when sailing and tacking, the 46RK handled responsively like a smaller and lighter boat.

RETRACTABLE KEEL AND TWIN DAGGER RUDDERS
In yacht design, there are many tradeoffs, one of which is often swapping the windward performance and stability found with a high aspect ratio fin for the shallow draft desired for cruising in waters like South Florida and the Bahamas. Seaward Yachts has addressed this challenge with the retractable keel (RK) design pioneered in their successful 26RK and 32RK models. The 46RK cleverly hides the sleeve/housing for the keel as part of the main saloon forward bulkhead and inner bulkhead for the forward head. The keel is raised and lowered using an electric winch, with the equipment located well above the waterline to resist corrosion.

With the solid lead ballast in a trailing bulb at the bottom of the keel, the 46RK remains stable with the keel up or down. The keel housing is built with laminate integral with the hull and deck, and is two inches thick at the foot. Thus, there is no chance of water intruding into the cabin and the keel is supported along its entire vertical length as opposed to only at the bolts like a traditional keel. Seaward uses ultra-high-molecular-weight (UHMW) material inside the keel housing to provide low friction, high resistance to abrasion and very high impact resistance. The construction keeps the keel housing intact in worst case scenarios like grounding at high speed. The use of UHMW also makes for smooth yet tight operation and the keel can go from full up to full down in about 45 seconds.

A shallow draft keel is of little use if the rudders are fixed, and the 46RK addresses this with twin dagger rudders. The rudders are buoyant, so they are easy to lift. Lowering is also easy and can be done in seconds—just kick a lever free, push down until the desired stop is reached, and swing the lever back into the locking position.

ACCOMMODATIONS
Below decks, the 46RK is bright and airy with full pilothouse windows, liberal use of port lights, and—rarely seen these days—deck prisms! The interior layout is as unique as the keel system, with a mezzanine-like raised area just inside the companionway. This area has the twin engines set underneath and a captain’s chair on top offering 360-degree panoramic views through the pilothouse windows. With a flat screen display mounted in front of the chair, the autopilot remote, and all of the electrical panels and meters alongside, Captain Kirk would be right at home taking command.

From the raised pilothouse, the saloon steps down both to port and starboard. To port, tucked just outboard of the companionway, is an aft-facing nav station. Moving aft is the port stateroom, which can be converted from a double to a single, or to storage space.

Forward from the nav station is the main saloon with the galley along the port side and the dining area to starboard, followed by the forward stateroom.

The forward stateroom is the master and has a spacious feel with an island queen berth, large hanging locker and clever vanity tucked on the port side. The master stateroom has an en suite head with separate shower stall and vacu-flush toilet and one of those beautiful deck prisms that brings sparkling sunlight into dark places.

To starboard of the raised pilothouse area, the cabin steps down into the aft double stateroom, which also has an en suite head. The galley has many interesting features, including handsome cane covered cabinets that allow air circulation while offering a warm look, a large top-loading deep freezer to go along with the large refrigerator, and a double sink.

Seaward even includes an espresso machine and icemaker with the 46RK galley setup! There are far too many clever, well thought out features on the 46RK to list them all. A few of our favorites are a sump in the fuel tank plumbed with a drain to allow removing any water that might have gotten in the tank, “foot stools” that fold up at the port and starboard aft cockpit seats, line stowage compartments at each winch built into the deck mold, and windlass control at the helm station.

DETAILS
The Seaward 46RK has a plumb bow and a moderate beam and displacement. The hull is constructed with solid fiberglass below the waterline and composite-cored topsides and deck. The deck is vacuum-bonded to the headliner, so it is strong and light. The 46RK’s uniqueness extends into the deck layout, which has been configured to make it easy for a couple to handle.

Sight lines are good from the helm station, and all sail controls are led to the cockpit, with a power winch for the main halyard and electric furling for the jib. Stainless handrails are everywhere, and along with wide side decks, they make moving to the foredeck more of a comfortable walk than a chance to practice one’s ballet skills.

The 46RK has been designed with distance cruising in mind and has good stowage, including a large forepeak locker with volume for bulky items. The 46RK rig sports double spreaders with moderate aft sweep, twin backstays, discontinuous standing rigging, and—on the vessel we sailed—Sta-lok fittings connecting the stays to the turnbuckles. The chainplates are bolted to the inside of the hull. The traveler is mounted on a stainless traveler arch that frees up cockpit space and yet still makes it easy to access.

Yet another unique feature is that the mast is stepped on a tabernacle, which will be integrated with a system that will allow owners to lower and raise the mast without the use of a crane. Seaward Yachts is advancing state of the art sailboat design.

They are pursuing creative solutions to age-old compromises, while maintaining a high level of quality and attention to detail.

We were impressed with the sailing characteristics, build quality, and fit and finish of the RK46. This is a vessel we would happily sail across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas and on to points over the horizon.

Jeff grew up sailing in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas. He has been actively sailing for more than 45 years. Jean has been sailing since she was 12, first on the Chesapeake Bay and then in the Caribbean on vessels ranging from Sunfish to 80’ schooners. Jeff and Jean have extensively cruised the Caribbean and Florida on their current boat, a Skye 51. Both are 100GT Masters and ASA Certified Sailing Instructors.

Visit www.twocansail.com for information on their seminar series.

Seaward 46
LOA 48’
LOD 45’4”
LWL 44’10”
Beam 13’3”
Draft (board up) 2’5”
Draft (board down) 7’6”
Disp. 23,000 lbs.
Ballast 7,500 lbs.
Sail Area 1006 sq. ft.
Mast height (above water) 62’
Engines (as tested): Twin Yanmars 54Hp each
Fuel 180 gals.
Water 180 gals.

Hake Yachts
772-287-3200
rparks@hakeyachts.com
www.seawardyachts.com

Moody DS 45 Magic •

We sailed the Moody DS 45 in Newport, RI on one of those clear, warm fall days that make me realize how lucky I am to go sailing as part of my job. I was out with my old friend Alan Baines, who is the dealer for Moody in the Northeast and an accomplished sailor in his own right.

The Moody was lying to a mooring off the Jamestown Boat Yard, so we hitched a ride from a boatyard hand—the launch service had ended for the season—and climbed aboard just as the breeze began to build. There was still a little warmth in the sunlight, and across Narragansett Bay several classic 12 meters under charter were tacking easily seaward.

From your first look at the Moody DS 45, you know you are not dealing with a Moody from the old days. Hanse Yachts purchased the Moody brand some years ago and immediately set out in a completely new direction. And the new deck saloon design is certainly something different.

We opened up the boat, got the engine going and dropped the mooring so we could motor away from the mooring field before rolling out the main. The 45 has in-mast furling on the main and roller furling on the 100 percent self-tacking jib. I have to say that pilothouse designs make me think of motorsailers, which in turn dampens any expectation that the boat will sail nimbly or quickly. But the 45 is different. Designed by Bill Dixon, the boat is a sailboat first and a deck saloon cruiser second.

We rolled out the mainsail and jib, then fell off onto a close reach to get the boat going. And go she did. The long waterline, big mainsail and jib got to work, and soon we were sailing upwind at 5, then 6 knots in 10 knots of true breeze. And because the headsail sheets at a very close angle, the 45 was able to sail very close to the wind, higher in fact than the 12 meters with the big overlapping genoas ahead of us on the bay.

The cockpit layout makes it a little tricky to see forward while sailing. If you are steering from the leeward side, you can look down the decks to keep the jib’s telltales in sight and you can see through the saloon windows as you look forward. From the windward side you have to stand up to see forward clearly.

Alan had to take a phone call, so I put the 45 through a series of tacks—with a turn of the wheel—and then eased sheets to reach off.

The boat slipped through the water very sweetly and maintained good momentum through the tacks. Off the wind, the long waterline provided a good turn of speed. I have to say, I was surprised by the 45’s sailing characteristics, ease of handling and speed, not to mention the proper sailing feel of the helm. This is indeed a sailboat first.

ON DECK
The brief that Hanse handed Dixon when the project began must have simply said, “And now for something completely different,” because that is exactly what they got. Once upon a time there was a deck saloon charter boat called the Jeanneau Atoll that was sort of like the Moody…but not really. And back in 2001, Dixon created a custom 44-foot deck saloon design called Silver Phantom that may have had a tad of influence on the 45.

But the new design goes much farther in its innovations. The more recent Nor’east 400 and Bruckmann 50 by Mark Ellis are examples of traditional visions of the pilothouse motorsailer, but the DS 45 is a more modern iteration. The hull has high slab sides, a plumb bow, and a square stern with the hint of a chine in the quarters. The stern folds down to make a swim platform and an in-hull dinghy dock for a small inflatable. The cockpit and saloon are on one level, so when you have the large sliding doors to the saloon open, the two spaces merge into one indoor-outdoor living room.

Over the cockpit, there is a hard bimini top with a retracting center panel that opens to the sky so you can have as much sun or rain protection as you desire. There are twin wheels and large comfortable seats behind each. The sailing instruments are mounted in pods on the after end of the bimini top.

Going forward, the decks are surrounded by quite high bulwarks that keep water off the deck and provide a real sense of security for those going forward—almost like on a large powerboat. Instead of lifelines, there are solid stainless steel rails on top of the bulwarks from bow to stern. The anchor locker and anchoring system are truly innovative. The foredeck and bow are clear and uncluttered with the anchoring system, until you open the anchor locker’s lid.

Beneath it, you will find the anchor upside down on its roller, the windlass and chain locker. With a flick of the wrist, you can deploy the whole anchor roller and anchor so it is securely in position over the bow and ready to drop. Then, with the push of a button, the anchor and chain run out with the anchor well away from the gelcoat on the bow.

The 45’s decks are clean and well laid out, with all halyards and control lines led aft to the cockpit winches via conduits in the cabintop and cockpit seat backs. The mainsheet runs from a fixed point on the cabin top—no traveler, thank you—up the boom to the mast and then aft. The leach of the sail is controlled with the vang, which can also be adjusted from the cockpit. The whole feel of the 45 on deck is of space well used, of comfort carefully planned for, and of sailing made fun, convenient and effortless.

YACHT STYLE LIVING
I don’t use the word “yacht” very often in reviews. It evokes, in my mind, large and expensive vessels with crew and too much of everything that a couple or family doesn’t need, or even want. But yacht style is a definite quality that you find in certain traditional brands such as Hinckley and Morris, or in high-end luxury custom boats from the likes of Lyman Morse, Oyster and others. You know it when you see it. And you definitely see it in the Moody DS 45.

The cockpit offers it first, with the inlaid teak of the helm seats, the fine teak decking, and the handsome cockpit table between bench seats that are softened with proper cushions, backs and bolsters. The sliding saloon doors are of the bulletproof variety for seagoing integrity, but they look stylish and modern with bright stainless steel trim and hardware.

The boat I sailed had a varnished mahogany and white interior that is the old Herreshoff signature that became classic American yacht style. A lighter-colored maple finish is also available. The deck saloon on the 45 is not large, but manages to offer a dinette to starboard that will seat six, a full galley with all of the normal appliances, and a forward-facing pilot and nav station where you can sit and run the boat. I like sitting in this seat, autopilot in hand, as the rain pelts down on the cabintop.

As in large yachts, the sleeping and head compartments are completely separate from the open living spaces and down three steps going forward. The master stateroom with a centerline double berth, vanity or desk, and storage lockers lies all the way forward. There is a large deck hatch over the bunk for ventilation and light.

The master head, with a separate shower, is just aft and to port. The guest or day head is across from the master head and accessible from the corridor. In the standard layout, two guest cabins lie aft on both sides of the corridor. The starboard cabin has twin singles with a nice leg space between them and ample storage. The port cabin has a double berth that you mount from the forward end; this can be awkward for large or older people, so it may make sense to offer twins in this cabin as well. The port cabin can be redesigned as an office with a large desk for those who want to mix business and cruising.

The concept of creating truly separate living and private spaces in a boat of this size mirrors what can be achieved in cruising catamarans, plus in the 45 you get the same 360° view. It is, in a way, a “monomaran” that seems like a hybrid of the two types of boats. And it is a concept that others are gradually imitating. The Moody DS 45 is an altogether innovative cruising boat for a couple or a family.

Being able to sail or motor from the warmth and comfort of the deck saloon is a huge benefit. Also, indoor-outdoor living on one level in the saloon and the large cockpit is just what most cruising folks are looking for. Having the private spaces be truly private will appeal to most of the family members and guests you bring aboard, while the huge master suite will feel like the best home away from home you can imagine in a 45-footer.

This is a boat that has a whole lot going for it, all wrapped up in a very stylish package that will set it apart as a design for real cruising folk.

Moody DS 45

LOA 45’00”
LWL 42’42”
Beam 14’12”
Draft 6’34”
Displacement 30,864
Ballast 9,479 lbs.
Engine 106 hp.
Fresh water 200 gals.
Fuel tank 150 gals.
Mast height 78’
Sail area 1,300 sq; ft.
Design Dixon Yacht Design

www.moodyboats.com

Hylas Yachts makes a luxurious world cruiser for a couple or family •

So when Dick and Kyle Jachney, owners of Hylas Yachts, decided to add a new boat to their line in the mid-50-foot range, they had the interesting challenge of taking what was best in the 54 and melding it with the latest thinking in cruising boat design and construction. The result is the new Hylas 56, which bears a strong family resemblance to the 54 but is also a confident step forward.

I got to sail the new 56 last fall after the Annapolis sailboat show. The weather had turned decidedly fall-like, with an easterly wind blowing sheets of rain descending on the Chesapeake Bay. It was a good big boat day when we could really see how the new boat sails and handles the square waves that were building.

As we motored out Back Creek, we put the 56 through its paces in forward, reverse and turning. The boat is driven by a 150 hp Yanmar diesel, which is a good size for a hull that displaces 50,200 pounds. Going from a dead stop to full speed took just under a minute, and the boat stopped when thrown into reverse in under three boat lengths. With the large rudder mounted on a half skeg, the boat circled on itself in about a boat length and half. All of this indicated that the 56 is handy under power, and—with the bow thruster engaged—simple to moor and unmoor, even in the gusty breeze we had that day.

Out in the bay we rolled out about two-thirds of the mainsail and set the roller furling staysail instead of the genoa. This reduced sail plan was perfect for the wind conditions, and the 56 was quickly close-reaching at 8.5 knots. As we trimmed and brought her close to the wind, the angle of the waves sent lots of spray onto the foredeck, but we did not get wet in the cockpit behind the dodger, and deck wash drained quickly aft. She settled down at about 48 degrees true off the wind and maintained 8 knots while heeling at about 15 degrees. Sighting aft, we appeared to be making very little leeway despite the waves and the strong breeze. And, the ride was remarkably stable and comfortable.

By the time we had thrown the 56 through a series of tacks, we were out in the middle of the bay and had a good angle for reaching back toward Back Creek. We rolled up the staysail and rolled out the genoa; with the added horsepower and the broad reach sailing angle, we started to fly. The speedo jumped to 10 knots, and occasionally we’d see 11 in the stronger puffs. The helm felt positive but light and the boat tracked well even though we had square waves rolling under the broad transom.

Off Back Creek, we rolled up the genoa and then turned into the wind to roll up the mainsail. With electric winches and furling systems, handling the big sails in the strong breeze was no problem at all. The 56 proved to be a very able boat under sail and power. She is stable, solid and inspires confidence while still turning out good speeds at all angles of sail. The design has a limit of positive stability of 125 degrees. For passagemaking, the new design will provide fast and comfortable passages anywhere in the world and will look after you when it gets bouncy out there.

DETAILS, DETAILS
The Jachneys have been building cruising boats for a long time, listening to their customers every step of the way. It is interesting to note that they seem to have tapped into the young CEO market of sailors who are looking for a luxury cruising boat with offshore capabilities at a competitive price. These guys do their homework, and when they compare a Hylas 56 to other boats in that size range, they have a hard time beating the combination of traditional styling, solid construction, seakeeping qualities and value.

Value is an interesting word that can connote low price or a lot for the money. In the case of the Hylas family of boats, which are built in Taiwan, the value lies in getting a lot for what you pay. And you will find it in the 56’s details.

The Frers-designed hulls are engineered for strength and durability instead of lightness. They are laminated of hand-laid glass fiber with alternating layers of Twaron, a carbon aramid fiber, in vinylester resin. The gel coat is an isophthalic resin for ultimate blister resistance. Below the water, two barrier coats of epoxy resin are applied as insurance against blisters.

The hull has two watertight bulkheads. The aft bulkhead seals off the rudderpost, so even with the rudder and post missing, the boat will still float. Forward, a collision bulkhead ensures that even a direct hit on a submerged container won’t violate the main hull.

Instead of using a balanced spade rudder, all of the Hylases designed by Frers have skegs that are integral with the hull laminate. This prevents flotsam damage underway and prevents rudder damage during a grounding. If you are venturing far afield, this extra level of rudder strength and protection is a real boon. The lead keel is a modified cruising fin with a small bulb that helps lower the center of gravity. For those who can’t work with the standard seven feet, four inches of draft, a keel-centerboard that draws only six feet, four inches with the board up has been designed.

The rig has been set up for long haul sailing with a minimum number of crew. Both the mainsail and the genoa have primary and backup halyards. Instead of using the single lowers made popular by masts with aft swept spreads, the 56 has fore and aft lowers that add extra support to the middle of the mast—particularly important when battling headwinds under a reefed main and staysail. The mast has discontinuous Hasselfors standing rigging with mechanical Sta-Lok end fittings, thus ruling out the dangers of going to sea with a cracked swage fitting.

The anchor locker is divided for two complete anchor rodes and there are two permanent anchor rollers at the stem head. The 56 is meant to be cruised far from the marina, so it needs to be securely and easily anchored by a couple.

A lot of thought has gone into the 56’s basic engineering and systems. The 150 hp Yanmar diesel is fitted with an easily used manual crankcase oil pump, so changing the engine oil every 100 hours is not a chore. That means you will actually do it, adding thousands of hours of life to your engine. Plus, the fuel system has two Racor filters that can be linked together or set up so one bypasses the other during maintenance. Finally, the engine compartment is fitted with a complete set of sensors and alarms, so any malfunction will be made known almost instantly.

You can tell a displacement cruising boat by its tanks. Not going anywhere? Small tanks. Exploring the world? Big tanks. The 56 has tanks for 280 gallons of fuel and 275 gallons of water—enough for four people, who conserve fresh water, for a month. And, it will power at low revs at about 6 knots for close to 1,000 miles.

One final detail: The 56 comes standard with four AGM 8Ds, which provide 840 amp hours of house battery storage and separate starting and bow thruster batteries. Such an ample reserve will mean you can run all of your systems with confidence.

LIVING ABOARD
The 56 was conceived as a passagemaking cruising boat for a family of adventurers. The saloon is open with ample headroom and will easily accommodate a party of 12 for cocktails and a family of eight for dinner at the dinette to port. The settee to starboard is a great place to lounge and will make a good sea berth.

The galley has been placed in the long passageway from the saloon to the master stateroom aft. The stove, fridges and several storage cupboards are mounted below the counter outboard, while the sinks are mounted above the engine compartment on the centerline, where they will drain on both tacks.

The master suite aft has a raised centerline double berth that will be easy to make up and comfortable to climb in and out of from both sides. There is ample storage space and hanging lockers for a couple living aboard in a variety of climes, and with opening ports on both sides and a large hatch overhead, ventilation will be great in the tropics. The master head is huge, with lots of lockers and a true separate shower stall.

Forward of the saloon, there is a snug upper and lower cabin to port that will work well for crew or children. Across from it lies the forward head, which also has a separate shower stall. The large guest cabin forward is virtually a second master cabin since it has a double centerline berth, a large hanging locker, and plenty of drawer and cabinet space.

One of the design touches we like aboard the 56 is the command center just aft and down a step from the dinette to port in the saloon. Here, you have a wraparound desk or chart table where you can install a full computer, run your laptops, operate the SSB, talk on the Iridium and navigate with your side-by-side multifunction displays. Or, if you are not headed to sea, you can run your company virtually from this executive suite of a nav station.

The new 56, like the recent Hylas models, is fitted out with teak panels, solid wood doors, teak or bamboo floors, and off-white overhead panels. The large wraparound windows in the saloon provide plenty of light without too much heat.

Furniture is built with traditional care. You will find louvered doors, solid door panels, fitted solid wood corner posts, and nicely handcrafted laminate pieces in the heads. Underfoot, you can have a traditional teak and holly sole or opt for more modern-looking bamboo floor panels. It is worth noting that all floor pieces have positive latches, so they won’t move or get loose when things get bumpy at sea.

A thoroughly warm and inviting interior is much prized by families living aboard for any length of time. The cabins offer great private spaces, while the saloon and large center cockpit provide plenty of room for socializing.

The new Hylas 56 is a lovely evolution from the 54. And, like the earlier design, this 56-footer has the legs to take you anywhere you might want to sail.

Hylas 56 specs
LOA 56’4”
LWL 50’5”
Beam 15’10”
Draft (deep) 7’4”
Draft (shoal keel/cb) 6’4”/10’
Displacement 50,200 lbs.
Ballast 20,200 lbs.
Sail Area 1821 sq. ft.
Water 275 gals.
Fuel 280 gals.
Mast height 73’0”

Hylas Yachts
Marblehead, MA
800-875-5114
www.hylasyachtsusa.com

BENETEAU OCEANIS 45

Last summer I signed on to crew aboard the brand new Beneteau Oceanis 45 on the delivery leg between the Newport, RI boat show and the Norwalk, CT boat show. It’s a run of about 140 miles across Block Island Sound and down Long Island Sound, which we planned to do in a straight shot through the night. That sounded like fun and would be a great way to get to really test the new Berret-Racoupeau designed cruising sloop.

But Irene got in the way. She was a wicked fall hurricane that slammed into mid-Atlantic and New England coastlines and left in her wake a mass of waterborne debris. Everything from trees to refrigerators could be found floating in the waters along the coast, so we made the decision to make the delivery a two-day affair.

We set off from Newport in the early afternoon with the 54 horsepower Yanmar and three-bladed fixed prop shunting us along at 6.5 knots as we maintained a constant 2200 rpms—the “break in” revs for the new engine. There were five of us aboard, including me, the delivery skipper and his mate, and two prospective buyers who had flown in to Newport just to make this trip. Needless to say, we were overstaffed. But that was fine, as we all fit into the huge cockpit or around the saloon dinette table with room to spare.

The Oceanis 45 is the little sister to the new Oceanis 50 that debuted last year. The themes that made that boat so popular have been refined in the new 45-footer. The mainsheet runs to an arch at the forward end of the cockpit, so the cockpit is not obstructed by the sheet and tackle as you tack or jibe.

The 45 has an attractive cockpit table trimmed in teak, with a pod at its aft end for the chartplotter. Five of us ate comfortably around the table and we could have fit three more in a pinch.

The 45 has a nearly full-beam folding transom that works as an aft bench when it is up and as a huge water-sports platform when lowered. It is large enough for swimming and sunning, using SCUBA gear or rigging a sailing dinghy. The ladder is demountable and is designed like a swimming pool ladder so it is really easy to climb.

All of the working sheets and control lines lead aft to the cockpit and most run through conduits on the cabintop to winches on both sides of the companionway. As we motored out of Narragansett Bay, we rolled out the in-mast roller-furling mainsail and trimmed for motorsailing. The afternoon sea breeze had stalled, so we were forced to motor for a couple of hours as we rounded Point Judith and steamed along the coast to Fisher’s Island Sound. With the sail full, our speed bumped up nicely to 7 knots.

Finally, as the sun was getting low, the breeze kicked in and we were able to put the boat through her paces and sail the last 10 miles to our destination in Mystic, CT. Fisher’s Island Sound is a large, protected body of water with reefs and sand bars, so we tacked carefully to windward along the island shore. The 45 handled well under full main and genoa. The beamy hull, with the extra beam at the chine aft, stood up very nicely to the puffs and was happiest sailing very flat.

One of the benefits of the roller furling sails on both the main and the genoa is the ability for you to dial in just as much sail power as you need. With the new vertical batten, roller mainsails, or with a in-boom furling main, you can roll in just as much sail as you want to keep the helm balanced and the boat trimmed for optimum speed. If you are used to sailing narrow older designs that like to sail upwind at 15 degrees of heel or more, then the almost flat sailing angles of modern designs like the Oceanis 45 will be a pleasant adjustment.

Storage on deck is often an issue in boats with two aft cabins and a full width forward cabin. In the 45, lockers have been included under the cockpit sole aft, under the cockpit seats and in a huge locker forward of the forward cabin. This “garage” is deep and large enough for all of your fenders, docking lines, a couple of spinnakers, and possibly a couple of folding bikes.

The chain locker has the windlass built in under the lifting hatch cover so it is out of the way when sailing. The locker is large enough for 250 feet of chain and there is also room for a second rope-chain rode and a second anchor.

We sailed the 45 upwind for a while and found that she tacked easily inside 90 degrees and was capable of 7+ knots in 12 knots of breeze. Off the wind, as we headed toward Mystic, she slid along nicely at 7 to 8 knots and was easy to steer even through some strong puffs.

Like the Oceanis 50, the 45 feels like a big boat underfoot and has plenty of space on deck for a big sailing party. But, the boat sails well and is simple and easy to handle for a couple or even a singlehander.

ACCOMMODATIONS
The Oceanis 45 has two cabin variations. The boat we sailed had a large master cabin forward with its own head and two quarter cabins aft. You can also opt to have only one quarter cabin, which converts the port cabin into a huge sail and storage locker. The two-cabin layout will work well for owners who will be living aboard for long periods and may want to add a genset, extra tankage, and all of the sundry gear and equipment cruisers always collect along the way. The aft cabins are large by any standard. The berths are wide and long enough for standard-issue Americans and there is plenty of headroom. Quarter cabins can be dark and cavernous, but the 45’s designers solved this problem by adding large windows—with shades—facing aft into the cockpit and ample ventilation via the deck hatch and opening port.

The forward cabin has a queen-size double berth on the centerline so you can make the bed easily from the sides and climb in and out without trampling your bedmate. The storage and hanging lockers offer plenty of space for a couple’s clothing and stuff, and the large drawer under the berth will be a great home for linens, blankets and offseason clothing.

Both of the heads on the 45 have separate shower stalls that are partitioned with bi-fold acrylic doors. The forward head is slightly smaller than the aft head, but is still plenty large enough for all of its intended purposes. The after head will double as the wet locker for foul weather gear while underway since it is at the foot of the companionway ladder.

The saloon has the L-shaped galley to port, a bench settee to port and the eight-person dinette to starboard. At the foot of the companionway, the galley is well lit, well ventilated and has plenty of storage space for living aboard. There is a top-loading fridge-freezer and a side-loading fridge, so you will never run out of cool beverages and can carry a lot of perishables for the long haul. The double sinks are outboard, so they may not drain when hard on the starboard tack; but if they don’t drain, the skipper has probably got the main strapped in too tightly, which makes the boat heel more than it should!

It is interesting that chart tables have gradually disappeared from modern cruising boats over the last decade. Now that most of us navigate with chartplotters in the cockpit, that means that we also have our paper charts, tide tables and cruising guides in the cockpit in fine weather. This makes sense. On the 45, the port settee is the nominal chart table and has been configured with a creative system of three folding seats that each convert into a table. So, you can have three side-by-side seats or you can flip up a table to create a chart table, or a serving table next to the galley, or a card table between two forward and aft seats. Radios, sat phones, instrument repeaters and other nav instruments can be mounted in the cabinet above the seats.

The fit and finish of the new Beneteau has been styled by Nauta Design with a very modern, somewhat angular look. The veneer on the boat we sailed was a teak-like wood called Alpi that has a uniform grain and very consistent color. The interior is warm and nods to tradition but is still very 2011.

Four of us slept on the boat that night—one in each of the separate cabins, and I on the bench in the dinette. This worked well and if anyone snored, no one complained, or possibly no one heard it.

BWS THOUGHTS
The new production boats coming in from Europe, where the companies are coming out with new models every year, are evolving quickly. The extremely wide transoms—and now the chines we see in the Oceanis 45 and other production boats—look massive next to a more traditional boat. The high topsides and low cabintops add to the visual mass of the boats, so they again look huge in comparison to traditional designs. Yet, form follows function. The new designs sail flatter and faster and are easier to sail than traditional boats, and the accommodations below are simply vaster and more comfortable.

Modern production techniques and economies of scale allow companies like Beneteau to buy materials, gear, spars and engineering at very competitive prices, which allows them to pass along savings to their owners. In our view, the value proposition of the new Oceanis 45 and other boats in this category has never been better. In the Oceanis 45, you really do get a lot of boat and a lot of ocean sailing capability for a very reasonable price.

Beneteau Oceanis 45
LOA45’5”
LWL42’10”
Beam14’9”
Draft7’1”
Draft (shoal)5’9”
Displacement21,048 lbs.
Ballast6,191 lbs.
Ballast (opt)6,693 lbs.
Sail area1,130 sq, ft.
Fuel53 gals.
Water151 gals.
Engine54-hp. Yanmar
Design: Berret- Racoupeau
Styling: Nauta Design

Beneteau USA
Marion, SC
Phone: (843) 629-5300
Fax: (843) 629-5309
www.beneteauusa.com

Bruckmann 50 MKII

The breeze was light and there was a little chop, but the boats were able to fill their sails and gathered speed to about 4 knots in the 8 knots of wind. The boats were sailed by their owners—Dan Betty from Andover, MA, Keith and Diana Anderson from Montgomery, TX, and John Cryer and Edna Ramos from Houston, TX—so they were somewhat shorthanded for close maneuvers. Still, one by one, the 50s formed up on Dan Betty’s 50 and we were able to more or less get them sailing in formation through all angles of sail. You wouldn’t normally think of displacement motorsailers as nimble, but the 50s were fully capable of sailing close and turning smartly when called upon to do so.

As we wrapped up the photo shoot, the three boats waved so long and headed off in their own directions for the choice cruising grounds of Nantucket Sound. It was only by coincidence that the three owners and their boats were all together in Falmouth at the same time. Yet it is no coincidence that Falmouth Marine has become the boatyard and marina favored by Bruckmann 50 owners over the years. Dan Betty has been keeping his boats at the yard for many years and has worked closely with the yard to maintain and improve his own 50. So when new owners come along, Dan often persuades them to join him in Falmouth. The yard is now the certified Bruckmann service yard in New England.

The Bruckmann 50 has earned the reputation of being one of the best-designed, best built cruising motorsailers available anywhere. The hull was designed from the keel up to combine the best qualities of a displacement sailboat with the load carrying ability and buoyancy aft of a displacement powerboat. This was no easy task, but Canadian yacht designer Mark Ellis got it right. The 50 is a true 10 knot boat that can achieve top speed under power, under sail with 15 knots of breeze or more, and when motorsailing.

DESIGN CHANGES

Over the years, owners have worked with Mark Bruckmann and Mark Ellis to create their own semi-custom 50s, and with yards like Falmouth Marine to modify and upgrade the boats. This year, Mark Bruckmann took many of the ideas that owners have put into their boats to create the new Mark II version.The biggest change to the design is the addition of an extended stern platform that lengthens the waterline, adds balance to the boat, offers an excellent boarding and swim platform, and provides a place to stow a dinghy while underway. The platform looks good on the stern and completes the boat in a very useful way.

The other significant design change is the addition of a 200hp John Deere engine as an optional upgrade. The boats so equipped have proven to be true 10 knot cruisers and can maintain near hull speed while burning less than five gallons of diesel per hour. The John Deere engines are quiet, powerful and have long lives when well maintained. Since you tend to use the engine all the time aboard a motorsailer, these qualities are important.

Owner Keith Anderson has been involved with farming all of his life, so when he learned that the 50 came with a John Deere engine as standard equipment he took it as a sign that the boat was right for his family.

LIVING ABOARD
Before we set out for some synchronized sailing, I was offered tours of the three Bruckmann 50s in Falmouth. They were all similar on deck, with roller furling headsails and Forespar Leisure Furl booms for the mainsails. The boats are designed to be cruised by a couple, so sheets, halyards and reefing control lines all lead aft to the cockpit and electric winches are standard.

Down below, each boat reflected the subtle differences between the owners in the layout of the furniture, the type of seats and the navigator’s chair in the pilothouse. Yet each offered complete 360º visibility through the huge pilothouse windows, so the inside steering station was the spot for standing watches and handling the boat at night or in cold, wet weather. For those who cruise in the higher latitudes, the Bruckmann 50 is truly a three- or even four-season cruising boat.

But the 50 is also set up for real indoor-outdoor living when cruising warmer climes. The pilothouse and large cockpit are linked via a large, watertight door and two opening windows. The cockpit has long benches and a lovely teak table with drop leaves that will seat six for dinner. In the tropics or on warm northern evenings, this is where the family will gather for sundowners and meals.

Forward and down two steps from the pilothouse, you’ll find the huge ship’s galley to port and the study or lower lounge to starboard. Keith and Diana Anderson love to cook, so the galley was a huge factor in their choice of the 50. It wraps around in a large U-shape with the stove and oven outboard, the sinks on the centerline forward, and the huge fridge freezer under the counter aft. With cabinets and drawers everywhere, the galley is truly a seagoing kitchen.

Across from the galley is the study, library or TV nook depending on how you want to set it up. On all three of the boats, this was also the laundry since the owners had full frontloading washers and dryers built in with access through two low doors. With gensets and high capacity watermakers, these boats are truly self-sufficient and as convenient as any home.

The guest cabin lies off the hall that runs forward to the master stateroom and can be set up in a number of configurations, including converting it into an office. The master stateroom forward has a large centerline double berth, ample drawer and locker storage, and two large hanging lockers. The forward cabin is large and airy and will be a very comfortable home while cruising.

John Cryer noted that he and Edna had looked at a lot of boats. They had owned a Beneteau 47.7 and were looking for what John called their “last boat.” They had discussed a custom design and met with several high-end semi-custom builders.

“It came down to the Y-Factor,” said John. “When Edna compared the living spaces and cruising accommodations on the boats out there, nothing suited our needs better than the Bruckmann 50.”

Dan Betty is a serial boat owner and has enjoyed both sailboats—a Mason 44 and a Northeast 400 motorsailer—and powerboats—a Hatteras 41, a Mathews 46 and an Atlantic 47—so he knew what he was looking for in his next and perhaps last boat. The 50 combined the best qualities of all of the great boats that he’d already owned.

One of the qualities in the boats that sets them apart is the classic Bristol or Herreshoff styling in the finish work below decks. Mark Bruckmann creates interiors that have white bulkheads that are trimmed and detailed with brightly varnished mahogany or teak. Drawer handles, hinges and latches are sturdy classic designs. Ports and hatches are all top of the line. The engine room under the raised pilothouse is a joy to look at and work in, with good access to all engineering systems.

The Bruckmann 50 MkII is a lovely and capable cruising boat, and with the addition of the stern platform and the optional 200hp engine, this great design has only gotten better.

BRUCKMANN 50 MKII
LOA51’2”
LWL44’6”
Beam15’5”
Draft6’0”
Displ.45,000 lbs
Ballast16,000 lbs.
Sail area1,135 sq. ft.

Bruckmann Yachts
2265 Royal Windsor Drive
Mississauga, ON L5J 1K5
CANADA
Ph: 905-855-1117
www.bruckmannyachts.com

Tartan 4700 •

Last fall, a customer from Long Island Sound approached new Tartan dealer McMichael Yachts in his search for the perfect family boat. He had been looking at the Tartan 5300, which he thought was too large for his needs, and he liked the Tartan 4400, but felt it was too small. What to do?

McMichael’s sales manager threw the question to Tartan’s design chief Tim Jackett and new owner Steve Malbasa, who came back with a solution. Expand the 4400 by three feet to accommodate a larger after cabin, add an upper and lower cabin forward next to the master cabin, and build a really tall rig that will spread enough canvas to perform well in the light summer airs commonly found on Long Island Sound.

And so the new 4700 was born. Amazingly, Tartan was able to deliver the new boat six months later, just in time for the 2011 summer cruising season. Meanwhile, Tartan was also developing the new 4000 for this year’s launch and starting a new racer-cruiser for their sister company C&C—all of which means a lot of creative activity in the midst of the current recession.

SEA TRIALS

BWS had the opportunity to test sail the new 4700 in June. The afternoon was sharp and clear and the sea breeze was filling in nicely as the land around Mamaroneck, New York, heated up in the midday sun.

We motored out into the sound, giving the boat a bit of a run through under power. The engine is mounted below the raised saloon floor and the room is well insulated, so we could barely hear the motor from the cockpit. With a folding prop on the shaft, the boat powered up nicely and slipped along at a comfortable 8 knots at cruising revs. The boat has a single wheel with a rack and pinion steering system, so the feel of the rudder under power is positive.

The boat we were sailing, Glory, has a Leisure Furl in-boom mainsail system instead of the standard Tartan pocket boom. We powered clear of the channel and headed into the wind. The big mainsail rolled out neatly with the halyard on an electric winch and looked great with full and half-length battens. Falling off onto starboard tack, we rolled out the self-tacking jib and sheeted it home. The big 47-footer put her shoulder down and gradually gained speed until we were sailing at 7+ knots in the 10 to 12-knot breeze. The helm still felt positive and the balance was very good.

We made a few tacks without having to trim at all and then fell off the breeze, rolled up the jib and rolled out the flat cut reacher. Tartan calls this headsail arrangement with a self-tacking jib and a reacher their Cruise Control Rig.

Off the wind with the reacher drawing, the 4700 really gathered her skirts and began to fly. As mentioned, the rig is tall—almost as tall as that on the 5300—so with full main and full reacher, we were spreading a lot of canvas. But even so, the 4700 didn’t lose her footing in the puffs and stood up very nicely, transforming wind pressure into boat speed.

The boat is easy to sail from the cockpit, so a cruising couple who are comfortable handling an in-boom roller furling mainsail will find the boat fast, weatherly and a real pleasure to sail. For those who want simplicity to rule, the pocket boom system with lazy jacks will also work very well.

LIVING ABOARD

The owner of the new 4700 sails with his wife and children and often with the children’s friends as well. The boat needed to accommodate at least six sleeping and six on a single berth so they could all watch a movie together.

The configuration that Tim Jackett and the owner came up with is a modification of the 4400. The after cabin in the 4700 now runs the full width of the boat and has full headroom across the forward end of the big double berth. There is a large TV mounted in the bulkhead so the family can all lounge on the big berth. The aft head has been positioned at the level of the raised saloon and has a full shower stall.

To fit in the two cabins forward, the master stateroom has been slightly reduced in size and the forward head shifted forward into the cabin and made a bit smaller. There is no shower forward. The smaller second cabin forward has upper and lower bunk berths, which have proven very popular with the kids.

The galley on the 4700 is very similar to that on the 4400, which is to say that it is an amazing seagoing galley for a boat of this size. The top-loading fridge and freezer are under the main counter. The four-burner stove is outboard. The twin sinks are nearly on the centerline, where they will drain well on both tacks. Under the sinks, you have access to the fresh water manifolds and other systems that need to be handy.

The raised saloon is somewhat unique among boats of this style since you can sit in the dinette and actually see through the large windows all around you. The dinette is oval and four or five can sit comfortably around the table. With the addition of two folding chairs, six can dine together.

The chart table to starboard has a proper table that will hold a ChartKit and ample vertical surfaces for mounting radar, chartplotter, radios and more. This will be the 4700’s command central with the added advantage that you can see forward and to both sides while seated—a valued feature when making cold or rainy passages.

The 4700 has a lovely finish down below with solid stock cherry doors, cabinet fronts and drawers, all with elegant raised-panel styling. The bulkheads are cherry veneers, while the overheads and the inside of the cabin sides are an off-white laminate. The combination of varnished cherry, meticulous joinery, white laminate and large windows creates a living space that is warm, homey and bright.

For living aboard over a weekend or a year, the 4700 has the space, the light and the atmosphere to make life extremely comfortable.

CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING

Among production boat builders, Tartan sets themselves apart by using exotic materials and building techniques to create hulls and decks that are lighter and stiffer than average. The hulls are foam-cored, epoxy-infused laminates that offer superior strength-to-weight ratios. The vacuum bag technique enables the company to build with very high glass-to-resin ratios, which makes the hulls light and extremely strong. The insides of the hulls are painted with epoxy to completely seal the laminate. Because of this building method, Tartan offers a 15-year hull warranty against structural or blister damage.

The decks are epoxy and E-glass structures with end-grain balsa coring for stiffness and strength. Like the hulls, the decks are vacuum bag-infused laminates. All stress areas, such as under winches or high load deck fittings, are solid laminate and supported with backing plates. When you walk on deck, you never feel the flat areas flexing; down below, the balsa core acts as sound and heat insulation, too.

The 4700 can be built with either Tartan’s shoal draft Beavertail keel or a traditional keel-centerboard configuration. In either case, the keels are high quality lead castings that are faired and sealed with an epoxy overcoat. The rudder is a high aspect cruising spade with a carbon fiber rudderpost and a rack and pinion gearing system.

Tartan uses Forespar’s Marelon thru-hull fittings and seacocks, so you never have to grease them and they will never fail due to corrosion. The rudder hangs are high-density synthetic bearings and the post is sealed with a Gator rudderpost seal.

The 4700’s rig, like all of the rigs in the Tartan line, comes standard with a carbon fiber mast and unique carbon fiber pocket boom; the use of carbon fiber reduces weight aloft significantly, thus reducing the boat’s tendency to pitch and roll. Plus, lighter weight adds to sailing performance. The Leisure Furl boom on Glory was added as a labor saving option.

The Cruise Control Rig on the new 4700 has Harken electric roller furling systems on the jib and reacher so we were able to deploy, reef and furl the sails with buttons on the binnacle at the helm. Very convenient.

The engineering systems are all assembled with ease of maintenance and sound insulation in mind. The engine room lies beneath the raised saloon floor, so you fold up the floor and climb down into the space to work on the engine and genset. The compartment is well insulated with lead-foam insulation.

A lot of equipment that might be an option on another boat comes standard on the 4700. The alternator has been upgraded to 100 amps and supplied with a smart charger. The battery bank, which can be expanded, starts at 480 amp hours with two 8D house batteries. A Mastervolt sine wave inverter allows you to run all of your 110-volt appliances, such as a microwave oven.

The plumbing system includes two marine heads and two 24-gallon holding tanks with Y-valves for overboard discharge at sea. With 200 gallons of fresh water in the tanks, a watermaker is not a necessity. And the 10-gallon hot water heater provides ample hot water for everyone to have quick “navy style” showers.

As we poked around the 4700’s engineering spaces, we were impressed at how neat and seamanlike all of the installations are and how well Tartan’s craftsmen have finished all of the hidden spaces.

For those who want a boat with reliable long-term systems that are installed so you can easily perform routine maintenance, the 4700 is a shining example of how to do it right.

BWS THOUGHTS

We sailed the Tartan 4400 offshore from Newport, RI to Annapolis, MD several years ago and were impressed by the boat’s sea-keeping qualities and high average speed on a long haul.

No doubt, the 4700, with its extra tall rig, will offer even better performance. And, with a longer waterline it will be less liable to pitch in a seaway. The 4700’s transom looks right on the boat and adds just enough to the lines to really enhance the hull’s overall look. Plus, the extra length adds to the spaciousness of the cockpit and after swim platform. The

Tartan 4700 is a great family cruising boat that has been built to last and equipped to serve her owners well for generations. The new boat fulfills the demands of Tartan’s 50-year legacy extremely well by combining design integrity with high quality construction and a dedication to delivering the best solutions for cruising sailors.

Tartan 4700
LOA 47’0”
LWL 39’0”
Beam 14’1”
Draft 6’3”
Ballast 9,750 lbs.
Displacement 28,000 lbs
Sail area 1,038 sq. ft
Water 200 gals.
Fuel 80 gals.
Holding 48 gals
Engine 100 hp. Diesel
Sail area/Displ. 18.09
Ballast/Displ. 35
Displ./Length 210

Tartan Yachts
One High Tech Ave.
Painesville, OH 44077
Ph: 440-357-7777
Website: www.tartanyachts.com

2011 BOAT SHOW PREVIEW • BAVARIA CRUISER 32 •

The 32 has an in-mast furling mainsail and a small roller furling jib. The jib is only 108 percent of the fore-triangle and sheets inside the shrouds. With tight sheeting angles, the boat sails to windward like a dream and tacks inside 80 degrees. Off the wind, the 32 is very easily driven and offers excellent speeds when broad reaching.

Down below, the 32 is huge for a boat of this size. The master cabin has a large double berth tucked aft under the cockpit and a smaller double cabin forward for kids or guests. The benches in the saloon can double as berths, too. The galley is aft at the foot of the companionway ladder with the aft-facing chart table next to it. The L-shaped dinette will seat four for dinner.

A great starter cruiser for a young family or a perfect downsize for an older couple who want to simplify their sailing life, the Bavaria Cruiser 32 offers great sailing qualities and a lot of living space below.

Specifications: LOA 32’9”; LWL 29’0”; Beam 11’3”; Draft 4’11”; Displ. 11,464 lbs.; Sail area 549 sq. ft. For more information, call 855-222-1120 or visit www.bavariayachts.com.

BAVARIA CRUISER 36 • Like its little sister, the Bavaria Cruiser 36 feels much larger than its length might imply. In fact, this boat feels bigger when stepped aboard, when it is hit by a puff of wind, and when you go below into the cabin.

The 36 has the same style rig as the 32, with an in-mast furling mainsail and a small jib that sheets inside the shrouds. Because the headsail is small, the boat is easy for a couple to tack and the sail can often be trimmed without having to grind the sheet winch.

The cockpit has long bench seats and the backs are ergonomically shaped to give lumbar support for comfort. Like all of the Bavaria Cruiser fleet, the 36’s transom folds down to create a large platform aft for sunning, swimming, donning SCUBA gear or climbing into the dinghy.

The 36 comes in either a two-cabin, one-head layout or a three-cabin, one-head plan. The first will probably appeal to couples who sail with friends, while the latter will be a good layout for a family. The boat has only one head, but the compartment is large and has a partition that converts it into a shower.

The interesting thing about the new Bavaria line is that owners have a lot of options when they spec out their new boats. You can choose from three different wood styles, floor patterns and numerous fabrics and colors. Bavaria has the capacity to build 3,000 boats a year, but they build each to its owner’s own personal requirements.

The Cruiser 36 will make a great family cruising boat that is small enough to be affordable but large enough to really be a floating home away from home.

Specifications: LOA 37’1”; LWL 32’5”; Beam 12’0”; Draft 5’4”; Displ. 15,432 lbs.; Sail area 742 sq. ft. For more information, call 855-222-1120 or visit www.bavariayachts.com.

The BAVARIA CRUISER 40 takes the company’s theme of large interiors in boats that sail very well and really puts it to great use. The 40 comes with only one accommodation plan—a three-cabin, two-head layout that emphasizes comfort.

The 40’s rig is proportionally slightly taller and larger than that of the 36 and thus the boat has a bit more sail power. This boat will sail at 8 knots in 12 knots of wind, so you get the idea.

The cockpit is large and laid out for easy sailing and outdoor living. With twin wheels, you always have a good view forward while steering or maneuvering around a marina. Plus, twin wheels open the aft end of the cockpit so you have direct access to the huge aft platform that is formed when the transom is folded down.

The interior has the galley along the port side of the saloon with a dinette that seats six to starboard. There is a good-sized chart table aft of the dinette. With almost seven feet of headroom throughout the interior and plenty of overhead hatches and ports in the cabin sides and hull sides, the interior is flooded with natural light and extremely well-ventilated.

The 40 will be plenty of boat for many couples or families since the sleeping cabins are so large, the heads so roomy, and the dinette and cockpit table well-designed for meals in all weather. Plus, the 40 sails very well indeed.

Specifications: LOA 4’6”; LWL 35’3”; Beam 13’0”; Draft 5’5”; Displacement 19,135 lbs.; Sail area 883 sq. ft. For more information, call 855-222-1120 or visit www.bavariayachts.com.

Bavaria builds three larger Cruisers—the 45, 50 and 55—but of these, only the CRUISER 45 will be in the U.S. this year.

The 45 is a big boat for a 45-footer. In fact the transom and after sections of the hull are so wide that Farr Yacht Designs equipped the boat with twin rudders to go with the twin wheels in the cockpit. This configuration means that one rudder is always in the water and fully functioning even when the boat is heeled over and clawing to windward. Twin rudders also make the 45 sail as if it were on rails, with fingertip control at all times.

The 45 has the same simple and efficient rig as the smaller boats, which drives it well even in light breezes. The cockpit is huge and has a drop-leaf table that will seat eight adults for a meal. The chartplotter can be installed neatly on the after end of the table, so it can be seen from both helms. The transom on the 45 has an electric motor to raise and lower it so you don’t throw out your back hoisting it into place. The platform is large enough for several people to sunbathe.

Down below, the 45 can be arranged with either a three-cabin, three-head plan or a four-cabin, three-head layout. The galley runs along the saloon’s port side and offers an acre of counter space. To starboard, the dinette wraps around a handsome dining table that will also accommodate eight for dinner. The chart table just aft of the dinette faces aft and has a nifty folding seatback that is part of the dinette.

The 45 will be a good family cruiser or will fit very nicely into a charter fleet. The cabins are large and comfortable, the living spaces huge and airy, and the eating arrangements great for crowds. The Cruiser 45 is a true liveaboard yacht.

Specifications: LOA 46’10”; LWL 41’8”; Beam 14’3”; Draft 5’8”; Displ. 27,777 lbs.; Sail area 1,151 sq. ft. For more information, call 855-222-1120 or visit www.bavariayachts.com.

BENETEAU OCEANIS 41 & 45 • This fall, Beneteau will unveil two new Oceanis models that carry on the Oceanis cruising traditions while incorporating some truly innovative design features to make the boats easier to sail and more comfortable to live aboard. The most notable feature in the new design is the high cockpit arch that anchors the main sheet and provides a rigid frame for a dodger and other cockpit enclosures. Both boats are truly set up for indoor-outdoor living, so the cockpits are huge and access up and down the companionway ladder is excellent.

The cockpits have twin wheels and an innovative folding transom system that fully encloses the cockpit when underway, then folds down electrically to form a swim platform when at anchor. Designed by Finot-Conq, the 41 and 45 have thoroughly modern rigs with the mast set fairly far aft and the headsail reduced to a slightly overlapping jib that sheets inboard of the side stays, which in turn have been moved outboard to the gunnel. With tight sheeting angles, the boats promise to be handy and close-winded while being easy to tack and jibe. For off-the-wind sailing, a reacher or asymmetrical chute will really add fun and power.

The Oceanis 41 has three accommodation plans to choose from. The two-cabin, one-head version offers a good quarter cabin aft and a large V-berth forward; this plan has a huge sail locker and storage area under the port cockpit seat. The three-cabin, one-head plan uses the sail locker space for a second aft cabin. The three-cabin, two-head version tucks a second head into the forward cabin, which replaces the small desk or vanity found in the other accommodation plans. In all three layouts, the after head has a separate shower stall. The saloon remains the same in all three versions, with the L-shaped galley aft to port and the dinette forward to starboard.

The Oceanis 45 is also offered with three optional accommodation plans. The two-cabin, two-head version has the same large storage area aft as seen in the 41. The three-cabin, two-head plan replaces the storage area aft with a second aft cabin. And, the three-cabin, three-head design equips each of the three cabins with its own en suite head; in this version, the shower stall in the aft head has been replaced with an expanded dinette storage compartment. Both of the new boats are being built in Beneteau’s plant in Marion, South Carolina, so they are truly American boats.

The new designs will be fast, weatherly and very comfortable to live aboard. And they offer the great value that Beneteau is known for worldwide.

Oceanis 41 specifications: LOA 41’9”; LWL 38’1”; Beam 13’9”; Draft 6’9”; Displ. 18,386 lbs. Oceanis 45 specifications: LOA 45’5”; LWL 42’10”; Beam 14’9”; Draft 7’1”; Displ. 21,054 lbs.

For more information, call 843-629-5309 or visit www.beneteauusa.com.

HAKE SEAWARD 46 • An innovative design from Hake Yachts in Florida, the new Seaward 46 is a shoal draft cruiser that is capable of extended offshore sailing. With a ballasted retractable keel and retractable rudders, the 46 can cruise in less than three feet of water. Yet, with the keel and rudders fully deployed, the boat will draw over seven feet and will be a stiff and stable platform for blue water sailing.

The big sister to the Seaward 32 and 26, both of which are shoal draft cruisers with retractable keels, the 46 is a raised deck saloon design with a large aft cockpit. The boat can be configured with either a single 75-horsepower diesel or twin 54-horsepower engines. And there is a “fishing” option that fits a fighting chair and rod holders at the stern.

The 46 has a fairly narrow 13-foot beam and a small but handy rig with a 100 percent self-tacking jib, so it should be easily driven even in light airs. The 46 has been in the works for a while and has already stirred up a lot of interest since there are not many retracting keel cruisers on the market, with the exception of Southerly Yachts in England. Look for the boat at the Annapolis Sailboat Show in October. Specifications were not available at press time.

For more information, call 727-287-3200 or visit www.seawardyachts.com.

HALLBERG-RASSY 372 • The new German Frers-designed Hallberg Rassy 372 is another cruiser under 40-feet that will appeal to couples and young families. The 372 replaces the popular HR 37.

HR has built more than 8,000 cruising boats over the years, so it is well established as one of the world’s cruising yacht leaders. The new 372 is slightly longer, beamier and more streamlined below the water than the 37. The rig is more than a meter taller, and the sail plan has been configured to fly a large mainsail and a small headsail that will be easy to tack and trim. A self-tacking jib option is available. The three-spreader rig can be fine-tuned with the standard backstay adjuster, and the chainplates for the shrouds are far inboard, allowing tight sheeting angles and keeping side decks uncluttered.

The 372 has a clean deck layout. The furling drum for the genoa is mounted below decks, as is the anchor windlass at the bow. Down below, the 372 offers classic HR quality with a U-shaped, seagoing galley, bench settees and storage for gear, groceries and spares. The chart table is across from the galley, while the head and shower are behind it. The forward cabin sports a large double berth, a vanity, hanging and storage lockers, and bookshelves. The after cabin has a huge double berth and additional storage.

The 372 was voted European Boat of the Year in 2010. The new design is a fine example of the great work HR does and just how much you can fit into a sleek and speedy 37-foot hull.

The HR 372 will make a great voyaging boat for a couple who like to sail fast and want to bring their comforts with them to sea.

Specifications: LOA 33’6”; LWL 29’5”; Beam 11’6”; Draft (deep) 5’6”; Displ. 12,400 lbs.; Sail area 625 sq. ft. For more information, contact Eastland Yachts in Essex, CT (860-767-8224), Free State Yachts in Deal, Maryland (410-867-9022), Swiftsure Yachts in Seattle, Washington (206-378-1110), or visit www.hallberg-rassy.com

HANSE 495 • This year, Hanse will introduce several new models, among them the stylish and innovative 495. A powerful modern cruising sloop, the 495 has a Judel-Vrolijk hull with a nearly plumb bow and squared-off transom. The hull’s sheer is fairly straight, so the boat’s profile makes it look purposeful and fast. Think of that long waterline.

On deck, the broad beam and low cabin house make the boat feel spacious. The cockpit is open aft, so the floor flows between the twin wheel back to the transom. The decks are uncluttered, and because the jib is a self-tacker on its own track, the chainplates and shrouds were moved outboard to allow unimpaired passages along the side decks. With teak decks and recessed hatches, a 495 will have a Wally Boat modern Euro look.

Down below, the 495 offers a large owner’s cabin forward with a centerline double berth and plenty of storage space. The head and shower are in separate compartments port and starboard. In the standard layout, twin quarter cabins aft have good headroom and plenty of lockers. Ventilation is via open deck hatches and ports that open into the cockpit. The aft cabins are served by a single head to port that has a nice big shower stall. The standard saloon plan has the galley along the port side and the large U-shaped dinette to starboard with a bench amidships to seat two more guests. The chart table is just aft of the dinette and close to the companionway. The styling evokes modern European furniture, with contrasting light and dark woods, sharp angles and expanses of open floor.

Hanse offers so many ways to customize your new boat that no two 495s will ever be the same. Fun to sail, comfortable down below, and a truly modern statement in cruising, the Hanse 495 will appeal to those who want the latest thinking and the ability to customize the look of their boat to a great extent.

Specifications: LOA 50’6”; LWL 44’5”; Beam 15’7”; Draft 6’9”; Displ. 30,900 lbs.; Sail area 1,390 sq. ft. For more information, call 978-903-0380 or visit usa.hanseyachts.com or www.hanseyachts.com.

MOODY 45AC • Hanse Yachts in Germany bought the Moody brand several years ago and came out at once with a truly innovative deck saloon or pilothouse model that turned a lot of heads. Since then, the company has gone back to designer Bill Dixon for a more traditional aft cockpit luxury cruising boat to fit the Moody brand.

The Aft Cockpit 45 is a modern sloop with a tall fractional rig and a sweet, traditional-looking hull with balanced ends and a springy sheer. The full battened mainsail is standard, but in-boom furling could be added without degrading sailing performance. The jib is self-tacking and runs to a track athwart the forward cabintop, making upwind sailing a snap. The 45’s cockpit has twin wheels, a folding transom and a lovely varnished table with folding leaves. A low windshield wraps around the companionway, keeping spray out of the cockpit and providing a good base for a canvas dodger.

Down below, the furniture is finished in varnished mahogany around accents of white panels and trim, so the whole effect is of traditional Bristol Fashion neatly modernized. Raised panel doors and drawers, some with wicker inserts to enhance ventilation, add a classic touch. The seagoing galley is at the foot of the companionway to starboard, while the head and shower are to port. Aft, the 45 AC has twin quarter cabins while the master cabin is forward with its own en suite head and shower. The dinette amidships is huge, and across from it are two easy chairs on either side of a small table that doubles as the nav station.

Hanse has made a serious effort to offer Moody as a truly upscale brand that will appeal to sailors who want a well designed, fine sailing yacht that is finished to the highest degree. Specifications: LOA 45’0”; LWL 40’1”; Beam 13’8”; Drat 7’3”; Displ. 26,895 lbs. Sail area 1,205 sq. ft. For more information, call 978-903-0380 or visit www.hanseyachts.com.

ISLAND PACKET 360 • Island Packet Yachts has been building seaworthy cruising boats for 30 years, and you will find them in the world’s best cruising grounds. With designer Bob Johnson’s Full Foil Keel, moderate sail area-to-displacement ratios, cutter rigs and self-tacking Hoyt Jib Boom Staysails, the line has a well earned reputation for easy motion in a seaway and high average speeds over the long haul. On IPY designs, you arrive at the end of the passage more rested than when you began.

This year, the company is adding to its line a 36-footer that is an evolution of the handsome and sweet sailing Estero.

The 360 is a salty and capable cruiser with a nice springy sheer, a short bowsprit that houses the anchors as well as the roller furling headsail, and a fairly low profile cabin that fits the hull neatly.

The cockpit has been designed for comfort and safety, so it is not overly large and will drain quickly if ever a wave came aboard at sea. All sailing sheets, halyards and control lines run aft, so you never have to leave the cockpit to add or reduce working sail.

The accommodation plan below offers a large double cabin aft with a neat V-style berth that allows you to swing your legs easily to the floor when getting up. This is a pleasant quarter cabin with ample ventilation, a hanging locker and plenty of space for clothes. The forward cabin has a traditional V-berth, hanging and storage lockers, and a private door to the large head. The saloon has the huge galley aft to starboard and an aft-facing chart table. The L-shaped dinette to port will seat four at the fold-down saloon table. Across to starboard, two swiveling easy chairs will make lounging, reading and watching TV just as comfortable as at home.

A great mid-size cruiser, the new IP 360 is a go-anywhere blue water yacht that will look after her crew as a proper yacht should.

Specifications: LOA 36’5”; LWL 31’6”; Beam 12’4”; Draft 4’0”; Displ. 19,300 lbs.; Sail area 831 sq. ft. For more information, call 888-724-5479 or visit www.ipy.com

HUNTER e33 • Hunter has long been a leader in offering sailors a wide range of boats, from sailing dinghies to 50-foot ocean cruisers. But the company may be best known for its mid-size cruisers, which offer expansive living spaces in boats that are easy to sail and handle.

The new e33 fits right into that mid-size segment and introduces an attractive new look for the Florida-based builder. With a sleek deck design and large cabin windows, the boat looks modern and fast. The hull has a wider transom than the earlier 33-footer and the bow has been given a narrower entry. The cockpit is large and comfortable for a boat of this size and has a neat fold-down transom that becomes a large swim platform. Hunter uses unique B&R rigs, with sharply swept back spreaders and no backstay. The main is quite large, while the headsail is small enough to be easy to tack. This rig is simple for a couple or even a singlehander to manage.

Over the last decade, Hunter has steadily refined their interior arrangements and the fit and finish of the joinery down below. The e33 has a large athwartships double berth in the after cabin that is tucked in under the cockpit and side deck on the starboard side. The forward cabin has a V-berth and plenty of storage for clothes, linens and towels. The galley has Corian counters, a large fridge and a two-burner stove with an oven below. The dinette to port will seat four easily. To starboard, the bench settee with be a good berth, or the middle section of the bench can be converted quickly to form a chart table. All of the boat’s instruments are accessible from the starboard settee.

A handsome addition to the Hunter line of sailboats, the new e33 offers a lot of accommodations in a cruising boat that will be easy to sail and comfortable for extended cruises.

Specifications: LOA 33’6”; LWL 29’5”; Beam 11’6”; Draft 4’6”/5’6”; Displ. 12,400 lbs.; Sail area 625 sq. ft. For more information, visit www.huntermarine.com.

JEANNEAU 379 • The success of the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409 that was introduced at last year’s Annapolis show, with its hard chine aft, fold-down stern platform and simple but powerful sloop rig, primed the market for more Jeanneaus of the same style. So this year, Jeanneau is launching the Sun Odyssey 379 and Sun Odyssey 439.

The 379 has a modern hull style with a nearly plumb bow, a squared-off transom and a low slung coach roof. The sloop rig has been set up for ease of handling and good performance. The mainsail is a slab reefed full batten main with lazy jacks. The mainsheets run aft on both sides of the coach roof to the cockpit winches, so the helmsman can trim while steering. The cockpit has been laid out for efficient sail trim. With twin wheels, access to the fold-down swim platform is excellent.

Below decks, the 379 comes in a two- or three-cabin version, both with a large head and separate shower stall. In the two-cabin version, the port quarter becomes a huge sail and storage locker and a small wet locker adjoins the head. In the three-cabin version, the port quarter becomes a sleeping cabin and the head is moved forward. The L-shaped galley is useful, and the dinette forward seats six with the drop leaf raised.

Specifications: LOA 37’0”; Beam 12’0”; Draft 5’0”; Displ. 14,740 lbs.; Sail area 753 sq. ft.

The new JEANNEAU 439 has a larger, beamier Philippe Briand hull that will translate into greater cabin volume and stability. The bow sections have a bit more hollow for a narrow entry, which will improve the boat’s motion and windward ability.

Like its little sisters, the 439 is all about good sailing aboard a comfortable boat.
Twin wheels give the helmsman great visibility forward and open the cockpit to the large swim platform.

Down below, the 439 makes use of the extra beam to offer an unusual four-cabin, two-head layout with two double quarter cabins, a V-berth cabin forward, and an upper and lower cabin forward of the main bulkhead. In the three-cabin, two-head version, the forward cabin gets a large centerline double berth and a large vanity or desk. The saloon has the seagoing galley aft and to starboard, where it is convenient to the cockpit and large dinette.

The fit and finish of the 379 and 438 is bright and airy, and multiple hatches and ports provide natural light and excellent ventilation.

Specifications: LOA 44’0”; Beam 14’0”; Draft 7’0”; Displ. 21,736 lbs.; Sail area 1,004 sq. ft.

The 44 DECK SALOON (DS) Sun Odysseys are all about elegance, style and comfort. From the swim platform aft to the bow rollers forward, the 44DS embodies the latest in Euro styling. The Philippe Briand designed hull is similar to the 439, but there the similarity ends.

The deck saloon cabintop has a kind of Audi TT curve that flows for the full length of the cockpit and cabintop to the foredeck. The huge side windows are tinted black and set off by dark gray moldings that run along the edge of the cabin. The halyards, sheets and control lines from the mast run in conduits on the cabintop, and the two-ended mainsheet runs under the deck to winches aft by the twin wheels.

The 44DS has a huge aft cabin, with a queen-size double berth under the cockpit and bridgedecks. For added headroom, cockpit soles have been raised and a wide bridgedeck added. The cockpit has a large table with drop leaves and a built-in chart plotter. Down below, the furniture is more angular and the cabinets are lower with an “interior designer” feel, which is not surprising since the styling was done by Franck Darnet. The use of bright white and contrasting black counter and tabletops sets off the wood veneers, cabinets and bulkheads, and the sharp stainless steel latches and fittings are a statement in elegance.

Aside from the full width after stateroom, the 44DS has two guest cabins forward and a second head. One of the cabins has a V-berth, while the others have an upper and lower single berth. The saloon is a trendy modern living space with a large galley, U-shaped dinette and bench settee.

The 44DS will make a fine cruising boat for a couple or family who wants their leisure time to be as elegant and modern as can be.

Specifications: LOA 44’0”; Beam 14’0”; Draft 7’0”; Displ. 21,450 gals.; Sail area 835 sq. ft. For more information, call 410-280-9400 or visit www.jeanneau.com.

The new OYSTER 625, which has been nominated for 2012 Boat of the Year in Europe, is a Rob Humphries design that dramatically upgrades the already popular previous boats in the Oyster line, the 61 and 62.

A center cockpit desk saloon design, the 625 has a modern sheer line capped by the new style of wraparound deck saloon windows that Oyster has used so successfully in recent models. The standard rig will have an in-mast furling mainsail and a cutter rig forward. This gives you a lot of trim choices and allows you to shorten sail in rising weather without leaving the cockpit. A Solent headsail rig and in-boom mainsail furling are options.

Down below, the 625 offers a true master stateroom aft with a queen-size double and plenty of storage and comfortable amenities. An owner and spouse will really feel at home here. Forward, two guest cabins are shown in the standard accommodation plan—a Pullman double cabin to starboard and an upper and lower cabin to port. The forepeak has been reserved for a single crewmember, with access to one of the en suite heads that adjoin the forward cabins. The saloon is spacious and will be full of light. The dinette is huge and will seat eight. The galley is in the passageway aft to port and will be an excellent seagoing galley. The chart table at the base of the companionway is a proper navigation command central where you can mount all of your radios, sat phone, chartplotters and radar. Plus, the table is large enough to spread out an old paper chart.

The new Oyster 625 is a handsome, high quality ocean sailing yacht that will keep you safe at sea, get you home quickly, and provide you with elegance and comfort along the way.

Specifications: LOA 63’7”; LWL 56’7”; Beam 17’10”; Draft 9’2”; Displ. 73,854 lbs.; Sail area 2,538 sq. ft. For more information, call 401-846-7400 or visit www.oystermarine.com.

The SABRE 456 was launched late last year and has drawn a lot of attention from both Sabre owners and would-be Sabre owners.

The Jim Taylor design is an upgrade of the Sabre 452 that was introduced several years ago with a new keel, new rig and modernized interior.

On deck, the 456 has a large, secure cockpit with high seatbacks and a single large destroyer wheel. The main sheet runs to the traveler forward of the dodger so the cockpit is not cluttered. The chainplates for the shrouds are well inboard for close sheeting angles on the genoa and to make going forward easier.

Down below, the forward cabin offers a large centerline double berth and a large en suite head with a separate shower stall. The guest cabin aft has a large double berth and plenty of storage space. The 456’s galley is one of the largest and best laid out in any boat of this size. Since you tend to live in the kitchen, the saloon has the feel of a large, homey country kitchen. The drawer-style pull-out fridge is an innovation that we feel sure will catch on in other designs. Sabre has revamped their interior joinery style with a slightly Japanese flair to the doors and cabinets, making great use of the spaces available and adding light to the cabins. Because the 456 is built to order, Sabre can really work with an owner to customize the boat to his or her needs.

A fine offshore quality boat built in “Maine style,” the 456 will carry you across oceans or the bay swiftly and comfortably.

Specifications: LOA 45’6”; LWL 38’4”; Beam 14’1”; Draft 5’6”; Displ. 27,150 lbs.; Sail area 1,043 sq. ft. For more information, call 207-655-3831 or visit www.sabreyachts.com.

The new Tim Jackett-designed TARTAN 4000, which was introduced last winter, embodies a lot of the new thinking that has gone into the boats and the company since it was purchased by Steve Malbasa last year. The new company is all about delighting customers with great boats and great service.

The 4000 really speaks to that mission. The cockpit is large and secure, with twin wheels for easy access to the fold-down stern platform. The seats are contoured for optimum comfort around the stowable cockpit table or when sailing hard. Tartan used their patented Cruise Control Rig, which uses a fully battened mainsail with a double headsail rig that deploys an inner upwind jib and a larger reacher on the outer roller. The CCR offers the best in both upwind and downwind sailing without forcing you to fly a spinnaker or even leave the cockpit.

Tartan is unique in the market by offering carbon spars, booms and rudders as standard equipment. Equally unique are the epoxy-infused hull and decks that are tougher, lighter and virtually impervious to osmosis. Down below, the cherry interior has a large centerline double berth and en suite head in the forward cabin. The sofa-style saloon with a fold-down table will be comfortable for up to eight. The galley offers lots of counter space, a large fridge and double stainless steel sinks. Across from the galley, the chart table is a traditional nav station where the skipper or navigator will be in command of all of the ship’s systems.

A fine new entry to the 40-foot cruising fleet, the new Tartan 4000 will be a great couple’s boat and is built to be a family heirloom, albeit one that you could sail across the ocean.

Specifications: LOA 40’ 8”; LWL 36’4”; Beam 13’0”; Draft 7’6”; Displ. 20,104 lbs.; Sail area 893 sq. ft. For more information, call 440-357-7777 or visit www.tartanyachts.com.

A semi-custom design that was spawned last year and launched late last spring, the new TARTAN 4700 expands upon themes introduced in the 4400 a few years ago.

On deck, the cockpit is huge and deep and will be very secure at sea. With twin wheels and a folding transom, the living space will feel vast while at anchor and with the platform lowered.

At sea, all buttoned up, you won’t mind running down the face of ocean rollers. The 4700 has Tartan’s Cruise Control Rig, so it is easy and efficient to sail upwind or off the wind and actually sails higher and faster than the 4400. The extra three feet add to the boat’s balance and waterline length, which translates into better performance all around.

Down below, a lot of attention has been given to making the boat a comfortable family home with good communal and private spaces. The large aft cabin is tucked under the cockpit, and the bridgedeck has been raised to provide full headroom across the cabin. The large aft head is next to it to starboard.

The 4700, like the 4400, has a raised dinette that offers good views through the deck saloon windows. And the chart table is raised as well, so you can easily stand watches inside the cabin with great visibility forward and to both sides. The engine room is beneath the raised saloon floor, where you have great access to the engineering systems. Forward, there is a large master cabin with an attached head and a third cabin with upper and lower bunks, which will appeal to children and their friends.

A fine new model in the Tartan line, the 4700 is a liveaboard, offshore quality yacht that offers all of the attributes of Tartans—epoxy hull and deck, carbon rig, carbon rudder, Beavertail shoal draft keel—in an exciting new package. Look for BWS’s full review and the new boat’s specifications in the October issue.

For more information, call 440-357-7777 or visit www.tartanyachts.com.

BAVARIA RISING •

After an overnight flight to Turkey and a good night’s sleep, I set off from the Alacati Marina aboard the brand new Bavaria 50 on a crystal clear morning for a day of sailing trials. Around us, the brown hills rose above a rocky and often chalk-white coastline. In the distance, hilltop wind turbines spun slowly, hinting of better breezes as the day wore on. Onboard was Daniel Kohl, product manager of sailboats for Bavaria, and sailing consultant Pete Meyer, who works closely with Kohl. Both are Olympic-quality sailors, so the day promised to offer a clear look at just how well the 50 performs despite the light breeze.

The 50 is a sister ship to the Bavaria 45, 40, 36 and 32, all of which were designed by Farr Yacht Design and styled by BMW Designworks USA. The Bavaria 55, which I have not yet had a chance to test, is the fleet’s flagship but has some noticeable design differences.

Up until recently, Bavarias were designed by the Slovenian J&J Yacht Design Group. The boats were traditional, 1990s-style moderate displacement cruising sloops that had proven very popular but had become dated. When Bavaria’s new corporate owners decided to completely redesign the product line, they aimed at improving the boats’ sailing performance and opening up and brightening the interiors.

The choice to partner with Farr ensured that the new line of cruisers would be fast, easy to sail and weatherly. On that lovely Med day in early June, we got a chance to put the new 50 through its paces and to have a thorough look at how the design and construction of the boat fulfills its purposes.

The Bavaria Cruiser design comes standard with in-mast roller furling mainsails and roller furling jibs. The 50 we were testing had a custom set of laminated sails that were handsome and purposeful as we rolled them out to meet the moderate but building westerly breeze. The mainsail had full height vertical battens with fractional battens between them to give the sail a nice roach and to keep the laminate flat and aerodynamic. The jib was cut to 108 percent of the foretriangle, so it could sheet inside the outboard shrouds and chainplates. This headsail arrangement makes the foresail easy to handle during tacks and jibes, while the close sheeting angle enables the boat to sail very close to the wind.

An interesting solution to mainsail trim, given the in-mast furling sail, is the way Bavaria has set up the main sheet. Leach tension and draft are always issues with in-mast furling sails since they have no battens on the leach and because the sail has to be cut flat to roll up neatly. Usually, such rigs have both a boom vang and a traveler to control sail shape. The vang trims the leach, while the traveler adds or subtracts power from the sail. Bavaria has eliminated the traveler, which many cruisers never use, replacing it with a dual mainsheet, mid-boom sheeting system. This setup allows you to adjust the angle of the sail relative to the wind in minute increments, acting just like a traveler, but simpler to use.

As we tacked out the channel and into the Med, we got a good feel for how the 50’s rig works with the hull design. The boat was a cinch to tack and trim. In the moderate breeze, we found that we had plenty of sail area upwind and that the 50 would carry her way through tacks nicely. The narrow sheeting angles allowed us to tack inside 80 degrees to the true wind—very close indeed for a full volume cruising boat with a roller furling rig.

Both the 50 and her smaller 45-foot sistership have twin rudders under the extra wide transom. These prevent the boat from stalling when heeled over and give the helmsman the feel of a boat running on rails. The 50 steers beautifully and surely, and you can find the “groove” upwind with fingertip control.

Off the wind, we hoisted the big reacher, which was stowed in a full-hoist spinnaker sock similar to an ATN snuffer but built by Elvstrom. The sail tacked down to the anchor rollers on the bow and sheeted through snatch blocks near the quarters. With the big sail drawing, the 50 leaped ahead nicely. Sailing at 140 degrees to the true wind, we achieved near hull speed of 9 knots in the modest 10 to 12 knots of wind. The 50 is a slippery design that will make enthusiastic sailors happy with its upwind and off the wind performance. And with the reacher really drawing in the puffs off the hills, the twin rudders kept the boat completely under control; even the autopilot had no problem steering through puffs.

On our way back to the marina, we rolled in the sails in order to put the boat through her paces under power. The 50 had the optional 72-horsepower Volvo diesel and a three-bladed Gori folding prop on the saildrive, so it was optimally set up for powering. With the prop in normal mode, the engine maxed out at 3400 rpms and drove the 50 at 9 knots in flat water. From full speed to full stop, with the engine hard in reverse, the 50 needed only three boat lengths. In reverse, there was no prop walk to speak of. And, with the Gori in “overdrive” mode, a unique function of these propellers, the engine maxed out at 2200 rpms and still achieved hull speed. The only hiccup with a single prop, twin rudder design is the lack of prop wash on the rudders at slow speeds around the docks to give you steerage; the 50 has to be moving for the rudders to bite the water effectively.

The 50 was a lot of fun to sail and easy for two people to handle upwind with the plain working sails and off the wind with the reacher flying. It was close-winded, fast on all points of sail and sailed best when trimmed for minimum heeling angles, which will please most crew. Under power, the boat handled surely underway and around the marina docks; with the lack of prop walk and the bow thruster, it was simple to moor despite its length and ample beam. The 50 is a great sailing family cruiser, but it can certainly be handled effectively by a couple on their own who will appreciate the rig’s simplicity and performance.

LIVING ABOARD

The Bavaria 50, like her sisterships, can be built with a fairly wide array of owner-specified arrangements and interior details. Because the boats are built to order in a high volume production facility in Bavaria, Germany, you can select the interior veneers, fabrics and cabin configurations to suite your tastes and needs. And you can add to the boat’s equipment from a long list of options. Boats that will be imported to North America by the new Bavaria distributor will have a lot of “options” spec’d out as standard equipment, so buyers can truly take possession of their new boats in cruise-away condition. Interestingly, if you order a Bavaria today, your brand new, semicustom boat can be in your slip and ready to cruise in about eight weeks.

The 50 we sailed was fairly tricked out with options. It had the three-cabin, three-head layout, which will be preferred by families who won’t be chartering the boat or sailing with masses of relatives. Four- and five-cabin versions are also available. Because of the 50’s 15 feet of beam and generous hull volume, it is possible to have side-by-side double cabins forward, quarter cabins aft and a pullman cabin with bunk berths tucked in forward.

The 50’s saloon has the chart table and galley to port and the huge dinette to starboard. With seven deck hatches, opening ports, sealed hull portlights and a light-colored vinyl overhead, the interior is full of light and well-ventilated. Each of the cabins and heads had opening deck hatches and cross-ventilation with opening ports.

The galley to port has a unique layout for a side-galley design since it is U-shaped and offers a sea cook plenty of places to brace a hip or knee while working with both hands in bumpy conditions. A stainless steel rail runs along the whole galley, so you always have a secure handhold and a place to fasten a galley belt.

The dinette will seat six comfortably and can accommodate eight in a pinch. There is a lot of storage under and behind the bench seats. This is where the family will gather for most evening meals and in cool or rainy weather; it is just like sitting around the kitchen table at home. In warmer conditions, the cockpit will be the center of family life since it is large enough to fit a crowd, and the centerline table will seat the whole family for al fresco meals. With a dodger and bimini fitted, the cockpit will be almost like a covered porch or patio.

One of the signature design features of the new Bavaria line is the wide, fold-down transom that converts from the back bulkhead of the cockpit into a nearly full-beam swim platform. On the 55, 50 and 45, the platform is raised and lowered with a small motor; on the smaller boats, you operate it by hand. The platform on the 50 is wide enough for four people to sit abreast and has a mountable ladder with four teak-clad steps that makes it simple to climb out of the water. With the stern platform raised, the cockpit is completely enclosed and secure; with the platform down, the aft quarter of the boat becomes a huge outdoor living area.

With lots of interior volume and headroom, a commodious saloon, large sleeping cabins and heads with showers, and the spacious cockpit and swim platform on deck, the new Bavaria 50 offers her owners a truly spacious and comfortable floating home.

CONSTRUCTION AND DETAILS

The Bavaria factory in Germany has become famous as one of the most modern and largest production facilities in the world, capable of turning out as many as 3,000 boats a year if the demand is there. But that doesn’t mean all of the boats come out of identical cookie cutters.

Instead, Bavaria allows you to choose the color and type of fabric you want, the interior veneers—mahogany, oak or walnut—and the type of floor laminates that will match your fabric and veneers. In all but the 32, you can opt for several different layouts. There is an extensive array of options to choose from, including engine size, prop, sail quality, cockpit canvas and cushions.

As noted above, the boats coming to the U.S. will have a baseline specification list that includes Garmin navigation and wind instruments and an autopilot. While you can make a lot of decisions about the boat before it is built, the basic construction and engineering that goes into each boat remains the same. The hulls are hand-laid fiberglass with Coremat coring below the waterline and Airex coring above the waterline and in the deck; Coremat adds bulk and panel strength, while Airex adds panel strength and a high level of noise and heat insulation.

Leaping around on deck while setting the reacher and handling docking lines, we were impressed by the boat’s stiffness underfoot. And, with the engine revving high and the prop churning on the saildrive, the noise level in the cockpit was insignificant. The hull is laminated with anti-osmotic isophthalic resins to prevent water penetration and hull blisters.

Boats imported to the U.S. and Caribbean will have an additional barrier coat of Interlux’s epoxy Interprotect 2000E. The hull-to-deck joint is glued with a space-age adhesive, then tapped and screwed together with the toe rail at eight-inch intervals. The keel-to-hull joint is extremely robust with large steel backing plates for each bolt that are then glassed into the hull.

Both the deck and hull have been stiffened with top-hat style grid sections that spread the loads of the rig and keel to the whole boat, thus eliminating any twist or movement as the boat moves through waves or reacts to strong winds. With the mast’s shrouds moved outboard to accommodate the small headsail and inboard sheeting, the chainplates become an integral part of the hull and deck construction. The chainplates are tabbed into gussets inside the hull that are in turn tabbed into the internal hull grid; the net result is a structure that can’t move even under the greatest loads.

As we poked around the interior of the new 50, we were impressed with the thought that has gone into the layout of systems, seacocks, plumbing, wiring and the installation of optional equipment, whether that be air conditioning or a genset. Access to engineering is as good as you will find on any boat, so general engine and genset maintenance and system troubleshooting will not require a contortionist.

The new Bavarias have definitely been designed and engineered by sailors who know the difference between what works and what doesn’t aboard a well used cruising boat.

THE FLEET

The week following my trip to Turkey, I had the chance to visit with the new principals at Bavaria Yachts USA in Annapolis, MD. I was fortunate to test-sail the four smaller boats in the new Cruiser line, which recently arrived in America. The new company is owned and run by Andrew Thompson and Sylvia Driver, who are the Caribbean Bavaria dealers and owners of Horizon Yacht Charters, and by their partner Kenny Feld, a serial entrepreneur and keen sailor. The Annapolis operation is run on a day to day basis by Jeff McCord, who has more than 30 years in the sailing industry, many of those with Beneteau USA as a senior sales executive. The depth of experience this management team brings to Bavaria USA is impressive.

The four boats we sailed in Annapolis—the 45, 40, 36 and 32—are variations on the themes we noted in detail in the 50 that we sailed in Turkey. The design characteristics, build quality and owner input into everything from fabrics to engine size remain the same. Yet, each is unique in its own way and will suit quite different needs and pocketbooks.

BAVARIA CRUISER 45

Although five feet shorter than the 50, the 45 offers a lot of the same details. The cockpit has twin wheels for good visibility forward and access aft to the wide stern platform, which is electrically operated. The 45 has twin rudders and a shoal draft cast-iron winged keel. A bow thruster is standard in the U.S. The rig is very similar to the 50’s, with an in-mast roller furling mainsail, 108 percent jib and outboard chainplates. A conventional slab-reefing mainsail is available as an option, as are laminated sails and a reacher in a snuffer. Below decks, the 45 can be arranged with a three-cabin, three-head plan or a four-cabin, three-head layout. The saloon is similar to the 50 with the galley to port and the dinette to starboard. The chart table on the 45 faces aft and has a nifty folding seatback that is part of the dinette. Under sail, the 45 handled much the same as the 50. With twin rudders and a roller furling rig, the boat was easy to tack and jibe and managed to sail just as close to the wind. The boat is incredibly solid underfoot and gives the impression of a larger vessel. We noted during a change of crew on the fly that one of our larger sailors did not cause the 45 to heel at all as he climbed aboard from the chase boat. As very close sister to the 50, the 45 will appeal to those who want a big cruising boat with a lot of volume but do no need the size and extra volume the 50 provides.

BAVARIA CRUISER 40

Of the four boats tested in Annapolis, the 40 was the first I sailed. I had the good luck to be out on the Chesapeake Bay in the late afternoon when the breeze was blowing nicely and the afternoon sun not too intense. With just Andrew Thompson and me aboard, we close reached out of Annapolis harbor and then started short tacking southeast into the breeze. Andrew is a crack sailor in the Caribbean and handled sail trim as I helmed the boat through her tacks. To my delight, we found that the 40 was capable of saiing 8 plus knots when well trimmed in a moderate breeze of 10 to 12 knots, easily tacking inside 75 degrees of true wind. Modern racing boats do this or even better, but it is a rare cruising boat, with all that furniture down below, that so nimbly gets out of its own way. The 40 has only one layout option—three double cabins with two heads—which makes it great for a couple who enjoy sailing with their friends. The galley lies along the port side, and the dinette to starboard will seat six. There is a good size chart table aft of the dinette. The 40 is a lot of fun to sail, close winded and very well laid out for cruising.

BAVARIA CRUISER 36

After sailing the 45 and 40, we expected the 36 to feel like a much smaller boat when we stepped aboard. But that was not the case at all. The 36 feels big underfoot, big when puffs fill the sail, and big when you go below to the cabins. There are two interior plans for the 36—a two-cabin, one-head layout and a three-cabin, one-head configuration. Big quarter cabins are rare in 36 footers, but aboard the Bavaria, with all of the volume and beam, the two cabins aft work well. Although the boat has only one head—plenty for a 36-footer—the compartment is large and has a glass partition to make it into a shower, too. Under sail, the 36 surprised us again by being extremely quick. We crossed tacks up the Severn River with the 45 and found that in the light airs, we were able to point a little higher and sail just about as fast. More breeze would have tipped the scale in the 45’s favor, but in the light stuff, we did very well. A great couple’s cruiser, the 36 will really appeal to those who want to sail wherever they go and want the ability to go to windward handily. Also, the 36 offers more interior volume than many 38- or 40-footers.

BAVARIA CRUISER 32

The 32 was the last boat we sailed over the two days we spent in Annapolis, and in many ways it was like saving the best for last. Not that the 32 surpasses her bigger sisters in any particular way; it was simply obvious that here was a little boat with a big heart and a lot of room for a young family or an older couple looking to simplify their cruising life. First and foremost, the 32 sailed like a dream and was as weatherly as the bigger boats. With the small headsail, the 32 is easy to singlehand and will be fun for those who like to sail to and from their moorings. The Farr Yacht Design pedigree really shines through in this boat. We were equally impressed with the 32’s two-cabin, one-head layout, which offers a double cabin aft under the cockpit and a smaller guest or kid’s cabin forward. The benches in the saloon can double as berths, too. The galley is aft at the foot of the companionway ladder with the aft-facing chart table across from it. The L-shaped dinette will seat four for dinner. A perfect weekender with the capability of carrying you off for weeks of vacation at a time, the Bavaria Cruiser 32 will make a perfect starter boat or an equally fine last cruiser for those who have seen it all.

Sabre 456

The 45-foot Jim Taylor design that Sabre Yachts reintroduced at the fall boat shows has long been one of our favorite mid-size family cruisers. In its earlier incarnation as the Sabre 452, I sailed the boat offshore from Maryland to Massachusetts and had a lovely trip. The boat—then and now—has an excellent hull shape, so it moves easily and surely through the water. We had a bit of wind on that trip and the boat handled it with real grace and style.

Sabre ceased production of the boat simply because the company was so booked up building Sabreline powerboats that they needed the factory space that the 452 line was occupying. But there remained over the years a steady interest in the 45-footer, so last year the company decided to bring it back to life with some improvements and modifications.

SAIL TRIALS
Last fall on Chesapeake Bay, I had a chance to sail the new 456 fresh out of the factory and rigged for cruising. Aboard was designer Jim Taylor, who has designed all of Sabre’s sailboats since 1991; Bentley Collins, Sabre’s director of sales and marketing; and the boat’s owner, Bob Comeaux. A congenial crew, all of whom are good sailors.

A typical fall morning on the Chesapeake brought light winds and fairly balmy temperatures. The lack of wind didn’t deter us. We set out from Mears Marina in Annapolis, MD and motored into the bay. The 456 has a turbocharged 75 horsepower Yanmar, so it had no trouble achieving hull speed of 8.2 knots at maximum revs. We hoisted the full battened main, rolled out the genoa, and soon we were sliding along sweetly in 8 knots of wind.

Sabres are known for their classic lines, thoughtfully laid out deck plans and rigs, and finely finished, Maine-style interiors. But they are also known for their consistently good performance under sail. The 456 made 5+ knots in 8 knots of wind and tacked easily in 90 degrees. We sailed out into the bay, then turned back and jibed downwind on our way to Annapolis. Off the wind, the boat seemed to almost ghost along as the apparent wind dropped and the boat speed increased.

The 456 steers positively, with the single Edson destroyer wheel linked to the large, balanced spade rudder, and swings very nicely through tacks and jibes without losing momentum. The rudder has a carbon fiber rudder stock that reduces weight and provides superior stiffness and strength. Also, the carbon post can be laminated into the rudder, which prevents water from seeping into the laminate as it always does around a stainless rudder post.

Trimming sheets in the cockpit worked very well with four experienced sailors…and the electric winches. It is so simple to trim and ease the sheets that you find yourself fiddling and trimming as the breeze fluctuates much more than you might in normal cruising mode with manual winches. Once you are over 50, electric winches are the way to go—particularly if you sail singlehanded or as a couple most of the time.

The cockpit layout is good for six adults to eat around the table or manage sheets, but not so large that the volume becomes a liability should a wave break into it. The aft lockers are large enough for a lot of deck gear, and on the boat we were testing, the port locker has been transformed into a storage and work room where the genset is mounted. Access is through the locker from the cockpit or via a door aft of the galley. For extended cruising, this is a useful innovation. Alternatively, this space could also be a standard quarter cabin with a double berth.

The swim platform aft is quite modest in size and fits neatly with the boat’s attractive lines. You will be able to board and debark the dinghy easily here, as well as swim and shower.

Moving around the boat you always find a good handhold where you need it. The side decks are wide and fairly unobstructed by the shrouds. The propane locker is under the port side deck—out of the way but convenient for handling the tanks. All the way forward, the chain locker is huge and partitioned to accept two anchor rodes; this fits neatly with the dual bow rollers that can permanently carry two 20 kilo or larger anchors. The vertical axis windlass is mounted aft of the locker. For safety as well as styling, the locker doors close completely to make the locker watertight—a feature you rarely see on modern production boats.

Sabre pays a lot of attention to the small details that make their boats special. Among them are stainless steel fittings such as chalks, stanchion bases and cleats, which are all sculpted to look elegant but also designed to enhance the boat’s performance.

After a couple of hours of very pleasant sailing, we rolled up the headsail, furled the main and headed back to Mears Marina. Sailing the Sabre 456 gives you the feeling of riding a well-mannered thoroughbred; the boat has a very fine pedigree and is beautifully proportioned, well laid out for sailing, close winded and fast.

LIVING ABOARD
It is not often that a boat builder introduces a new word to the sailing lexicon, but this year Sabre has done just that. The interior styling of the 456 that we sailed in Annapolis has an interesting new feel. The main door to the forward cabin—which slides side to side instead of swinging into the saloon—and the cabinet doors behind the settee and dinette are delicate batten and rice paper styling that looks very Japanese.

The design is called, in Japanese, “shoji.” As Bentley Collins informed us, “Shoji, also called souji, was prevalent in the medieval age (1185-1568) and is a generic term for partitions that can divide the interior of a building into separate rooms.”

Ah so. The effect down below on the 456 is subtle and very attractive. Combined with the hand crafted American cherry joinery, the white overhead panels, and the large and numerous ports and hatches, the boat exudes Maine-built quality and innovative design.

The forward cabin has a centerline double berth with access from both sides—much simpler to make in the morning, and you can get in and out without hurdling over your mate. Since we seem to need to check the anchor more often through the night, this is an excellent design improvement. Under the berth you will find four huge drawers that are large enough to serve as home for four seasons of sailing clothes. The forward head is also roomy and has a separate shower stall.

The saloon has the dinette to port and the bench settee to starboard; both of these will make good sea berths when sailing to Bermuda or Hawaii. The dinette converts into a double berth when you have a crowd aboard. With stools that tuck under the table in use, you can get six around the table comfortably and squeeze in eight in a pinch.

The 456’s galley is a sea cook’s dream, with what seems like an acre of counter space. Under the counter, the boat is equipped with two horizontal fridge–freeze drawers. This is such a good solution to the issue of fridge-diving through top loading hatches that we expect to see other builders copy the design.

The tradeoff is that the sinks had to be moved outboard, where they may not drain entirely when hard over on the starboard tack— but what sea cook would allow that at meal time?

The workroom is just aft of the galley through a full-size door. With a workbench, a vise, tool and spare parts lockers, the genset, and more, this is such a useful space that serious cruisers will grasp its value at once.

Consistent with the way we all navigate today—digitally on chartplotters—the chart table has been kept relatively small and serves as the communications center as much as a chart table. Facing outboard, all of the instruments and radios can be mounted right in front of the navigator and within easy reach.

The aft cabin or guest cabin has a good-size double berth that you mount from the forward end. The cabin has plenty of head room and enough floor space to swing a small cat so you won’t have to contort your limbs when dressing.

The aft head will work nicely as the boat’s “day head” and as a wet locker when sailing in rainy weather.

Shoji styling in harmony with the Maine-built integrity of the cherry woodwork gives the new 456 a warm and homey feel. The layout works extremely well for a couple who cruise with friends or children.

BWS THOUGHTS
In this economy, it is something of a bold move for Sabre to reintroduce a boat that was successful a few years ago, albeit refined and improved. But there was a pent up demand for a Sabre of this size, so the crowds at the boat shows have been large and enthusiastic.

There’s good reason for that—the 456 is a true modern classic in a size now considered suitable for offshore sailing and extended cruising. The boat is a superior sailing boat that will make excellent day runs and fine offshore passages. And, it will be a fine and elegant floating home.

The 456 is built to NMMA, ABYC, USCG and CE category A standards, so you know the build-quality is at the highest level. And, it is Maine-built, which for many sailors worldwide, is all they need to know.

Sabre 456

LOA                    45’6”
LWL                   38’4”
Beam                  14’1”
Draft                   5’6”
Displ.                  27,150 lbs.
Ballast                10,850
Sail area             1,043 sq. ft.
Water                  200 gals.
Fuel                      100 gals.
Holding               45 gals.

Sabre Yachts
South Casco, ME  •  207.655.3831
Website: www.sabreyachts.com

The new Oyster 46 is a great couple’s cruising boat and will be both a lot of fun to sail and a great escape home afloat. This is a boat you could truly sail around the world without crew or extra hands.And when you show up at the Oyster Rendezvous that are hosted in the Med, the Caribbean and the East Coast of the U.S., you can be assured that you will be one of the fastest boats in the fleet. At the end of the two-day Oyster regatta last summer, Thales finished in first place with two seconds in fleet and the best combined point score. Not bad, considering Geoff and Jean had never raced the boat before.OYSTER 46LOA 46’10”LWL 40’7”Beam 14’6”Draft (standard) 7’1”Draft (shoal) 5’9”Displacement 37,920 lbs.Fuel 198 gals.Water 172 gals.Engine 75hpSail area 1293 sq. ft.Mast height 62’5”SA/D 17.65D/L 258Two of the photos, the aerial (first shot) and the salon are courtesy of Oyster Marine.

TARTAN 5300 •

When my folks decided to move up in size, they sold the boat to another neighbor, who kept it for 30 years and cruised it all over New England. When he decided to sell, who should step up to buy the then-40-year-old boat but my nephew, who keeps it near Boston and sails it whenever he can…now with a new engine and new sails, but still the same 47-year-old cruiser. So the boat is still in the family.That says a lot about Tartan’s place in the American sailing scene. The boat building company, founded by Ohio native Charlie Britton in 1960, has always been focused primarily on solid, honest boats that appeal to families, whether they are cruising in a Tartan 37 or beating around the buoys in a Tartan Ten. While times change and designs evolve, that fundamental Tartan quality remains the same.In July, I had the chance to test sail the center-cockpit Tartan 5300 Luora, which belongs to Jeff and Linda Lennox. The boat is based in Mystic, CT, and I joined the Lennoxes, their two sons and the family dog for the first leg to Newport, RI of their summer cruise to Maine and back. Once again, I was aboard a Tartan heading off on a classic family cruise.Luora is hull number one of the Tim Jackett-designed 5300 line and built with a lot of Jeff and Linda’s input. This is only right since their previous boat was a Tartan 4100, on which they had cruised extensively. The standard 5300 is spec’d with a full battened main, the Tartan “pocket boom” and lazy jacks. Jeff and Linda had success with a Forespar Leisure Furl in-boom furling system on their 4100, so they opted for the same arrangement on the 5300. We set off from Mystic in a near flat calm with some coastal fog hanging over Long Island Sound. So we motored until we got past The Race, the mouth of the sound, where the wind began to build. Or at least we thought it was going to build, so we rolled out the mainsail and then rolled out the reacher to see what we could do.The 5300 has the Tartan Cruise Control Rig (CCR) that is now being used on all of the Tartan line. The standard rig has a fully battened main that furls in and out of the pocket boom and two headsails, the self-tacking jib that fits on an inner forestay, and the full reacher that flies from the masthead. This arrangement, which is called the Solent Rig in Europe, allows you to adjust your sail configuration easily, no matter what direction the winds blow. The reacher can be used for angles from close reaching to running, while the jib is great for very close reaching and beating to windward.With the reacher drawing nicely, Luora was able to sail at about half the speed of the wind or 4 knots in 8 knots of breeze. This is not bad for a large moderate displacement cruising boat.That morning, on the website sailflow.com, the forecast had been for the sea breeze to come up at 2p.m. Lo and behold, at 2:10, the 6 to 8 knots of breeze was suddenly 10 and then 12. We trimmed for reaching speed along our eastward course and the 5300 really began to move. In 12 knots, we were easily making 6.5 through the water. Nice.While the breeze held, we rolled in the reacher and rolled out the jib so we could see how she handled upwind. The 5300 settled in at 45 degrees from the true wind and tacked effortlessly through 90 degrees.Finally, the breeze died, so we rolled up the headsail and cranked up the engine. Under power on a flat sea, the 5300 cruised easily at 8 knots and was capable of powering at more than 9 knots if asked. The 5300 is a big boat that feels nimble underfoot and slippery through the water.The hull has a narrow entry that enhances upwind performance and broad after sections that provide a lot of interior volume and will make the boat stiff and powerful when reaching. With the Cruise Control Rig, the 5300 is a cinch for a couple to handle from the cockpit.TARTAN AT 50This year, Tartan celebrates the 50th anniversary of the company’s founding. The first Tartan 27 rolled off the production line in 1961, so next year will also be a 50th anniversary. Five decades of continuous sailboat production is no small feat in America, so the company and its core of boat builders is to be congratulated.2010 marks another milestone for Tartan and C&C, too. On July 30th, Steve Malbasa and his wife Stephanie purchased the company from the previous owner and immediately set out to position it for a successful future. Tim Jackett, who is the company’s president and chief designer, is also a partner in the new business and will stay on to run the day-to-day operations.In early August, I was able to spend a day in Ohio with Steve, Stephanie and Tim at their new factory in Painesville and out on the water sailing the Malbasas’ 4300. The plant is a huge step forward for the company. It is large, modern, clean and set up for highly efficient semi-custom boat building. As Tim noted, the move has allowed the company to shed some of its old habits and practices and given every individual in the company the chance to rethink and improve the way they do their jobs.This change in company culture is already having a positive effect throughout the industry as Tim and Steve set out to build the dealer network and expand the brands’ visibility in key sailing regions around the country. The Tartan and C&C brands are two of the most venerable in the country.In addition, the company owns Legacy Yachts, which has a line of premium motor yachts and cruisers, and Novis Composites, the in-house builder of carbon fiber spars, booms, poles and other parts for the boats.After a tour of the new factory with Tim and a visit to the old facility, which is in the process of a major face lift and where the hulls, decks and spars will be built, we met up with Steve and Stephanie aboard their 4300 for a late afternoon sail on Lake Erie. It was a lovely, warm day, so we hoisted the main, rolled out the reacher and flew out into the lake at 8 knots.Steve Malbasa is a retired sales management executive who discovered sailing later in life and has jumped right into the deep end with enormous enthusiasm. He brings a very clear vision to the company that focuses entirely on making the “customer experience” the very best it can be, and better every day. This is a sound formula for success and promises to drive the company forward for another 50 years.THE DIFFERENCEOver the years, Tim Jackett has consistently innovated the design, engineering and construction of Tartan and C&C boats. They are one of only a few companies that provides carbon fiber masts, booms and poles as standard equipment; the “pocket boom” is also a unique solution to handling large, fully battened mainsails. The Cruise Control Rig takes a sail handling system often found on large custom yachts—particularly in Europe—and adapts it to couples’ cruising boats. It makes a huge amount of sense.The hulls and decks of all of the boats are infused, foam-cored, epoxy and e-glass laminations that have superior strength-to-weight ratios and extremely high glass-to-resin ratios. Epoxy is more expensive than vinylester or polyester resin but provides a structure that is completely inert and impervious to osmotic blistering. The idea is to build boats that will last generations, like the old Tartan 27 now owned by my nephew.These days, Tartans are less pure production boats than they are semi-custom yachts for owners who expect to tailor the interiors spaces a bit to their needs. This is particularly true in the larger boats such as the 5300. The boats are not built on a production line; instead, each is hand crafted by a team that is responsible for the fit out from the bare hull and deck through launching. This personal involvement shows in the final product.THE 5300 DOWN BELOWJeff and Linda Lennox stepped up to the plate to build hull number one of the 5300 design and, as noted above, brought a wealth of experience and ideas with them. Luora is very much their boat. The original plans for the 5300 show a raised saloon with the engine room, tanks and batteries under the saloon floor, where they are near the boat’s center of gravity. The saloon plans show two curved settees with the port side doubling as the dining table.The Lennoxes opted for a different plan in which the dinette remains to port but the starboard side of the saloon has a raised inside helm with a forward facing bench seat to starboard; this allows you to sail or pilot the boat from inside the saloon with good visibility all around and all of your navigation instruments right in front of you. Just aft of this is a desk and seat, and aft of that is what Tim calls the “Great Chair.” Part of this custom interior was to maintain access from the saloon to the after head on the starboard side so it can be used as the “day head” and will double as a wet locker for foul weather gear.The rest of Luora is more or less the standard interior design. All the way forward, there is a large guest cabin with a centerline double berth and plenty of hanging and locker space for a couple who will be staying aboard for a while. Just aft to port is a double cabin with upper and lower berths. This will be a great kids’ cabin and will be comfortable at sea. The forward head, equipped with a full shower stall, is across from the double cabin. The truly huge master cabin all the way aft stretches the boat’s full beam. The centerline double is a full queen size—rare on a cruising boat. The cabin has two large hanging lockers and seats on both sides of the berth. The master head on the starboard side is huge and has a large shower stall.An alternative to the giant aft cabin is to move the head aft, thus reducing the width of the cabin. In the head’s place you can have a fourth cabin with upper and lower berths. This fourth cabin will be a wonderful place to sleep at sea and a good cabin for crew on long passages.The 5300’s galley lies in the passageway on the port side from the saloon to the aft cabin. The stove, storage lockers and fridges are outboard, while the double sinks are inboard and nearly on the centerline, where they will drain nicely on both tacks.Tartan has been using cherry in their interiors for several years. The bulkheads are cherry veneers over marine plywood while the drawers, doors and cabin faces are solid cherry. The woodwork is finished with a flat varnish that looks elegant.The 5300 feels like a bigger boat down below. The cabins are all large and well appointed, the heads are spacious, and the working spaces at the nav table, galley or inside steering station are all supplied with ample table or counter space.The boat is bright throughout and provided with excellent cross-ventilation through portholes and opening hatches. One could easily move aboard, as the Lennox family does, for extended periods of cruising in real comfort and style.BWS THOUGHTSThe 50th anniversary of the Tartan brand is reason enough to celebrate. The company is an American treasure. Now starting its second half-century under the new ownership of Steve and Stephanie Malbasa and Tim Jacket, there is reason to believe that the company will grow and prosper.The 5300 is the perfect flagship for the brand. It is a true family cruising boat in the Tartan tradition that incorporates many well thought out innovations and heirloom quality construction. As the year progresses, you will find new dealers in sailing centers around the country handling the line and a new optimism among Tartan owners that their boats will indeed be around for generations ahead.Tartan 5300LOA 53’0”LWL 46’6”Beam 16’2”Draft (keel) 6’8”Draft (K/CB) 5’6”/9’6”Displ. (K) 37,225 lbs.Displ. (K/CB) 38,225 lbs.Ballast (K) 13,000 lbs.Ballast (K/CB) 14,000 lbs.Fuel 125 gals.Water 250 gals.Sail Area 1,387 sq. ft.Mast height 80’0”Ballast/Displ. 35Displ./LWL 165Sail area/Displ. 20Tartan and C&C Yachts/Hanover MarinePainesville, OH 44077Ph: 440-392-2628Website: www.tartanyachts.com

LIVING ABOARD

The new 575 has 18 opening port holes, saloon windows and deck hatches, so you can see that the priority was for the boat to be bright inside and well ventilated—two vital aspects of creature comfort on a cruising boat.

Most Oyster owners use their boats for the purpose for which they were designed: world cruising. In the mid-size range (for Oyster) where the 575 fits, most boats are sailed by couple or families, while some also carry a paid crew or skipper. The accommodation plan for the new boat fits both scenarios.

In the standard plan, the 575 provides two large double cabins with en suite heads and showers. The master cabin aft is huge and has large hanging lockers, a small desk-style vanity, and plenty of drawer and locker space. The forward cabin is the guest cabin and has a centerline double and ample storage spaces for a couple who might be visiting for a week or two. There are two smaller upper-lower berth cabins in the standard plan, which will be good for younger crew, children or a skipper and mate. The saloon is as commodious as any you will find on a boat of this size, with a large dinette, comfortable seating, useful tables and storage areas, and a large expanse of open floor.

This will be a great boat for a larger family or for a couple that likes to entertain in harbor. The nav station is a true offshore skipper’s haven, where he or she can mount all the electronics wanted or needed and can control all of the ship’s systems. The galley opposite lies in the passage aft to the master cabin. You will find all of the counter space, storage and kitchen equipment you need to prepare meals for parties of six or even more. Galleys like this are wonderful at sea since there is always a place to brace a hip or knee, and always a fiddle or handhold to steady yourself.

The interior fit and finish is as finely honed as you will see on any custom yacht. Oyster can accommodate a wide range of custom interior options and always works with owners to create a yacht to suit their needs as closely as possible. It is no wonder that Oyster can boast (but seldom does) that they count among their owners many self-reliant, successful captains of industry who never settle for anything but the very best.

BWS THOUGHTS

The evolutionary Oyster 575, like her earlier sisterships, will be a manageable world cruiser for a couple or family. The powerful hull and tall rig combine to offer a high degree of stability and a creditable level of sailing performance. The 575 will be able to maintain very high average speeds at sea and will deliver her crew back to port better rested than when they left. BWS looks forward to sea trialing the new 575 later this year.

OYSTER 575LOA 57’6”LWL51’6”Beam 16’5”Draft (standard) 8’10”Draft (shoal) 6’10”Draft (CB) 5’5”/12’6”Displacement 61,728 lbs.Fuel 250 gals.Water 250 gals.Engine 130hp dieselSail Area 2,091 sq. ft.SA/D 20.8D/L 200EUR/CD Cat. AOffice: Oyster MarineIpswich, Suffolk, EnglandPh: +44-(0)1473-688-888Website: www.oystermarine.comE-mail: info@oysteryachts.com

USA Office: Oyster Marine USANewport, RIPh: 401-846-7400E-mail: info@oysteryachts.com

OYSTER 655 OFFSHORE •On a 300-mile offshore delivery, BWS discovers (again) why Oysters set the standard for world-class passagemakers.

The Rob Humphries-designed hull has a fairly narrow bow and her lines run aft very straight and true to her broad transom. There’s nothing extreme in the boat’s dimensions. The standard hull, like Matchmaker, has a 60-foot waterline; a modern, bulbed-fin keel with a nine-foot, eight-inch draft; and a large rudder mounted on a small skeg. The standard rig stands 90 feet above the water and spreads 2,830 square feet of cruising canvas (the full 150-percent genoa included).

The non-dimensional ratios show that the 655 is a thoroughly modern cruising boat with the power to sail well in light conditions as well as in the bumpy 20 knots we had off New York. The displacement-to-length ratio is 182, which puts it in the “performance-cruiser” category. But the 655 is no lightweight skimmer; the boat feels and sails like a solid passagemaker, yet is always easy to steer and is pleasantly responsive to the helm and sail trim.The boat’s sail area-displacement ratio of 22.58 is quite high among the offshore cruising fleet. But, with the optional in-mast or in-boom furling mainsail and hydraulic furling headsails, you can dial in the exact amount of sail area you need to balance the boat and maintain optimum boat speed.Matchmaker has an optional 98-foot carbon rig with in-mast mainsail furling, so we were able to adjust the mainsail’s sail area and flatness throughout the first night without having to leave the cockpit or wake the off-watch crew. The advantage of the carbon spar lies in the weight reduction aloft, which in turn reduces the boat’s pitching motion in head seas and rolling motion when running in big rolling swells; plus, the carbon rig makes the boat stiffer and able to sail slightly closer to the wind than her sisterships with aluminum spars.The 655 cruised at a steady 9 knots all night, so daybreak found us closing in on the New Jersey shore. The cold front associated with the wind shift to the southeast blew through that morning and brought with it blustery and shifting winds. With shortened sails, we made landfall and were lucky enough (or smart enough) to catch the favorable flooding tide all the way from Cape May to the C&D canal.In fact, the tides favored us all the way to Annapolis. We caught the favorable ebb through the canal and that carried us to the Bay Bridge. But, it was coming onto low water when we got to Back Creek and we had a gingerly moment as we coasted Matchmaker’s nine-foot draft over the shallow spot at the creek’s entrance. We made it without a bump. We had completed the passage from Newport to Annapolis in nearly record time, with Matchmaker averaging just over 9 knots for the trip. Plus, we arrived better rested than when we left, despite a bouncy night at sea.

LIVING ABOARDThe 655, like her sisterships, is a semi-custom boat that is built in a female mold. The interior spaces are defined by the structural bulkheads, deck, floors, tank and engineering installations. Oyster offers standard layouts, and most owners will select one of these with their own minor modifications. That said, Oyster can go farther than most builders to modify an interior to fit an owner’s specific requirements.On a recent visit to two facilities in England where Oysters are built, BWS had a chance to see the modern state of craftsmanship that goes into every Oyster. The managers and craftsmen who build the boats have, in many instances, been building Oysters for two decades, so a legacy of Oyster-quality is passed onto each new apprentice and employee.Each boat and owner is guided through the build process by a project manager who takes care of the liaison with the builders. These managers have the sailing experience to know what works on a cruising boat and the building experience to know what is possible and practical. In the end, the project managers ensure that the owners get what they want and what they pay for.The 655 was designed to be an elegant family cruising boat that sails well enough to win offshore events, yet is easy enough to handle for a competent couple or small crew.The boat’s walk-through cockpit, which is similar to the cockpit on the 72, has twin wheels. The traffic flow in and out of the cockpit is great, and the sailing crew has plenty of room for trimming and managing sheets. The cockpit table is huge and will seat six or more for an alfresco meal.

The raised deckhouse over the saloon has a modern style, and the large, tinted windows have the look of ultra-modern, sporty sunglasses. This is a style that has been emulated by several builders in recent years because it is so distinctive and opens up the interior spaces with abundant natural light.

Climbing down the companionway ladder, which is equipped with curved stainless steel rails, you enter the saloon, with its large L-shaped dining area to starboard and a bench settee to port. There are several ways to design the dining arrangements and the table so owners will be able to tweak the saloon to fit their needs.

655 owners can tweak the saloon’s set-up to suit their needs.

The nav station is just aft of the companionway to starboard and down two steps. This large space has plenty of desk area for working with charts and computers, plus the vertical surfaces you need to mount radios, screen and instruments. The ergonomics of the nav station work so well that you will feel comfortable sitting here and navigating even when the boat is heeled to port.

The huge, gourmet-style galley is a chef’s dream.

Opposite the nav station is the huge, gourmet-style galley. The 655 will be a great party boat, and party central will be the galley where you and your mates will have the counter space and locker storage for preparing elaborate meals. But the area is also a proper seagoing galley where you can brace a hip or wedge yourself neatly while preparing meals in a real ocean seaway.

The master stateroom aft is reached via the hallway from the nav station. Outboard of the hall is a small double-bunk cabin that will be great at sea and for children while cruising. Access to the engine room is through two doors that open in the hall right onto the business side of the engine so you will be able to check fluids and change the oil easily. The space is large enough for all of the ship’s engineering systems—and for humans to move around them for routine maintenance.

The master stateroom’s queen-size double berth, built-in sofa and ample storage.

The master stateroom has a queen-size double berth on the centerline with large drawers and storage spaces beneath it. To starboard, there is a small built-in sofa and a large hanging locker. To port, the en suite head offers a large bathroom with a separate shower stall. This master suite will be a great home away from home for a cruising couple.

The two guest cabins forward offer a Pullman double to starboard and bunk-berths to port; both cabins have their own heads. Crew’s quarters can be built in forward of the guest cabins, or the space can be reserved for sail and gear storage.The fit and finish of the 655, like her sisterships, is completed to the highest quality with the best materials. Interiors can be designed and fitted with various veneers and a selection of hardware and lighting. The net result will be living spaces with windows, lights, fabrics, shades and hardware that all work together to create the ambience an owner wants.

The 655 sails well in all condition. BWS THOUGHTSWe have sailed Oysters many thousands of miles over the years and have seen the boats evolve as the design team continues to refine designs with innovative solutions. With hundreds of loyal owners sailing the world’s oceans while remaining staunch members of the Oyster family, the design and marketing teams have a vast storehouse of practical knowledge to draw upon, which guides their new design development.The 655 follows in the wake of the popular 66 but incorporates innovations refined in the 72 and other recent boats. The result is a thoroughly modern offshore cruiser that is capable of sailing anywhere in the world while offering her owners and crew a floating home that is both elegant and extremely well thought out for passagemaking and the cruising lifestyle.BWS’s 300-mile jaunt down the Northeast coast of the U.S. gave us an appreciation for the quality and heritage built into each Oyster, which in turn gave us complete confidence in the boat. And, when the wind is piping on the nose and the seas building, that confidence is what every veteran sailor really looks for in an ocean-going boat.Oyster 655LOA                                 67’7”LOD                                 65’6”LWL                                 59’6”Beam                               18’5”Draft (std.)                      9’8”Draft (shoal)                   7’3”Draft (CB-up)                 6’0”Draft (CB- down)          14’1”Displacement                 85,980 lbs.Fuel                                  502 gals.Water                               409 gals.Sail area                           2,830 sq. ftOyster Marine USANewport, RIPh: 401-846-7400U.S. e-mail: info@oysteryachts.comU.K. e-mail: yachts@oystermarine.comWebsite: www.oystermarine.com

In our efforts to sail trial the new Grand Soleil 545, Simon and I ended up spending a night and two days aboard the boat to get a real feel for what it is all about. Simon delivered it from Long Island to Newport, R.I., primarily under power on a windless day. I had the pleasure of sailing the boat, with Harold del Rosario and his wife Susie who import the boats from Italy, on a glorious September day in the waters off Newport. I definitely got the better half of the bargain.

We hoisted the big mainsail as we slowly motored past Newport Harbor’s Fort Adams. The late morning breeze was just filling in, and by the time we had the main set and the jib drawing, we had a solid 10 knots blowing up Narragansett Bay.

The main is mounted on a Leisurefurl in-boom system with the control lines led aft to the cockpit. The 100-percent jib furls on a seven-eighths headstay. The rig is simple but powerful and designed to be handled by a couple. The boat we sailed had electric winches for the main sheet, the primary jib sheets and the main halyard. By the end of the day, my thumb was developing a callous from trimming the sheets.

The 545 has a slick, modern hull design with a very fine bow, a straight run aft and high performance rudder and keel. The keel is a bulbed fin with the bulb shaped like a torpedo, which makes the boat stiff and very close winded.

As we sailed seaward, we hardened up close to the wind. There is no question the 545 was created to sail like a thoroughbred. With 12 knots of true wind speed showing on the instruments, the boat sailed at close to eight knots and held that speed at about 42 degrees off the true wind angle.

Throwing the boat through a tack was a cinch. If we timed the tacks right it was possible, even in the 10 to 12 knots of breeze, to sheet in the jib without resorting to the electrics. This is a 54-footer, remember.

Once we had cleared the headlands, the breeze on Rhode Island Sound was a bit lighter but still strong enough for good sailing. We cracked off the wind and trimmed at about 100 degrees true where the boat slipped along very nicely. The low center of gravity and beamy hull give it a stable feel under foot and the ability to carry a lot of sail.

At the end of our trial, we dowsed the sails and motored in. With the motor running at 3,000 rpm, the 545 skimmed along at better than 8 knots, burning about one gallon an hour. At 3,800 rpm in flat water it scooted at close to 10 knots.

The whole experience of sailing and handling the GS 545 evokes the qualities of the finest cars or airplanes. The boat is a real performer and her systems and layouts have been optimized to make that performance seem both effortless and elegant.

(Simon, a professional yacht designer, takes over from here.)

Design

Grand Soleil is used to being at the vanguard. For 36 years they have been building good quality modern racer cruisers. They have used many of the world’s leading yacht designers, and their yachts have had many successful racing results. Most recently they have been very successful in the European IMS racing circuit with their GS 43 open transom, designed by Botin & Carkeek in Spain. Botin & Carkeek have been Grand Soleil’s primary designers for their latest series of yachts. But for their new 545, Grand Soleil broke from B&C and went with the cutting edge of Italian style.

In choosing Luca Brenta & Co. to design the new 545, Grand Soleil picked one of the most influential and forward thinking European firms. Brenta & Co., based in Milan, Italy, have designed many of the worlds’ most sleek, modern and typically Mediterranean super yachts. They can be credited with inventing the “Wally aesthetic” that, over the past two decades, has taken modern European yacht design by storm.

Taking many cues from racing yachts, this aesthetic really comes down to high topsides, large, open and uncluttered decks, a low, long coach roof with sharp corners, lots of windows and skylights, a large open cockpit, a plumb stem, and almost no overhangs. Many builders and designers now emulate this motif, but the Grand Soleil 545 meets all of these parameters to a tee.

With the 545, Brenta &Co. have maintained their commitment to the modern aesthetic while creating a very well thought out and practical sailing yacht. The look of the 545 is strong and muscular, beautiful in the same way as a race horse or a Ferrari. She has a tall rig and a deep fin keel with a bulb and a powerful hull shape. Throughout the yacht there are many practical details that set it apart from its rivals. The design accomplishes everything it sets out to do without feeling like it is trying to do too much.

Build

The 545 is built by Grand Soleil’s yard Cantiere del Pardo in Forli, Italy. The entire manufacturing process happens at their yard. The workmanship, from the hull layup to the joinery work, is top notch. The hull and deck are built of cored fiberglass infused with polyester resin—a very standard production boat technique. The structural grid is a mixture of galvanized steel and carbon fiber, a first for Grand Soleil. The structural bonding and construction details are all very neat and tidy.

Deck Layout

Every aspect of the deck preserves the clean and modern look. It is full of distinct and innovative solutions and details that keep the deck clear without compromising the sail handling or the usability of the yacht. The halyards and mainsheet run aft to the cockpit hidden in tunnels in the cabin house and the side decks.

Everywhere you look, you will find clever solutions. For example, the main traveler track is recessed into the cockpit sole just ahead of the twin wheels and cover plates leave only a small slot for the traveler car and block to move back and forth. This is not really a practical feature; it just looks pretty sleek. But removal of the cover panels and access to the track and traveler lines for service is easy and straightforward.

The cockpit table is hidden in a specific locker in the cockpit floor when not in use. There are four decent sized cockpit lockers for storage of lines, winch handles, etc. Another nice feature is the garage for the dodger. All too often modern yachts of this style completely neglect the importance of protecting the cockpit. As if it never rains in the Med. Brenta’s solution is practical as well as attractive. On the cabin top, in front of the cockpit there is a U-shaped garage that the dodger folds into. When closed, the garage is completely flush with the surrounding cabin top and almost disappears. The one thing that the Grand Soleil team seems to have overlooked in the design of the cockpit is a place to stuff miscellaneous gear, such as sunglasses, hats or sunscreen. Some small mesh bags on the end of the cockpit seats would work nicely.

Up forward, the anchor locker is, surprisingly, something of a work of art. The large stainless steel anchor is mounted on a retractable stainless steel bow roller that is fitted with a hydraulic ram, all of which folds neatly into the deck locker where it is out of sight. When is time to drop the hook, you deploy the anchor and roller, which folds neatly forward over the bow. When you are heading out for a sail, you simply haul in the rode with the windlass, snub the anchor into the roller and then use the hydraulic arm to fold the whole contraption back into the locker where it is completely out of the way.

Not to be outdone by the bow, the stern has a wide garage door—actually the transom itself—that can be opened with hydraulic pistons. Once opened, the stern is transformed into a swimming and diving platform, while the open space revealed under the cockpit has been designed to house a 10-foot RIB dinghy. Once the dinghy has been stowed away, all you have to do is press a button, close the garage and away you go.

Interior

The interior of the 545 follows a fairly standard plan typical of production yachts—it just does it in a very elegant way. It feels like a modern European apartment. Throughout the interior, the details are streamlined and well thought out. Again, it is not trying to do too much. Typical of many yachts of this style, Grand Soleil has given up some of the more practical traditional features, such as fiddles on the main saloon table and good prominent hand holds through out the yacht.

At 54 feet, the boat has enough volume so that all of the cabins feel big and well laid out. Nothing feels cramped or compromised. The large square hull windows and continuous cabin house windows interplay with the light wood veneer and white trim to give the whole interior a bright and spacious feel. This style can feel a little clinical, though.

Up forward, there is a large master cabin with a private head and a separate shower. The main saloon can easily sit six for dinner or eight for cocktails. It features a stool that slides under the table on rails and has storage for eight bottles of wine. Cabinets run the length of the saloon under the deck and along with the space behind and under the seats, provide plenty of storage for an extended trip.

To port, the L-shaped galley also follows a fairly standard design. It has large, deep sinks and a huge fridge. The fiddles are a little low for my liking but would work while cooking under way. Across the yacht on the starboard side, the nav station works more like an office than a proper navigation station. The small, outboard-facing stool would make it hard to work at the nav table while underway. Grand Soleil does offer a more traditional forward-facing nav station, which would be my preference.

Aft under the cockpit there are identical twin cabins, each with their own head. The head on the starboard side has a separate shower that would also work well as a wet hanging locker. The aft cabins have large double berths that can easily sleep two adults. And there is plenty of hanging locker and storage space to accommodate them.

There is good access to the machinery space by lifting the stairs and removable panels in the guest cabins. It is easy to get to all sides of the Yanmar 110-horsepower engine. There is also space for a generator behind the engine.

BWS Thoughts

The GS 545 makes a dramatic statement from any angle. The hull lines are aggressively modern. The rig is huge but easy to manage. The decks are clean and simple, evoking the Wally aesthetic. Down below, the interior offers elegance combined with modernist simplicity of line.

In our view, the 545 is a true, dual-purpose boat that will be fun for a family to enjoy day sailing or on long, over-the-horizon cruises. The boat is certainly capable of crossing oceans and world cruising.

But it is also capable of sailing very competitively in buoy or point-to-point races. The 545 is fast, close winded and capable of breakaway speeds when powered up off the wind.

A thoroughly modern boat, the new Grand Soleil 545 will turns heads, particularly as you sail right by the other cruising boats around you.

Grand Soleil 545
LOA                       53’ 7”
LWL                       48’ 9”
Beam                 15’4”
Draft                        8’8”
Displ.                 35,273 lbs
Ballast                 14,330 lbs
Sail Area                 1,880 sq. ft.
Fuel                         105 gals.
Water                 158 gals.

Grand Soleil – USA
Mareblu Nautical Imports
6 Dock St.
Annapolis, MD 21401
Ph: 619-417-7868 (USA)
Ph: +39 333 638 0286 (Italy)
E-mail: info@mareblu.com
Website: www.grandsoleil.net

RIVOLTA 43 VINTAGE •

This fall, Rivolta Yachts rolled out the plans for a new and interesting 43-foot Vintage cruising boat. Conceived by the father and son team Piero and Renzo Rivolta as a day sailing, weekending escape machine, the new design combines traditional looks with advanced building techniques and innovative sailing features. Of particular note is the retractable bulb keel that reduces the design’s draft from six to three and a half feet.

The Rivoltas bring an interesting history to the 43 Vintage project. Rivolta Yachts began as an offshoot of the family real estate business in Sarasota, Fla., which in turn evolved out of the Rivolta automotive company that was founded in Italy after World War II. Renzo Rivolta senior launched the car company with a mini bubble car called the Isetta and grew it with a series of successful and exciting sports cars. Renzo’s son Piero emigrated to the United States to launch a real estate development company that today is one of the largest in West Florida. Piero also went into the boat building business, starting with a 90-foot cutter and then expanding into a line of stylish modern motorboats in the 40 to 45-foot range. Piero’s son Renzo is an architect and a partner in the family businesses.

The Rivoltas bring a European flair to all of their projects, and the Rivolta boats are distinctive and finely finished. For the 43 Vintage, Piero and Renzo turned to Maine-yacht designers Stephens, Waring & White Yacht Designs for a safe, seaworthy ocean-going boat that would be easy for a couple or a singlehander to manage.

The Rivoltas wanted a traditional looking hull, but were determined to fit the boat with the most modern sailing elements. The 43’s sheer line has a nice spring to it while the spoon bow and traditional transom evoke yachts drawn by John Alden a century ago. The low cabin top fits the hull neatly with four oval ports on each side and a large sliding companionway hatch. Finished in varnished teak, the cabin and cockpit trim look like Herreshoff yachts in the old Bristol Fashion.

The cockpit itself is large enough to seat eight adults for a sundowner. Aft of the cockpit, Piero required the addition of a sunning area similar to those found on classic runabouts famous along the Italian Riviera, which are usually populated by fetching young women in bikinis. At least that’s the idea.

But if the Vintage looks the part, the new design is also a completely modern performance cruiser. The 43’s rig sports a carbon fiber mast and boom from Offshore Spars that reduce weight aloft while enhancing performance. The rig has been designed with aggressively swept back spreaders and no backstay. This is both a simple rig, similar to the B&R rigs created by Lars Bergstrom, and an efficient one. Without a backstay, you can fly a very high roach, square-top mainsail that is much more efficient than a traditional mainsail.

The headsails have been designed to give the boat three different gears and configurations. For light wind reaching and running, the angles most sailors prefer, you can fly an asymmetrical spinnaker tacked down on the bowsprit and trimmed through a snatch block on the stern quarters. Because it is a fractional fore triangle, this is not a big sail, so it will be easy to hoist and fly using a spinnaker sock.

For moderate breezes upwind or reaching, you can fly a medium-sized genoa on the roller furling headstay. This can be controlled from the cockpit, so you won’t need to climb onto the foredeck to use it. If you want to fly this sail poled out when running in a breeze, you can mount a spinnaker pole on the mast and rig fore and after guys to keep the pole under control. Since the sail is on a roller furling unit, you can fly the poled out genoa, partially rolled up, even in strong breezes when you may not want the mainsail flailing around.

In tight upwind situations or when beating into a stronger breeze, the roller furling staysail will give you the sail area and control you want. The staysail is self tacking, so you will be able to tack the 43 with nothing more than a turn of the wheel. Downwind, the staysail can be flown, but you will need to run lazy sheets for it outside the side stays and through turning blocks on the side decks in order to keep the top of the sail from twisting off and losing power.

Under the water, the Rivoltas and their design team have created an efficient hull shape with a minimum amount of wetted surface so the boat will be quick and perform well in light airs. Plus, they have given the 43 a high-aspect, balanced spade rudder and a retracting bulb keel. By placing the lead bulb down six feet, and with the light carbon rig, the 43 will feel very stable underfoot and will stand up well in a breeze. We would expect the boat to sail very nicely upwind.

The retracting keel reduced the maximum six feet of draft to a minimum of only three and a half feet, which will open up a lot of thin-water cruising grounds. The keel rises into a compartment beneath the saloon table, so no intrusive structures had to be designed that would break up the openness of the interior spaces.

The 43’s interior is set up for two couples, with a quarter cabin that is enclosed with a bi-fold door and a forward cabin that has a centerline double berth. The single head is forward. The toilet has been set up on a fore and aft axis so it will be easy to use even if the boat is rolling or heeled over.

The galley dominates the saloon with an expanse of counter space, a stove-oven and refrigeration. For lounging and meals below decks, you will be able to sit up to five adults at the drop-leaf table. The preliminary interior plans show plenty of locker space and six opening deck hatches.

The 43 Vintage will be equipped with a 75-horsepower Yanmar diesel with a sail drive. With a good quality folding prop, this engine will power the boat at 8 knots in flat water so you will be able dodge bad weather or get home before dark when the wind is light.

BWS thoughts

This new Rivolta 43 Vintage is an attractive addition to the growing gaggle of weekenders and daysailers that have become so popular in the last decade, joining the Alerion, Freedom, Morris and Sabre fleets.

The Rivoltas have given their new boat a very distinctive look that will be recognizable in any anchorage. And under sail the square-top mainsail will draw attention as the 43 sails by other cruising boats of her size.

The retracting keel makes the 43 even more unique and will appeal to sailors on Florida’s West Coast, the Bahamas, the Chesapeake, Southern New England and anywhere else you find shallow-water cruising. And because the keel has been designed with the lead ballast at its tip, the 43 will have a very stable feel.

A combination of classic lines, elegance and comfort, the living spaces aboard the 43 Vintage will be comfortable and inviting. Yet the boat is a very modern design in all the places that count for top cruising performance. The rig, the hull shape and the keel will all work to make the 43 a lot of fun to sail.

When hull number one is launched in 2010, BWS looks forward to taking it out for a good sea trial.

Rivolta 43 Vintage

LWL                    34’0”
LOA                    43’0”
Beam 12’6”
Draft                    3’6”/6’0”
Displacement       15,900 lbs.
Sail Area              927 sq. ft.
SA/D                   24.4
D/LWL               189
Engine                 75-hp. diesel

Rivolta Yachts
Sarasota, FL
Ph: 941-954-0355
www.rivolta.com

The M series of Sparkman & Stephens designed sloops that Morris Yachts has been building for the past five years has proven to be a truly successful marriage of classic style, modern yacht characteristics and very high end, Maine-built style. So it is no surprise that the original 36 and the 42 have been delivered to dozens of owners worldwide.

Last winter Morris introduced the M29, which packs all the qualities of the 36 into a smaller package, and now this fall they are introducing their new M52.

Every now and then in the sailing market a boat comes along that seems to define the age. In the Seventies, that might have been the Valiant 40. In the first decade of this new millennium perhaps the Jeanneau 54 and Hylas 54 best expressed the needs of Baby Boom cruisers.

Although it is hard to tell today, the new M52 from Morris may be the boat that eventually we look back on that says the most about how we live and sail today, or at least dream about sailing. Like her smaller sisters, the M52 has a long sweeping sheer, elegant overhangs and a towering sloop rig. The look of the new boat evokes early 12 Meters and Six Meters, many of which were drawn by S&S’s founder Olin Stephens.

But the old Meter boats needed a crew of 10 to sail effectively. Not so the new 52, which can be cruised and sailed easily by two and even singled handed by an experienced sailor. The 52 has a tall, powerful fractional rig with a roller furling, self-tacking jib and a large high roach main that furls into a Leisure Furl boom.

To simplify sail handling and sheet trim, and to make the decks as uncluttered as possible, all halyards, control lines and sheets for the working sails are led beneath the deck to the cockpit where they emerge through sheet stoppers on the pods on both sides of the cockpit. Two electric winches handle all plain sailing tasks.

The 52 is rigged to fly a big asymmetrical spinnaker tacked down at the bow and sheeted through snatch blocks on the quarters and then trimmed with two electric winches mounted next to the helmsman’s seat. Although it is a big sail, if you control the chute with a spinnaker snuffer you will find that two people will be able to fly it easily and frequently. This is a good thing because the small self-tacking jib will not offer a lot of sail area downwind and will need fairly high jibing angles to give you any boost. Those who want an intermediary sail between the jib and the chute may want to look into having a loose-luff, furling Code Zero built for broad reaching and running in sportier breezes.

The 52’s cockpit has seven-foot-long benches and a large, varnished table with drop leaves in between. A low profile dodger has been spec’d that looks proportionate to the cabin top and will provide good cover when sailing in cool or wet conditions. The first 52 built has the optional teak decks, which seem to make the whole boat look just right. It is interesting to note that the 52, like her smaller sisters, does not have lifelines, a bow pulpit or a stern rail.

Unlike modern cruising boats that have long waterlines and beams that carry well aft to provide volume to the interior spaces, the M52 has only a 38-foot waterline and her beam max’s out at only 14 feet and tapers significantly at bow and stern. The upshot is that the 52 has a relatively small interior that evokes the compact but stylish interiors of boats of yore.

The cabin has full headroom throughout, despite the low-slung coachroof. The companionway leads from the cockpit to the saloon with the aft double cabin and head to port and the U-shaped galley to starboard. The galley is fully equipped for cruising with Corian counter tops, a three-burner propane stove, twin stainless steel sinks, refrigeration and plenty of storage for dishes, cutlery and kitchen supplies. There are two large pot lockers under the fridge and stove so you can even carry a big pot for boiling up Maine lobster.

The saloon arrangement has the U-shaped dinette to starboard where four will be able to eat comfortably while to port there is a long bench settee that will make an excellent sea berth for overnight runs. The chart table faces aft at the aft end of the settee and has a mounting pod for instruments and a lifting table top for stowing paper charts.

The large forward cabin has a double berth on the centerline and plenty of storage and hanging space. The forward head has a large separate shower stall.

The finish style of the M52, like her sisterships, has evolved from classic Herreshoff interiors with off-white bulkheads, white tongue and groove ceilings overhead and all cherry drawer fronts, doors, tabletops and trim. The main bulkhead is a raised panel design, which underscores the attention to detail and tradition Morris’s craftsmen adhere to with every boat. The look is elegant, simple and classic. Plus, with all of the white surfaces, the interior spaces are cheerful and bright. The joinery and varnish work, as you would expect from Morris, is flawless.

The M series boats were originally conceived as weekenders or daysailers. But the new M52 has much longer legs than that and would make a fine long term cruising boat for a couple who want to go in inimitable style aboard a boat that is designed to remain in a family for generations.

Morris M52
LOA                 52’11”
LWL                 38’02”
Beam         14’0”
Draft (std.)        6’8”
Draft (shoal)      5’8”
Displ.         34,064
Ballast         11,391
Sail Area       1,414 sq. ft.
Bridge Clear      80’
Water         100 gals.
Fuel                 80 gals.
Waste         40 gals.
Design         Sparkman & Stephens

British designers and builders have a well earned reputation for creating cruising boats that can stand up to the rigors of offshore and even high latitude sailing. There’s a good reason for that. Britain is pretty far north and swept by North Atlantic weather systems that regularly pack gale-force winds. Among the offshore brands that have met this high seas criteria are Oyster, Moody, North Shore, Nicholson, Southerly, Discovery and several more. Rustler is surely a name that rates near the top of that list.

Plus, Britain is a sailing nation and always has been. With a population of 60 million or so, roughly a fifth of the U.S., the country has almost twice as many regular sailors as does the U.S. One in 10 Brits sails as their primary pastime so they know boats and they demand cruisers capable of handling their local winds and weather. (In the U.S. fewer that one percent of us go sailing annually and fewer than one-tenth of a percent sail as a primary pastime.)

The Rustler 44, which is now being represented in North America by Scandinavian Yachts in Newport, R.I., is as good an example of solid, quality boat building as the Brits can offer. An aft-cabin, aft-cockpit design, the 44 was designed by Stephen Jones to be a fast, blue-water cruiser that combines exceptional build quality with well thought-out cruising comfort.

The Rustler 44 is not a trendy boat designed to make the most of a new model year. It is a wholesome offshore cruiser that will be chalking up blue water miles a generation from now with another circumnavigation on its dance card.

The design offers a moderately heavy displacement hull with a traditional spoon-style bow and a broad, traditional transom. The hull has a beam of 13-feet, nine inches and the beam is carried well aft to create enough space for an after stateroom and sail lockers port and starboard plus ample lazarette lockers. Low bulwarks run around the deck for added safety.

The “raised saloon” design provides enough space beneath the cockpit for the aft stateroom and the visibility through the side ports from the raised dinette in the saloon that cruisers like so much. With the raised saloon, the tanks and engine room can be built into the space beneath the floor, which becomes a proper—albeit crouching—engine room where the skipper can disappear on a daily basis to check the engine and all of the ship’s engineering systems.

The galley lies forward and down a step from the saloon where it is over the 44’s center of gravity and thus the point of least motion in the boat when the sea gets rough. With plenty of counter space, big stainless steel sinks nearly on the centerline, a three-burner stove and a vast top-loading fridge, this will be a gourmet’s galley that also will work very well at sea.

The 44 offers two large double cabins. The master cabin aft has centerline double berth with lockers on both sides and a large hanging locker. The aft head has a separate shower stall that will double as a wet locker for foul weather gear. The forward cabin has a V-shaped double, a small settee and a second head.

With long haul cruising designed into the 44, the designer and builder have ensured that the boat has plenty of convenient storage space for personal gear as well as all of the spares and equipment that cruisers need to carry with them. Plus the 44 carries nearly 200 gallons of water and 110 gallons of fuel. Under power alone, the boat will have a steaming range of close to a thousand miles.

The quality Rustler builds into their boats is from the old school with finely detailed teak joinery work below deck that is varnished and hand rubbed and fine stainless steel detailing on deck. Teak decks give the boat an elegant look and provide excellent non-skid when wet.

For those looking for a serious cruising boat that will carry them far and wide in safety and luxury, the new Rustler 44 has a lot to offer.

Rustler 44
LOA              44’ 6”
LWL              36’4”
Beam         13’ 9”
Draft                7’0”
Ballast         10,140 lbs
Displ.         30,000 lbs.
SA               950 sq. ft.
Water         195 gals.
Fuel             110 gals.
Engine         80-hp. Diesel

Scandinavian Yachts
Newport, R.I.
401-846-8442
www.rustleryachts.com

Jeanneau has an answer to the recession: Go forward boldly and creatively. As one of the world’s largest builders of cruising and racing monohulls, and as a key subsidiary of Group Beneteau, Jeanneau has had a lot of success with their larger performance and deck saloon cruisers, especially the 49i and 54DS. The new 57, which will be introduced later this year, will become the builder’s flagship and will be the leading indicator of what is in store for the Jeanneau line in the years ahead.

The 57 has a distinctive look, with a nearly plumb bow and forward raking transom. The cabin top is a hybrid of a standard cabin and the deck saloon motif that has been so popular lately. The cabin is low so the helmsman will be able to see over it easily. The cabin tapers into the deck forward, which opens up a huge amount of foredeck space for lounging while at anchor, for handling downwind sails when at sea and for stowing an extra dinghy.

The reason we say “extra” dinghy is because the primary tender, probably a 10 or 12-foot RIB, will live in its own garage built into the boat’s transom. An electric motor raises and lowers the transom, creating a large boarding platform. Rollers for the RIB’s keel have been installed so you can drive the dinghy up onto the platform before winching it home into the garage. Like all garages, this huge and useful storage space is destined to fill up with all sorts of cruising gear and water toys.

The cockpit over the garage is divided into four spaces, the sunning deck aft, the twin helms, the seating cockpit around the large table and the forward seating area close to the companionway that will be protected by a dodger in wet and windy weather.

Down below the modern interior is finished in light, varnished Alpi teak with off-white overhead moldings and light colored fabrics. The saloon is slightly raised so the generator and tanks can be built in beneath it and to afford you nearly 360-degree views through the large windows. Access to the genset is via two large trap doors that are raised and lowered pneumatically.

The galley to port is a proper kitchen with acres of counter space and plenty of storage lockers for long term living aboard. The nav station to starboard is close to the companionway and fitted out with table storage for charts and nav tools and cabinet spaces for mounting instruments and radios.

The dinette seats six and, like the settee across from it, will be an excellent sea berth. Beneath and behind the dinette and settee you will find plenty of storage spaces for supplies and spare parts.

There are several options available for the aft and forward cabins. For owners who will be living aboard, the owner’s aft cabin arrangement makes a lot of sense, since this is the largest and most private sleeping cabin on the boat complete with its own head, shower stall, hanging lockers, drawers and a small sofa settee. With this arrangement, the forward cabin space can be divided into two double cabins, or left open with a Pullman berth to starboard and a single berth to port.

If you decide to have the owner’s cabin forward, the aft cabin space can be had as two quarter cabins. These cabins each have twin berths with a space between them but can be cunningly slid together to make double bunks.

In the forepeak, you can have a crew cabin or the large area can be left open for storing sails, deck and docking gear and more water toys.

The new Jeanneau 57 promises to be a stunning new addition to the company’s line. And, with a 50-foot waterline, the new boat is going to be capable of extremely fast passages. When the first boat rolls down the ways, BWS will look forward to running extensive sea trials for a longer review.

JEANNEAU 57
LOA 58’0”

LWL 50’2”
Beam 16’4”
Displ. 42,990 (light)
Draft 8’2” (std.)
Ballast 13,448 lbs. (std.)
Draft 6’10” (opt.)
Ballast 14,330 (opt.)
Water 256 gals.
Fuel 111 gals.

Jeanneau America
Annapolis, MD
410-280-9400
www.jeanneau.com

Catalina listens to what cruisers and customers want—the all-new and innovative 445 is the latest result.

At first sight you know there is something different about the new Catalina 445. The design’s topsides appear lower than her sister ships and the cabin top has a lower profile. The cockpit is large and has twin wheels and throughout the cabin the moldings are more angular, more modern than we have seen from Catalina before.

This is the next generation Catalina and it has been created to be a fine liveaboard home, a sweet sailing, offshore-quality boat and an excellent, long-term value for its owners.

BWS joined Catalina’s V.P. Gerry Douglas, who designed the 445, aboard the new boat in Oakland, Calif., for a test spin on San Francisco Bay. The boat had just premiered at the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show to a very warm reception from dealers and potential customers.

Gerry took the helm, we cast off the mooring lines and he then backed the new 445 out of the slip and turned for the channel. The new boat maneuvered easily and surely and had enough horsepower to cruise at 6 knots with only 1,800 rpm showing on the tachometer.

The boat was equipped with a roller furling headsail and an in-mast roller furling mainsail which make sailing the new boat a breeze. Unfortunately breeze was the missing element in our cruise of San Francisco Bay. But that didn’t stop us. We tried the genoa for a while and then opted to roll it up and launch the new Screecher, which is a fairly flat cut reaching sail on its own free-flying roller furling system.

The Screecher did the trick so we were able to reach away from the Oakland shore and out into the bay toward the Bay Bridge. It was a glorious spring Monday and we were slipping along nicely in the 80-degree sunshine.

The Design

The new 445 is an evolutionary design for Douglas and Catalina. The hull is finer and slipperier than it’s nearest Catalina cousin, the amazingly durable Catalina 42. The hull’s design numbers tells us a lot about the parameters of the boat. The sail area-to-displacement ratio is 18.1, which is higher than most other production boats in this size range and indicates that the boat has been spec’d out and rigged for better than average sailing ability and speed. (The SA/D is a measure of a design’s “power to weight” ratio.)

The displacement-to-length ratio of 165 indicates that the 445 is fairly light but still in the middle range of boats in this size range. The DL offers a ratio that allows you to compare boats and predict their quickness and speed capabilities. The lower the ratio, the lighter the boat. By way of comparison, the Beneteau 43 has a DL of 126 (quite light) while the Tartan 43 has DL of 234 (moderate).

A design’s ballast ratio shows you what percentage of the overall displacement is contained in the ballast and keel and thus how resistant it is to heeling. The ratio can range from 25 percent in traditional cruisers to nearly 50 percent in high tech racing machines. The 445’s ballast ratio is quite high at 39 percent when compared to other boats in its class; this gives the boat a very solid feel beneath you and allows it to stand stiffly to the breeze when sailing upwind. It is worth noting that Catalina still uses lead in its keels and has not switched to cast iron.

We did not put the 445’s numbers to the test during our sail on San Francisco Bay but we did discover that the new boat is slippery in a light breeze, and that it is both fun and easy to sail.

ON DECK

The cockpit and deck layouts are very well thought out with short-handed crews in mind. The primary sheet winches are large multi-speed winches and placed near the aft wheels in reach of the helmsman. The twin wheels are positioned to enable the helmsman to see forward from the neatly elevated seats port and starboard; the steering linkage between the wheels and rudder are smooth and offer a very good touch at the helm.

The cockpit is large and roomy with a folding table that will seat six for a meal. There is a swiveling pod built into the aft end of the table for the chartplotter so you can see the screen from both sides of the boat.

Storage for sails, lines and gear has been provided in three good cockpit lockers, two aft and one under the starboard seat. The port cockpit seat is a “gull-wing” molding that flips up to reveal a large hatchway into the aft port cabin. This will be particularly useful when the cabin below is being used as a storage locker.

The running rigging is set up for cruising in all weather. The mainsheet traveler on the cabin top is fully adjustable so you can power up or de-power the sail as the wind gusts. The traveler control lines both run to jammers on the port side of the cockpit. The genoa sheet tracks on the side decks are extra long, which will permit you to trim a reefed genoa accurately by moving the cars forward or trim a small storm jib when the wind really picks up. Few production boats offer this detail.

With halyards and reefing lines led aft on the cabin top to winches on either side of the cockpit, you will be able to handle all sail trim tasks from the cockpit; and, with a dodger rigged, you can stay dry and out of the wind while doing so.

Catalina has always maintained close relationships with the owners of their boats so they benefit from a lot of feedback from those who are actually out there sailing and cruising. This feedback leads to a lot of useful details in each new design. On deck on the new 445, you will find handholds and rails just where you will need them when underway. You will find an anchor locker forward that is equipped with a large electric windlass and ample room for anchors, rodes and a secondary anchor. And, you will note the 27-inch lifelines that add to safety and security while you are working on deck while sailing.

FLEXIBLE ACCOMMODATIONS

The 445 was designed for a couple who will be cruising on their own but will often have friends and family join them. The accommodation plan has been tailored to meet these specific needs with a large master cabin forward fitted out with a centerline double berth and its own head and a second double cabin aft to starboard with a second head. Both heads are relatively large and the forward one has a separate shower stall.

The port aft cabin has been created as a flexible living space that can accommodate three different uses. Without the need for fancy tools, you can have either a double berth or upper and lower single berths. Or, if you do not have guests aboard, you can convert the cabin into a workshop and storeroom. BWS has not seen a production boat with such a flexible cabin and we think it is a great idea.

The saloon has the large galley to port. The twin sinks are nearly on the centerline so they will drain on both tacks; the front loading fridge faces aft so it doesn’t disgorge its contents when the boat heels or rolls; the three-burner, gimbaled stove has a cutting board top that you can use as a level surface even when the boat is heeled over or rolling; and, there are large storage lockers and rack space for all of the supplies, cutlery and dishes you will need.

The chart table to starboard has been designed to fit regular ChartKits on top and to neatly store a laptop computer inside. A pod at eye level can be designed to house a chartplotter. Radios and other instruments can be installed in the large cabinet outboard of the table. This is a very modern and attractive nav station that will appeal to experienced sailors who will appreciate the fact that it faces forward.

The dinette to port has a folding table that converts from a low coffee table to a large dining table that will seat five or six. The dinette can also be converted into double berth.

To starboard the split settee is long enough to be a sea berth and will be favored in heavy weather since it is right over the boat’s center of gravity. A small table folds up in the middle of the settee, which will be useful for playing cards, holding drinks or just for reading.

The décor and finish of the 445 is modern without being trendy. The furniture is teak veneer with solid teak corners and framing. The doors and drawer fronts are solid teak with hand joined handles and louvers and high quality stainless steel latches and hinges.

The floors, which are all on one level so you don’t trip, are teak and holly patterned laminate that is both attractive and easy to keep clean. You can tell the 445 was designed and built by sailors for sailors because there are hand holds everywhere and fiddles on the tables and around the galley counter.

UNDER THE HOOD

The engineering and systems aboard the 445 are all well thought out and of high quality. The engine compartment under the companionway ladder is very accessible so you can get right in there to perform routine maintenance. The filters for the engine are all grouped to starboard and are easily reached and changed through a special compartment in the starboard aft cabin.

Auxiliary systems such as a watermaker, air conditioning or a genset can be fit into the spaces under the berths in the aft cabins or in the large lazarettes aft so they will be easy to get at and work on. The hot water heater nestles beneath the navigator’s bench and the two 8D batteries (440 amp hours) fit into a battery compartment just forward of the engine.

The standard Yanmar 54-horsepower engine will drive the boat at hull speed and can maintain a cruising speed of 7 knots at very efficient rpm. With 66 gallons of fuel, the 445 will have a motoring range at 6 knots of nearly 700 miles—enough to motor from Newport to Bermuda.

Both heads have their own holding tanks, which have been built in the head compartments above the waterline so they will drain when the overboard seacocks are open. This is a convenient set up for coastal cruisers who regularly sail in the ocean. The tanks also can be emptied with shore side pump out facilities.

The installation of the electrical systems, water systems and electronics are all to ABYC and IMIC standards and recommendations so you know you can rely on them for the long term

The new Catalina 445 is an attractive and innovative addition to the Catalina fleet. The boat will serve well as a long haul cruiser whether along the coasts or across oceans. And those who want to live aboard for any length of time will find that the boat is big enough and comfortable enough to be a great floating home away from home. Plus the 445 offers its owners excellent value that will continue to hold its value for years to come.

CATALINA 445
LOA 44’5″
LWL 38’4”
Beam 13’7”
Draft (std) 4’10”
Draft (deep) 6’11”
Displ. 20,000 lbs.
Ballast 8,000 lbs.
Fuel 66 Gals.
Water 182 gals.
Waste 54 gals.
SA/D 18.1
DL 165
B/D 39%

Catalina Yachts
Woodland Hills, CA
and Largo, FL
Ph: 818-884-7700
Ph: 727-544-6681
www.catalinayachts.com