The New Lagoons Arrive –

On the Tuesday following this winter’s Strictly Sail Miami boat show, the two Lagoons that debuted at the show were cut loose from the docks so we could get a chance to sail the innovative new designs from the world’s leading builder of cruising cats.

Despite the ongoing recession in new boat sales worldwide, Lagoon—like its sister companies in Groupe Beneteau—has made a commitment to introducing new models that steadily advance the way we think about catamaran cruising. Renowned French multihull designers VPLP have designed the new boats so the hulls, which are roomy, have good fast shapes that allow them to sail well.

NEW THOUGHTS ABOUT CATS
Probably the biggest change in the new Lagoons is the rigs. You can see in the photographs that VPLP has moved the mast well aft instead of placing it right on top of the forward main bulkhead. By reducing the mainsail in size and increasing the size of the genoa, the designers have made the boats easier to sail with the same or better performance.

To give the new designs a unique look that enhances the brand, a look that is both familiar and thoroughly new, Lagoon turned to famed French designer Patrick le Quement who made his name in automobile styling and is on the board of The Sustainable Design School.

The look le Quement delivered is certainly all Lagoon, but with a modernist twist. The three signature elements of the new design are, first, the integral cockpit hardtop that flows seamlessly into the line of the cabin top. Second are the plumb bows that give the new boats a jaunty, purposeful look while extending the waterlines for added speed. And, third, is the distinctive bevel that has been built into the bows and hull deck connection; this detail reduces the height of the hulls and smooths out the look from the side.

Because of the change to the rig and to make sure the boats are as safe as possible, Lagoon had to come up with a way to support the mast on top of the bridgedeck instead of at the forward bulkhead. The solution was to create a massive structural grid in the bridgedeck with a large fiberglass girder running from the aft to the forward main bulkheads that is in turn secured to the hulls on both sides with lateral stringers.

Reports from the crew that sailed the 52 across the Atlantic from France to Miami are that they have never sailed a stiffer catamaran, even in big ocean waves.

SAILING THE 39
We picked up the 39 in Miami’s Government Cut and motorsailed out into the open ocean where we hoisted the small main and rolled out the genoa. The wind had been piping all morning but by the time we got out there it had moderated to 15 knots and the lumpy seas were calming down. It was one of those perfect Miami days with warm sun, a good breeze and puffy trade wind clouds. And, to the west, the loom of possible thunderstorms gathered over the Everglades.

The 39’s raised steering station on the starboard side of the cockpit has a comfortable double seat and offers good visibility forward. All sheets and control lines are led to the helm through clutches and are trimmed using an electric winch. With this set up, the 39 is very easy for one person to sail. That’s what we did. While the crew ate lunch, we hoisted the mainsail, rolled out the genoa and took off for a lovely sail along Miami Beach.

The 39 sails upwind best at about 50 degrees off the true wind and makes a slight touch of leeway when close hauled. But, it likes to sail quickly so we were seeing steady sevens on the GPS as we rode easily through the swells and chop. Throwing the cat through a few tacks, we confirmed that 50 degrees is indeed the right angle upwind and that she will tack sensibly through 100 degrees. I was able to tack her myself as the jib was self tacking. On our way back toward the cut and Miami Beach Marina, we eased sheets and felt the 39 really pick up speed yet she was incredibly easy for a single person to manage. We brought her into the marina and easily docked her using the twin engines. You can just about make a cruising cat crab sideways up to a dock or spin in its own length while maneuvering in tight quarters. The 39 was no exception.

The new 39 was designed to fit into the Lagoon line between the 380 and 4000S2. Almost 700 380s have been built, making it one of the most popular cruising cats in the world. The 39, with the company’s new design thinking and its position in a sweet spot in the market, should become as popular as the previous model.

The 39 has four layout options. The two cabin owner’s version can be built as either the standard model or upgraded to a very well equipped Premium version. You can have the boat built with three sleeping cabins for families with children. Or, if you sail with lots of friends or want to put the boat into charter you can have a four cabin version.

The 39 is a very comfortable boat and offers a lot of amenities for its size. There is an outside table in the cockpit that will seat six and a table in the saloon that will also seat six. The galley to port faces aft and has a large opening window so those preparing meals can still chat with those in the cockpit and drinks and plates can be passed back and forth with ease. The nav station is also to port and faces sideways; visibility from here is excellent so this will be a good place for standing night watches. The boat is finished with a light colored, attractive Alpi wood veneer, white ceilings and molding and light colored fabrics. With the huge windows in the saloon and large square windows in the cabins, the 39 is filled with natural light and effuses warmth and hominess. A couple or a family of three or four could very happily cruise the Lagoon 39 for days and weeks on end.

FLYING THE 52
The sun was getting a bit low when we got the Lagoon 52 away from the marina docks and headed out the cut toward the open sea. Compared to the 39, the 52 felt vast yet was similar to the little sister in many ways. The bigger boat has the same rig with the mast placed quite far aft and the headsail set up to be self tacking. Still, the mainsail was large and required serious effort from the electric winch to get it hoisted and quite a lot of thumb pressure on t

S & S 30 •

For those who may have forgotten, Olin Stephens was the Twentieth Century’s resident genius of yacht design, our own nautical Da Vinci. In every aspect of the sailing game from dinghies like the Lightning to offshore racers like Finisterre to America’s Cup defenders, Stephens created fast boats that were always a step ahead of their time.

Some years ago, when asked which of his designs he would like to see brought back and renewed, Stephens immediately suggested design number 97, a 30 foot racer-cruiser named Babe. Designed and build in 1935, Babe was a noted performer in coastal and offshore races—yes, regular people used to race 30 footers offshore. And, she was an able, compact coastal cruiser for a couple or small family.

The new boat, which is the brain child of yacht dealer and broker Glenn Walters, founder of Bluenose Yacht Sales, takes the pretty lines of the original design, including the thoroughly modern plumb bow and square transom, both of which look current by today’s standards, and marries them to a new underwater profile that includes a shallow hull form, bulbed fin keel and spade rudder. Plus, with a high-tech, cored hull, the 30 is both light and very stiff.

Up top, the 30 has been given an aggressive rig with a tall, full roach, slab reefing mainsail and a 100-percent self tacking, roller furling jib. A Selden top-down furler is used for the asymmetrical spinnaker.

The result is a new boat that is truly the best of both worlds. The hull looks sweet and right, like most of Stephens’ designs. The rig has the horsepower to make the boat sprightly to sail and competitive around the buoys. And, the interior is large enough for a family of four to enjoy a weekend cruise.

SAIL TRIAL
We met up with Glenn Walters in Miami after the Strictly Sail Miami show and had the chance to take a brief sail in the flat waters of Government Cut. We motored from the Miami Beach Marina, with the little 14-horsepower diesel and saildrive shunting us along easily and, once in the channel, hoisted the mainsail and rolled out the jib.

With the engine switched off and a fair breeze blowing into the cut, the 30 reacted immediately to the press of sail. The 30 is quite narrow by modern standards, similar in some ways to the modern fleet of J Boats, so the hull is very easily driven. We sheeted in the main, trimmed the self tacking jib and away we sailed, carving a course very close to the wind.

If you haven’t sailed a boat with a tiller in a while, we have to say that this is how a little thoroughbred should be steered. With the wind puffing and gusting between the condo towers, the tiller gave an immediate and visceral feel for how the boat was performing and allowed us to feel the puffs and steer up and through them without having to think about it.

We threw the 30 through a few tacks and noted that she was able to hold happily at about 40 degrees from the true wind and tacked through about 80 degrees. The self tacking jib makes tacking effortless. The mainsail is rigged with a four-part tackle that gives you plenty of mechanical advantage and it has a fine-tuning tackle that lets you trim in minute detail. The traveler runs across the cockpit so you can power the big mainsail up and down as the breeze dictates.

We didn’t get a chance to sail with the spinnaker flying, but we did sail next to the 30 when it had the chute up and noted with pleasure that the boat is very quick and lively. And, with two people aboard, the spinnaker with the top down furler is a cinch to fly.

There are some other good boats in this category, such as the Morris 29, Alerion 28 or the J/100 and each has its own characteristics. When it comes to pure sailing, the new S&S 30, with its long waterline and slippery hull form, will certainly hold its own with all of these and in the right hands will be a winner around a race course or in point to point events. After all, Babe won the 184-mile Miami to Nassau Race in 1936 and 1937, the same years another pint-sized thoroughbred, Seabiscuit, won his first races.

CREATURE COMFORTS
The S&S 30 has a large, comfortable cockpit. In the days when the first Babe was drawn, her owners would have said, “she drinks eight, eats six and sleeps four.”

The cabin house is low and fits neatly onto the hull, yet it offers a surprising amount of space and headroom below decks. The cabin has bench settees on both sides and a small galley forward with a stainless steel sink and room for a portable cook stove.

The head is enclosed in its own compartment for a modicum of privacy and forward there is a large V-berth. The hull is lined with a fiberglass ceiling that looks like old fashioned planking. There are cabinets and small storage lockers for essential gear and clothing and tanks for water, fuel and waste water.

With bunks for four people, you could certainly take the S&S cruising and would have a fine time exploring your nearby coastlines, coves and harbors. And, for longer runs, you could even store your small inflatable dinghy on the afterdeck.

A pretty and sweet sailing newcomer in the daysailer and weekender fleet, the S&S 30 is easy on the eye, fun to sail and capable of taking you around the buoys or around the islands in real style at a price that won’t make your banker hiccup.

S&S 30
LOA 30’6”
LWL 27’6”
Beam 8’3”
Draft 5’6”
Displ. 5,640 lbs.
Water 12 gals.
Fuel 13 gals.
Waste 6 gals.
Sail area 462 sq, ft.

Bluenose Yachts Sales
Newport, RI and South Portland, ME
Ph: (877) 695-6538
www.bluenoseyachts.com

Tartan Fantail 26 •  The new daysailer-weekender from Tartan Yachts packs a lot of performance in a compact package.

We had our first look at the new Tartan Fantail 26 at the Annapolis sailboat show last fall, and we must admit—of all the boats we planned to test after the show, the little 26-footer was one we really looked forward to sailing.

Tartan hasn’t built boats under 30 feet in many years, so this new Tim Jackett design is an interesting development. The company started life in the 60s with the Tartan 27 and later came out with the racing Tartan 26. But since then, the trend has been to build larger, more luxurious cruisers and racer-cruisers.

With the crew from Tartan aboard, we set off from the docks under power. This is a big part of the Fantail story—the boat was conceived to be “green” and is powered by a Torqeedo electric outboard. The engine is mounted inside the lazarette and can kick up out of the water when under sail. Under power in the down position, the little engine pushes the Fantail along at a good clip. Torqeedo engines have a lot of torque, so you feel the acceleration as soon as you push the throttle forward.

Technically, the Torqeedo is a very interesting propulsion system for a small sailboat. The throttle and gear shifter is linked to a GPS and has a small LED readout that gives you course, speed and remaining powering range. The electric motor is powered by two 4D AGM batteries and a third Group 27 battery is used to power onboard systems such as running lights, reading lights and electronics. With a full charge, the motor will drive the boat at half speed or about 4 knots for 16 hours before the batteries need to be charged again. Tartan provides a shore-power battery charging system and, for those who will keep their boats on moorings, they offer wind and solar charging systems as options.

Once we motored down Back Creek and into the bay, we hoisted the big mainsail and shut down the Torqeedo and tilted it out of the water. Under mainsail alone, the Fantail slipped along nicely; with the addition of the small, self-tacking jib, the boat really put her shoulder down and started to move.

The late afternoon breeze was fairly light but steady at about 8 knots. This was a perfect wind for the Fantail. Sailing upwind, she tacked at about 40 degrees from the true wind and was able to maintain about 5 knots. Tacking the Fantail involves nothing more than steering the boat through the eye of the wind and settling onto the new angle.

We tacked up the Severn River next to the U.S. Naval Academy and then turned to run back out into the Chesapeake Bay. With the wind behind us, we rolled up the jib, deployed the retractable bowsprit and hoisted a big asymmetrical chute. The response was immediate as the 26-footer took off like a rocket.

THE DESIGN
The design of the Fantail is a pleasing mixture of traditional good looks with a modern fin keel, spade rudder configuration under the water. The keel is fitted with a lead ballast bulb that lowers the boat’s center of gravity and improves stiffness so it will stand up to a blow and sail at low heeling angles.

The boat’s bow is nearly plumb and the sprit is housed in a tube built into the bow on the centerline, not to one side. This complicates the build a bit but is the better way to go and looks just right with the sprit all the way in or out. Control lines for the sprit run under the deck to line clutches in the cockpit.

The boat has a traditional counter and stern that looks handsome and provides the locker space aft of the cockpit to house the Torqeedo. The daysailer and weekender versions of the boat come with handsome teak toe rails, cockpit trim and companionway trim. On the boat we sailed, the teak had been left natural. For those wanting true yacht style, a few coats of varnish on the teak trim would add some flair.

The cockpit is nine feet long, so four adults can fit comfortably and still manage the sheets and control lines without getting in each other’s way. The self-tacking jib certainly reduces sheet clutter in the cockpit. The main sheet is all the way aft, where it is handy to the helm.

The design of the hull and the height of the topsides are configured to allow you to sit in the boat securely instead of being perched on deck and to sit on the bunks below decks without bumping your head. The cockpit seatbacks are contoured to provide support and comfort. Tartan offers cockpit canvas as an option. With a dodger fitted over the companionway, you will feel very secure in the cockpit and will be able to get out of the wind and spray.

DOWN BELOW
We sailed the daysailer version, which has a low cabin and a small interior. Down below there was a V-berth all the way forward that would be fine for an overnight with sleeping bags—camping style. There is space for a 48-quart, 12-volt cooler, a porta-potty, and gear and equipment. The spinnaker lives in the V-berth when not in use.

The weekender version of the Fantail has a larger cabintop, more headroom below, and a finer level of finish and trim detailing. Plus, it can have a proper marine head with a holding tank and pump-out deck fitting. For weekend cruising, you can add a small galley unit that has an alcohol stove.

With the big chute drawing nicely, we sailed the Fantail right out into the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, making a steady 6 knots and getting over 7 in the puffs. The helm was light to the touch, but because the sail we were using was a tad on the large side, we had to pay attention to avoid rounding up in the stronger puffs, as you would on any small boat with a high aspect spade rudder under a press of sail. By keeping the sailing angle quite low, we were able to get her going as if on rails.

We have something of a soft spot for smaller Tartan designs since we grew up sailing a Tartan 27—parents and three large sons—all over New England as we cruised to PHRF regattas, raced over weekends and then sailed home again. The new Fantail updates the concept by a country mile. The Fantail 26 is less of a cruising boat than a fine daysailer and weekender, which suits today’s sailing styles. Yet, you could take the weekender off for a week at a time and have a very pleasant small boat cruising experience.

By the time we got the Fantail back to the dock, we had enjoyed an excellent sail aboard a sweet little boat that exceeded our expectations. For 2012, the Fantail is one of the finest new boats to come on the scene.

Tartan Fantail 26
LOA 26’0”
LWL 22’2”
Beam 8’5”
Draft 4’6”
Displacement 3,050 lbs.
Ballast 1,200 lbs.
Ballast/Displ .39
Displ/LWL 125.6

Tartan Yachts
www.tartantachts.com
440-392-2628

Blue Jacket 40 •

The new Blue Jacket 40 that is scheduled for launch in December is a unique project among American builders and promises to be one of the most interesting new boats to come along in years. Tim Jackett, who was CEO and chief designer of Tartan and C&C Yachts for many years, went out on his own last year after building more than 2,500 boats to his own designs. When Island Packet’s founder, CEO and chief designer Bob Johnson, who has also built about 2,500 yachts, heard that his old friend was setting up his own design shop, he made a phone call that got the ball rolling on a new line of performance cruisers to be built in Island Packet’s facilities in Largo, Florida.

The brief for the new design, called the Blue Jacket 40, was to create a true performance cruiser that would provide exhilarating sailing performance and acquit itself ably around the buoys and in point-to-point events while maintaining a level of cruising comfort that modern sailors, racers and cruisers have come to expect. No small task.

The result is a stylish, modern, fin keel, spade rudder sloop that benefits from the vast design and building experience of two of America’s premier yacht designers and builders. The hull has sleek lines with a fairly plumb bow, a nicely squared off transom and just a hint of a curve in the sheerline. The hull carries maximum beam fairly far aft so the cockpit and after cabins are as spacious as possible.

The numbers tell the tale of the Blue Jacket 40’s performance pedigree. The standard design with the deep keel has a sail area-to-displacement ratio of 21.8, which means the rig has plenty of horsepower. The displacement-to-length ratio of 172 puts the boat in the “moderately light” category and indicates that the design will be quick but should also have a pleasant motion going through and over waves. The ballast-to-displacement ratio of 39 percent indicates that the 40 will stand up nicely to the breeze and should easily convert pressure into boat speed.

The 40 has a double headsail or Solent rig with the self-tacking jib on a carbon fiber Hoyt Jib Boom. Forward of the jib, a reacher is fitted with the tack mounted on the small prod or sprit that has been built off the bow. For upwind sailing, the self-tacking jib will provide very close sheeting angles and effortless tacking. The reacher will be deployed when off the wind for maximum sail area and performance. Both sails are on Harken roller furling units and can be handled from the cockpit. The full battened mainsail is handled with a double-ended sheet from either side of the cockpit and furls neatly into a carbon fiber pocket-style boom.

The Blue Jacket 40 is being built by the craftsmen who build Island Packets, so we can expect to find very high quality and integrity in the boat. The hull and deck are vinylester-infused moldings with Divinycell foam cores. The hull is reinforced with a laminated grid and an interior molded unit stiffens the hull and anchors the bulkheads, tanks and chainplates. You will find a belt and suspenders approach throughout.

The new Blue Jacket 40 is a uniquely American sailing yacht that evokes the best in this country’s boat building traditions, and was drawn and is being built by two friends who between them have built more than 5,000 high quality, innovative, ocean sailing yachts. Look for a full review of the Blue Jacket 40 early in the New Year. For more information, contact Blue Jacket Yachts at 727-535-6431 or visit www.bluejacketyachts.com

Dufour 36P •

The summer afternoon we test-sailed the new Dufour 36 Performance was warm and clear and the promise of a sea breeze was turning steadily into a reality on the waters of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay.

With six of us aboard, including Olympic sailor and author Carol Cronin, we hoisted the big mainsail and rolled out the 114 percent working jib. The 36P, which displaces only 14,000 pounds, feels very nimble underfoot, and even though the breeze was still an hour away, the boat put her shoulder down as we sheeted in and accelerated very smartly.

With Carol at the helm, we threw the 36P through a series of tacks. We were pleased to see the new design tack through 33 degrees apparent wind while making 5.5 knots in 7 knots of true breeze. It’s always fun to do boat tests with a sailor like Carol aboard since she raises everyone’s game just by being there.

The twin wheels, which are mounted on diagonal pedestals, are fairly far outboard, so you have an excellent view ahead and of the headsail from both the leeward and windward sides. The fractional, slightly overlapping jib trims inside the sidestays, which allows for tight sheeting angles and very close-hauled sailing.

The cockpit has the main traveler running across the sole just forward of the wheels; the sheet is double-ended, which means you can trim from either side of the cockpit. The cockpit lockers are demountable so you can open up the cockpit when racing with a full crew or you can leave them installed when cruising. Aft, the low transom folds down to make a swim platform with a sturdy stainless steel ladder. A life raft can be stowed aft in a compartment under the cockpit sole.

It is not often that a builder supplies a spinnaker for sail trials, but the 36 Performance is designed to be a true dual-purpose boat, so we had a chute to fly. The big sail was in a snuffer, which made it simple to hoist and deploy. Tacked down to the retractable carbon bowsprit, the asymmetrical chute really pulled the 36P along sweetly. Sailing at about 150 degrees apparent, the boat sailed as if on rails and accelerated noticeably in the early puffs of the sea breeze.

All in all, the 36P was a true pleasure to sail. We did not get the chance to crank it up around a race course, but later in the summer the Dufour dealers at North Star Yachts and a crew took the 36P to the Buzzard’s Bay Regatta in Massachusetts and won the 22-mile distance race on the first day.

CRUISING ACCOMMODATIONS
The 36P has simple yet elegant accommodations for living aboard. The forward cabin has a V-berth with storage underneath and lockers for clothes. The after cabin has a large double berth and plenty of locker space; ventilation is via a large vertical hatch in the cockpit well.

The galley is surprisingly large for a 36-footer, with a Corian counter, double stainless steel sinks, a large fridge and a two-burner propane stove. Across from it is a large head compartment with an integral shower. The head is spacious enough to be a good wet locker for foul weather gear when racing or sailing in heavy weather.

The bench settees to port and starboard are long enough to be extra berths. Between them is a centerline table with drop leaves and a top-loading wine locker. The whole atmosphere below decks is bright and modern without being too Euro-trendy. The fixed ports in the hull and the cabin sides are long and narrow but let in a lot of light and provide a limited outside view when seated. Overhead white panels highlighted with wood battens provide a pleasant traditional yacht finish to the cabin.

Two couples will be very comfortable cruising aboard the 36P. For regattas, you can fit six with two sleeping forward separated by a bundling board, two in the saloon and two in the aft double. The boat can be raced with six, although you may want an extra body or two in windy conditions.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
Designed by Italian Umberto Felci, the 36P has a distinctive look with a plumb bow, fairly plumb stern, very long waterline and flat sheer. The hull has a slight chine in the after sections that adds to hull volume aft and should add a bit of power when the boat is reaching.

Under the water the boat has a high aspect, cast iron fin keel with a standard depth of seven feet, two inches. A shoal draft keel is also available. The spade rudder has been designed with a semi-elliptical shape that gives it a good bite on the water and a great feel when sailing upwind in the groove.

The 9/10ths fractional rig, with two swept back spreaders, has an aluminum mast that is stepped on the top of the keel. The standing rigging is discontinuous stainless wire so you can tune the rig accurately. It comes with a rigid boom vang and a carbon sprit forward that fits neatly inside the starboard bow.

The hull is foam core above the waterline and solid composite below the waterline. Wide longitudinal stringers run the length of the hull on both sides just above the waterline, which adds to hull stiffness and strength. Inside the hull, the builders use a pan liner to add stiffness, which becomes the foundation for interior joinery and the engine mount, chain plates and keel bolts.

With a displacement of 14,000 pounds and a working sail area of 776 square feet, the 36P is fairly light and powerful. The sail area to displacement ratio is 21.6, which fits right into the racing end of the racer-cruiser fleet.

A solid, well built boat, the 36P benefits from Dufour’s long heritage building production boats and their more recent commitment to designing and building boats that sail better and faster than many production designs.

Dufour 36 Performance
LOA 36’0”
LWL 33’6”
Beam 11’10”
Draft 7’0”
Displ. 14,109 lbs.
Ballast 4,188
Sail area 776 sq. ft.
Mast height 57’8”
Engine 29 hp diesel
Water 53 gals.
Fuel 24 gals.
Holding 12 gals.

Dufour Yachts

Phone: 352-871-0362
eric.macklin@dufour-yachts.com

Catalina 315 • The new Catalina offers sprightly sailing performance in a hull with a remarkably spacious interior

The morning after last winter’s Strictly Sail Miami show wrapped up, I met Gerry and Tina Douglas on the deserted piers at Miamarina so we could take Gerry’s new creation, the Catalina 315, out for a test sail. The day had broken clear and fine, with the easterly trade winds rattling the palm trees and a light dew still wet on the decks.

We unmoored the 315, and with coffee cups in hand motored southward into Biscayne Bay. The 315 handled sweetly under power. With only a 21 hp diesel that literally sips fuel, the boat motored at 6 knots at cruising revs and maxed out at 6.5 knots with the hammer down. The 315 has a big rudder that gives the helm a positive feel and allows it to turn in tight circles. Backing, the boat steers almost as well in reverse as it does going forward.

Even though the boat is a small cruiser and all her gear and rigging are light, the 315 has been equipped with both a roller furling genoa and an in-mast roller furling mainsail. Sailing her is a snap. Once we cleared the William Powell Bridge to Key Biscayne, we rolled out the main and then set the genoa.

As the sail filled and we hardened up to close-hauled, the 315 leaped forward and seemed to relish the breeze and the close angle of sail. When we test new boats, we always work the boat hard to windward first if we can so we get a good feel for how weatherly the design is, whether it has any vices like lee helm, and how well it falls into the groove with the sails properly trimmed.

The 315 exceeded expectations. She put her shoulder down and accelerated neatly. As we trimmed sails, we were able to dial in as much weather helm as we wanted, which is about five degrees, or just enough to give the wheel a positive feel.

In the 10 knots of breeze, the 315 sailed to windward at close to 6 knots and was able to tack inside 90 degrees. We could pinch her up closer to the wind, but that killed her boat speed and robbed the helm of the nice sprightly action.

We tacked our way down the bay for an hour or so until we met up with a Catalina 385 that was also out for a test sail. The 315 is seven feet shorter than the 385, but side by side the two boats seemed amazingly equal in sailing ability, which told us just how well the little sister sails.

Heading back to the marina we rolled out the screecher, which was rigged to a demountable Selden bowsprit, and had a really fun run up the bay. The wind was puffing to 15 knots so we had plenty of breeze, and in the stronger puffs the 315 would absorb the punches like a pro and accelerate sweetly. With the big sail flying, you have to stay alert at the helm to keep her from rounding up in the puffs, but once you get the feel this is not a problem.

Sailing the 315 on that lovely day with a good breeze blowing left us all smiling. Here indeed is a fun new design that puts the emphasis solidly on ease of handling and really good sailing qualities.

THE INSIDE STORY
The 315 has a beam of 11 feet, seven inches, so even without looking at it you know the hull has a lot of volume. And the design has a broader stern than you would see in earlier Gerry Douglas designs, so the wide beam is enhanced by extra volume aft. But even knowing this, when you go below it is almost as though you are stepping down from the cockpit of a 31-footer into the interior of a 37-footer. I found myself in a true optical illusion and was left wondering how on earth Gerry did it.

Douglas was trained as an architect before he got a real job as a yacht designer and builder with Frank Butler at Catalina, so he knows a lot about light, space and the sight lines that enhance the sensory impression of both. To make the maximum use of the boat’s beam, he has pushed the furniture out to the hull as far as possible and made the cabinets that run along both sides shallower than you would find on larger designs. Combine that with large windows, ports, hatches, and an off-white headliner and the effect is amazing.

From the base of the companionway ladder, you have the compact but complete galley to port with the U-shaped dinette just forward of it. The dinette can be converted into a double berth with the table lowered and a cushion inserted.

The open area of cabin sole down the middle seems enormous for a boat of this size. The bench settee along the starboard side is long enough to be a good berth, too, and has the aft-facing chart table at the after end and a two-drawer side cabinet at the forward end. Just forward and across from the head is a large hanging locker.

The dinette will seat four, the settee three, and you could certainly fit four or five more standing about the cabin. If the urge arises, you could happily host 10 to 12 friends for a party—not counting those who have snuck off to the forward and after cabins.

The forward cabin has a good-size V-berth that is easy to get in and out of, with large storage lockers and drawers beneath it. The forward hatch provides good ventilation and adds a lot of natural light.

The after cabin has a large double berth tucked under the cockpit, a hanging locker and storage cabinets for clothes. Both cabins can be closed off with solid teak doors.

For a couple who cruises with friends, or a family of four, the 315 offers amazing communal space in the saloon and very livable private spaces in the cabins—all of which is pretty unusual in a 31-foot cruising boat.DETAILS,

DETAILS
Catalina has always built honest, straightforward boats that do their jobs well without gimmicks or marketing slights of hand. And they have been able to keep their pricing in line by using efficient build techniques and top quality (but not exotic) materials.

The 315 has a lot of features that make it a good cruising boat and that set it apart from the fleet. From the collision bulkhead in the bow to the seats built into the stern rails, the life of cruising sailors has always been kept at the forefront.

Mildew can be a problem on a cruising boat, so the hanging lockers are lined with cedar panels that will help combat it and there are opening ports in every cabin to enhance ventilation.

You should check the engine’s crankcase oil daily and top up the engine coolant regularly, so Catalina builds in special small hatches that give you access to the dipstick and the fill caps for oil and coolant. And you need good access to the whole engine now and then, so the cabinet around the engine is completely demountable.

These days, sailors tend to come aboard with their laptops, iPads and smartphones—all of which need charging—so the chart table has been designed to accommodate laptops, and outlets are provided for 12 volt and 110 volt power.

The 315, like the rest of the fleet in the new Catalina 5 series, offers a lot of value in a very well thought out package. The boat sails well and is fun and easy to handle. It motors well and maneuvers easily around the docks. And, the interior living spaces are as large and commodious as you will find on any 31-footer.

How’d he do that? The old-fashioned way. Attention to detail.

Catalina 315
LOA 31’0”
LWL 26’0”
Beam 11’7”
Draft (fin) 6’3”
Draft (wing) 4’4”
Displ 10,600 lbs.
Ballast 4,400 lbs.
Sail area 506 sq. ft.
Fuel 27 gals
Water 41 gals
Holding 17 gals
Engine 21-hp. Diesel

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

Hanse 495 •

Hanse Yachts of Germany has been exporting their modern cruisers to North America for nearly a decade. We have reviewed several of the models in the pages of BWS and have discovered that the designs tend to stir definite responses from sailors. When you climb aboard a new Hanse at a boat show and mingle with showgoers—often couples who are seeing the boats for the first time—you get a lot of spontaneous reactions.

Some couples take one look and say, Nope, not traditional enough for us, while others stop in their tracks and utter Wow, this is the future.

Both are right. The newest designs from Hanse are not at all traditional; instead, they reflect the future with as much pizzazz as boats from any builder in the world. The hulls have plumb bows and sawn-off sterns that contain huge fold-down swim platforms. Under the water, the keels are often racy T-bulbs and the rudders deep, high aspect shapes you would expect on a grand prix racer. The tall rigs have large, full-battened mainsails, while the working headsails are small and self-tacking. The cockpits are huge, have twin wheels and are equipped with big drop-leaf tables. And often the sterns are wide open to the sea.

The Hanse 495 is not your granddad’s cruising boat by any stretch. The new boat, like its sisters in the Hanse fleet, is an eye-catching statement of modernist form following modernist function.

SEA TRIALS
It was a flat, calm morning off Manchester, MA when I met up with Bump Wilcox, the local Hanse dealer, to take the 495 for a test sail. An old Yankee, Bump assured me the fog would soon lift and a sea breeze would build. And so it did. By noon, we could see the harbor entrance and the surface of the water had a few ripples. We fired up the engine, dropped the mooring lines, switched on the bow thruster and pivoted the big sloop in its own length so we could motor down the narrow channel toward the sea.

As we cleared the harbor buoy and started to hoist the big mainsail, the ripples on the water were turning into waves and the sea breeze began to gain enthusiasm. The main has a double purchase, so the halyard is incredibly long, but it is a snap to raise the big, heavy sail. We got it up and drawing and soon had the small 100 percent jib rolled out and trimmed.

The North Shore is iron bound with rocky isles and reefs and coastal cliffs, so we had to pick our way seaward carefully as we tacked into the still building breeze. The 495, trimmed for close-hauled sailing, tacked effortlessly and accelerated quickly after each tack, all without any sheet trimming. We were sailing at 42 degrees true and making 8.5 knots in 15 knots of true breeze, and she felt well settled, had no weather helm and the decks were mostly dry.

Within an hour, the sea breeze was now a proper wind of more than 25 knots, so we decided to spare the new boat and headed off onto a power reach for a mile or so, then jibed around and ran for home. On the reach, with the wind just aft of the beam, the 495 had no trouble sailing at 10 knots and hit 12 a couple of times in the puffs. And off the wind on a broad reach, she was able to sail at 9 and 10 without trouble.

The one hitch with self-tacking headsails lies in the position of the sheet cars on deck; the tack trims well inboard on both sides, so when you are reaching, the head of the sail tends to twist off and lose power. The result is that you have to sail at about 160 degrees from the true wind and jibe your way toward your destination. For those who want to sail effectively downwind, you need to rig a lazy sheet to the jib that can be trimmed properly or you need to fly a reacher or code zero on a free flying roller forward.

We made it back in one piece and had a truly exhilarating sail. The Hanse 495 is a remarkably capable design that is easy to handle, has a pleasant motion in square chop and offers a fine turn of speed.

LIFE ABOARD
The Hanse 495’s interior layouts make optimum use of the huge amount of volume the designers have allocated in the hull. The topsides are quite high, so the underside of the decks inside the boat are not an impediment to lockers and sight lines. The hull carries its volume quite far forward and aft, so there is plenty of room for large cabin and storage spaces. And the hull has enough rocker under the water to make room below the floorboards for wine lockers and other storage areas.

The boat Bump and I sailed had the standard layout, with a large double berth in the owner’s cabin forward and two large quarter cabins aft under the cockpit. The forward head arrangement puts the toilet and sink in a closet to port and the shower in its own closet to starboard, so both spaces can be used at the same time. Aft, there is a single head and shower that serves both aft cabins and that will be a good wet locker for foul weather gear when underway on a foul day.

The saloon and the fit and finish of the cabinetry are what give the interior its wow factor. The galley lies along the port side of the saloon and is equipped with, naturally, a roomy wine cooler, a two-drawer fridge-freezer, a dishwasher, a three-burner stove and oven, a microwave oven, and two large stainless steel sinks. The granite-colored Corian counters add an elegant touch.

The dinette to starboard is U-shaped and huge. Eight adults will fit around the table, so you can entertain handsomely. The bench amidships doubles as a wet bar and storage area for wine and bar supplies. The table has drink holders built into it that will keep cups and glasses in place while underway.

The chart table on the starboard side is small for laying out large ChartKits, but well suited to the size of a laptop computer and smaller charts. Above it, a removable panel for electronics will be home to the chartplotter, radios, AIS and other navigation instruments.

Headroom throughout the boat is exceptional. The interior is full of light that flows through the large rectangular windows in the hull and the big windows that wrap around the cabin top. Plus, two large opening hatches overhead provide light and ventilation.

The boat we sailed had a light beech wood interior that was warm and attractive. The cabin soles were a very light-colored maple, which added to the interior’s brightness and gave the boat a completely nontraditional ambience. The blue faux leather upholstery in the dinette was handsome and set off the woods nicely.

For a family of four or a couple cruising with friends, the interior works very well. And, the saloon is large enough for about 20 of your friends to gather for sundowners. Add the huge cockpit into the mix and you could entertain 30, which is about as nontraditional a concept as you can get in an oceangoing cruising boat.

Hanse pioneered the “have it your way” process of personalizing your own boat through their online “configurator.” Similar in concept to the way you can customize a new BMW, the website allows you to choose your own layout, keel configuration, rig size, hull colors, interior finishes and much more. Once you have your boat just the way you want it, the website passes the information on to the nearest dealer, who will then call you for a more in-depth discussion. Very smooth.

If you are looking for a cruising boat that will take you boldly into the future as well as safely and comfortably to sea, the purposeful and handsome new Hanse 495 is well suited for the job.

Hanse 495

LOA 50’6”
LOD 48’9”
LWL 44’5”
Beam 15’7”
Draft 7’8”
Draft (shoal) 6’6”
Displacement 30,900 lbs.
Ballast 8,830 lbs.
Sail area 1,390 sq. ft.
Mast height 72’6”
Engine 72 hp. Diesel
Fuel 75 gals.
Water 165 gals.
DesignersJudel/Vrolijk

www.hanseyachts.com
www.usa.hanseyachts.com

The Island Packet 360 debuted at last fall’s Annapolis sailboat show and caused a nice stir among the boatbuilder’s many fans. The new boat shows some definite evolutionary traits while maintaining the qualities that make Island Packets so admired in the cruising fleet.

The 360 is built using the same hull as the popular Estero, which was launched a few years ago. The hull has a slightly more plumb bow than the current fleet of Island Packets and stirs memories of the great early boats that made Island Packet famous. The boat’s bowsprit is a bit longer than we see in the larger boats, which spreads out the sailing rig, provides a good anchoring platform and gives the 360 a decidedly classic and salty look.

Under the water, the 360’s hull has the same Full Foil Keel, shallow draft and attached rudder that you see on her sister ships. The hull design offers a sea kindly motion, a high degree of stability, some positive lift when sailing to windward and, of course, the minimum draft that allows you to really gunkhole close to the coastline. For those who are sailing far afield, this hull shape will take a grounding better than a fin keel design, will better protect the rudder and propeller, and will allow you to dry out or careen the boat for quick repairs or refreshing the antifouling paint.

The 360 has a fairly tall cutter rig with the staysail flying on the patented Hoyt Jib Boom. With roller furling on all three sails and a self-tacking staysail, the 360 is an automated cruising boat. And because the sails are all fairly small, even the lightest and smallest crewmember can trim, reef and furl them.

The 360 sports an all-new interior that combines the warmth of traditional varnished teak joinery with the brightness of light-colored laminates and countertops. The boat offers two large, private double cabins and has a large head forward with a separate shower stall. The galley is huge and has twin refrigerators (either of which can be used as a freezer), a propane stove and oven, a microwave, and plenty of storage above and below the counters.

The L-shaped settee to port has a table that folds down from the main bulkhead, and across from the dinette are two swiveling easy chairs. There are storage lockers behind the settee and the chairs, and a small table fits neatly between the chairs for drinks or playing cards. The chart table folds up from the galley cabinet, where the navigator can use it while sitting in the aft easy chair.

The interior is spacious and homey, with plenty of natural light and ventilation. For a couple who likes to cruise with another couple or their children, the 360 offers a lot of accommodations in a manageable and affordable package.

After the Annapolis show, we had the chance to sail the boat before it was delivered to the nearby dealership at Gratitude Yacht Sales. The morning breeze was light and the Chesapeake Bay was lovely in the early autumn warmth. Off the Naval Academy we rolled out the mainsail and then the genoa and the 360 responded nicely. At 19,300 pounds, she is no lightweight, but even so the ample sail area easily turned the light breeze into 5 knots of boat speed. She seemed to almost be making her own wind.

We tacked up the Severn River next to the Academy where the breeze was building. The 360 tacked easily through 90 degrees and maintained her way while making very little leeway.

At the fixed bridge across the river, we bore off onto a broad reach and rolled out the staysail to give us maximum sail area. The 360 responded well and soon the bow wave was hissing nicely along the hull and the wake stretching away smoothly. This is the kind of pleasant sailing that we would have been happy with all day.

But we didn’t have all day, so after a few jibes downwind, we rolled up the sails and headed back into Annapolis under power. The 360 motors efficiently and is easy to steer and maneuver. We brought her in alongside a dock in town without any fuss and then backed and turned her within a boat length.

The new Island Packet 360 does a lot of things well. She is a capable ocean sailing boat with excellent accommodation for living aboard. She is built to the highest standards and carries ABYC and CE offshore ratings. If you are looking for a handy, mid-size blue water boat that is also a lot of fun to sail, the new 360 should definitely be on your list. Take her sailing and you won’t look back.

Island Packet Yachts
1979 Wild Acres Rd.
Largo, FL
33771
727-535-6431
www.ipy.com

Island Packet 360
LOA 36’5”
LWL 31’6”
Beam 12’4”
Draft 4’0”
Mast height 54’0”
Water 110 gals.
Fuel 55 gals.
Displ. 19,300 lbs.
Sail area 831 sq. ft.
Engine 40-hp.

Catalina 385 •

The afternoon we test-sailed the new Catalina 385 on the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, the breeze was a pleasant 10 knots out of the northeast and the bay fairly calm. As we motored out of Back Creek, we rolled out the mainsail and then rolled out the red, white and blue screecher. The 385 put her shoulder down and started to really scream as we watched the speedo climb from 5 to 6 and finally 7 knots.

With the wind just forward of the beam, the 385 heeled to about 10 degrees. The helm was incredibly light despite the big headsail. With a tweak of the main traveler, we were able to balance the helm to neutral so the boat steered herself straight without a finger on the wheel. This is the mark of a boat that has her proportions just right.

We flew out into the bay and then rolled up the screecher to see how she sailed with the 135 percent genoa. Hard on the wind, the boat maintained a happy 7 knots in the 10 knots of true breeze and tacked inside 90 degrees quite easily. The boat we were sailing has the shoal draft winged keel and a slightly shallower rudder than the deep draft version, but this did not seem to affect her performance upwind and we noted that we were making very little leeway. Again, hard on the wind and heeled to almost 15 degrees, the 385 had a very light helm that was easily balanced with traveler adjustments.

Running back into Annapolis, we hauled the genoa to windward so we could run squarely downwind wing-and-wing. This is not the fastest point of sail, but we still maintained close to 6 knots, which proved that despite a moderate-displacement cruising hull, the 385 is a slippery and handy sailing boat.

The deck layout works really well for a couple sailing together or a larger group. The mainsail controls and traveler are all managed with line stoppers and a winch next to the companionway. The genoa sheets and control line for the headsail are within reach of the helmsman. The cockpit is not overly wide, so you always have a good foot or hip brace point, which allows you to work with both hands. Visibility from the raised helm seats to windward and leeward is excellent.

The Selden spar and headsail roller furling gear work easily and have very smooth actions, so deploying and then furling the sails was a cinch. The Selden bowsprit for the screecher fits neatly in the stemhead fitting and bow rollers so we could tack the big sail down well forward of the pulpit to keep it clear of any potential snags.

Back in Back Creek we put the boat through its paces under power. At cruising revs she will cruise at 6.5 knots easily and can get close to 8 when pushed. The boat has a nice tight turning radius for maneuvering in close quarters, and with a three-bladed prop will stop in two boat lengths from cruising speed. We had to back her into the marina slip in a crosswind, so we gave ourselves plenty of distance and then backed steadily and surely into the slip and managed to pick up both bowlines on their pilings as we slid by.

A couple’s cruising boat, the 385 packs a lot of performance and ease into the moderate hull and benefits from the developments and evolutions that went into the new 445 and 355, which have both proven so popular over the last two years.

ACCOMMODATIONS
The interior of the 385 is finished in hand rubbed and varnished teak and teak veneers, so the whole cabin feels warm and traditional. The saloon has a U-shaped galley with a large fridge, twin sinks and a propane stove and oven. The navigator’s desk faces aft and has a folding top that will accommodate a laptop computer. The electrical panel is outboard and shielded by a tinted acrylic door so you can monitor the panel without having it glaring in your face.

The L-shaped dinette to port has a quad-leaf folding table that will seat several people when open, but takes up very little space when folded. On the boat we tested, the table was varnished to a very high gloss and looked magnificent. Across from the dinette, the twin easy seats are separated by a folding table that will be useful for playing cards or board games. The bench in the dinette will make an excellent sea berth.

The owner’s cabin and the spa-style head are forward. The large double berth with an inner-spring mattress has an articulated tilt mechanism, so you can lounge in bed in the “up” position or sleep in the normal “down” position. The head has a designer sink, a huge shower stall and plenty of storage for bathroom articles and the medicine kit.

The 385 holds 100 gallons of water, so you will not have to skimp on washing up. Plus, with a six-gallon hot water heater, you should have plenty of hot water for short showers. The guest cabin aft has a large athwartship double berth and a small bench where you can sit while putting on your shoes. Plus, there are large lockers for storage of your guest’s gear and for spare parts and all the sundries cruisers collect along the way.

For a couple or a family, the 385 is laid out to provide comfort and privacy in the sleeping cabins and open living in the saloon. You could literally fit a dozen people below decks for, say, the boat christening party.

DETAILS
The 385 is a production built cruiser that employs proven production techniques. The hull is a one-piece hand laid fiberglass molding with a large internal grid fixed in place with aerospace adhesives and fiberglass tabbing. The deck is a cored composite molding that offers stiffness under foot and good heat and sound insulation. A large molded deck liner provides a fully finished ceiling that complements the teak joinery.

The forward section of the hull has what Catalina calls the Strike Zone; this is a watertight compartment forward of the forward bulkhead that will prevent water ingress should you run up on a half submerged object such as a container.

The mast is deck-stepped with a large compression post beneath it, which transfers compression loads to the internal grid and the keel. The mast shrouds run to Catalina’s unique Secure Socket chainplates, which in turn transfer sidestay loads to the chainplates that are firmly glassed into the boat’s structural grid; this system also helps to prevent deck leaks around the chainplates.

The boat’s engine and systems have been installed with regular maintenance in mind. The well insulated engine compartment keeps engine noise to a minimum. And special hatches and doors have been provided, so you can check and top up engine oil and cooling fluid quickly and easily. Should you need to get to the whole engine, the engine box slides out for full 360˚ access to the motor.

Under the water, Catalina uses lead for their keels and engineers massive, robust stainless steel bolt attachments to the integral hull grid. The rudder is a hand-molded fiberglass part with a stainless steel rudderpost and internal stainless steel framing for strength. The rudder post is fixed in place with a large watertight rudder bearing and is operated via the Edson steering system and quadrant.

Down below, you will find that the furniture is assembled by hand and all pieces have solid teak corner posts and solid wood cabinet doors and drawer fronts. The main interior doors are solid teak as well and have top and bottom louvers that enhance ventilation to inhibit mildew growth. Drawers are all wood with stainless self-closing steel sliders.

The engineering and construction details that go into modern Catalinas combine the best in traditional production construction techniques with a definite emphasis on quality, not only in the manufactured parts but also in the choice of OEM equipment such as hatches and ports, and optional equipment such as inverters and battery chargers. The company strives to build boats that are safe, sail well, are easy to maintain and will hold value for a long time. In the 385, they have certainly succeeded.

Catalina 385
LOA 39’2”
LOD 38’2”
LWL 34’5”
Beam 13’1”
Draft (shoal) 4’8”
Draft (deep) 6’10”
Ballast (shoal) 6,200 lbs.
Ballast(deep) 5,200 lbs.
Displacement 16,000 lbs.
Sail Area 802 sq. ft.
Water 100 gals.
Fuel 40 gals.
Holding 31 gals.
Engine 40-hp.
Mast height 54’0”
Displ/LWL 179(w)/168(f)
Sail area/Displ 19.3(w)/20.6(f)
Ballast ratio 37.6(w)/33.5(f)
Base price $208,495

Catalina Yachts
Largo, FL
727-544-6681
www.catalinayachts.com

The new DUFOUR 405 GRAND LARGE

So it was a pleasure to see several other mid-size sloops tacking down Narragansett Bay one afternoon last July when we were out sail-testing the new Dufour 405 Grand Large. We had motored out of the marina at New England Boatworks, rolled out the in-mast furling mainsail and the genoa, and set off to see how the new design sails. The 405 does not come standard with a roller furling mainsail, but this boat had been spec’d out with one by the local dealer Northstar Yacht Sales, so launching the mainsail was a snap.

With twin wheels in the cockpit, I was able to sit to leeward, where I could see the genoa telltales and keep an eye on the mainsail trim. While you can’t see anything to windward from the leeward steering position, I did have a great view of everything to leeward and for me this is the place to sit when sailing upwind.

We threw the 405 through a few tacks to see how she performed and were pleased to see that the boat tacks comfortably inside 85 degrees and makes very little leeway when hard on the wind, even with the optional shoal draft keel. The afternoon sea breeze was building, so we had a pleasant 10 to 12 knots of wind. The 405 sailed comfortably at 7 knots hard on the wind in this breeze.

The cockpit is well laid out for handling the sheets with the mainsail trimmed on a winch on the cabintop and the genoa on large cockpit winches that are at a good height and easy to crank. Under the cockpit sole between the twin wheels, a neat life raft locker has been built in. And, the 405’s transom folds down, creating a large and useful stern platform with a retractable swim ladder built into it. We took a long board across the bay so we could engage the other boats tacking southward into the sea breeze. There were two production racer-cruisers in our size range and a couple of smaller boats. We reeled in the smaller guys effortlessly and soon had the larger boats in our sights. We were probably paying closer attention to sail trim than the other guys, but still the 405 sailed higher and faster than they did. From a mile astern, it took us less than an hour to get almost a mile ahead.

Satisfied that we had won, we eased sheets and jibed our way back toward the marina. Downwind, the 405 can be sailed wing and wing, but we wanted to see how the boat would do at deep reaching angles. At about 150 degrees apparent wind, with the genoa drawing fully, the 405 slipped along at an easy 7 knots in the 10 to 12 knots of true breeze. The boat seems to make its own wind once it gets in the groove and moving nicely. The new Dufour 405 was a pleasure to handle under sail. The helm was light, the boat sailed very close to the wind, and both up and downwind showed a good turn of speed. Whether cruising or racing, the boat will show her stern to a lot of boats in her class.

LIVING ABOARD

The 405 comes in two- or three-sleeping cabin versions. The boat we sailed had the two-cabin layout with a large centerline double berth forward and a double cabin aft to port. The opposite space where a third cabin could be installed is a handy cockpit locker and garage on the two-cabin version.

Both versions have two heads, with the after head home to the separate shower stall. The after head also has the commode facing forward, which is the best arrangement for use when at sea and heeled over.

The two-cabin version has an L-shaped “American-style” galley to starboard at the base of the companionway ladder. This will be a good seagoing galley and has plenty of counter and storage space. The fridge has both top and side access. The counters are Corian. The double sinks are in the outboard counter. The under-counter drawers and storage areas are neatly hidden behind doors that can be latched so you will never have the galley’s contents scattered across the floor when the boat lurches on a wave. The two-cabin version does not have a separate chart table, but uses the table between the single seats to starboard as command central. Instruments and the electrical panel are installed outboard. Most owners will install a chartplotter, which will be mounted on the after end of the cockpit table in full view of both helms. The table can be lowered to complete a full length settee that will also be a good sea berth.

The U-shaped dinette to port seats six with two sitting on the bench amidships. The bench provides a large central storage area. Additional storage is built in under the sole, including a large wine locker with built-in wine racks.

The interior is finished in a mahogany-colored wood called Moabi that has an attractive and traditional feel. The cabin sole is a modern Moabi veneer instead of the traditional teak and holly pattern. The cabintop and sides are off-white panels that really brighten the cabin and give it a Bristol-fashion feel. With two overhead opening deck hatches and opening side ports, the saloon will be well ventilated and bright. For a couple who often sails with friends, the two-cabin version will work nicely. For a family with children, the three-cabin version will certainly work better. In either case, the 405 offers a well thought out interior that works well underway or at anchor and is as modern and elegant as any of the new boats now offered on the market.

BWS THOUGHTS

The Dufour 405 Grand Large does just about everything right despite its somewhat redundant name. The boat sails well and will be fun for competitive sailors and cruisers alike. The boat has a Cat A Offshore rating, so you can feel comfortable taking on long coastal runs or going offshore for a ocean passage.

The cockpit and decks are well laid out, uncluttered and easy to move around, and forward, the anchor system has been set up for easy regular use. The fold-down stern platform will make getting in and out of the dinghy easy and is a great sunning and swimming platform.

The boat’s systems have been installed with regular maintenance and occasional repairs in mind. The engine compartment has good access from three sides. The fuel and water tanks, batteries, plumbing and electrical systems all meet or exceed the top Euro zone regulations and ABYC standards.

The Dufour 405 GL is a production boat with a difference. You can feel the company’s nearly 50 years of boat building experience in every aspect of the boat and can rest assured that it will serve you and your crew well for generations to come.

Dufour 405 Grand Large
LOA 39’10”
LWL 34’10”
Beam 13’2”
Draft (stand.) 6’7”
Draft (shoal) 5’8”
Sail area 881 sq. ft.
Water 100 gals.
Fuel 52 gals.
Engine 40-hp. Diesel

U.S. Contact: Eric Macklin
North American Representative for Dufour Yachts
www.dufour-yachts.com
eric.macklin@dufour-yachts.com
Cell: (352) 871-0362

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.

Last fall, while attending the annual Pacific Seacraft open house at the builder’s new facility in Washington, N.C., I had the opportunity to sail a Pacific Seacraft 40 on the Pamlico River for a few hours one afternoon. Although I have been writing boat reviews for national magazines for 30 years and was friends with the guys who started Pacific Seacraft in 1979, I have to admit that I had never sailed the PS 40, nor written a review of it.

That had to be fixed, particularly because Pacific Seacraft—after a tumultuous few years—was purchased in 2007 by Steve Brodie and his family and moved across the country from California to North Carolina. The new company, which still employs many long-serving PS boat builders who relocated along with the molds, is a completely new and highly respectable operation.

The opportunity to sail the 40 also came during the same season as the passing of Bill Crealock, who designed the boat and was the conscience and inspiration for the whole larger range of Pacific Seacrafts. Crealock was a voyaging man as well as a yacht designer, so he brought to the design process a vast knowledge of the sea and a personal appreciation of how couples and shorthanded crews thrive aboard modest-sized cruising boats on big oceans. His book Vagabonding Under Sail is still a good cruising yarn after all these years.

An in-depth review of his classic 40-footer would be a good way for us to tip our hats as we say so long.

ON THE BREEZE

We tested a well-equipped, well-cruised 40 that belongs to Bill Kund. He is the second owner and was fortunate to buy the boat from a skipper who “did it right” when fitting out for cruising. Bill has kept the boat in true Bristol fashion and recently had the crew at Pacific Seacraft refurbish the varnish and gelcoats. Plus, he had Ullman Sails build him a new suit of cruising sails.

It had been raining all morning—sometimes in sheets—but by the time we broke free to go sailing, the rain had stopped and the wind had filled in nicely. Washington lies on the north side of the Pamlico. It is known as the last deep-water port along the river, and as such, has a storied history that goes back to the 18th century.

We extracted the 40 from its slip without fuss, made a quick K-turn and motored down the channel until we could find deep enough water to round into the wind. Under power, the boat handles surely, with the folding, three-bladed Max Prop biting nicely and stopping the hull in reverse quickly.

The main is equipped with a stack-pack style pouch and lazy jacks, so you have to be truly head-to-wind to hoist it up between the jacks. Once we had it up all the way, Bill tightened the Cunningham to trim the luff and we fell off to power reach down river. The rolled-out, 125-percent genoa added to the horsepower.

In 17 to 22 knots true wind speed, the 40 put her shoulder down as she accelerated past 8 knots. The wind puffed in gusts over the riverside pine trees, so we had to keep an eye on trim and the position of the traveler, but we never had to sweat the helm. As the breeze gusted, we’d ease the traveler a few inches until the helm was light. Then, in the lulls, we cranked the traveler back to the centerline to power her up again. It was good to see that the boat was equipped with both a Cunningham and an easily adjustable traveler—both useful sail trim aids. Bill’s boat does not have a hydraulic backstay adjuster, which might be a good upgrade to help with both headsail and mainsail trim.

Once we sailed into the widest section of the river, we could harden up to see how the 40 handled close to the wind. The 40 is a fairly narrow boat, so even with the upper shrouds anchored on chainplates that are all the way outboard, the genoa sheeting angle was fine. We found that we could sail quite happily at 45 degrees off the true wind and could pinch her up with a slight decrease in speed to something close to 42 degrees. The boat tacks easily inside 90 degrees in a good breeze and flat water, but is happier at slightly wider angles in stiff chop or a running seaway.

Off the wind, we tried broad reaching to good effect and found that she went best at about 160 degrees off the true wind. Running dead downwind, she did not lose too much speed and settled down nicely when trimmed wing-and-wing. For days and weeks of trade wind running, the 40 will be both fast and comfortable.

THE DESIGN

The 40 was conceived, designed and built as a world cruising boat for a couple, a small family, or a shorthanded crew. The functional requirements for such a cruising formula dictate the form that the boat takes. For Crealock, that meant an easily driven, fairly narrow hull with plenty of stability and the ability to track surely in large following seas.

The canoe stern and the configuration of the cruising fin keel and skeg-hung rudder combine to give the boat great directional stability; however, the canoe stern also limits hull volume aft, which reduces the size of the cockpit and the space below decks that can be allocated to the aft cabin and storage. As in all compromises built into the 40, Crealock erred on the side of seamanship, safety and security. His fundamental belief was that you should return from an ocean passage better rested than when you left.

The design’s non-dimensional numbers say a lot about its characteristics. The sail area-to-displacement ratio of 16.27 is a full point higher than that of a Valiant 40 and indicates that the 40 has the sail horsepower to be efficient in light breezes. With a cutter rig, the sail area can be increased or reduced quickly from the cockpit.

The 40’s displacement-to-length ratio of 329 is high by modern standards; but that ratio is a bit misleading since it is based on the static waterline length and not the sailing waterline. The 40 has fairly long overhangs fore and aft and a short waterline when at rest that becomes longer wetted surfaces when the boat heels under a press of sail.

The 40’s beam is 12 feet, six inches. This is fairly narrow amongst the modern cruising fleet, where 40-footers often have beams of 14 feet and length-to-beam ratios of three or more. The L/B ratio of the 40 is 2.5, which indicates a lean, easily-driven hull that won’t get cranky in rolling and confused seas and will be efficient in light breezes. A narrow hull will obviously have less volume for accommodations—another Crealock compromise tilted in the offshore sailor’s favor.

THE DECK LAYOUT

As a seagoing boat, the 40 has few peers in the modern cruising fleet when it comes to practical safety considerations. The cockpit is fairly small and will never be a problem should it become filled with water in rough seas. The winches in the cockpit are positioned so that trimming sheets is not at all awkward and you can always get plenty of purchase on the winch handles. With the dodger in place, you are well protected from spray or rain and have a secure place for trimming sheets, reefing and keeping watch.

The 40 has low bulwarks around the decks, upon which are mounted higher-than-usual lifelines. The bow and stern pulpits are heavy gauge stainless steel and feel very solid and secure.

The foredeck works well at sea since there is always something to hold on to; the staysail, whether rolled or flying, gives you a great anchor for a free hand. The 40 has good handholds everywhere you turn, so while working on deck you are always able to keep “one hand for the ship and one for yourself.”

Bill’s 40 is equipped with a large, horizontal-access Lighthouse windlass, which is spec’d by Pacific Seacraft for the boat. With two gypsies and wildcats, the windlass makes handling the two main anchors simple and quick. For off the beaten track cruising, this windlass and two good anchors permanently mounted on the side-by-side rollers will make your life at anchor extremely secure.

LIVING ABOARD

The 40’s accommodation plan works well for a couple with occasional guests or a family with one or two children. The focus of the saloon is the large, G-shaped galley equipped with twin, centerline sinks (so they drain on both tacks), a Force 10 stove/oven and a large fridge/freezer powered by a Sea Frost refrigeration system.

Opposite the galley, the chart table faces forward and has a large surface for spreading out charts. Instruments and radios can be mounted outboard and in a small cabinet facing forward. There is plenty of room for charts, cruising guides, pilot books and all of the paraphernalia needed for world cruising. Both the galley and the chart table are fitted with high fiddles that keep tools in place.

The dinette seats six and the table can be folded down to form a double berth for extra company. The settee to port doubles as an amidships sea berth. There is plenty of storage throughout the saloon for dry stores and supplies.

The master cabin forward can have either a large V-berth or a centerline queen. The cabin has a small vanity with a sink and mirror. There is ample storage throughout this cabin, so you can bring a lot of souvenirs aboard when cruising.

The after cabin could be tight for two American-size people, but is comfortable as a large single and will be a great sea berth. Again, there is plenty of storage for guests visiting for a week or two.

The head is well designed and laid out, with the toilet mounted facing forward, the sink and vanity outboard, and the separate shower stall forward. The self-draining wet locker is behind the toilet.

The fit and finish of the new 40 is as good as that on any semi-production boat built in America, or anywhere else for that matter. The craftsmen who joined the Brodies when the company moved east brought with them a generation of fine boat building skills that are evident in every joint, drawer and door. The varnish work is impeccable and the choice of latches, lighting fixtures and furniture hardware top class.

BWS THOUGHTS

The rebirth of the Pacific Seacraft company under the guidance of Steve Brodie and the craftsmen who joined him means that a great American brand is back in business. A generation ago, Fortune magazine named Pacific Seacraft one of the “20 Best Companies in America.” Today, the boats are built once again with the hands-on care and semi-custom attention to an owner’s wishes that is hard to find in North America these days. The finished 40 and other boats in the line have an enduring value that can honestly be passed from one generation of sailors to the next.

The 40 we sailed, and the 40s that Pacific Seacraft are now building, are true blue-water boats. They look salty. They sail well. They are tough and seakindly. And, they will take you wherever you dream of sailing.

Bill Kund. above, and his PS 40 have cruised the length

of the East Coast and explored the Bahamas.

If you are looking for a trendy boat that puts accommodation ahead of seakindliness, you will want to look elsewhere. Pacific Seacrafts are not for every sailor, but if you and your partner want to sail far and wide in a beautiful, traditional, couple’s cruising boat that will always look after your hide, the Pacific Seacraft 40 should be right at the top of your list.

Gary and Steve Nordvedt are second generation boat builders in the Pacific Northwest who have seen designs and styles of cruising boats come and go. For the last 20 years they have been building high quality power cruisers suited to the weather and cruising conditions of Puget Sound and the Northwest coastline.

But in the early 1980s and through that decade, the Nordvedt family built the Perry-designed Nordic 40 and Nordic 44, both considered by cruising boat lovers to be two of Perry’s best designs and two of the best mid-size cruising boats ever built in America.

Last year, when the price of diesel peaked at about $5 per gallon, Gary Nordvedt began looking around for a sailboat to build and discovered that the molds for the Nordic 40 and 44 were available and in excellent condition. And with sailing clients Karol and Carl Weston ready to build a 40, Gary and his brother decided to relaunch the design with many modern upgrades.

The Norstar 40, with its rakish bow and reverse transom does not look like a 30-year old design but it does have a classic yacht style to it. The hull is 32-feet on the waterline and has a 12-foot, six-inch beam, so the shape is moderate. Unlike more modern production cruisers, the 40’s stern sections are narrow, which has the effect of making the stern slightly less buoyant and slightly less likely to slew around in big following seas.

The deep keel and fairly tall rig combine to give the boat very good sailing characteristics that will produce comfortable daily runs and a pleasant motion at sea. The 40 was designed before the spade rudder vogue took over cruising boat design so it has a semi-balanced rudder that is mounted on a full skeg. This is a strong way to build a rudder since the blade is protected from flotsam or while sitting on the bottom when aground.

The boat’s T-shaped cockpit is fairly deep and secure. The cockpit seats have high backs for comfort and protection and the bridge deck forward keeps water out of the cabin when things get wet on deck. The wheel is large enough to allow the helmsman to sit to windward or leeward while driving.

Down below the new Norstar 40 will have a fairly traditional interior and will be fitted out in Bristol fashion with oiled teak cabinetry accented with off-white panels. Doors and drawer fronts will be solid wood and all will have high quality stainless steel positive latches. The floors are teak and holly veneers.

The saloon has the nav station to starboard of the companionway and the U-shaped galley to port. The galley has two large sinks, a four-burner stove and a large top-loading fridge-freezer. The chart table faces aft and has storage for working charts and places to mount all of the electronics modern cruising boats seem to require.

The L-shaped dinette will seat three on the port settee and two or three more on the starboard settee when the table leaf is extended. The two settee benches will make good sea berths.

The private quarter cabin to starboard has a double berth and a large hanging locker while the forward cabin has a V-berth and an even larger hanging locker. These two cabins make for comfortable accommodations for four people and extras can bunk down in the saloon.

The Norstar 40’s head is large and useful. It has a good amount of storage space for hygiene and medical supplies and has an adjoining separate shower stall. Finished in white Formica and trimmed out with teak, this a traditional and attractive head.

The 40 carries 120 gallons of water and 54 gallons of fuel, so it has a fairly long range capability. The addition of a watermaker will mean you can shower whenever you want to.

The Norstar 40 comes with a trusted and proven pedigree. The design is that of a modern classic while the build quality and finish work make the boat one of the best built cruisers in North America. It will rank with Sabre and Tartan in quality and may have a small advantage in price. Any serious cruiser who wants a true cruising boat that can be built to order and modified within reason to his needs should take a serious look at the new Norstar 40.

Norstar 40
LWL             39’8”
LWL      32’6”
Beam         12’5”
Draft               6’6”
Displ.         18,000
Ballast         7,091 lbs.
SA                 756 sq. ft.
Water         120 gals.
Fuel                 54 gals.
Waste         45 gals.
Engine         40-hp.Yanmar

Norstar Boats
Bellingham, Wash.
360-223-2399
www.norstarboats.com

The day BWS test sailed the new J/95 the stars were not aligned for a proper and in-depth trial. First, the Coast Guard pulled us over for a safety check—we passed—then the spinnaker shackle popped while screaming along behind the asymmetrical kite on the way back to the marina, which dumped the sail into the drink right ahead of us. Oops. No one’s fault, just another day at the office for boat builders and boat reviewers.

Nevertheless, we came away from the new J/95 exhilarated by the design, the execution of the concept, the build quality and the boat’s all around performance.

The design brief for the new 95 was to take the J Boat performance concept and adapt it to a shoal draft centerboard design. The reason is simple. Many of this country’s and Northern Europe’s best cruising areas have fairly shoal waters yet offer great coastal cruising.

J Boats has had a lot of success with their weekend cruiser and daysailer models—the new J/100, J/105, J/109 and the J/80—so they know that many of their potential owners are looking for a boat that can race efficiently, sail well when cruising, accommodate a family and friends in the cockpit, and provide an enclosed head with berths and a small galley for weekending. Sounds like a tall order.

It is. Especially when you throw in the wrinkle of making the boat shoal draft. This design element and how designer Rod Johnstone solved the inherent problems are what make the new J/95 so interesting and unique since he manages to combine some of the traditional benefits of a center boarder with a modern bulb keel and twin rudders.

For the uninitiated, there is nothing new about cruising, racing or for that matter commercial boats fitted with centerboards. Fishing smacks along the East Coast used to be fitted with centerboards, as did such offshore-capable crafts as the Baltimore Clipper. In the 1950s and 60s, when offshore sailing was dominated in the U.S. by the CCA rating rule, many centerboard designs came into favor. Carlton Mitchell’s Finisterre, with a centerboard, won the Newport-to-Bermuda Race three times and many Ted Hood designs of the era with centerboards were capable and successful ocean racers and cruisers.

Only recently, with the advent of mega performance sailing yachts, have we seen a rebirth of centerboards and drop keels and an improvement in the old design concept. What Johnstone has accomplished is to build a very shoal bulb fin keel, similar to the keel on a J/105 but much shallower, and then created inside the keel a slot and mechanism to lower and raise a bronze board. With the board up the keel has plenty of lift but with the board dropped to its full depth of five feet, five inches, the 95’s upwind ability increases noticeably and leeway decreases commensurately. Note that the sail drive for the 14-horesepower tucks in really neatly aft of the keel.

Having grown up sailing cat boats and gaff-headed, centerboard 25-footers in the Herreshoff style, BWS knows that centerboard designs with small or single rudders can suffer from weather helm, sometimes enough so to make them hard to sail and trim upwind. Plus, when heeled hard, such single rudders can cavitate, lose their grip and cause the hull to round up uncontrollably.

Johnstone’s solution takes a page from the leading edge of sailboat design, the IMOCA Open Classes that are so popular in Europe—Mini 6.5, Class 40, Open 60 and others. In fact Johnstone designed a modern Mini 6.5 for American Clay Burkhalter for the 2007 MiniTransat from France to Brazil. At 21 feet these little boats are extreme ocean-racing machines. Also, Open Class designs are so beamy they require twin or tandem rudders.

Tandem rudders have the amazing affect of putting the boat on rails, like a sports car with advanced traction stabilization or more prosaically like an arrow with feathers at its tail. The boat just wants to go straight and when you ask it to turn it turns as surely and steadily as you could imagine. Plus, you never suffer from intense weather helm.

In the 95, the tandem rudder solution works well because the rudder(s) need to have less depth than the keel, which would make a single rudder too small for the boat.

The hull design of the new 95 is an evolution of the J line, and you can see a bit of the 109’s deck line and cabin profile and a lot of the 100’s bow, stern and overall modern charm. Because the Johnstones are not hell-bent on constructing condo style interiors in their smaller racer-cruisers, boats like the 95 do not require high topsides, high cabin tops and vast hull volumes in the aft and forward sections. Instead, the 95 has a purposeful low profile, an appropriate cabin and both bow and stern sections in complete balance with the concept and the whole boat. In our view, the bow of the 95 says a lot about the design concept—completely modern and proportionally perfect without being faddish or trendy.

The fractional sloop rig is both simple and powerful. The standard Hall aluminum spar and boom are set up for easy sailing and handling but fairly sophisticated trim with a rigid boom vang, backstay adjuster, two built-in slab reef point lines and a cockpit-wide traveler on the main sheet. The headsail is a slightly overlapping genoa fitted on a Harken roller furling unit. The mast shrouds are well inboard, which give close sheeting angles on the genoa. In sail trials the boat tacked easily inside 90 degrees. The optional Hall carbon-fiber mast and boom will decrease weight aloft and improve performance on all angles of sail.

The 95 is designed to accommodate an optional bowsprit pole from which you can fly an asymmetrical spinnaker. If you add only one option, this should be it. With the “asym” flying, the 95 really scoots. And, once you get it going, you will see the benefit of the tandem rudders since the helmsman will feel in complete control.

The 95 is being built in Rhode Island and the build process incorporates the best and latest thinking in production boat techniques. The hull and deck are infused vinylester composites with end-grain balsa cores. The infusion process maximizes the glass-to-resin ratios while providing as strong and light hull and deck panels as possible in a production line process. The infusion process also controls toxic emissions and is a green building technique.

J Boats is an international company with a very strong presence in Europe and a growing footprint in Asia and Austral-Asia. Under that broad umbrella, the company builds its boats to the international standards supervised and inspected by the ISO. The 95 has been built to ISO CE Mark Category “A” standards, which is defined as a vessel capable of crossing oceans and sailing in 23-foot waves and Force 10 winds. Also, the 95 is ORC lifeline-equipped, which is a higher standard than met by almost all other boats in the under 32-foot category.

The combination of the design concept, the rig and build execution adds up to an interesting and versatile package. The 95 will be a great daysailer that will acquit itself well in beer-can and PHRF races. It will perform nicely as a family picnic boat that can accommodate five or six adults and several children for an afternoon of sailing, swimming and cavorting off the beach.

But it also can carry a couple off for pleasant short cruises to areas that are off limits to larger and deeper craft, whether that be the upper bays of Nantucket Harbor, the shallows of Barnegat Bay, the tidewaters of the Chesapeake, the extensive shallows of the Bahamas or the upper tidal reaches of San Francisco Bay.

You can feel confident taking the 95 offshore to the Bahamas or simply sticking your head out of your harbor for a long coastal run from one cruising ground to the next. With the small 14-horsepower engine, you will be able to get home when the wind dies.

Like most of the J Boats that have preceded it, the new 95 is a pure sailor’s sailboat that embodies a refined balance between traditional boat style and qualities with the latest thinking in performance, build technique and hardware. And with the shoal draft centerboard configuration, the new 95 will set you free to explore places you may have dreamed of from the deeper waters offshore.

J/95
LOA                   31’2”
LWL                   28’4”
Beam           10’0”
Draft                   3’0” / 5’5”
Displ.           6,000 lbs.
Ballast (lead)           2,450 lbs.
Sail area (100%) 450 sq. ft

J Boats
Newport, RI
401-846-8410
www.jboats.com

BWS takes a look at the fleet of cruising monohulls drawing less than five feet

Pacific Seacraft 37

Blue water tends to be deep water and that is what lies between the land masses we live on and the islands or continents we want to visit. But, at home and in the new landfalls that make the cruising life so wonderful, the water often gets very thin. So the compromise all cruisers have to face is whether to sail with a deep draft and avoid thin water cruising or sail with a shallow draft and live with the slightly poorer windward sailing ability of shoal draft designs.

Many of America’s best cruising grounds have fairly thin water running through them. In the Northeast, the popular sailing regions around Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard are all shallow and riddled with sand banks. Many of the boats designed for the region, and Long Island Sound as well, have always been centerboarders, whether they were drawn by Herreshoff, Ted Hood or Olin Stephens.

And shallow cruising waters extend right down the U.S. East Coast through Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, through the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds and all the length of the Intracoastal Waterway right to the Florida Keys.

The Gulf Coast from Key West all the way to Corpus Christi, Texas, is sandy and shallow with narrow harbor entrances and extensive sandy shoals. Once you get to the West Coast, deep water runs right up to the coast in most areas. But head deep into San Francisco Bay or up the Sacramento River delta and the water thins out rapidly.

Once we leave North America it doesn’t necessarily get any deeper. The Bahamas are notoriously shallow, and if you want to get off the beaten track amongst the islands you need a true shoal draft cruiser. The water throughout the Caribbean is generally deep but there are lots of great anchorages around islands like Anguilla, Anegada and Barbuda where a shallow draft boat will get you close to the beach and out of the wind or swell.

In Europe, most of the coastal waters are deep with the exception of Holland and Germany. In the Med, you will find mostly deep water but again there are hundreds of great anchorages throughout the sea where less draft will really be to your benefit. And, if you want to use the European canal systems to cruise from the North Sea to the Med, shallow draft is a must.

Variations on the Theme

Designing a boat that combines shoal draft with reasonable or even good sailing performance is one of the challenges that yacht designers have been wrestling with for hundreds of years.

There are seven basic solutions to the shoal draft compromise and of these each offers different sailing characteristics. Multihulls are all shoal draft cruisers; some have small keels and some have daggerboards. But all of them draw less than five feet.

Bilge keelers are all shoal-draft boats with less than five feet of draft. But, none are available from builders in the United States, and the design style, once very popular in England and tidal regions of France, Holland and the North Sea have gone somewhat out of favor. That leaves us with five modern styles to consider.

Full shoal-draft keels

The classic shoal draft keel design was the full-length keel with a cutaway forefoot and an attached rudder. The long keel was easy to build in a wood plank-and-frame method, was strong, could withstand a grounding safely and could be dried out on its own bottom for painting or repairs. Although not the best for close winded sailing, the full keel design excels at reaching and running by offering an easy motion and good directional stability.

Today, Island Packet and Pacific Seacraft lead the fleet of full keel boat builders with very successful and capable ranges of boats.

Island Packet Estero

Island Packets are designed by founder Bob Johnson who spent 30 years perfecting what is now called the Full Foil Keel design. The full-length keel distributes the internal ballast in a full-length, foil-shaped keel that adds stability, directional stability, and improves the keel’s lift when sailing to windward. It is worth noting that all of Island Packet’s current models have less than five feet of draft, including the new 460, which is 46 feet overall. If there is one builder in North America who has fully embraced the virtues of shoal draft sailing it is Island Packet.

Pacific Seacraft designs have wine-glass sections that lower the boat’s center of gravity and make them stiff and weatherly. The 31, 34 and 37 all draw less than five feet. The full keel designs are traditional by modern standards yet have proven to be forgiving and capable at sea. Because the hull and keel are all one piece, Pacific Seacraft hulls have enormous integral strength so if the hull lands hard on an immovable object, like a rock ledge or coral reef, the keel will distribute the loads throughout the hull. World cruisers have long believed that shoal draft full keel designs like the Pacific Seacrafts and Island Packets are most suitable for any and all conditions.

Fixed Wing keels

Modern shoal draft fin keels began to evolve in the 1980s, particularly after Australia won the America’s Cup in 1983 with a revolutionary wing-keel design. Most if not all production builders of cruising boats offer shoal draft versions of their models with modern cruising fins with either wings or bulbs.

The principle is to gain the most lift possible with a NACA foil shaped keel that has as much weight concentrated in the wings or bulb as possible to lower the center of gravity. The wings or bulbs also provide an end-plate effect, which channels water flow evenly across the keel instead of allowing it to fall off at the bottom as it does on a standard fin keel.

In the early days of wing keels, builders worried that the wings might act as suction cups when the boats were run hard aground on mud banks. A lot of grounding tests were run with these early designs with positive results.

Catalina 37S

Catalina has made a significant commitment to shoal-draft, fin-keel designs and has five models over 35 feet that draw less than five feet. The keels that designer Gerry Douglas works with have swept back shapes with elliptical trailing edges and large aft fins. This shape provides a large amount of foil surface for lift and a low center of gravity. Catalina uses all-lead keels, so the density of the material enhances the designs’ innate stability.

Both Beneteau and Hunter have cruising designs between 33 and 37 feet that have drafts less than five feet. Beneteau uses a bulb designed with an aft swept foil keel. The bulb trails aft of the keel where it won’t collect seaweed or crab pot lines and where it will place the bulk of the casting’s weight directly below the boat’s center of gravity. The shoal-draft version of the new Beneteau 37 draws only four feet, seven inches but is still able to fly plenty of sail and has been noted as a fast, close winded cruiser.

Hunter 36

Hunter has developed its own brand of wing keel design for their shoal draft models that combines the efficiencies of NACA foils with the low center of gravity and end-plate effect of a wing keel. The Hunter 36 draws four feet, 11 inches while the smaller Hunter 33 draws only four feet, six inches. The Hunters come standard with roller furling mainsails and jibs, which are easy on the crew. The keel shapes and the depth of the centers of gravity both aid the boats upwind and provide an easy stable ride.

Sabre Yachts in Maine offers wing keels as an option to the deep performance keels they provide as standard equipment. The Sabre 386 has a shoal draft of only four feet, 10 inches. Designed by Jim Taylor, the shoal keels are advanced cruising fins with hydrodynamic wings that add stability and lift. Sabre builds classic high quality cruiser-racers that have proven to be both winners on the race course and excellent cruising boats. With the shoal draft option, the 386 can take her crew anywhere.

ComPac 35

ComPac Yachts in Florida has been building shoal draft small cruisers for years. Not long ago the builders introduced the new ComPac 35, which was designed as a couple’s cruiser with a shoal draft Scheel keel that is both offshore ready but capable of cruising thin water, too. The Scheel keel has a swept back bulb that lowers the center of gravity and creates minimum drag as water flows over the foil. Built on the west coast of Florida where cruising depths are often under five feet, the ComPac 35 is right in its element.

Hanse 350

Hanse from Germany has two boats in their cruising line that draw under five feet, the 320 and 350, and true to the company’s mission the keel design and configuration are tilted toward modern shapes and performance characteristics. The shoal keels are modified cruising fins with fairly deep chords and aft sweeping ballast bulbs. This design allows Hanse to enhance ballast-to-displacement ratios and performance upwind.

The fixed shoal keel solution to the designer’s problem of draft version performance is the simplest and least expensive to build. And, in the long run should require the least maintenance.

Keel-Centerboard Designs

When you think of classic New England builders, most of us think of names like Hinckley, Morris, Sabre, Tartan (actually Midwest), Bristol and Little Harbor. Because these builders and the designers behind them were creating boats for sailors who cruised and raced in New England in the summer and then headed south to Florida, the Bahamas, Bermuda and Caribbean in the winter, the boats had to have shallow drafts but they also had to perform well upwind and they had to be offshore capable.

Tartan 4100

Certainly over the years there have been issues with centerboards. They can bang annoyingly as the boat rolls. They can be lodged either up or down. And, they can actually fall out of the boat if a pin fails. But, these days, the problems once associated with centerboards have largely been subdued with innovative technology.

The only production builder offering modern keel-centerboard designs in 2009 is Tartan Yachts, which has three models, the 3400, 3700 and 4100, all of which draw less than five feet with their boards up. Tim Jackett designs the Tartans and has created a line of cruisers that carries on the classic Tartan traditions of quality, performance and comfort.

There are other keel-centerboard designs out there that can be had on a custom or semi-custom basis from builders like Shannon Yachts in Rhode Island.

Swing Keels

The option to add ballast to the centerboard gives a designer and builder the chance to create a truly shoal draft boat that will also sail upwind with the alacrity of a modern fin keeler.

In essence the swing keel is a cast foil keel that hinges inside the hull. When retracted the trailing edge of the keel fits into a slot in the bottom of the hull and the leading edge is parallel with the bottom of the boat. In the retracted position, and with the rudder(s) kicked up, a design of this type will sit nicely when dried out.

With the keel down, the foil is in place to provide lift as you sail to windward and the ballast in the keel is low where it adds stability.

The only production builder who offers cruising boats over 35 feet with swing keels is Southerly in England. The southerly line ranges from 35 to 57 feet and with the keels retracted all of the boats draw less than three feet—even the new Southerly 57RS (raised saloon).

Southerly 38

Southerly has been building swing keel boats for 20 years and has perfected the science of deploying and swinging heavy moveable ballast that is also a sailing foil.

Retracting keels

Retracting keels have become popular on mega yachts that need the depth of a deep keel for performance but need shallow drafts to enter normal ports. And, we have seen occasional custom cruisers equipped with retracting keels, since the principal is so attractive.

A retracting keel does just as you would imagine, it retracts into the boat when you want to sail in shoal-draft mode and is then lowered when you want the lift and stability of a full fin keel in deep water.

Because the keel is a ballast keel, the unit is heavy and requires a mechanism to raise and lower it in a controlled way. Muscle power can work on boats of up to 40 feet or so, but above that a powered winch is required, all of which adds complexity to the boat.

Hake 35

The only production builder in North America to offer a cruising boat with a retracting keel is Hake Yachts in Florida. The Hake 32 RK is a compact but capable cruising boat that can sail or power in as little as 20 inches of water but, with the keel lowered will draw a healthy six feet, six inches.

The 32RK was designed specifically for Southern Florida and Bahamian waters and has proven to be an excellent cruising solution that will work just about anywhere the water is thin.

Thin water cruising can be the most fun way to explore new islands and cruising grounds. So, if you have plans to venture over the horizon be sure to check the depths in the places you want to visit before you decide on the right boat to sail there.

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Malo 37

Built in Sweden by traditional craftsmen, the new Malo 37 offers all the quality of a proper ocean-sailing yacht in a design suitable for a cruising couple.

The west coast of Sweden is home to several of the world’s premier builders of custom, semi-custom and production cruising boats. The names Hallberg-Rassy, Najad and Farr may be familiar to many North American sailors, but one of the oldest yards building in the region, the one that really spawned the more famous brands, is Malo Yachts, which still today may be one of the best kept secrets in boat building.

If you have heard of Malo, it may be because noted author Nigel Calder has had not one but two semi-custom cruising boats built at the yard. And if you have read Nigel’s books or heard his lectures, you will know that he is a fierce stickler for quality and ocean-going detail.

Family owned for three generations, Malo is run by Lars Olsson who takes a very hands-on approach to crafting every cruising boat launched at the yard in Kungsviken, the Bay of Kings. Here tradition matters, since the local craftsmen have been building ships and yachts for Scandinavian royalty for 950 years.

BWS had the opportunity to visit the Malo yard in Sweden during the annual Open House weekend in August. During that weekend, Hallberg-Rassy hosts a boat show at their marina nearby and an open house at their large boat building facility. Malo and Najad, just down the road, also open their doors to sailors, their family of customers and potential new clients.

The net result is a weekend-long boat fest that draws more than 20,000 people from all over the world who are eager to see the latest from these high quality builders of cruising boats. If you are interested in owning a Swedish-built cruising boat, then attending the Open House weekend will be time extremely well spent.

While in Sweden, we had the chance to sail hull number one of the new Malo 37 line. We took her out on a blustery, rainy afternoon, late summer in Sweden and put her through her paces in the enclosed waters of the archipelago off Kungsviken.

Sail Trials
The 37 was hanging in the Travel Lift slings at the dock as we prepared to head out for a sail so we had a good look at the hull shape, the keel and rudder. Created by the Angermarks DesignTeam, the group that draws all Malo yachts, the 37 has a moderate displacement hull form with a fairly full entry at the bow and easy, smooth lines running aft.

The fin keel, which is a low aspect cruising NACA foil, has a swept aft ballast bulb that lowers the boat?s overall center of gravity. The concept is to make the boat fairly light for all around sailing performance but stiff enough and stable enough to be comfortable and capable when the wind pipes up to reefing strength.

The spade rudder, which is quite deep, has a high aspect tear drop foil shape that is designed to reduce wetted surface and resistance while still offering the helmsman plenty of bite on the water even when the boat is heeled over.

The boat’s design numbers indicate that the 37 will be well behaved in a wide range of conditions and fast. The boat has a moderately narrow beam by modern standards of 11 feet, 10 inches with a length-to-beam ratio of 2.75. The displacement-to-length ratio, which is an indication of relative displacement, is 233 which puts the boat in the company of most modern blue water designs – not too light but light enough to sail well. Finally, the sail area-to-displacement ratio -indicating the rig’s power relative to the boat’s weight is a fairly high 17.6. Given the numbers, the 37 should be capable of achieving hull speed of 7.63 knots easily and will be able to maintain high average speeds for a 37 footer.

The lift operator lowered the boat into the water, we powered up the engine and backed away. In tight quarters, the boat backed straight, stopped surely, turned it in own length and then motored seaward at the predicted 7.6 knots. The helm under power was sure, light and we always felt in complete control.

As we cleared the channel we hoisted the fully battened main, rolled out the genoa and switched off the engine. The breeze as bowing at 10 to 15 knots with gusts above that in the puffs, but we did not need to reef the main or roll up some of the genoa. The boat stood up nicely and converted wind pressure into boat speed.

Tacking to windward, we found the 37 would settle down into the groove at close to 42-degrees true and tacked easily in less than 90 degrees. This gave us confidence as we navigated close to rocky islands and through some narrows.

Off the wind, the 37 hit hull speed without breaking a sweat and would surge to 8 knots when the gusts hit. The high aspect rudder held the course with authority. We did not fly a cruising chute that afternoon but the boat was so solid underfoot and at the helm, that we would have been happy to hoist one for a spirited sleigh ride.

There were five adults aboard that afternoon, but we did not feel crowded in the cockpit as we tacked and jibed. The winches are well placed for crew and the helmsman to trim and ease sheets. The mainsheet traveler, which runs on the Targa-type cockpit arch common to all of the modern Malos, is out of the way yet the control lines and the mainsheet are readily at hand.

The 37 handled well and was a pleasure to sail. The boat was nimble and fast enough to be fun to tack and jibe yet had a big-boat feel and big-boat manners that will give her crew real confidence when heading off on a long coastal run or offshore.

Living aboard
The Swedish boat builders are known for their traditional interiors with finely crafted furniture built in warm colored woods, mahogany in particular. The Olsson family played a leading role in developing this style, so it is no surprise to find the interior of the new 37 fitted out with rich mahogany bulkheads and built-in furniture.

The accommodation plan of the 37 we sailed had a fairly traditional layout. The forward cabin has a comfortable V-berth with ample stowage in cabinets outboard of the berth, in storage compartments beneath it and in the large hanging and storage lockers just aft of the berth. This will probably be the guest cabin yet there is locker space enough for a comfortable extended cruise. For a couple living in the aft cabin, the forward locker space provides extra room for linens, towels and spare clothing.

The master cabin is a large double berth in the aft quarter of the interior. The double berth is tucked neatly under the cockpit but does not feel claustrophobic in the least. Two American-size adults can fit on this berth. Lockers have been built in above the berth that are large enough for personal stowage and the hanging locker is ample for a cruising wardrobe.

The head is to starboard of the companionway and is finished in white laminate with mahogany trim. Again, plenty of locker space has been provided for toiletries, a medical kit, cleaning supplies and much more. The head is fitted with a hand-held shower.
The main cabin has the galley and U-shaped dinette to port and the chart table and settee berth to starboard. Four adults can live in this space easily and comfortably while six or even eight can find space enough to enjoy a social evening together.

The interior will be great for living aboard at anchor or in the marina. It is bright and airy although not at the expense of the traditional woody feel. Plenty of ventilation has been provided through opening ports and deck hatches, so in warm climates, you can keep the breeze flowing. But, Malos are primarily conceived as higher latitude cruisers, so the interior is also quite snug. With a heater or small stove pumping out a little heat, we can easily imagine spending many comfortable nights aboard even when the temperature on deck has a chill to it. For offshore sailing, the after cabin, the dinette and the settee in this arrangement plan will make good sea berths.

One of the distinctions of having a boat built by Malo is your ability to customize the interior plan and even the on-deck arrangement to a degree. The Olsson family, their design team and their band of craftsmen know a lot about what works on a cruising boat and what doesn?t and they can help a new owner through the maze of decisions that a new semi-custom boat requires. And if you have a special need, a brilliant design idea or a stylish whim, they will be able to find a way to fit it into your boat.

BWS thoughts
There are a few regions of the world where over the decades boat building traditions have planted deep and firm roots. For Americans, Maine style and quality is known country-wide. In Europe, the east coast of England, Brittany in France, Holland, Finland and Sweden all have long-established boat building traditions that have produced generations of fine cruising boats.
Certainly the west coast of Sweden has to be considered one of the leading boat building regions for fine, proven, somewhat traditional offshore cruising boats. Out there in the world?s finest voyaging destinations, you are always bound to encounter Swedish-built boats. Among them will be a fair sample of Malos. The boats are solidly built to a very high standard of finish. Their systems are proven, efficient and serviceable. The boats sail well in a wide range of conditions safely and swiftly. And, for those who want to add their own personal signature to their boats, a Malo can be created just for you.

The new 37, small by modern cruising boat standards, packs a huge amount of tradition, quality and expertise in a boat that is truly a blue water cruiser. For those who want their cruising simple, elegant and manageable, the 37 would make a very handsome choice.

MALO 37

LOA 37’10″
LWL 32’5″
Beam 11’10″
Draft 6’0″
Displacement 17,857 lbs.
Ballast 5,952 lbs.
Sail Area 828 sq. ft.
Engine 39 hp. Volvo
Fuel 65 gals
Water 105 gals.
D/L 233
SA/D 17.6
L/B 2.75
Hull speed 7.63 knots

Discovery Yachts
Seattle, WA
Ph: 800-682-9260
e-mail: yachtinfo@aol.com
www.discoveryyachts.com

That’s not to say that the saloon isn’t comfortable—there is plenty of space for four, an enclosed head, a full galley and standing headroom of 5-feet, 10-inches.

At 36 feet, the Spirit is not what comes to mind when you think daysailer. In fact, weekender would be more appropriate. The 10-foot long cockpit is the perfect place to enjoy sailing or just relaxing at anchor. Don’t let her classic good looks fool you—this sleek, sporty boat can definitely sail. Modern touches like a deep fin keel, high aspect balanced rudder and carbon fiber spars keep the Spirit light and responsive. The uncluttered decks are easy to maneuver around, but with the self-tacking jib and aft led main sheets, you will rarely need to leave the cockpit. If the 6-foot, 7-inch fin keel is too deep for your chosen cruising grounds, there is a 4-foot, 11.5-inch wing keel available as an option. And for those days when the wind is just not agreeing, the 27-hp Volvo Penta with sail drive will push you where you need to go.

Built in Maine, the Spirit continues the Sabre tradition of the highest quality craftsmanship and materials. Details such at dovetailed drawers and inlaid tables and steps put the Sabre Spirit in a class by herself.

Specifications (deep keel): LOA 36’8”; LWL 28’4”; Beam 10’5”; Draft 6’7”; Displacement 9,300 lbs.; Sail Area 668 sq. ft.

For more information log on to www.sabreyachts.com

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Jenneau Sun Odyssey 36i

Like the successful Sun Odyssey 39i, the new 36-footer has a unique injection-molded deck that enables the builder to create very high quality work that is finely finished both inside and out.

The styling of the new 36i is sleek and purposeful. The cockpit provides a comfortable area for up to six adults. The boat has a single large destroyer wheel so you can easily sit to windward or leeward to steer.

Down below the interior is finished in a warm, traditional teak with a teak and holly sole. The overhead is molded white and accented with varnished teak strips. The interior comes in two versions, one with two aft cabins and the other with only one. The single aft-cabin version has much larger head with a separate shower and a ton of storage space in the port quarter.

The galley to starboard is compact but has plenty of counter space, twin sinks and a large refer box. The nav station has been integrated into the port settee so it can double as a table for games or projects. The U-shaped dinette will seat four comfortably. The forward cabin has a good-sized Vberth with a hatch above it for ventilation.

A compact cruiser that offers a lot of space for living and very good sailing characteristics, the new Sun Odyssey 36i will be a real head-turner, particularly as it sails by you.

Specifications: LOA 35’11”; LWL 32’3”; Beam 11’9”; Draft (std.) 6’4”; Displacement 12,566; Sail area (std.) 686 sq. ft.

For more information log on to www.jeanneauamerica.com.

Jenneau Sun Odyssey 39DS •

The 39DS is equipped with roller main and headsail so it is a snap to control all sheets and control lines from the cockpit. You only have to go onto the foredeck to set the spinnaker or drop the anchor.

Down below the 39DS has one of the largest aft double cabins you will find in a boat under 40 feet. The berth is situated sideways with the foot under the cockpit and is huge. Ample storage and hanging lockers will make this a comfort-able home away from home. The guest cabin forward is also spacious and has a big V-berth. The head and shower are aft next to the companionway.

The saloon has a large U-shaped galley, a full-size chart table and a dinette that will seat four. The settee to port will double as a good sea berth when making overnight passages.

Like her sister ships, the 39DS has a varnished teak interior that is warm and traditional. The finish of the joinery is very good and top quality hardware has been used throughout.

A cruiser’s cruising boat, the Sun Odyssey 39DS makes many of the amenities found in the 54 available to those on a smaller budget in a distinctive and stylish package.

Specifications: LOA 38’11”; LWL 35’2”; Beam 12’9”; Draft 6’6”; Displacement 17,355 lbs.; Sail Area 725 sq. ft.

For more information log on to www.jeanneauamerica.com.

Designed by Daniel Andrieu, the Sun Fast 3200 has many elements that are common on much larger race boats such as twin rudders, a plumb bow and a keel bulb. This boat was definitely designed for speed. Her narrow entry will slice through the waves and the wide transom provides form stability, especially when reaching.

Unlike her Spartan, purely racing sisters, the Sun Fast 3200 actually has a comfortable cabin that maximizes the available space. There are two double cabins aft, a full galley to starboard and nav station to port, settee with centerline table and an enclosed head forward. No doubt this boat will be just as comfortable racing around the buoys as cruising for a weekend with friends. This boat is so new, that at press time, the specifications were not available.

The Sun Fast 3200 is already making waves in the European racing scene, however. The next Transquadra in 2008, which is a shorthanded transatlantic race for sailors over 40, will have an entire class for these boats. We are sure this will be the first of many for this streamlined, sporty boat.

For more information, log on to www.sunfast3200.com

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The hull and deck are infusion moldings that have a high strength to weight ratio. With a high aspect, bulbed fin keel and spade rudder, the sleek hull will be light and easily driven. And with 1,024 square feet of working sail area, the boat has the sail power to really get up and move.

The cockpit is laid out for both comfortable lounging at anchor and sail handling when on the move. With a large destroyer wheel, the helmsman can steer from the windward rail.

The accommodation plan for the new boat offers two double cabins and a single head with a separate, large shower stall. There is a good wet locker in the shower so wet foul weather gear can be stowed away.

The main double cabin aft has a huge athwartships double berth and plenty of storage. The smaller double forward will make a fine guest cabin. The saloon is fairly traditional with a dinette and settee—both are good sea berths—a large U-shaped galley and a good chart table.

The fit and finish of the 40s is handsome and assembled to a very high standard. That said, the 40s has a simple, functional elegance below that will be easy to live with for years. For sailors who demand high quality, performance and ease of handling, the new 40s will be a fine dual-purpose boat.

Specifications:
LOA 41’2”
LWL 38’6”
Beam 12’7”
Draft 7’7” (6’1”)
Displacement 18,960 lbs.
Sail Area 1,040 sq. ft.

For more information log on to www.wauquiez.com.

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The hull design shows hull TomCat 9.7 shapes that are fine forward but given enough volume to prevent too much pitching. The builders have integrated a unique single daggerboard system that lowers into the water through the bridgedeck and provides lift on both tacks.

The Seldén rig comes standard with a large fullybattened main and a small working jib. As an option you can upgrade to a larger genoa with adjustable track and a spinnaker package that includes a snuffer.

The 9.7 uses two 9.9 outboards, one in each hull, to power the boat. This is a simple system that will make the engines easy to maintain. The accommodations plan offers a large owner’s double berth forward and running athwartships; this can be made private with curtains at either end and darkened with shades over the forward windows.

Two guest cabins are tucked into the aft end of each hull. The head is in the port hull while the in-line galley runs fore and aft in the starboard hull.

The TomCat is built on a semi-custom basis so you can work with the builders to come up with the boat you want. An affordable way to get started in catamaran cruising, the new 9.7 offers a lot in a small package and has all the capability you will need for coastal cruising and voyages farther afield. For more information contact TomCat’s sales representative in the U.S. at Aeroyacht, New York, 800-446-0010.

www.aeroyacht.com

J/92 •

A modern dual-purpose boat, the 92s is designed for fast sailing with a couple or family as crew. Yet the boat can be raced successfully, either one- design or under a rating rule. The 92s has a new keel and rudder design, and a new deck and cockpit layout for more comfort when cruising.

Down below, the interior is simple, efficient and will suit a couple or a family with small children. Forward there is a V- berth and an enclosed head. The cabin has settee berths on both sides and a compact galley on the port side. A cooler or a 12-volt portable refrigerator fits aft of the companionway.

Those who followed this year’s Newport Bermuda Race will have seen that 44 J/Boats finished the race and 12 finished in the top three of their classes. The 30-foot J/92s may not be your first choice for offshore passagemaking – it is intended as a racer/cruiser for active families – but you know it comes from a company that builds offshore-quality boats that sail extremely well.

A more dedicated coastal cruiser comes to the U.S. this fall from German builder Bavaria. One of Europe’s highest volume builders, Bavaria has mastered the science of production line assembly, which enables the company to build cruising boats at very attractive prices – despite the high euro, low dollar exchange rates.

New Moon 25

The little cruiser is an evolution of the popular Offshore 25 and offers more room below, a large sail plan and outboard power instead of an inboard diesel. The net result is a small offshore-quality boat that will be easy to own, easy to maintain and will take her crew of one or two anywhere they might choose to sail.

The New Moon has a displacement of 6,800 pounds, a full keel and an attached rudder. The 9.9- horsepower outboard sits in a well just forward of the rudder so the propeller fits neatly in an aperture cut in the rudder’s leading edge.

Down below, accommodations are necessarily simple but comfortable. The main cabin has full headroom – something you don’t often see in a 25-footer. A V-berth forward, a long settee and a quarter berth make room for four adults. The cabin has a fold-down table, a small galley and an icebox. There is ample storage for provisions and tanks hold up to 50 gallons of freshwater.

A sweet little cruiser at a fair price, the New Moon 25 will appeal to traditionalists who want their sailing to be simple and safe.

Ovni 395 •

Utilitarian on the outside – the aluminum hull is left unpainted – the boat is elegant on the inside. The chine aluminum hull is welded of 5083 H 111 plate in an argon-helium environment. Alubat has been building metal boats for 25 years, their craftsmen have perfected production line welding.

A pure cruising boat, the 395 is designed to be sailed by a couple. All lines lead aft to the cockpit, which is comfortable but not overly large. The stern arch comes standard and doubles as davits for a 10-foot dinghy.

Down below, the interior is finished in varnished oak, which lends the space a warm honey- colored ambience. Alubat offers semi-custom interiors so an owner may fiddle with the design to meet special needs. The basic layout offers a V-berth forward and two quarter cabins. The saloon has a dinette to port, a good seagoing galley and a large chart table.

BWS sailed the Ovni 395 on the Chesapeake Bay and came away impressed with the boat’s ocean-going capabilities. If you are looking for a passagemaker that can withstand a collision, take the ground easily and will make good miles on passage, the 395 provides a unique cruising solution.

The name Tartan has become synonymous with enduring cruising boats that combine satisfying sailing performance with top construction and comfortable, well thought out accommodations. In the company’s portfolio of boats that have become classics are the great Tartan 27, the Tartan 30, Tartan 33, Tartan 34, Tartan 37 and Tartan 40. And that is not to mention the current fleet of boats (3500, 3800, 4100 and 4400) that are all classics in the making.

Of all the boats from Tartan’s past, the original Tartan 34 has to stand out as a boat for the ages since it was in constant production for more than two decades and evolved through continuous improvement and refinement during that time. Nearly 1,000 34s are out there and remain the standard in well built mid-range family cruising boats.

It must have caused Tartan’s chief designer and CEO Tim Jackett some trepidation when he decided it was time to renew the 34 brand with a completely new design. The question had to be, could the new 3400 ever really replace the venerable 34?

The simple answer is yes. The new 3400 is a design and manufacturing effort that did not look to the past for inspiration but takes all of the best qualities embodied in the Tartan brand – classic styling, fine sailing performance and sensible accommodations – and filters them through a vision that is focused firmly on the future. And that, BWS believes, will be the secret to the new boat’s enduring success.

BWS had the opportunity to spend a day aboard a new 3400 and sailed extensively on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay. The weather was fine and the breeze pleasantly light so we did not have the chance to see how the boat performs in rough weather and bumpy seas. What we did find, however, was that the new 3400 is a rare pleasure to sail, easy to handle and as complete a package as you will find in a cruising boat of this size.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
The brief for the new 3400 was to create a boat that more than lives up to the Tartan name by providing her owners with a small cruiser that sails extremely well, makes few physical demands on the crew and makes the most of Tartan’s cutting edge boatbuilding technology.

The hull Jackett created for the 3400 has a 30-foot waterline and almost 12 feet of beam which translates into a boat that has a lot of interior volume for it size. The bow sections have been given a slight V-shape to prevent slamming when sailing to windward in a chop while the stern sections carry the beam well aft which enhances reaching and running power and overall boat speed.

The rudder is positioned well aft where it will have the most leverage and has been designed to be a moderate balanced spade that grips the water even when heeled over and provides the helmsman with a very sure, almost sports car feel on the wheel.

The boat has three keel options to suit a wide range of sailing and cruising conditions. The standard deep fin, drawing six and a half feet, will maximize performance. For those who frequent sailing grounds with a lot of shallows – Southern New England, the Chesapeake, Florida’s West Coast, the Bahamas, etc. – Tartan offers two shoal draft options.

The Tartan Beavertail keel draws just under five feet; a fin with a large ballasted tail (that looks like a beaver’s tail), the keel reduces draft while providing the efficiencies of a bulb keel that has a positive “endplate” effect.

For those in really shoal areas, Tartan offers the tried-and-true keel/centerboard option that draws just under four feet with the board up and seven feet with the board down. Tartan has been building keel/ centerboard cruisers for 40 years and has the technology mastered.

The interesting thing about the various keel options is that the keels are interchangeable. Move the boat from the Chesapeake to the Pacific Northwest and you can swap out the keel/centerboard for the deep fin. This versatility will appeal to sailors who have to move their cruising bases and will be a real boon for boats on the brokerage market later on.

The rig on the new 3400 combines sailing power with some very innovative thinking about sail handling and control. Both the main and boom are carbon fiber (Awlgripped white) and set up with a simple two-spreader rig. The full-battened main is large and powerful; the mainsheet runs from mid-boom and the cabintop traveler forward to the mast and then back to the cockpit.

An innovative “pocket boom,” which is V-shaped, makes lowering the big sail – with the aid of lazy jacks – extremely simple since the sail flakes itself in the boom and then can be covered with the in-boom sail cover. Before making the mooring or dropping the anchor, all you have to do is round up into the wind, let go the halyard and presto the main is down and under complete control.

The headsail system is equally innovative. The working 100- percent jib has been set up on a Harken roller-furling unit and a Harken track to be self-tacking. The sheet runs from the jib’s traveler up the front of the mast and then down to the deck and aft to the cockpit. To short tack the boat through a crowded harbor all you have to do is throw over the wheel, let the main and jib tack themselves and off you go on the new tack – no winch grinding required.

For reaching and downwind sailing, a reacher, also on a Harken roller, has been set up forward of the working jib. When it is time to fall off the wind all you have to do is roll up the jib, roll out the reacher and away you go with tons of horsepower flying in front of you. This system, called a Solent Rig in Europe, makes a lot of sense as it greatly simplifies sail handling while offering the right sails for every angle of wind. Tartan is unique among production builders (along with J/ Boats) for equipping their boats with carbon masts and booms as standard equipment. The decision to do so underscores the company’s efforts to lead the way with the best modern technology can offer. The weight savings in the mast translates into a stiffer boat that is less likely to roll or pitch in short seas. It also will be easier to tune and maintain than an aluminum spar.

The 3400′s non-dimensional numbers tell more about its design philosophy and performance capabilities. With a ballast-todisplacement ratio of 0.34, the boat will be stiff and stable but not a grouch in rolling conditions. The displacement-to-length ratio of 171.3 is in the performance range – light but not too light – indicating that the hull is light and easily driven. Lastly, the sail areato- displacement ratio of 18.8 places the boat in the performance end of the cruising spectrum, but indicates that the 3400 will be able to carry full sail up to about 20 knots apparent.

To achieve both the lightness in the hull and deck that enhances boat speed and to create a boat that is as strong and durable as possible, Tartan has adopted a standard building technique that it usually employed only in high-end custom yachts and one-off racing machines.

The hull laminates are a composite of unidirectional eglass, epoxy resin and Corecell coring that are laid up as a single unit and then infused with the epoxy to create a hull that has the highest glass-to-resin ratio possible – 65-percent glass to 35- percent resin. The finished hulls are then cured in an autoclave oven at 145 degrees for 24 hours to ensure that the epoxy has fully cured.

The resulting hulls are lighter, stronger and more durable than a standard polyester resin hull, which is why Tartan can offer a 15-year transferable warranty against delamination and blisters. The weight that has been saved in the hull can be moved into the keel to enhance stability and sailing performance.

The deck is formed in a similar process, although Baltec AL600 balsawood coring, which is stiffer than Corecell, is used to make the decks as stiff underfoot as possible.

An innovative design concept combined with cutting edge construction techniques makes the new 3400 (and the other current Tartan models) a performance cruiser that will last a long, long time and will require very little structural maintenance along the way.

ACCOMMODATIONS

One of the decisions Jackett and the Tartan team had to make when they set out to design the new 3400 was how to meet the needs of their likely customers. They came down on the side of the new boat as a “couple’s cruiser” that would be a comfortable coastal cruiser (with occasional offshore runs) and a fine daysailer with a boatload of friends.

The emphasis, therefore, was on making the interior as spacious as possible while providing the owners with a large double berth in the quarter cabin and a large head, with a separate shower stall.

The guest cabin forward has a V-berth that is small by most standards, due in part to the fineness of the bow. The V-berth is a true double berth but two tall people will find themselves locking toes in the night, which might be a good thing. The forward cabin has a lot of storage and hanging space.

The main cabin makes use of the boat’s ample beam by pushing the settee benches outboard as far as possible. The drop leaf table runs down the centerline and with the leaves in place will accommodate four adults for a meal.

The galley has a two-burner Force 10 stove, a large sink and an ample icebox. Counters are Granicote (like Corian), which is easy to clean and maintain. A microwave oven and refrigeration are available options.

Navigators will like working at the chart table. The seat is comfortable and the table’s surface is wide enough for a standard chart kit. Electronics can be flush mounted above the chart table. The main electric panels are above the chart table and to starboard.

Like most modern Tartans, polished cherry has been used through the boat for joinery and cabinets. Drawer fronts, doors and doorframes are solid wood, so they feel substantial and open and close with a satisfying thud. Door hardware and all latches are polished chrome and top-ofthe- line so you do not have to worry about a door, drawer or cabinet door flying open in a bouncy seaway.

Out of the box the 3400 is not set up as a passagemaker, but the boat is certainly capable of carrying her crew – most likely a couple – far and wide with the addition of tankage for extra fuel and water, an upgraded battery bank and charging system and all the sundry safety and navigational gear cruising boats require.

SAIL TRIALS
Our day aboard the 3400 turned out to be clear and pleasant with a sea breeze blowing up Narragansett Bay. We picked up the boat in Bristol Harbor, not far from the Herreshoff museum, and motored through the mooring field to open water. The boat responded easily and quickly under power and did not display much prop-walk as we backed and filled around the slips on departure. The saildrive unit is behind the keel so the propwash does not adversely affect the rudder.

The 27-horsepower Yanmar diesel pushes the boat well. At mid-revs (around 1,800 rpms) we chugged through flat water at six knots. At full revs (around 2,800 rpms) we got her up to seven and half knots or slightly above theoretical hull speed.

Engine noise in the cockpit was minimal, but we did not measure decibels at various rpms. Down below, the engine noise was slightly more pronounced, but we could talk at normal voice levels and did not find the engine a distraction. The insulation inside the engine box appears to be working well.

Hoisting the mainsail on the Harken Battcar system was easy, and we soon had the boat slipping along under main alone at five knots. The big main drives the boat well so close maneuvering under mainsail alone will be the best way to get through tight situations.

We rolled out the 100-percent jib, trimmed for close-haul sailing and headed down the bay at six knots with about 12 knots apparent wind flowing over the deck. Not bad.

Putting the 3400 through her paces, we tacked back and forth, spinning the 40-inch wheel and letting the self-tacking jib do all the work. The boat carried her way through the tacks nicely and then stood up to the new tack quickly. Like most fin-keelers, it helps to fall off a bit after a tack to gain speed before inching the bow up to close hauled.

After about an hour of playing with the set and trim of the sails up wind, we rolled in the jib, fell off to a beam reach and rolled out the reacher. Compared to the jib, the reacher appeared huge; immediately upon filling, the 3400 took off as though hooked to a team of horses.

We broad reached along for a while, watching the speedo move from six to well over seven knots. All the while the helm was incredibly balanced and light. The hull’s broad transom and full sections aft left a smooth wake behind us as the water rushing past the hull met little form resistance. The large rudder, on the rack-and-pinion steering system, truly provided fingertip steering and the ability to make minute and accurate course corrections.

The reacher on a Solent Rig such as this can be a bear to jibe since the space between the two roller-furling systems is small. The trick is to head the boat dead downwind, blanket the reacher behind the mainsail, haul on the new leeward sheet until the clew passes through the gap and then jibe the boat as you haul in the reacher’s sheet. This sounds difficult but once you get the hang of it, nothing could be easier. An autopilot helps a lot if you are doing this solo.

Tim Jackett set out to build a boat that is fun and easy to sail and BWS can confirm that the new 3400 fulfills these goals as well as any boat we have sailed recently.

BWS THOUGHTS
When Tartan introduced the first 34 to their line in the 1960s, a boat of this size was considered a normal or even large cruising boat. Many, in those days, happily went cruising in boats under 30 and survived quite well.

By today’s standards, the 3400 is a small cruiser and most modern sailors would consider it too small for extended sailing. The trend has been to ever larger boats with ever more numerous and complex systems designed to bring the comforts of home to sea with us. And part of that equation is that larger cruising boats can be difficult for couples of a certain age to sail.

Larger boats are all well and good. But there is a lot to say for simplicity and for going to sea in a boat that is easy to sail. Not only will you sail more if it is easy to do so, you will have more fun in the process.

The new 3400 is just the kind of boat veteran sailors will enjoy for weekending, coastal cruising, the occasional offshore passage and for daysailing with friends and family. And for more adventurous souls, the 3400 is packing all the quality, all the strength and all the seakindliness to carry her crew to the Caribbean, Mexico and beyond.

Can the new 3400 live up to the legendary status of the old 34? We are betting it can and may in time well surpass the old classic.

TARTAN 3400

LOA 34’5″
LWL 30’5″
Beam 11’11″
Deep 6’6″
Shoal 4’11″
Centerboard 3’11″/7’0″
Displacement 11,000 lbs.
Ballast 3,700 lbs.
Sail Area (100%) 620 sq. ft.
Water 60 gals.
Fuel 25 gals.
Air draft 55′
SA/D 18.8
D/L 171.3
B/D 0.34
Base Price $157,395

Tartan Yachts
1920 Fairport Nusrsery Rd.
Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
Ph: 440-357-7777
www.tartanyachts.com

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