Table of contents for New Boat & Gear Review 2021 in SAIL

Among the many fascinating things about sailing is the way it combines cutting-edge technology with a means of propulsion as old as history itself. Think of a typical sailboat rig. On the one hand you have sails, a technology with roots reaching back to ancient Mesopotamia. On the other, you can have high-modulus materials the likes of which didn’t even exist when many of us were born. Sailing’s split personality becomes quickly evident leafing through this guide. Turn to one page and you may find yourself looking at a simple block or analog magnetic compass. Turn to another and find yourself studying the latest EPIRB or a high-tech load sensor. That said, there’s also a remarkable consistency to sailing. Professional-sports aficionados spend hours debating how the stars from decades past…

Though best known for its cruising boats, Jeanneau has long kept a hand in competitive racing with its Sun Fast line. The newest of these French-built speedsters is the Sun Fast 3300, which takes the place of the long-lived 3200. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION A collaboration between veteran Sun Fast designer Daniel Andrieu and Vendée Globe/America’s Cup naval architect Guillaume Verdier, the Sun Fast 3300 is expressly configured for solo or doublehanded offshore competition. However, it can also be used for fully-crewed racing, both inshore and off soundings. The hull is infused in vinylester with a balsa core and features a moderate version of the powerful wedge shape that serves so well for power-reaching aboard today’s IMOCA 60s—no surprise given Verdier’s experience in this area. Twin rudders ensure the boat remains…

There’s something especially fun about sailing a boat on the home waters of the company that built it. And when you’re sailing the latest performance-cruiser from X-Yachts, the X40, on the “Little Belt,” just down the road from the company’s squeaky-clean yard in Haderslev, Denmark, the experience is out of this world. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Not coincidently splashing on X-Yachts’s 40th anniversary, the 40ft X40 boasts the same top-notch build quality sailors have come to expect ever since the company launched its very first design, the X-79, back in 1979. At the heart of the new boat is a trademark X-Yachts galvanized steel grid, which serves to anchor the boat’s keel and also help manage rig loads. The rest of the hull is infused in epoxy and post-cured for 24…

When developing its new 46-footer, Lagoon had a few issues to contend with. First and foremost, the immense popularity of its recently introduced ground-breaking 50 set high expectations for the smaller, similar design. The question, therefore, became how to pack all of the 50’s innovative features into a more compact platform. Second, since the 46 replaces the immensely successful Lagoon 450, the company couldn’t afford a misstep. The mid-40ft length is a sweet spot for the French builder, so it was imperative to get the new design right. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION VPLP designed the Lagoon 46 along with Patrick Le Quement, and you can see the resemblance to her bigger sister in the angular transoms and a sloping hardtop that lifts at the aft end, creating the perception of movement.…

It is possible to cross an ocean in almost anything that will float and move forward, just as you could cross the United States on anything with wheels. But to voyage safely, swiftly and comfortably calls for much more than just the minimum. That’s where bluewater specialist Amel comes into consideration. The new Amel 50 is the smallest boat of the company’s line. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Over the past 50 years, Amel ketches like the Super Maramu have been top choices for sailors who value excellent construction, good openwater performance and a sensible layout for living aboard. The Amel 50 shares many of these qualities, but it’s a sloop, and its lines are also more modern, carrying a wider beam farther aft than its predecessors. The deck layout reflects the…

Aboat is a set of tradeoffs, and a perfect boat doesn’t exist. That said, if you’re searching for a proven bluewater multihull that can be sailed shorthanded, has all the comforts of a luxury home and is wicked fast without beating up your wallet, you owe yourself a test sail on the Catana 53. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Catana uses an infusion layup with carbon reinforcements around the chainplates and the mast step to maximize performance and load-carrying capabilities. On the 53, this approach resulted in cutting nearly a ton of weight compared to its predecessor. Even so, according to the owners of our test boat, at a little over 32,000lb the boat still loads up nicely in a squall and moves forward like a train—steady and stiff rather than squirmy…

Luxury performance-cruising isn’t entirely new. You can go fast and still be comfortable. You can even race if you make the right tradeoffs—or so says Groupe Beneteau, which recently launched its First Yacht 53, in the process also reinventing the company’s “First” brand. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Beneteau took the creation of this new boat seriously, staging a design competition between a number of different companies before choosing Roberto Biscontini as its naval architect and Lorenzo Argento for styling. Biscontini’s America’s Cup experience resulted in a balanced hull form, with a carefully positioned center of buoyancy, minimalist lines, a plumb bow, vertical transom, low coarchroof, open stern and max beam carried well aft in the interest of sail-carrying ability off-the-wind. Forward, the boat is equipped with a fixed composite sprit. Aft,…

The question new sailors often ask when they first experience a sailboat heeling is, “What stops it from going all the way over?” to which the usual answer is something like: “That big lump of lead underneath us.” Stability is at the very root of sailboat design, and ballast is only one of the many factors that influence it. A boat’s stability is contingent on the relationship between two key factors. One is the center of gravity (CG), through which gravity exerts a downward force equal to the weight of the boat, rig and contents. The other is the center of buoyancy (CB), the midpoint of the underwater volume of the boat, whose upward thrust counteracts the effect of the CG (see figure above). When a boat is at rest,…

WWW.DUFOUR-YACHTS.COM • +33 (0) 546 30 07 60 Founded in 1964 by a young engineer, Michel Dufour, the shipyard has gone on to become one of the biggest in the world. Italian design combined with French savoir-faire creates boats with incredible looks, and incomparable marine qualities and comfort. For over 50 years, we have continued striving to exceed your expectations in terms of safety and cruising performance, while offering optimal construction quality. We are committed to constantly innovating through our designs and technology while also adopting new working process. Discover the full Dufour range from 31ft to 61ft at dufour-yachts.com Dufour 61 A SUPERB FLAGSHIP YACHT FOR GENUINE SENSATIONS The new Flagship designed by Dufour… The innovation and adaptability of her galley gives access to a spacious living area full…

WWW.FOUNTAINE-PAJOT.COM • + 33(0) 546 35 70 40 Fountaine Pajot is the cruising catamaran worldwide reference shipyard and we have been professional Yacht designers and boat builders since 1976. Our team comprises passionate sailors, and our aim has always been to use our wealth of expertise to develop high-performing, seaworthy, innovative, comfortable and supremely stylish boats. For the last 40 years, we have continued to strive to exceed your expectations in terms of safety and cruising pleasure, while offering optimal construction quality. We are committed to constantly innovating through our designs and technology while adopting an environmentally friendly practice. Discover the full range of Fountaine Pajot Sailing Catamarans from 40 ft to 67 ft on: catamarans-fountaine-pajot.com Isla 40 BREAKING NEWS - A NEW 40-FOOT CATAMARAN LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER 2020 Isla…

DUFOUR 530 Ever since joining forces with catamaran builder Fountaine-Pajot, Dufour has been on a roll, bringing out a number of new designs in quick succession. Among these is the Dufour 530, which made its debut this past winter at Germany’s Düsseldorf boat show. Designed by Umberto Felci, the boat is available in three distinct versions: “Easy” for owners and charterers in search of simplicity; “Ocean” for those sailors looking for a little more boatspeed and better controls; and “Performance,” which comes with a deeper T-keel, more sail area and racy-looking topsides graphics, for those interested in racing. Four different layouts are also available, with anywhere from three to six cabins (the latter configuration designed with the charter industry in mind), and all three types coming with a fixed sprit…

Groupe Beneteau, builder of Lagoon catamarans, has introduced a new multihull line called Excess. The first of the boats to reach U.S. shores at the Annapolis boat show this past fall was the Excess 12, a 38ft 6in design based on the popular Lagoon 40. The thought process behind this new boat was driven by customer feedback, with an eye toward creating a light, open cat with plenty of performance. According to Beneteau, the target market for this sporty-looking design—a winner in SAIL’s 2020 Best Boats contest in the mid-sized multihull category—includes monohull sailors in search of something new and multihull aficionados looking for more of the wind-in-your-hair experience that makes them feel “at one” with whatever boat they’re on. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Construction of the Excess is much like…

With new catamaran brands springing up like mushrooms, France’s Fountaine-Pajot is something of an oak tree in the market, with a story that goes back to its founding in 1976. It is also one of the largest cat builders out there, sending some 600 boats down the ways in 2018. The new Elba 45 replaces the 7-year-old Helia 44 and is intended to be the yard’s new bestseller. For that reason, it is no mold-breaking tearaway, but rather a safe, dependable, well-thought-out mainstay model. Not for nothing were more than 100 of the boats sold before the first hull even hit the water. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Although it replaces the old Helia 44, the Fountaine-Pajot 45 has been designed by Olivier Racoupeau from scratch, following over 150 meetings and thousands…

The Danish builder X-Yachts does not simply stick taller or shorter rigs and keels on the same hulls to create boats for both cruisers and racers, as some mass-production builders do. Nor is it content to build two distinct lines of cruisers and racers. Instead the company has steadily developed three distinct lines of boats, following three closely parsed, yet unique design briefs: an “Xp” line of performance-oriented boats; an “Xc” line canted strongly toward cruisers; and a straight “X” line, which strives to split the difference. The new X46 model, measuring 44ft on deck, sits in the middle of this latter category boasting features that will appeal to a wide range of sailors. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Just as X-Yachts has been zealous in its design development, it is also…

Seawind Catamarans introduced its 52ft 1600 model in Europe last year, where the boat promptly started winning awards. The more jaded among us may look askance at such things, especially when it comes to a bluewater-rated catamaran billed as a providing a combination of performance and luxury—attributes that typically come in inverse proportions and make skeptics of many. However, the new flagship of the Seawind line truly delivers both comfort and speed, in the process kicking all manner of skepticism to the curb. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION The Reichel/Pugh office’s appealing design resulted in a sleek cat with a low coach roof that extends to a hard bimini aft. The plumb bows are sharp, yielding a fine entry, and a hard chine, which runs all the way back to the transoms…

Catalina has long been the largest All-American family cruiser company, building what sailors might call “standard” boats. Moving up from the popular 30ft to 45ft sizes puts the company into “yacht” territory, and the new Catalina 545, winner of the SAIL magazine 2020 Best Boats award for “Best Monohull Flagship,” adds some real innovations to its traditional features. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION The obvious new feature of the Catalina 545 is found at the sheer, where designer/builder Gerry Douglas incorporates a molded box-beam collar to replace the conventional hull/deck joint, toerail, stanchion bases, scuppers and anchor platform, all at once. It’s one of those ideas that makes you slap your forehead and ask, “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?” Besides providing great strength and rigidity, the collar adds a…

Often referenced and sometimes misquoted, the idea of a finished product being more than just the sum of its parts was first introduced nearly 2,400 years ago by Aristotle. The poor guy likely had no idea how his thinking would be applied centuries down the road. But since it works here, I’ll be more than happy to borrow it. In short, in creating its new 60-footer, Hylas Yachts has combined an established brand, a world-class design team and a renowned yard to create something truly special. You’d expect the result of this amalgam to be impressive, and you’d be right. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION For the company’s first “from scratch” design under their leadership, Hylas’ Peggy and Andy Huang reached out to Germán Frers to draw a head-turning profile coupled with…

Do you have a favorite boat? It’s a question any number of people have asked me over the years. I suppose it’s one I’ve also implicitly asked myself as I’ve contemplated various possible dreamboats. As a kid, I remember there was a brief period when I would have immediately said the Knud Reimers-designed Swede 55, an oceangoing racer-cruiser based on the squaremeter yachts Reimers was famous for. (Google it—talk about some pretty lines!) After that came a series of other racing boats, including the flush-decked Tartan Ten and now veteran Farr 40. More recently, though, I’ve become more catholic in my taste. Sure, a part of me would love a lightweight racing boat to play with. But I now know there are plenty of other ways to have fun on…

WWW.HHCATAMARANS.COM • 864-324-7825 Hudson Yacht Group’s premium line of semi-custom, carbon 50-88 foot models offer both performance and luxury. Committed to excellence at every turn, Hudson Yacht Group recently introduced the HH Ocean series, combining the pedigree of HH with streamlined production processes and cost-effective materials, reducing price and build times with the aim of bringing the HH experience to a broader market. OC50 Uur newest model from Morrelli & Melvin design, the OC50 offers a safe, stable cruising platform, state-of-the-art build, and a careful eye for aesthetics and finish quality. Utilizing production efficiencies and e-glass construction, the OC50 delivers a luxury cruising experience at a reduced cost and build time. Length: 51.80’ • Beam: 24.41’ • Light displacement: 28,993 lbs Draft: 5.25’ • Sail area: 2,480 ft2 • Tanks:…

Pocket Luxury – New X4D The all new X4D will be the smallest model in the pure X range; blending quality, performance and styling with cruising capability. Hot out of the X-Yachts Design Office comes the X4?, a forty-foot performance cruising yacht that is just as capable for some serious mileage as it is blasting around the cans at the weekend. The new baby X-Yacht joins the hugely successful and critically acclaimed pure X range. The design philosophy was very clear from the outset - like all our yachts, we place a huge emphasis on giving the owner a superb and comfortable sailing experience, on a yacht that is easy to handle by all the crew. LOA: 39’8” • LWL: 34’1” • Beam: 12’6” • Draft: 6’11”/ 7’7” • Displacement:…

The concept of “daysailer” has grown ever broader over the years. These days the label can be pasted on a boat as small and simple as a Sunfish, as fancy as a 40-footer with a nice big cockpit and plenty of brightwork, or any number of concoctions in between. This Cape Cod daysailer, newly introduced in North America from France last fall, amazingly combines many of the best features of the nearly all of the above. It is large enough to accommodate a passel of guests, elegant enough to turn heads at the snootiest of yacht clubs, and small and simple enough to be easily singlehanded or beached in the event you feel like wading ashore. It even has a sheltered spot beneath the foredeck for grabbing a quick nap.…

The boatbuilding scene in La Rochelle, France, was significantly transformed in 2018 when the town’s largest catamaran builder, Fountaine Pajot, acquired the town’s largest monohull builder, Dufour Yachts. Soon afterward a revised design brief for Dufour’s popular Grand Large line of cruisers was introduced, the vanguard of which was the new Dufour 390, which first appeared in U.S. waters in late 2019 in Annapolis. The redesign by Umberto Felci features a sexier cabinhouse, more beam aft and pronounced hull chines running two-thirds the length of the boat. All of which—you guessed it—makes the Grand Large concept even larger than before. The feel of the boat throughout, in spite of the light conditions, was positive, the helm well balanced and quite stable DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION The hull is solid hand-laid fiberglass…

Truth be told, I borrowed the “fun meets safety” line directly from the Bavaria Yachts marketing team, but in my defense, they kind of nailed it with this short description. Although it may sound like generic promotional hyperbole, much thought went into the design of the new C45 to make it an agile speedster with an eye toward safety for sailing families with kids and even pets. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION The C45 debuted at the Miami boat show alongside the new Bavaria flagship, the C57. Both boats come from the drawing board of Mauricio Cossutti of ORC racing fame. For the C Series, the German builder moved away from its standard Farr designs and opted for elongated profiles and multiple outfitting choices, making the boats perfect for all kinds of…

When first introduced nearly a decade ago, Neel trimarans seemed little more than an oddity, an intriguing variation in an ever-burgeoning menu of cruising multihulls. Since then these unique, fixed-ama tris, with their immense solid bridgedecks reminiscent of the first plywood tris of the last century, have proven themselves a worthy alternative to their more-common catamaran brethren. The new Neel 47 not only slots neatly in between the original Neel 45 and larger Neel 51, filling out what now amounts to a full range of offerings, it also introduces an interesting innovation in multihull accommodations. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION As with previous Neels, all drawn by designers Michel Joubert and Bernard Nivelt, the 47’s main hull carries pronounced rocker, which combined with a concentration of weight low and amidships, produces a…

The history of sailing is replete with examples of boats being repurposed after their initial launch—think of the famed yacht America also doing service as a blockade runner in the Civil War. Rarely, though, has an updated design done half so well as the Hinckley Bermuda 50’s transition into the all-new Hinckley Sou’wester 53. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Designed by Tripp Design Naval Architecture, the Sou’wester 53 is built in carbon and epoxy (infused and then post-cured in the company’s “Advanced Composite Center” up in Maine) with a Corecell foam core and an outer layer of Kevlar for puncture resistance. The basic lines are the same as the 50’s, but the hull has been slightly lengthened to gain an additional 3ft of deck space aft of the twin helms, creating more…

In the few years since the Bali brand appeared as an offshoot of the Catana line of catamarans, it has grown rapidly. The original models are popular bareboat charter vessels in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and the new Bali 5.4, the largest of the line, moves the company into the crewed-charter business as well. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION The Bali 5.4 is a cruiser, not a performance voyager like the Catana, so the construction has to meet somewhat different requirements. Its big open living spaces, for example, pose some serious engineering challenges from the torque loads of the hulls and the compression loads of the rig. The solid foredeck with all its furniture must also be kept light to maintain decent sailing performance and seaworthiness. All the necessary husky structural…

When buying a boat, consider how its ratios compare with those of similar boats in its category. DISPLACEMENT-LENGTH RATIO The displacement-length ratio (D/L) is a nondimensional expression of how heavy a boat is in relation to its waterline length. A D/L is calculated by dividing a boat’s displacement in long tons (2,240lb) by one one-hundredth of the waterline length (in feet) cubed. Since the displacement in long tons can be expressed as a volume (in cubic feet of seawater), and since length-cubed is also volumetric, the D/L formula is nondimensional—the units of the numerator and the denominator are the same, feet cubed. DISPLACEMENT-LENGTH RATIO = (displacement/2,240) (0.01 x LWL)3 The advantage of this is that the D/L can be used to compare the relative heaviness of boats no matter their…

WWW.XQUISITEYACHTS.COM • +1 (707) 370 5264 Xquisite Yachts has teamed up with the South African builder, Phoenix Marine Manufacturing to develop and build a new line of luxury sailing and power catamarans. As a boutique boatyard the company limits its production to be able to focus on delivering the highest build quality and finish, while offering an after sales service unmatched in the industry. Their first model, the X5 SAIL is a 50’ sailing catamaran designed and built for serious blue water cruising with maximum comfort in mind. All vessels are equipped for single handed sailing with two head sails and electric winches. All X5 SAILs also come fully loaded for living aboard in luxury, with generator, air conditioning, water maker, washing machine, electric winches and davits, solar panels, entertainment…

WWW.CORSAIRMARINE.COM Corsair Marine has a rich 37-year history as the world leader in high quality multihull manufacturing. With more than 2500 trimarans launched, Corsair Marine continues to expand the range and add design innovations to its models. Racers, cruisers, day sailors and blue water adventurers enjoy our unique folding design which allows for easy transport. The entire Corsair range, from 20’ to 37’ offer sailors high performing, versatile boats for serious fun and adventure. PLUSE 600 Probably the most innovative and exciting sailing boat in this 20 foot range. Fast enough for club or one design racing whilst being safe and comfortable for family day sailing. Winner of Sail Best Boat 2016 with fleets building this season across the world! Beam: 14’9” (4.5m) Beam Folded: 6’11” (2.1m) Draft (hull only):…

SAIL’s Cruising Editor, Charles J. Doane, and I have a bit of a running joke going. Over the years sailing back from Bermuda and up and down the Eastern Seaboard, we’ve anchored a few times off Cuttyhunk Island. I have yet to actually see the place, though, because it’s always been so foggy. Of course, as I’ve discussed in past issues of this guide, the fact that we can wend our way among the rocks and shoals guarding Cuttyhunk with impunity despite barely being able to see our own bow is a testament to today’s high-tech navigational gear. More recently, though, as I’ve been spending a fair bit of time solo-sailing a barebones Soling around Boston Harbor, I’ve also come to better appreciate the more “analog” types of gear that…