Table of contents for Multihull Power & Sail Winter 2025 in SAIL

The wave roared up behind us, trying to push the big boat around, but she wasn’t having it. Instead, we surfed, speeding ahead and touching 14.4 knots, inspiring an enthusiastic “whoop whoop” from the crew. We had just hoisted the gennaker on the new Nautitech 48 Open in 20 knots of breeze outside of Government Cut off Miami Beach. Alex Sastre of Performance Yacht Sales, who had sold one of these boats just that morning and who doesn’t shy away from calamitous conditions, is always fun on a sea trial. “I think we really have something in this boat,” he shouted over the wind. “They got it right!” I inspected the boat from the dock before departure, and at first glance she looked like the Nautitech 44 Open (a SAIL…

Where do you even start with the VisionF 82? Size, performance, construction, opulence? I think it probably starts with a design brief along the lines of, “We want to throw the party to end all parties.” Passagemaker Editor-in-Chief Jeff Moser and I toured VisionF’s new flagship during the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show last autumn, and as he pointed out features and asked useful questions, I trailed behind, somewhat overwhelmed by both her sheer size and opulence. The massive aluminum cat aims to impress with upscale styling throughout all her 79 feet. Covered with 160kW of solar panels, the model we saw was designed for the American market. She’s clearly conceived for entertaining with no fewer than five areas for seating or lounging and a galley big enough to service an…

Depending on the season, the farmland of Washington state’s Skagit Valley is painted with vast tulip fields or swarmed by migrating flocks of swans. Sandwiched between Puget Sound waters, the Tulalip Reservation to the west, and the snowcapped peaks of the Cascades to the east, Burlington, Washington’s, Aspen Power Catamarans is growing and innovating in one of America’s great hidden boatbuilding hubs. “The Skagit Valley is a beautiful place to live,” says Larry Graf, founder and owner of Aspen Power Catamarans. “Most of these guys [Aspen employees] have family members who at one point were in farming or logging. There’s a work ethic here that’s very solid. They love building things.” Since its humble beginnings in 2008, Aspen has grown to about 65,000 square feet spread across five buildings. Their…

You haven’t done it, have you? You haven’t put Catskill, New York, on your bucket list. Or even on your someday-if-I’m-cruising-in-the-neighborhood list. I get it. Catskill is just a little-bitty town, not on the coast and far from fashionable, unless you are a devotee of the Hudson River School of American Art. And it’s off the main maritime routes, unless you are doing the Great Loop or Lake Champlain. But give me 800 words, and I’ll change your mind. I’m going to start with mountains. I am essentially a flatland Atlantic Coast boater. For my whole boating life, with some glorious exceptions like Swiss lakes and notable parts of the Med, you could have plopped me and my boat down anywhere, and I’d have had a hard time figuring out…

It’s been a long time since I’ve thought much about my eyewear onboard, but Vallon changed all that this summer when I tested a pair of the Swedish company’s new Malizia sunglasses. The first time I hit the water wearing them, I was stunned at the clarity and depth the V52 polarized lenses provided. I think I actually see better with them on than off. At 14% VLT (visible light transmission), they offer category 3 level eye protection, with antiscratch and hydro- and -oleophobic coatings (which means they’re specially treated to repel water and oils). Weighing just over an ounce, they somehow established a perfect feel and fit right out of the box. Even more cool, the impact resistant black matte frames are made of 85% recycled fishing nets. Vallon…

I’ve had some great cruising experiences on power catamarans. Those trips introduced me to beautiful islands and were always aboard chartered boats—vessels that averaged 45 to 50 feet in length and stretched as wide as 21 feet. The beam felt tremendous to me, so much so that I was relieved to give the helm over to my husband when we got into a sticky docking situation. He had the better boathandling skills in the relationship, so the decision made sense. The truth is, those twin-hulled cruisers were intimidating and quite unlike the 32-foot monohull we had back home. And yet the big cats were exceptional for all the space and comfort they provided. I remembered those trips when I boarded the Four Winns TH36 in Fort Lauderdale last fall. This…

Sailing’s answer to Formula 1 racing is a multihull spectacle. Even those of us who are smitten with the classic racing yachts of yesteryear can’t argue with SailGP’s ingenuity. I’ve heard it described many ways: cutting edge, spaceship, freak show. And it all starts with you—yes, you. The truth is that yacht racing is difficult to watch. If you can secure a spot on a spectator boat, there’s the constant push and pull of staying off the course and not drifting into neighboring spectators. If you’re watching from land, it’s often impossible to tell what’s going on, who won the start, which side of the course is favored—assuming you can see the racing at all. It’s at the mercy of fickle wind, so it’s hard to plan for or televise…

Let's start with a reality check. You’re headed for a bareboat charter someplace wonderful, you’ll have a luxurious yacht at your disposal and a multitude of coves, beaches, resorts, pubs, and eateries to explore. Do you really need more? Does a hot fudge sundae need an extra dollop of whipped cream? If so, read on. We’ll talk about what water toys you want to take in a second, but first, I have one word for you: rent. Yes, you love your kayak at home or your stand-up paddleboard (SUP). And yes, dedicated surfers ship surfboards to faraway waves. But not easily. The point is to slip through TSA, customs, and foreign entry as effortlessly as possible so that you’re not paying extra or risking spending your vacation dealing with lost…

When I was younger, I did a passage with five companions from Massachusetts to Bermuda on a 56-foot ferrocement sailing ketch. From the dock, the boat looked enormous, fully suited for the task at hand. She had a berth for each one of our crew, and space to stow gear and provisions for the six-day passage and beyond. Truth be told, when we were fully loaded and ready to cast off, there was precious little space for personal effects and extraneous gear. Things were so tight, we had to use the oily bilge for the two cases of cheap Polish beer we felt we’d need when we made landfall (or in case the wind died en route). That experience made an impression on me. As I’ve evaluated boats throughout the…

It was a spring afternoon and my sister Laura and I were chatting on the telephone, she in Michigan and I in Los Angeles. Days earlier, I’d accepted an invite from NAOS Yachts to tag along on a weekend getaway aboard a Lagoon catamaran to celebrate the manufacturer’s 40th anniversary. As an owner of a beloved Cape Dory 25, my regular sailing was about as far from a Lagoon as you can get, and I was curious to see what it was that drew such a massive global community to catamaran sailing. “Did you get the video I sent?” I asked. I had the phone pinched between my ear and shoulder and was using every inch of the charger cord to reach across the kitchen and pack my weekend snack…