The latest foil-assisted Hugh Welbourn design for Quant Boats is a 33ft weekender with DSS foils, water ballast, and a flexible sail plan designed to cope with the rapidly changing…
monohull
Extraordinary boats: Cape Cod 767 is 25ft of fresh thinking
Granted, it’s a novel-looking shape, but why all the fuss I wondered as a crowd formed around the transom of the Cape Cod 767 in La Rochelle? And then as…
RM 1380 review: an enticing alternative to the mainstream
I’ve admired the innovative range of fast yet comfortable cruisers from RM Yachts for many years – their combination of spacious, attractive and brightly lit interiors, planing performance and well…
Hutting 46 first look: stands out from the crowd
This long distance aluminium cruising yacht is intended to stand out from the crowd. This Dutch yard, founded in 1975 by Tjerk Hutting, has a strong reputation for its 40-50ft…
Saffier SL 46 first look: larger yacht from new larger yard
Saffier Yachts has grown to become the established name in luxury daysailers, particularly over the last decade or so. The family-owned Dutch yard has secured this market sector with its…
Shogun 43 review: High velocity cruising
How many crewmembers of high tech racing yachts have wondered whether the boat could be tweaked and tamed to create a super-fast cruising machine that’s enormous fun to sail? I…
Wauquiez 55 first look: brimming with clever ideas
While the graphical representations of many new designs may look impressive, rarely do we see a production yacht unveiled with so many new or reimagined clever ideas all packed into…
Exclusive 2 day sail on the largest Hallberg-Rassy ever built: Hallberg-Rassy 69 review
It was proper cold. An honest cold that cuts straight through us soft southerners, unused as we are to minus double digit temperatures. The docks were covered with gnarled ice,…
The best specialist yachts: new and interesting designs
What do you do when you have yachts that are as diverse as innovative daysailers, a lake sportsboat, a recyclable one-design and an elite high-end carbon weapon? Well at the…
Best luxury yacht: 7 ultimate luxury cruisers you can buy
The definition of the best luxury yacht will differ according to personal opinion and from boat to boat. This year’s nominees in the luxury yacht category of the European Yacht…
Jeanneau Yachts 55 review: Thinking outside the box
Boatbuilders rarely have the courage to launch a model that represents a radically different way of thinking. Instead, most new yachts are simply variations on established themes with incremental improvements…
XC47 review: is this the best bluewater cruiser ever?
We’re close-hauled in 7-10 knots of true wind, making 6-6.5 knots of boat speed, with the helm beautifully balanced and only a degree or two of weather helm. A gentle…
Sun Fast 30OD review: breaking the mould
The best racing I’ve ever done, whether inshore or offshore, has been in one-design fleets. However, in the offshore realm it’s been two decades since the last successful one-design class…
First look: Grand Soleil 65LC
Welcome to another smoking hot new launch from Grand Soleil, the Grand Soleil 65LC. This Matteo Polli design follows in the footsteps of the 2022-launched GS72, for which it is…
First look: Swan 51 – redeveloping a classic
The Swan 51 of 1981 broke new ground as it was the first German Frers design for Swan, the spark for an incredible relationship now in its fourth decade. Nautor…
First look: Contest 63CS
The run of Georg Nissen-designed Contest 62CSs finished 10 years ago and what we can be assured of with the new generation of Judel/Vrolijk designed hulls is a lot more…
Arcona 50 review: Luxury performance cruiser
Arcona – a Swedish yard with a sound reputation for producing traditional style cruiser-racers, designed by a little known Swede who had a gift of ensuring slippery hulls. If that…
First look: New designs from KM yachts
Dutch aluminium specialists KM Yachts continues to respond to a high demand in bespoke alloy and explorer-type yacht builds. It has a handful of projects in build alongside the OC…
Two new Owen Clarke explorer yachts for high latitudes cruising
A well established and regarded name in the offshore racing world, the Owen Clarke studio has in recent years been making a reputation for its bespoke explorer yacht creations. The…
Ovni 430 review: new interpretation of a successful concept
The concept of rugged aluminium centreboard boats is well proven, but can a boat displacing 14 tonnes when loaded sail well in the light airs that predominate during summer in…