Keelboat
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April 26, 2011Peterson 44I once hitched a ride on a Peterson 44 from Grenada to St. Lucia with an Aussie skipper. On the way, we stopped in the Tobago Cays; then the Aussie took sick, and I spent most of the rest of the trip at the helm. The passage was a hard slog to windward in a leeward-setting current, but the Peterson sailed beautifully and had a very comfortable helm. That kind of sailing performance is worth something.
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April 26, 2011Passport 40No list of well-endowed cruising boats would be complete without including a design from Robert H. Perry. He’s given us many from which to choose, and the Passport 40 makes a fine example. I like Perry’s generous keels and robust skeg-hung rudders, and he certainly has an eye for a sweet line and a sweet-sailing hull.
Passport Yachts has spent three decades building a reputation for solid boats, and it’s still doing just that. You can’t say that about many companies that were building boats in Taiwan in the 1970s and 1980s. -
April 26, 2011Nicholson 35It seems I’ve gone full circle here, but family is family. In my years at C&N, I saw a few Nicholson 35s being built, and I even got to sail on one or two. I also admire the work of Ray Wall, who designed this boat and several other classic Nicholsons, including the Nicholson 55, which was one of the best designs of its era, if not all time. You can see the lineage in the 35’s hull and feel it in its comfortable motion.
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April 26, 2011Crealock 37Here’s a 37-footer that might also be in contention for a pretty-boat award. It’s the product of designer Bill Crealock’s own experience sailing across oceans, and I happily defer to his judgment. I’d consider the Tayana 37 for this slot, but I think Crealock drew a prettier canoe stern than Bob Perry did on the Tayana. (Sorry, Bob.) Maybe it’s not quite as powerful, but it might also be a little more forgiving in a big quartering sea. I’ve not spent any getting-to-know-you time on a boat with a canoe stern, but I think it might be fun to do so.
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April 26, 2011Nicholson 476C&N offered the boat in several configurations: aft cockpit, center cockpit, sloop, ketch, and three choices of keel. We only built a few of the possible permutations, but accommodating them all in the design was quite an exercise. The deck mold had three parts. The forward part served both models and included the forward couple of feet of the center cockpit. To that would be attached the mold for either the center cockpit or aft cockpit.
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April 21, 2011Black Pearls, Reef Sharks, & Ancient GhostsA cruise to Makemo atoll, in the Tuamotu Archipelago, delivers treasures, friendships, and discoveries.
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April 19, 2011Brighten Up Your TopsidesA cost-conscious cruising couple parlays D.I.Y. savings in labor and a favorable exchange rate into a colorful makeover.
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April 19, 2011Hanse 375: A Sporting DesignThis German cruiser was the zippiest and the easiest sloop to singlehand out of this year’s Midsize category.
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March 29, 2011Hunter e36: New and ImprovedThis midsized cruiser offers more than just a large saloon.
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March 29, 2011Swans Mix It Up in the British Virgin IslandsLow-key racing and cruising draw crews of 26 boats to the annual Caribbean event.
Electronic Updates
The Vesper Marine WatchMate Vision is arguably the most advanced Class B AIS transponder ever built, and was honored with an Innovation Award in Miami.
