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Are these the 8 most beautiful classic sailing yachts of all time?

Moonbeam of fife iii, 1903.

The 30 metre, gaff cutter Moonbeam of Fife III epitomises beautiful classic yachts at their finest. Launched in 1903, Moonbeam of Fife is still going strong on the classic yacht regatta circuit despite being more than a hundred years old. The William Fife-designed yacht is constructed in wood with an oak hull and superstructure, while her interior joinery is well-kept mahogany. The historical yacht Moonbeam of Fife III is currently for sale .

Tuiga, 1909

Built by the renowned William Fife shipyard in Fairlie on the Clyde estuary in Scotland, Tuiga was commissioned by the Duke of Medinaceli, a close friend of the King of Spain, Alfonso XIII, and has had 10 owners in 106 years. HSH Prince Albert II decided to buy her in 1995.  Tuiga  has been participating in classic yacht regattas ever since and is now the flagship of the Yacht Club de Monaco, crewed by YCM members.

Mariette, 1915

The classic 42 metre twin-masted schooner _ Mariette of 1915  _was built by Herreshoff in the United States 100 years ago. Age has not withered her, but  Mariette of 1915  has undergone a few refits in the Pendennis yard at Falmouth in recent years: in 2010 and again in 2012 in preparation for the Pendennis Cup, in which she took first prize in the St Petroc Traditional Class as well as being crowned overall winner. In 2014 she returned to Falmouth once more for minor works.

Creole, 1927

Now owned by the Gucci family, this beautiful wooden schooner has had a colourful history. Commissioned by wealthy American Alan Cochran and launched in 1927,  Creole  has had a number of different owners and also been called Vira. When she was known as  Magic Circle , she was transformed into a minesweeper during the Second World War, having previously competed in a number of regattas and attended previous America’s Cup events. In the 1970s she was used by the Danish government for sailing training in the rehabilitation of drug addicts before being bought by the Gucci family in 1983.

Endeavour, 1934

Arguably the world’s most famous J Class,  Endeavour  was the British challenger in the 1934 America’s Cup , but was beaten by the Harold Vanderbilt-owned Rainbow . Endeavour was commissioned by Sir T.O.M. Sopwith, who was keen to ensure that this yacht was the most advanced design possible. With his experience designing aircraft, Sopwith applied aviation technology to Endeavour ’s rig and winches and spared nothing to make her the finest vessel of her day.

She swept through the British racing fleet and into the hearts of yachtsmen around the world, winning many races in her first season. Though she did not win the America's Cup she came closer to doing so than any other challenger.

Since 1934, she has often led a perilous existence, even being sold to a scrap merchant in 1947 only to be saved by another buyer hours before her demolition was due to begin. In 1984, American yachtswoman Elizabeth Meyer bought Endeavour and she was transformed and rebuilt by Royal Huisman. Endeavour sailed again on June 22, 1989, for the first time in 52 years. J Class yacht  Endeavour  is now for sale .

Elena, 1910

In 1910, Morton Plant commissioned 55 metre  Elena to be designed by American naval architect Nathanael Herreshoff, the so-called “Wizard of Bristol”, who made his name designing sailing yachts for America’s elite. Plant's brief was to the point: he wanted a schooner “that can win”.

Herreshoff gave Elena a slightly deeper keel than preceding designs of that time, lowering her centre of ballast, which improved her windward ability. Elena won most of her early races against the cream of the American schooner fleet and in 1928 came her crowning glory, victory in the Transatlantic Race. In 2009, she was rebuilt using the original plans for the first Elena.

Black Swan, 1899

Originally designed by Charles Nicholson and built in 1899 at Camper and Nicholson in Gosport, England, Black Swan started life as Brynhild with a yawl rig. She won a number of races at the beginning of the 20th century, including the King’s Cup. Over the years, she has undergone several changes and different rig configurations, and at one stage she was renamed Changrilla . She was rechristened Black Swan in the 1960s and, today, after an extensive restoration project at the Beconcini yard in La Spezia, Italy, she is now carrying a gaff-rig, designed by the Faggioni Yacht Design Studio and built by Harry Spencer.

Mariquita, 1911

Another beautiful classic yacht from Fife, Mariquita was launched in 1911. The 38.16 metre sailing yacht was designed and built for the industrialist Arthur Stothert. As part of the 19 metre Big Class racing that re-emerged in 1911, this gaff-rigged cutter is said to have inspired the J Class yachts that came after her.

She raced competitively against her brethren from 1911-1913, but by the 1950s, Mariquita was the last in the 19 metre class remaining. She was restored in 1991 and received a further refit in 2004. A star on the classic yacht racing scene, Mariquita is now for sale .

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SAIL UNIVERSE CHOICE. 7 of the Most Beautiful Sailboats of all Time

A very interesting Instagram profile, @sailor_sea_world ( follow him! ), choose every week some of the most beautiful sailboats of all time. Thanks to his help, we picked 7 of this boats for you!

“Fisher & Paykel” Maxi yacht

The legendary 83ft “Fisher & Paykel” Maxi yacht, 2nd in the 89/90 Whitbread Round-the-World Race and entry in the 2011 Volvo Ocean Legends Race in Alicante. One of the biggest racing yachts ever built for round-the-world racing and the last of its generation of giants still to be sailing worldwide. The boat was originally built for the Whitbread Round-the-World Race of 1990/91 and was named after its main sponsor, the NZ home appliances manufacturer “Fisher&Paykel”. Was designed by Bruce Farr and built by Martin Marine in New Zealand and a total of approx. 3 Milion Dollars were spent on state-of-the-art space industry materials and the latest technologies in order to create a masterpiece of yacht racing under the direction of its captain Grant Dalton (nowadays director of the NZ America’s Cup Team). Great super boat and sailor

Pelagic Australis

Pelagic Australis is the particular sloop ice class in aluminum of 74ft. It has a displacement of 48 tons, it results very strongly. Its sail area reaches 264 sqm upwind and 414 sqm… its lifting-keel adjustable allow a régi labile drift from 1.20m to 3.90m if it’s necessary.

Kriter Brut de Brut

Kriter Brut de Brut, 23.50 meters trimaran skippered by Sylvie Vanek and Beatrice Maupas in 1983 for the Transat in double Lorient-Bermuda-Lorient. The French Philippe Monnet with this boat in 1986 establishes a new record of the solo world tour on a multihull in 129 days 19 days and 17 minutes.

Pen Duick VI

This is the boat of the most famous sailor, Eric Tabarly. Pen Duick VI is a 22.25 mt ketch built in 1973 for the Whitbread Round the World Race . In 1976 she won the transatlantic regatta in solitary from Plymouth to Newport.

Top view of beautiful anthem. The particular ketch built in 1998 is a 70 feet sailboat. With is extraordinary 1000 sq ft of sail it can be reached a speed of 25 knots in strong wind. The mainmast is 70 ft and the mizzenmast is 50 ft, it allows you to put 5 sails at the same time.

Why did we select Reliance among the most beautiful sailboats of all time? Simple… Reliance, the boat that defended America’s Cup in 1903, is the most extreme boat ever sailed in the cup: 27.4 m long at the float and 43.5m out of all measured by the bompress tip at the end of the boom was 60 m. Born by the genius of what is considered to be the greatest inventor of modern sail, Nathaniel Herreshoff when he has slammed the topside turned into a floating line making it much more powerful.

Spirit Of Portopiccolo

Spirit Of Portopiccolo a 26m sail yacht was built in 2003 by McConaghy boats. Design is the work of Reichel-Pugh. Previously named Morning Glory. This amazing sail yacht in carbon hull e canting keel has an enviable trophy list: Winner of the 2017 Barcolana di Trieste, Winner of the 2007 Maxi Worlds, Racing Division Winner of the 2006 Middle Sea Race 1st to Finish and New Course Record in the 2005 Transpac Race 1st to Finish and New Course Record in the 2004 Newport to Bermuda Race! Fast boat for racing sailor, Great!

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5 Beautiful Wooden Boats That Blend Classic Design With Modern Technology

Now that's good wood., michael verdon, michael verdon's most recent stories, this new 72-foot yacht’s new hybrid propulsion system is the first of its kind.

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From one of the largest single-masted wooden sailing yachts in the UK to a mahogany 30-footer with an Art Deco–themed interior, this quartet of vessels showcases just what’s possible with timber, the most classic of boatbuilding materials.

The 111-foot Geist , launched last July by Spirit , is the largest single-masted wooden sailing yacht built in the UK since the 1930s, when the America’s Cup yacht Shamrock V ruled the seas. But Geist is much more than a giant sloop. Her eco-conscious owner mandated systems like the first-of-its-kind electric propulsion by Torqeedo—a 100 kw motor fed by BMW lithium-ion battery banks, which recharge while Geist is sailing—while her Rhoades Young interior elevates wood to its maximum potential, showing off sustainably sourced sipo mahogany, teak and walnut in a series of continuously flowing curves. Even her sails are made of recyclable materials.

Navy Destroyer

Hacker Boat Company traces its roots to John Hacker, who crafted boats for the rich and famous during the Roaring Twenties. The Ticonderoga, N.Y., facility builds modern triple-cockpit runabouts that nonetheless appear straight from the docks of J. D. Rockefeller. The recently launched Restless is a custom project, a modern thoroughbred based on the 1923 Miss APBA race boat; she uses a foot pedal rather than a throttle for acceleration, on her way to a top speed of 65 mph. The Hacker team achieved the striking navy hull by combining a double-planked mahogany layup with a fiberglass skin, while the owners chose the same Cuoio leather favored by Ferrari to pair with the boat’s mahogany topsides.

Jakob Boesch built his first boat in the 1890s, and more than a century later his family continues to merge new technologies with old-world Swiss craftsmanship. Boesch ’s new, 28-foot 860 has a classically styled mahogany hull with up to 11 layers of wood laid at right angles, sealed with six layers of epoxy and finished with six layers of varnish. Propulsion choices include modern options like twin 150 kw electric engines for quiet, emissions-free operation. The runabout’s meticulously crafted silhouette disguises a beast of a machine designed for precise handling, tow sports and speed. Equipped with twin 380 hp Ilmor gas engines, the 860 can hit 48 mph, leaving fiberglass towboats in its wake.

Fiber Class

Unlike the rest of the list, the Hood 57 LM isn’t a proper wooden boat. The hull is what manufacturer Lyman-Morse calls “wood composite,” a combination of strip-planked fir and fiberglass, though its 1950s New England look—including the superstructure’s teak veneer—and pioneering construction suggest the potential for a modern-retro segment; it offers high-tech features such as a carbon-fiber flybridge roof and electric windows. A tough, lightweight boat designed to run offshore, its twin 1350 Volvo IPS pod drives deliver a top speed of 43 mph, while the interior, with its open salon and two generous staterooms, is as spacious as any fiberglass competitor.

Van Dam , which has been building mahogany boats since 1977, moved away from traditional 1920s-style runabouts to focus on original designs such as Catnip . The 30-footer has an Art Deco–themed interior, with stunning metalwork—including an array of semicircular gauge housings, windshield frames with slatted openings and a mirror-like stainless rudder—complementing an expanse of varnished mahogany. With twin 385 hp Ilmor inboards, Catnip has a top end of 57 mph, and since Van Dam won’t build any boat twice, she’s also unique.

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Top 25 classic boat types

What is a classic boat? The answer becomes ever harder to pin down, as more yachts are seen as ‘classic’ and as wooden boats themselves evolve.

Today the ‘classic’ fleet encompasses a vast range of floating marvels, from rugged Victorian work boats, to huge schooners raced by royalty 100 years ago, to the ‘everyman’ yachts of the 1950s, to pin-sharp Metre boats built for the America’s Cup.

This vintage fleet is now bolstered by a growing ‘Spirit of Tradition’ class of wooden yachts that have the look of yesteryear, but the fittings and performance of a modern boat.

If the answer to the question is that ‘you know one when you see one’, then a quick guide to some broad classic boat types surely wouldn’t go amiss. The following, of course, is a fraction of all the different types of traditional vessels out there. So, in no particular order…

Great yacht designs: the Nordic Folkboat

Great yacht designs: Jolie Brise

Affordable Classics: the Stella

Stormvogel: the first of the Maxis

The 100 club: the glory of centenarian yachts

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Classic Boat is the magazine for the world’s most beautiful boats. Packed with stunning images, we have the inside stories of the great classic yachts and motorboats afloat today, as well as fascinating tales from yesteryear and the latest from the wooden boat building scene around the world.

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40 Best Sailboats

• By Cruising World Editors
• Updated: May 24, 2024

Sailors are certainly passionate about their boats, and if you doubt that bold statement, try posting an article dubbed “ 40 Best Sailboats ” and see what happens.

Barely had the list gone live, when one reader responded, “Where do I begin? So many glaring omissions!” Like scores of others, he listed a number of sailboats and brands that we were too stupid to think of, but unlike some, he did sign off on a somewhat upbeat note: “If it weren’t for the presence of the Bermuda 40 in Cruising World’s list, I wouldn’t even have bothered to vote.”

By vote, he means that he, like hundreds of other readers, took the time to click through to an accompanying page where we asked you to help us reshuffle our alphabetical listing of noteworthy production sailboats so that we could rank them instead by popularity. So we ask you to keep in mind that this list of the best sailboats was created by our readers.

The quest to building this list all began with such a simple question, one that’s probably been posed at one time or another in any bar where sailors meet to raise a glass or two: If you had to pick, what’re the best sailboats ever built?

In no time, a dozen or more from a variety of sailboat manufacturers were on the table and the debate was on. And so, having fun with it, we decided to put the same question to a handful of CW ‘s friends: writers and sailors and designers and builders whose opinions we value. Their favorites poured in and soon an inkling of a list began to take shape. To corral things a bit and avoid going all the way back to Joshua Slocum and his venerable Spray —Hell, to Noah and his infamous Ark —we decided to focus our concentration on production monohull sailboats, which literally opened up the sport to anyone who wanted to get out on the water. And since CW is on the verge or turning 40, we decided that would be a nice round number at which to draw the line and usher in our coming ruby anniversary.

If you enjoy scrolling through this list, which includes all types of sailboats, then perhaps you would also be interested in browsing our list of the Best Cruising Sailboats . Check it out and, of course, feel free to add your favorite boat, too. Here at Cruising World , we like nothing better than talking about boats, and it turns out, so do you.

– LEARN THE NAVIGATION RULES – Know the “Rules of the Road” that govern all boat traffic. Be courteous and never assume other boaters can see you. Safety Tip Provided by the U.S. Coast Guard

40. Moore 24

39. Pearson Vanguard

38. Dufour Arpege 30

37. Alerion Express 28

36. Mason 43/44

35. Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 43DS

34. Nor’Sea 27

33. Freedom 40

32. Beneteau Sense 50

31. Nonsuch 30

30. Swan 44

29. C&C Landfall 38

28. Gulfstar 50

27. Sabre 36

26. Pearson Triton

– CHECK THE FIT – Follow these guidelines to make sure your life jacket looks good, stays comfortable and works when you need it. Safety Tip Provided by the U.S. Coast Guard

25. Islander 36

24. Gozzard 36

23. Bristol 40

22. Tartan 34

21. Morgan Out Island 41

20. Hylas 49

19. Contessa 26

18. Whitby 42

17. Columbia 50

16. Morris 36

15. Hunter 356

13. Beneteau 423

12. Westsail 32

– CHECK THE WEATHER – The weather changes all the time. Always check the forecast and prepare for the worst case. Safety Tip Provided by the U.S. Coast Guard

10. Alberg 30

9. Island Packet 38

8. Passport 40

7. Tayana 37

6. Peterson 44

5. Pacific Seacraft 37

4. Hallberg-Rassy 42

3. Catalina 30

2. Hinckley Bermuda 40

1. Valiant 40

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The Classic Beauty of Wooden Sailboats: Types, Characteristics, and How to Maintain Them

Welcome to our blog about wooden sailboats. These boats have a long and rich history, dating back to ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians and Phoenicians. Despite the advancement of technology and materials, wooden sailboats are still popular today for their classic beauty and traditional feel.

In this blog, we will explore the different types of wooden sailboats, their unique characteristics, and the proper techniques for maintaining them. From sloops to schooners, we’ll cover all the essential information needed to understand and appreciate these beautiful vessels. Whether you’re a seasoned sailor or a first-time boat owner, this guide will help you understand the allure and challenges of wooden sailboats. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

Types of Sailboats

There are several types of wooden sailboats, including sloops, ketches, yawls, and schooners. Sloops have one mast and are the most common type of sailboat. Ketches also have one mast, but with a smaller mizzen sail at the stern. Yawls have two masts, with the smaller mizzen sail located aft of the rudder post. Schooners have two or more masts, with the aft mast being shorter than the front mast.

Comparative table of types of wooden sailboats

Sloop	One mast, easy to handle, versatile
Ketch	One main mast and a smaller mizzen sail at the stern, great for long voyages
Yawl	Two masts, the smaller mizzen sail located aft of the rudder post, good for short-handed sailing
Schooner	Two or more masts, aft mast shorter than front mast, good for larger groups and carrying cargo

How to maintain a wooden sailboat

To maintain a wooden sailboat, it is important to keep the wood properly sealed and painted to protect it from water damage. This should be done every few years, depending on the severity of the weather and usage of the boat. Regularly inspecting and tightening hardware, such as deck fittings and cleats, is also important to ensure the boat stays in good condition.

It is also crucial to keep the interior of the boat dry and well-ventilated to prevent rot and mildew. This can be achieved by installing vents and keeping hatches and ports open when the boat is not in use.

Another important aspect of maintaining a wooden sailboat is to keep the sails in good condition. This includes inspecting them regularly for tears or wear and replacing them if necessary.

Lastly, it is important to keep the hull of the boat clean and free of barnacles and other marine growth. This can be done by using a hull cleaner and regularly scraping and sanding the bottom of the boat.

Pros and Cons of Wooden Sail Boats

Pros of wooden sailboats:.

• Classic Beauty: Wooden sailboats have a timeless beauty and traditional feel that can’t be matched by modern materials.
• Handmade Craftsmanship: Many wooden sailboats are still built by hand, which adds to their unique character and charm.
• Durability: Wooden sailboats are known for their durability, and with proper maintenance, they can last for many years.
• Repairability: Wooden boats can be repaired relatively easily, and small repairs such as leaks can be fixed by owners with the right knowledge and tools.
• Resale Value: Wooden sailboats often hold their value well and can be resold for a good price.

Cons of Wooden Sailboats:

• Maintenance: Wooden sailboats require regular maintenance such as painting and sealing to protect the wood from water damage.
• Cost: Wooden sailboats can be more expensive to buy and maintain than modern materials.
• Weight: Wooden sailboats tend to be heavier than boats made of other materials, which can affect performance.
• Rot: Wooden sailboats are susceptible to rot if they are not properly maintained and kept dry.
• Environmental Impact: Some types of wood used in boat-building may have negative environmental impact.

It’s worth noting that wooden sailboats are not the only option, and there are other materials such as composite, steel and aluminum that are used to build sailboats. Each material has its own advantages and disadvantages, and ultimately the choice will depend on the intended use of the boat, budget, and personal preferences.

Are wooden sailboats still made?

Yes, wooden sailboats are still made today. Although they are not as common as they once were, there are still many boat builders who specialize in constructing wooden sailboats. These boats are often built using traditional methods and are considered to be works of art. They can be custom-made to the buyer’s specifications, and many people appreciate the unique character and charm of a wooden sailboat. They are still popular among sailors who appreciate the traditional look and feel of wooden boats, and also among people who want to own a sailboat that is built by hand.

Are Wooden Sailboats Safe?

Wooden sailboats can be safe if they are well-built and properly maintained. However, it’s important to note that wooden boats are more susceptible to rot and decay if they are not kept dry and properly sealed. Additionally, wooden sailboats may be heavier than boats made of other materials, which can affect their stability and handling in rough seas.

It is also important to ensure that all the hardware, rigging, and sails are in good condition, as these are crucial for the safety of the boat and its crew.

Regular maintenance, inspections, and safety check-ups are important for wooden sailboats, just like any other sailboats, to ensure that they are in good condition and safe to sail. It’s also important to have basic knowledge of the boat and the sea, and to be aware of the weather conditions before going out to sail.

It’s worth noting that wooden sailboats may not be suitable for everyone, and different types of boats may be better suited to different types of sailing. It’s important to consider the intended use of the boat and the sailor’ experience level before making a decision on what type of boat to purchase.

How much does a wooden sail boat cost?

The cost of a wooden sailboat can vary widely depending on several factors such as size, design, and level of customization. A small wooden sailboat, such as a daysailer, can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000. A larger wooden sailboat, such as a cruising sailboat, can cost upwards of $100,000 or more.

It’s worth noting that the cost of a wooden sailboat can also be influenced by the level of craftsmanship and the materials used. A wooden sailboat built by a well-known and experienced boatbuilder using high-quality materials will likely be more expensive than one built by an amateur using lower quality materials. Additionally, the cost of maintaining a wooden sailboat can be higher than that of a boat made of modern materials, so it’s important to factor in maintenance costs when budgeting for a wooden sailboat.

What is the fastest wooden sailboat?

The fastest wooden sailboat is a matter of debate, as there are many contenders that have set records over the years. However, one of the most notable and well-known is the “Fleury” a hydroplane sailboat built in 1910. It held the world speed sailing record for over 20 years, reaching a top speed of 28.86 knots (53.46 km/h).

Another notable contender is the “Gartmore” a hydroplane sailing boat built in 1911, that held the world speed sailing record at 29.81 knots (55.26 km/h)

In more recent years, the “Dudley Dix designed” yacht “Ran” has held multiple speed records, reaching speeds of over 30 knots.

It’s worth noting that these boats are not only wooden sailboats, but also hydroplane sailboats, which are a specific kind of sailboats designed to plane on the water’s surface at high speeds, rather than float on it like traditional sailboats, and are not suitable for cruising or long-distance sailing.

It’s also important to mention that these boats were built and sailed in different eras, and with different technology, materials and rules, so it’s difficult to make a fair comparison.

In conclusion, wooden sailboats are a unique and beautiful option for those who appreciate traditional craftsmanship and classic design. From sloops to schooners, these boats come in a variety of types, each with their own unique characteristics. However, it’s important to remember that wooden sailboats require regular maintenance to keep them in top condition. From sealing and painting the wood to inspecting and tightening hardware, it’s essential to keep these boats properly cared for.

It’s also important to remember that wooden sailboats may not be suitable for everyone. They are susceptible to rot and decay if not kept dry and properly sealed, and also wooden sailboats tend to be heavier than boats made of other materials, which can affect their stability and handling in rough seas.

Overall, owning a wooden sailboat can be a rewarding experience, but it’s important to understand the responsibilities that come with it. By following proper maintenance procedures and understanding the unique characteristics of these boats, wooden sailboat owners can enjoy the classic beauty and traditional feel of these vessels for years to come.

Sailing Better

Sailbetter.com is a website blog dedicated to providing sailors of all levels with the knowledge and skills needed to improve their sailing experience. Whether you're a seasoned sailor or a beginner, the blog offers valuable tips and techniques to help you navigate the open waters with ease and confidence. Whether you're interested in racing or cruising, you'll find useful information and expert advice to help you reach your sailing goals.

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43 of the best bluewater sailboat designs of all time

• January 5, 2022

How do you choose the right yacht for you? We highlight the very best bluewater sailboat designs for every type of cruising

Which yacht is the best for bluewater boating? This question generates even more debate among sailors than questions about what’s the coolest yacht , or the best for racing. Whereas racing designs are measured against each other, cruising sailors get very limited opportunities to experience different yachts in real oceangoing conditions, so what is the best bluewater sailboat?

Here, we bring you our top choices from decades of designs and launches. Over the years, the Yachting World team has sailed these boats, tested them or judged them for European Yacht of the Year awards, and we have sifted through the many to curate a selection that we believe should be on your wishlist.

Making the right choice may come down to how you foresee your yacht being used after it has crossed an ocean or completed a passage: will you be living at anchor or cruising along the coast? If so, your guiding requirements will be space, cabin size, ease of launching a tender and anchoring closer to shore, and whether it can comfortably accommodate non-expert-sailor guests.

Article continues below…

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All of these considerations have generated the inexorable rise of the bluewater catamaran – monohulls can’t easily compete on these points. We have a full separate feature on the best bluewater multihulls of all time and here we mostly focus on monohulls. The only exceptions to that rule are two multihulls which made it into our best bluewater sailboats of 2022 list.

As so much of making the right choice is selecting the right boat for the venture in mind, we have separated out our edit into categories: best for comfort; for families; for performance; and for expedition or high latitudes sailing .

Best bluewater sailboats of 2022

The new flagship Allures 51.9, for example, is a no-nonsense adventure cruising design built and finished to a high standard. It retains Allures’ niche of using aluminium hulls with glassfibre decks and superstructures, which, the yard maintains, gives the optimum combination of least maintenance and less weight higher up. Priorities for this design were a full beam aft cabin and a spacious, long cockpit. Both are excellent, with the latter, at 6m long, offering formidable social, sailing and aft deck zones.

It likes some breeze to come to life on the wheel, but I appreciate that it’s designed to take up to five tonnes payload. And I like the ease with which you can change gears using the furling headsails and the positioning of the powerful Andersen winches inboard. The arch is standard and comes with a textile sprayhood or hard bimini.

Below decks you’ll find abundant headroom and natural light, a deep U-shape galley and cavernous stowage. For those who like the layout of the Amel 50 but would prefer aluminium or shoal draught, look no further.

Allures 51.9 price: €766,000

The Ovni 370 is another cunning new aluminum centreboard offering, a true deck saloon cruiser for two. The designers say the biggest challenge was to create a Category A ocean going yacht at this size with a lifting keel, hence the hull had to be very stable.

Enjoyable to helm, it has a practical, deep cockpit behind a large sprayhood, which can link to the bimini on the arch. Many of its most appealing features lie in the bright, light, contemporary, clever, voluminous interior, which has good stowage and tankage allocation. There’s also a practical navstation, a large workroom and a vast separate shower. I particularly like the convertible saloom, which can double as a large secure daybed or pilot berth.

Potentially the least expensive Category A lift keel boat available, the Ovni will get you dreaming of remote places again.

Ovni 370 price: €282,080

There’s no shortage of spirit in the Windelo 50. We gave this a sustainability award after it’s founders spent two years researching environmentally-friendly composite materials, developing an eco-composite of basalt fibre and recycled PET foam so it could build boats that halve the environmental impact of standard glassfibre yachts.

The Windelo 50 is an intriguing package – from the styling, modular interior and novel layout to the solar field on the roof and the standard electric propulsion, it is completely fresh.

Windelo 50 price: €795,000

Best bluewater sailboat of 2022 – Outremer 55

I would argue that this is the most successful new production yacht on the market. Well over 50 have already sold (an equipped model typically costs €1.6m) – and I can understand why. After all, were money no object, I had this design earmarked as the new yacht I would most likely choose for a world trip.

Indeed 55 number one Sanya, was fully equipped for a family’s world cruise, and left during our stay for the Grand Large Odyssey tour. Whereas we sailed Magic Kili, which was tricked up with performance options, including foam-cored deckheads and supports, carbon crossbeam and bulkheads, and synthetic rigging.

At rest, these are enticing space ships. Taking one out to sea is another matter though. These are speed machines with the size, scale and loads to be rightly weary of. Last month Nikki Henderson wrote a feature for us about how to manage a new breed of performance cruising cats just like this and how she coaches new owners. I could not think of wiser money spent for those who do not have ample multihull sailing experience.

Under sail, the most fun was obviously reserved for the reaching leg under asymmetric, where we clocked between 11-16 knots in 15-16 knots wind. But it was the stability and of those sustained low teen speeds which really hit home  – passagemaking where you really cover miles.

Key features include the swing helms, which give you views from outboard, over the coachroof or from a protected position in the cockpit through the coachroof windows, and the vast island in the galley, which is key to an open plan main living area. It helps provide cavernous stowage and acts as the heart of the entertaining space as it would in a modern home. As Danish judge Morten Brandt-Rasmussen comments: “Apart from being the TGV of ocean passages the boat offers the most spacious, open and best integration of the cockpit and salon areas in the market.”

Outremer has done a top job in packing in the creature comforts, stowage space and payload capacity, while keeping it light enough to eat miles. Although a lot to absorb and handle, the 55 offers a formidable blend of speed and luxury cruising.

Outremer 55 price: €1.35m

Best bluewater sailboats for comfort

This is the successor to the legendary Super Maramu, a ketch design that for several decades defined easy downwind handling and fostered a cult following for the French yard. Nearly a decade old, the Amel 55 is the bridge between those world-girdling stalwarts and Amel’s more recent and totally re-imagined sloop designs, the Amel 50 and 60.

The 55 boasts all the serious features Amel aficionados loved and valued: a skeg-hung rudder, solidly built hull, watertight bulkheads, solid guardrails and rampart bulwarks. And, most noticeable, the solid doghouse in which the helmsman sits in perfect shelter at the wheel.

This is a design to live on comfortably for long periods and the list of standard features just goes on and on: passarelle; proper sea berths with lee cloths; electric furling main and genoa; and a multitude of practical items that go right down to a dishwasher and crockery.

There’s no getting around the fact these designs do look rather dated now, and through the development of easier sail handling systems the ketch rig has fallen out of fashion, but the Amel is nothing short of a phenomenon, and if you’ve never even peeked on board one, you really have missed a treat.

Photo: Sander van der Borch

Contest 50CS

A centre cockpit cruiser with true longevity, the Contest 50CS was launched by Conyplex back in 2003 and is still being built by the family-owned Dutch company, now in updated and restyled form.

With a fully balanced rudder, large wheel and modern underwater sections, the Contest 50CS is a surprisingly good performer for a boat that has a dry weight of 17.5 tonnes. Many were fitted with in-mast furling, which clearly curtails that performance, but even without, this boat is set up for a small crew.

Electric winches and mainsheet traveller are all easy to reach from the helm. On our test of the Contest 50CS, we saw for ourselves how two people can gybe downwind under spinnaker without undue drama. Upwind, a 105% genoa is so easy to tack it flatters even the weediest crewmember.

Down below, the finish level of the joinery work is up there among the best and the interior is full of clever touches, again updated and modernised since the early models. Never the cheapest bluewater sailing yacht around, the Contest 50CS has remained in demand as a brokerage buy. She is a reassuringly sure-footed, easily handled, very well built yacht that for all those reasons has stood the test of time.

This is a yacht that would be well capable of helping you extend your cruising grounds, almost without realising it.

Read more about the Contest 50CS and the new Contest 49CS

Photo: Rick Tomlinson

Hallberg-Rassy 48 Mk II

For many, the Swedish Hallberg-Rassy yard makes the quintessential bluewater cruiser for couples. With their distinctive blue cove line, these designs are famous for their seakindly behaviour, solid-as-a-rock build and beautifully finished, traditional interiors.

To some eyes, Hallberg-Rassys aren’t quite cool enough, but it’s been company owner Magnus Rassy’s confidence in the formula and belief in incremental ‘step-by-step’ evolution that has been such an exceptional guarantor of reliable quality, reputation and resale value.

The centre cockpit Hallberg-Rassy 48 epitomises the concept of comfort at sea and, like all the Frers-designed Hallberg-Rassys since the 1990s, is surprisingly fleet upwind as well as steady downwind. The 48 is perfectly able to be handled by a couple (as we found a few years back in the Pacific), and could with no great effort crack out 200-mile days.

The Hallberg-Rassy 48 was launched nearly a decade ago, but the Mk II from 2014 is our pick, updated with a more modern profile, larger windows and hull portlights that flood the saloon and aft cabin with light. With a large chart table, secure linear galley, heaps of stowage and space for bluewater extras such as machinery and gear, this yacht pretty much ticks all the boxes.

Discovery 55

First launched in 2000, the Discovery 55 has stood the test of time. Designed by Ron Holland, it hit a sweet spot in size that appealed to couples and families with world girdling plans.

Elegantly styled and well balanced, the 55 is also a practical design, with a deep and secure cockpit, comfortable seating, a self-tacking jib, dedicated stowage for the liferaft , a decent sugar scoop transom that’s useful for swimming or dinghy access, and very comfortable accommodation below. In short, it is a design that has been well thought out by those who’ve been there, got the bruises, stubbed their toes and vowed to change things in the future if they ever got the chance.

Throughout the accommodation there are plenty of examples of good detailing, from the proliferation of handholds and grabrails, to deep sinks in the galley offering immediate stowage when under way and the stand up/sit down showers. Stowage is good, too, with plenty of sensibly sized lockers in easily accessible positions.

The Discovery 55 has practical ideas and nifty details aplenty. She’s not, and never was, a breakthrough in modern luxury cruising but she is pretty, comfortable to sail and live on, and well mannered.

Photo: Latitudes Picture Library

You can’t get much more Cornish than a Rustler. The hulls of this Stephen Jones design are hand-moulded and fitted out in Falmouth – and few are more ruggedly built than this traditional, up-for-anything offshore cruiser.

She boasts an encapsulated lead keel, eliminating keel bolts and creating a sump for generous fuel and water tankage, while a chunky skeg protects the rudder. She is designed for good directional stability and load carrying ability. These are all features that lend this yacht confidence as it shoulders aside the rough stuff.

Most of those built have had a cutter rig, a flexible arrangement that makes sense for long passages in all sea and weather conditions. Down below, the galley and saloon berths are comfortable and sensible for living in port and at sea, with joinery that Rustler’s builders are rightly proud of.

As modern yachts have got wider, higher and fatter, the Rustler 42 is an exception. This is an exceptionally well-mannered seagoing yacht in the traditional vein, with elegant lines and pleasing overhangs, yet also surprisingly powerful. And although now over 20 years old, timeless looks and qualities mean this design makes her look ever more like a perennial, a modern classic.

The definitive crossover size, the point at which a yacht can be handled by a couple but is just large enough to have a professional skipper and be chartered, sits at around the 60ft mark. At 58ft 8in, the Oyster 575 fitted perfectly into this growing market when launched in 2010. It went on to be one of the most popular models from the yard, and is only now being superseded by the newer Rob Humphreys-designed Oyster 565 (just launched this spring).

Built in various configurations with either a deep keel, shoal draught keel or centreboard with twin rudders, owners could trade off better performance against easy access to shallower coves and anchorages. The deep-bodied hull, also by Rob Humphreys, is known for its easy motion at sea.

Some of the Oyster 575’s best features include its hallmark coachroof windows style and centre cockpit – almost everyone will know at first glance this is an Oyster – and superb interior finish. If she has a flaw, it is arguably the high cockpit, but the flip side is the galley headroom and passageway berth to the large aft stateroom.

This design also has a host of practical features for long-distance cruising, such as high guardrails, dedicated liferaft stowage, a vast lazarette for swallowing sails, tender, fenders etc, and a penthouse engine room.

Privilege Serie 5

A true luxury catamaran which, fully fitted out, will top €1m, this deserves to be seen alongside the likes of the Oyster 575, Gunfleet 58 and Hallberg-Rassy 55. It boasts a large cockpit and living area, and a light and spacious saloon with an emphasis on indoor-outdoor living, masses of refrigeration and a big galley.

Standout features are finish quality and solid build in a yacht designed to take a high payload, a secure walkaround deck and all-round views from the helm station. The new Privilege 510 that will replace this launches in February 2020.

Gunfleet 43

It was with this Tony Castro design that Richard Matthews, founder of Oyster Yachts, launched a brand new rival brand in 2012, the smallest of a range stretching to the flagship Gunfleet 74. The combination of short overhangs and centre cockpit at this size do make the Gunfleet 43 look modern if a little boxy, but time and subsequent design trends have been kind to her lines, and the build quality is excellent. The saloon, galley and aft cabin space is exceptional on a yacht of this size.

Photo: David Harding

Conceived as a belt-and-braces cruiser, the Kraken 50 launched last year. Its unique points lie underwater in the guise of a full skeg-hung rudder and so-called ‘Zero Keel’, an encapsulated long keel with lead ballast.

Kraken Yachts is the brainchild of British businessman and highly experienced cruiser Dick Beaumont, who is adamant that safety should be foremost in cruising yacht design and build. “There is no such thing as ‘one yacht for all purposes’… You cannot have the best of all worlds, whatever the salesman tells you,” he says.

Read our full review of the Kraken 50 .

Wauquiez Centurion 57

Few yachts can claim to be both an exciting Med-style design and a serious and practical northern European offshore cruiser, but the Wauquiez Centurion 57 tries to blend both. She slightly misses if you judge solely by either criterion, but is pretty and practical enough to suit her purpose.

A very pleasant, well-considered yacht, she is impressively built and finished with a warm and comfortable interior. More versatile than radical, she could be used for sailing across the Atlantic in comfort and raced with equal enjoyment at Antigua Sailing Week .

A modern classic if ever there was one. A medium to heavy displacement yacht, stiff and easily capable of standing up to her canvas. Pretty, traditional lines and layout below.

Photo: Voyage of Swell

Well-proven US legacy design dating back to the mid-1960s that once conquered the Transpac Race . Still admired as pretty, with slight spoon bow and overhanging transom.

Capable medium displacement cruiser, ideal size and good accommodation for couples or family cruising, and much less costly than similar luxury brands.

Photo: Peter Szamer

Swedish-built aft cockpit cruiser, smaller than many here, but a well-built and finished, super-durable pocket ocean cruiser.

Tartan 3700

Designed as a performance cruiser there are nimbler alternatives now, but this is still an extremely pretty yacht.

Broker ’ s choice

Discovery 55 Brizo

This yacht has already circumnavigated the globe and is ‘prepared for her next adventure,’ says broker Berthon. Price: £535,000 + VAT

Oyster 575 Ayesha

‘Stunning, and perfectly equipped for bluewater cruising,’ says broker Ancasta International. Price: £845,000 (tax not paid)

Oyster 575 Pearls of Nautilus

Nearly new and with a high spec, this Oyster Brokerage yacht features American white oak joinery and white leather upholstery and has a shoal draught keel. Price: $1.49m

Best bluewater yachts for performance

The Frers-designed Swan 54 may not be the newest hull shape but heralded Swan’s latest generation of displacement bluewater cruisers when launched four years ago. With raked stem, deep V hull form, lower freeboard and slight curve to the topsides she has a more timeless aesthetic than many modern slab-sided high volume yachts, and with that a seakindly motion in waves. If you plan to cover many miles to weather, this is probably the yacht you want to be on.

Photo: Carlo Borlenghi

Besides Swan’s superlative build quality, the 54 brings many true bluewater features, including a dedicated sail locker. There’s also a cockpit locker that functions as a utility cabin, with potential to hold your generator and washing machine, or be a workshop space.

The sloping transom opens out to reveal a 2.5m bathing platform, and although the cabins are not huge there is copious stowage space. Down below the top-notch oak joinery is well thought through with deep fiddles, and there is a substantial nav station. But the Swan 54 wins for handling above all, with well laid-out sail controls that can be easily managed between a couple, while offering real sailing enjoyment to the helmsman.

Photo: Graham Snook

The Performance Cruiser winner at the 2019 European Yacht of the Year awards, the Arcona 435 is all about the sailing experience. She has genuine potential as a cruiser-racer, but her strengths are as an enjoyable cruiser rather than a full-blown liveaboard bluewater boat.

Build quality is excellent, there is the option of a carbon hull and deck, and elegant lines and a plumb bow give the Arcona 435 good looks as well as excellent performance in light airs. Besides slick sail handling systems, there are well thought-out features for cruising, such as ample built-in rope bins and an optional semi-closed stern with stowage and swim platform.

Outremer 51

If you want the space and stability of a cat but still prioritise sailing performance, Outremer has built a reputation on building catamarans with true bluewater characteristics that have cruised the planet for the past 30 years.

Lighter and slimmer-hulled than most cruising cats, the Outremer 51 is all about sailing at faster speeds, more easily. The lower volume hulls and higher bridgedeck make for a better motion in waves, while owners report that being able to maintain a decent pace even under reduced canvas makes for stress-free passages. Deep daggerboards also give good upwind performance.

With bucket seats and tiller steering options, the Outremer 51 rewards sailors who want to spend time steering, while they’re famously well set up for handling with one person on deck. The compromise comes with the interior space – even with a relatively minimalist style, there is less cabin space and stowage volume than on the bulkier cats, but the Outremer 51 still packs in plenty of practical features.

The Xc45 was the first cruising yacht X-Yachts ever built, and designed to give the same X-Yachts sailing experience for sailors who’d spent years racing 30/40-footer X- and IMX designs, but in a cruising package.

Launched over 10 years ago, the Xc45 has been revisited a few times to increase the stowage and modernise some of the styling, but the key features remain the same, including substantial tanks set low for a low centre of gravity, and X-Yachts’ trademark steel keel grid structure. She has fairly traditional styling and layout, matched with solid build quality.

A soft bilge and V-shaped hull gives a kindly motion in waves, and the cockpit is secure, if narrow by modern standards.

A three or four cabin catamaran that’s fleet of foot with high bridgedeck clearance for comfortable motion at sea. With tall daggerboards and carbon construction in some high load areas, Catana cats are light and quick to accelerate.

Sweden Yachts 45

An established bluewater design that also features in plenty of offshore races. Some examples are specced with carbon rig and retractable bowsprits. All have a self-tacking jib for ease. Expect sweeping areas of teak above decks and a traditionally wooded interior with hanging wet locker.

A vintage performer, first launched in 1981, the 51 was the first Frers-designed Swan and marked a new era of iconic cruiser-racers. Some 36 of the Swan 51 were built, many still actively racing and cruising nearly 40 years on. Classic lines and a split cockpit make this a boat for helming, not sunbathing.

Photo: Julien Girardot / EYOTY

The JPK 45 comes from a French racing stable, combining race-winning design heritage with cruising amenities. What you see is what you get – there are no superfluous headliners or floorboards, but there are plenty of ocean sailing details, like inboard winches for safe trimming. The JPK 45 also has a brilliantly designed cockpit with an optional doghouse creating all-weather shelter, twin wheels and superb clutch and rope bin arrangement.

Photo: Andreas Lindlahr

For sailors who don’t mind exchanging a few creature comforts for downwind planing performance, the Pogo 50 offers double-digit surfing speeds for exhilarating tradewind sailing. There’s an open transom, tiller steering and no backstay or runners. The Pogo 50 also has a swing keel, to nose into shallow anchorages.

Seawind 1600

Seawinds are relatively unknown in Europe, but these bluewater cats are very popular in Australia. As would be expected from a Reichel-Pugh design, this 52-footer combines striking good looks and high performance, with fine entry bows and comparatively low freeboard. Rudders are foam cored lifting designs in cassettes, which offer straightforward access in case of repairs, while daggerboards are housed under the deck.

Best bluewater sailboats for families

It’s unsurprising that, for many families, it’s a catamaran that meets their requirements best of increased space – both living space and separate cabins for privacy-seeking teenagers, additional crew or visiting family – as well as stable and predictable handling.

Photo: Nicholas Claris

Undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories has been the Lagoon 450, which, together with boats like the Fountaine Pajot 44, helped drive up the popularity of catamaran cruising by making it affordable and accessible. They have sold in huge numbers – over 1,000 Lagoon 450s have been built since its launch in 2010.

The VPLP-designed 450 was originally launched with a flybridge with a near central helming position and upper level lounging areas (450F). The later ‘sport top’ option (450S) offered a starboard helm station and lower boom (and hence lower centre of gravity for reduced pitching). The 450S also gained a hull chine to create additional volume above the waterline. The Lagoon features forward lounging and aft cockpit areas for additional outdoor living space.

Besides being a big hit among charter operators, Lagoons have proven themselves over thousands of bluewater miles – there were seven Lagoon 450s in last year’s ARC alone. In what remains a competitive sector of the market, Lagoon has recently launched a new 46, with a larger self-tacking jib and mast moved aft, and more lounging areas.

Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget

Fountaine Pajot Helia 44

The FP Helia 44 is lighter, lower volume, and has a lower freeboard than the Lagoon, weighing in at 10.8 tonnes unloaded (compared to 15 for the 450). The helm station is on a mezzanine level two steps up from the bridgedeck, with a bench seat behind. A later ‘Evolution’ version was designed for liveaboard cruisers, featuring beefed up dinghy davits and an improved saloon space.

Available in three or four cabin layouts, the Helia 44 was also popular with charter owners as well as families. The new 45 promises additional volume, and an optional hydraulically lowered ‘beach club’ swim platform.

Photo: Arnaud De Buyzer / graphikup.com

The French RM 1370 might be less well known than the big brand names, but offers something a little bit different for anyone who wants a relatively voluminous cruising yacht. Designed by Marc Lombard, and beautifully built from plywood/epoxy, the RM is stiff and responsive, and sails superbly.

The RM yachts have a more individual look – in part down to the painted finish, which encourages many owners to personalise their yachts, but also thanks to their distinctive lines with reverse sheer and dreadnought bow. The cockpit is well laid out with the primary winches inboard for a secure trimming position. The interior is light, airy and modern, although the open transom won’t appeal to everyone.

For those wanting a monohull, the Hanse 575 hits a similar sweet spot to the popular multis, maximising accommodation for a realistic price, yet with responsive performance.

The Hanse offers a vast amount of living space thanks to the ‘loft design’ concept of having all the living areas on a single level, which gives a real feeling of spaciousness with no raised saloon or steps to accommodation. The trade-off for such lofty head height is a substantial freeboard – it towers above the pontoon, while, below, a stepladder is provided to reach some hatches.

Galley options include drawer fridge-freezers, microwave and coffee machine, and the full size nav station can double up as an office or study space.

But while the Hanse 575 is a seriously large boat, its popularity is also down to the fact that it is genuinely able to be handled by a couple. It was innovative in its deck layout: with a self-tacking jib and mainsheet winches immediately to hand next to the helm, one person could both steer and trim.

Direct steering gives a feeling of control and some tangible sailing fun, while the waterline length makes for rapid passage times. In 2016 the German yard launched the newer Hanse 588 model, having already sold 175 of the 575s in just four years.

Photo: Bertel Kolthof

Jeanneau 54

Jeanneau leads the way among production builders for versatile all-rounder yachts that balance sail performance and handling, ergonomics, liveaboard functionality and good looks. The Jeanneau 54 , part of the range designed by Philippe Briand with interior by Andrew Winch, melds the best of the larger and smaller models and is available in a vast array of layout options from two cabins/two heads right up to five cabins and three heads.

We’ve tested the Jeanneau 54 in a gale and very light winds, and it acquitted itself handsomely in both extremes. The primary and mainsheet winches are to hand next to the wheel, and the cockpit is spacious, protected and child-friendly. An electric folding swim and sun deck makes for quick fun in the water.

Nautitech Open 46

This was the first Nautitech catamaran to be built under the ownership of Bavaria, designed with an open-plan bridgedeck and cockpit for free-flowing living space. But with good pace for eating up bluewater miles, and aft twin helms rather than a flybridge, the Nautitech Open 46 also appeals to monohull sailors who prefer a more direct sailing experience.

Made by Robertson and Caine, who produce catamarans under a dual identity as both Leopard and the Sunsail/Moorings charter cats, the Leopard 45 is set to be another big seller. Reflecting its charter DNA, the Leopard 45 is voluminous, with stepped hulls for reduced waterline, and a separate forward cockpit.

Built in South Africa, they are robustly tested off the Cape and constructed ruggedly enough to handle heavy weather sailing as well as the demands of chartering.

Photo: Olivier Blanchet

If space is king then three hulls might be even better than two. The Neel 51 is rare as a cruising trimaran with enough space for proper liveaboard sailing. The galley and saloon are in the large central hull, together with an owner’s cabin on one level for a unique sensation of living above the water. Guest or family cabins lie in the outer hulls for privacy and there is a cavernous full height engine room under the cabin sole.

Performance is notably higher than an equivalent cruising cat, particularly in light winds, with a single rudder giving a truly direct feel in the helm, although manoeuvring a 50ft trimaran may daunt many sailors.

Beneteau Oceanis 46.1

A brilliant new model from Beneteau, this Finot Conq design has a modern stepped hull, which offers exhilarating and confidence-inspiring handling in big breezes, and slippery performance in lighter winds.

The Beneteau Oceanis 46.1 was the standout performer at this year’s European Yacht of the Year awards, and, in replacing the popular Oceanis 45, looks set to be another bestseller. Interior space is well used with a double island berth in the forepeak. An additional inboard unit creates a secure galley area, but tank capacity is moderate for long periods aboard.

Beneteau Oceanis 473

A popular model that offers beam and height in a functional layout, although, as with many boats of this age (she was launched in 2002), the mainsheet is not within reach of the helmsman.

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 49

The Philippe Briand-designed Sun Odyssey range has a solid reputation as family production cruisers. Like the 473, the Sun Odyssey 49 was popular for charter so there are plenty of four-cabin models on the market.

Nautitech 441

The hull design dates back to 1995, but was relaunched in 2012. Though the saloon interior has dated, the 441 has solid practical features, such as a rainwater run-off collection gutter around the coachroof.

Atlantic 42

Chris White-designed cats feature a pilothouse and forward waist-high working cockpit with helm position, as well as an inside wheel at the nav station. The Atlantic 42 offers limited accommodation by modern cat standards but a very different sailing experience.

Best bluewater sailing yachts for expeditions

Bestevaer 56.

All of the yachts in our ‘expedition’ category are aluminium-hulled designs suitable for high latitude sailing, and all are exceptional yachts. But the Bestevaer 56 is a spectacular amount of boat to take on a true adventure. Each Bestevaer is a near-custom build with plenty of bespoke options for owners to customise the layout and where they fall on the scale of rugged off-grid adventurer to 4×4-style luxury fit out.

The Bestevaer range began when renowned naval architect Gerard Dijkstra chose to design his own personal yacht for liveaboard adventure cruising, a 53-footer. The concept drew plenty of interest from bluewater sailors wanting to make longer expeditions and Bestevaers are now available in a range of sizes, with the 56-footer proving a popular mid-range length.

The well-known Bestevaer 56 Tranquilo  (pictured above) has a deep, secure cockpit, voluminous tanks (700lt water and over 1,100lt fuel) and a lifting keel plus water ballast, with classically styled teak clad decks and pilot house. Other owners have opted for functional bare aluminium hull and deck, some choose a doghouse and others a pilothouse.

Photo: Jean-Marie Liot

The Boreal 52 also offers Land Rover-esque practicality, with utilitarian bare aluminium hulls and a distinctive double-level doghouse/coachroof arrangement for added protection in all weathers. The cockpit is clean and uncluttered, thanks to the mainsheet position on top of the doghouse, although for visibility in close manoeuvring the helmsman will want to step up onto the aft deck.

Twin daggerboards, a lifting centreboard and long skeg on which she can settle make this a true go-anywhere expedition yacht. The metres of chain required for adventurous anchoring is stowed in a special locker by the mast to keep the weight central. Down below has been thought through with equally practical touches, including plenty of bracing points and lighting that switches on to red light first to protect your night vision.

Photo: Morris Adant / Garcia Yachts

Garcia Exploration 45

The Garcia Exploration 45 comes with real experience behind her – she was created in association with Jimmy Cornell, based on his many hundreds of thousands of miles of bluewater cruising, to go anywhere from high latitudes to the tropics.

Arguably less of a looker than the Bestevaer, the Garcia Exploration 45 features a rounded aluminium hull, centreboard with deep skeg and twin daggerboards. The considerable anchor chain weight has again been brought aft, this time via a special conduit to a watertight locker in front of the centreboard.

This is a yacht designed to be lived on for extended periods with ample storage, and panoramic portlights to give a near 360° view of whichever extraordinary landscape you are exploring. Safety features include a watertight companionway door to keep extreme weather out and through-hull fittings placed above the waterline. When former Vendée Globe skipper Pete Goss went cruising , this was the boat he chose to do it in.

Photo: svnaima.com

A truly well-proven expedition design, some 1,500 Ovnis have been built and many sailed to some of the most far-flung corners of the world. (Jimmy Cornell sailed his Aventura some 30,000 miles, including two Drake Passage crossings, one in 50 knots of wind).

Futuna Exploration 54

Another aluminium design with a swinging centreboard and a solid enclosed pilothouse with protected cockpit area. There’s a chunky bowsprit and substantial transom arch to house all manner of electronics and power generation.

Previous boats have been spec’d for North West Passage crossings with additional heating and engine power, although there’s a carbon rig option for those that want a touch of the black stuff. The tanks are capacious, with 1,000lt capability for both fresh water and fuel.

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• Sailboat Reviews

Used Sailboats from the 1970s: Practical Sailor Puts Plastic Classics Under the Microscope

Pearson 30, tartan 30, and catalina 30 stand out in colorful field of groovy fiberglass boats..

The fiberglass revolution in boats really hit its stride in the 1970s. Builders experimented, learned, and improved construction processes during the 1960s, so by the early 1970s, there were a lot of big- time builders pumping out a lot of good boats. In the East was Pearson Yachts; in the Midwest was Tartan Marine; in the South, Hunter Marine and Irwin; in Canada, C&C Yachts flourished; and out West were Jensen Marine (Cal), Ericson, and Columbia Yachts, to name just a few of them.

Narrowing The Field

In selecting a handful of 30-footers for review, we figured why review a boat no one can find? So we browsed online listings for plentiful boats. We also consulted our own files for old brochures, lines drawings, and owner comments, as well as past reviews of each model.

While there were at least several dozen 30-footers built in the U.S. during the hippy-dippy days of Woodstock, The Smothers Brothers, and Watergate, the most enduring are those built by the major builders—all-around family boats sometimes called racer/cruisers or cruiser/racers. Whatever you call them, they are fun to sail and have sufficient accommodations for a family to live aboard for a week’s vacation.

The facing table shows the nine models we settled on for preliminary discussion: Tartan 30, Pearson 30, Catalina 30, Hunter 30, Irwin Competition 30, Newport 30, Cal 2-30, O’Day 30, and C&C 30. For various reasons, a number of interesting 30-foot designs are omitted—the S2 (1977), Sabre 30 (1979), and Dufour Arpege (1968) come to mind—primarily because they are on the cusp of a different time period where they seem a better fit.

Before we move onto the chosen three, here are brief notes on six models dropped in the final cut.

More than 800 C&C 30s were built between 1973 and 1984, making it one of North America’s most successful 30-footers of all time. Though C&C was a pioneer in the use of balsa core in sandwich hull construction, the early C&C 30s have solid-glass hulls. Like other C&Cs of this period, the keel and rudder are swept aft.

C. William Lapworth was the designer for nearly all of Jensen Marine’s (Costa Mesa, Calif.) many models. The 2-30 was in production from 1967-1973, followed by the 3-30, which lasted until 1976. Cals have stout solid fiberglass hulls, but fairly plain interiors.

The Hunter 30 was an early model from Hunter Marine, a spin-off of the Luhrs’ family’s powerboat company, Silverton. The boat was in production from 1974-1983, with more than 1,000 built. It came with a deep keel or keel/centerboard. The rudder was skeg-hung. The designer was John Cherubini, who worked for Hunter at the time. Marketed for value, workmanship was below average.

Irwin Competition 30

Based in Florida, Irwin Yachts built three different 30-footers in the 1970s: the Competition 30 (1972), Citation 30 (1978), and the plain ol’ 30 (1975). All designed by Ted Irwin, one-time kingpin of southeastern sailboats who fell from grace with a thud. Shoddy workmanship resulted in lawsuits he couldn’t overcome. Many of his designs, however, were quite good. The Competition 30 was configured to rate as a 3/4-tonner under the International Offshore Rule (IOR).

Newport 30 (PHASE ii)

Capital Yachts (Harbor City, Calif.) introduced the Gary-Mull-designed Newport 30 PHII in 1971. Like Hunter and Irwin, Capital Yachts’ boats were built to a price. Like the Irwin Competition 30, the Newport was designed to compete as a 3/4-tonner under the IOR. It’s noticeably lighter than many of these boats, and has a shorter waterline.

O’Day 30

More than 350 O’Day 30s were built between 1977 and 1984. Designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates and built by Bangor Punta Marine, the boat came with a full keel or keel/centerboard (3’6″-7’2″). In 1984, the stern was stretched to make the O’Day 31. By some reports, the Ranger 30 and O’Day 30 share the same hull. (Bangor Punta bought the Ranger and Cal lines from Jensen Marine.)

Bottom Line

At this age, maintenance history is key. Any upgraded and well-preserved specimen from the above group may serve well as a family coastal cruiser, but we’d focus on the three finalists on the following pages: the Pearson 30, the Tartan 30, and the Catalina 30. All are fin keel, masthead sloops, but each has unique features that sets it apart and will appeal to certain buyers.

The Pearson 30 is the smallest of the three, but a good sailing boat that still competes in club races. It’s the lowest priced of the three. If you’re counting dollars, grab the best one you can find at your price.

The Tartan 30 has a stronger following than the Pearson, partly because of its S&S pedigree. It, too, sails very well. Engine placement poses some complications, but you can get used to it.

The Catalina 30 is the logical choice for the family battlewagon. It’s heavier, roomier, newer … and more expensive. With a displacement/length ratio of 291 and a sail area/displacement ratio of 15.1, however, don’t expect performance matching the Tartan 30 and Pearson 30.

Budget-friendly Pearson 30 reflects Bill Shaw’s growing influence.

The Pearson 30 was introduced in late 1971, and when the last boat went out the door in 1980, 1,185 units had been built. Most were sold in the early and mid 1970s. All were built in Portsmouth, R.I. The P30 was succeeded by the Pearson 303.

Bill Shaw joined Pearson Yachts in 1965, after Grumman bought the company from Everett and Clint Pearson, and during the following few years, he began to exert his influence on the design of the yachts. Fin keels and spade rudders replaced full keels with attached rudders, underbodies became shallower, and displacement less. In short, Shaw modernized the Pearson fleet, and the Pearson 30 is a good example of contemporary design at that time, in particular the swept-back keel and scimitar-shaped rudder. George Cuthbertson was drawing similar appendages at C&C, noting that test-tank data indicated super speed, but on the water, they proved not as efficient upwind as vertical keels and rudders with higher aspect ratios. Extra care must be taken in blocking the boat if not in a cradle.

Our July 15, 1984 review of the Pearson 30 added these comments: “The boat’s underwater shape is somewhat unusual. The hull is basically dinghy-shaped. The sections aft of the keel are deeply veed, however, so that deadrise in the forward and after sections of the boat is similar. Coupled with a fairly narrow beam by today’s standards, this provides a hull form that is easily balanced when the boat is heeled—an important consideration in this relatively tender 30-footer.”

Construction

The hull is a solid laminate with alternating plies of 1½-ounce mat and 18-ounce woven roving. The skin coat under the gelcoat is two layers of mat to prevent the pattern of woven roving from showing (print-through). The external flange of the hull-deck joint is secured with self-tapping screws and then fiberglassed. The deck is balsa-cored for stiffness.

Interestingly, the Pearson 30’s lead ballast is encapsulated in the fiberglass keel molding, which means there are no keel bolts to worry about. This is somewhat unusual for a fin-keel boat.

About the only problem particular to this boat is the rudderstock. Early boats had aluminum rudderstocks, some of which broke, prompting the company to replace the approximately 200 others with stainless steel. Even the stainless steel stocks were not without problems, turning as they do in Delrin bushings, which wear and cause slop in the steering system. They are owner replaceable, however, by removing the tiller fitting and dropping the rudder.

Molded fiberglass floor pans and headliners are bonded to the hull and deck. Through-hull valves may be gate valves (like garden faucets) or positive action seacocks; chainplates are properly through-bolted to structural bulkheads.

Pearson Yachts’ construction methods were above average.

Performance

Though not designed specifically as a racer, the Pearson 30 enjoyed many successes in IOR and Midget Offshore Racing Club (MORC) classes. In fact, it won the ¾-Ton North American championship in 1972. And it was a very popular club racer. It balances well and is quick through tacks. On the downside, it is tender. Our 1980 reviewer wrote, “In 15 knots apparent wind, we find that the boat is almost overpowered with the full main and 150 percent genoa. Gusts of 12-14 knots bury the rail, slowing the boat. The P30 does not, however, carry any substantial weather helm even when overpowered. Any tendency to round up or spin out can usually be controlled by a strong hand on the tiller and easing the mainsail.”

For family daysailing and cruising, smaller headsails are recommended.

Still actively raced in local fleets, a typical the Pearson 30 has a PHRF number of 174 seconds per mile.

Accommodations

The interior layout of the Pearson 30 is straightforward, with a V-berth forward, small enclosed head, settees in the main cabin, a quarter berth aft to port, and a compact galley in the starboard quarter area. The port settee converts to a double berth, so the plan totals six berths, which are more people than you’d want to spend much time with on a 30-footer.

The four portlights in the head and forward cabin are opening, which combined with the forward hatch provide decent ventilation. Unfortunately, the forward hatch isn’t big enough for emergency exit. There is no anchor well in the foredeck, a feature that became more common later in the ’70s.

There’s adequate stowage under, behind, and above the settees. The 1984 reviewer wrote: “Although the lockers are sealed to the bilge at the bottom, owners report that, with their boat heeled, bilge water finds its way into the lockers by running up the inside of the hull behind locker partitions, then down into storage spaces. Most dinghy-hulled boats lack real bilge space or a sump, and as little as a gallon of water in a boat of this type can be annoying.”

Other shortcomings are limited engine access (though not any worse than most boats of this size), and a galley sink and spigot that partially block the companionway. On the upside, the interior is light and airy. Headroom is 5’ 11″ in the main cabin.

As with any boat of this age, one should ask the surveyor to look closely for delamination of the core and deck skins, separation of the hull-deck joint, water in the rudder, corroded electrical wiring, corroded through-hulls, and hoses that need replacement.

On early Pearsons the cockpit scuppers were connected to the bottom of the hull by fiberglass tubes, rather than hoses and seacocks/through-hulls. Though probably safe and secure, this drain system does not satisfy American Boat & Yacht Council standards.

As noted earlier, there are just a few areas in which the Pearson 30 falls short of quality building standards, principally the rudder stock design in which bushings wear faster than usual.

Pearson Yachts once ran one of the best customer service departments in the business; alas, it’s been out of business for more than 20 years, and several of the more helpful owner association web sites seem to have disappeared.

The Pearson 30 is a fun boat to sail—quick and responsive. It has the lowest displacement/length ratio (238) and highest sail area/displacement ratio (17.3) of the three. If you like performance, the fact that it’s a little tender shouldn’t bother you much. Reef or just enjoy the ride. It’s not a big 30-footer, but nicely proportioned and of better- than-average construction. There are quite a few on the used boat market in the low and mid-teens, enabling bargain hunters to get into a full-size boat for not much money. Asking prices we saw online, for all years, average around $14,000, with lows around $8,000 and highs around $25,000.

Tartan 30 brings fine S&S cachet within reach of ordinary Joes.

Built by Tartan Marine in Grand River, Ohio, and at a plant in Hamlet, N.C., between 1971 and 1980, the Tartan 30 was one of the first designs introduced by Charlie Britton after buying out partner Ray McLeod. The company could complete a boat in less than 4 days. It filled in the gap between the Tartan 27 and Tartan 34. Production totaled 630 units.

The Tartan 30 (like the 27 and 34) was designed by Sparkman & Stephens, probably the world’s most prestigious yacht design firm at that time. The lines are clean and crisp. Like the Pearson 30, its LOA is 29’11,” so it could qualify for competition under the MORC, a rating rule under which it proved quite successful. The bow is raked, and the reverse transom gave it a very modern look for the early 1970s. It has a fin keel and skeg-mounted rudder; a Competition model offered a taller mast (by 3 feet), deeper keel (5’6″ vs. 4’11″ for the standard model), and 500 pounds more ballast. It’s beamier than the Pearson 30, and of about the same displacement, but with a slightly shorter waterline. The rig is fairly high-aspect ratio with large headsails.

A highly unusual feature is the location of the Atomic 4 auxiliary amidships, under the dinette table. This places the considerable weight of an engine exactly where you want it most, near the center of gravity, to minimize hobbyhorsing, which slows a boat and is uncomfortable. Access is better than the usual location aft behind the companionway. And that space is opened up in the T30. The disadvantage is it takes up space in the saloon, particularly seatspace and legroom at the table.

The lamination schedule is typical of this period: hand-laid mat and woven roving. Liners make for an easy-to-clean interior, but make customizing difficult; they also tend to sweat more than wood interiors, and are noisier.

Ballast is external lead hung on 1-inch stainless steel keel bolts. The rudder is partially supported by a bronze shoe secured to the skeg.

Interior and exterior wood is teak. The sole is covered with cork, a quality home flooring material of the 1950s and ’60s.

Of the rig, our Jan. 15, 1987 review noted: “The rig, like most of those specified by Sparkman & Stephens, was designed to be practically indestructible. Given its inherent strength, look primarily for the effects of corrosion at the spreaders and the butt. Many 30s have been fitted with babystays in lieu of forward lower shrouds. For typical cruising we think the babystay is a pain and probably unnecessary, so we’d make it detachable.” Some owners added babystays as a cure for mast pumping. The standard rig has just single lower shrouds.

Early T30s had bronze pipe (no flanges) for through-hulls as well as gate valves instead of seacocks. Diligent owners will have replaced both by now, but it’s worth checking.

Blistering of all boats was not as common as later in the ’70s and into the ’80s, but there were isolated cases for which one should be on guard.

Tartan’s quality of construction, in the early ’70s, was at least as good as Pearson’s, in some respects better, in others not. It was certainly better built than the Catalina.

The Tartan 30 is a wholesome design with few bad habits. Our 1987 review said, “The Tartan 30 sails well. In a breeze to windward—perhaps the best test of any boat—she is at her best: comfortable, stable, reasonably handy, and modestly dry. Off the wind, she is more steerable than a host of successors with free-standing spade rudders and dagger-thin keels. Only on a broad reach with biggish following seas can her weather helm be tough to handle. Under such conditions, good sail control hardware—vang, traveler, reefing, adjustable backstay, etc.—is important.”

The skeg helps provide good directional stability or tracking, and the narrow sheeting angles (due to inboard genoa tracks) contribute to narrow tacking angles. The largest T30 PHRF fleet in the U.S., on Lake Erie (20 boats), races with a handicap of 168, though most of the other fleets, including the 18-boat fleet on the Chesapeake Bay, rate higher, around 177. So it and the Pearson 30 are very similar in boat speed, though the Pearson has the edge in light air, where the Tartan’s shorter waterline is a disadvantage.

Two interior plans were offered, one with an aft galley, the other with a midship galley, the latter with two quarterberths, the former with a single quarterberth to port and a settee amidships to starboard, where the galley is in the midship model. With either, there are simply too many berths. The aft galley seems preferable mainly because of the two opposing settees in the saloon.

One reason why five berths in a 30-footer is at least one too many is that berth length is diminished; this is particularly evident in the V-berth. Another reason is that quarterberths subtract from available stowage space; instead of stowing sails in cockpit seat lockers, on this boat they end up in a quarterberth.

The midship galley is, of course, more spacious than the aft galley, but neither has a stove/oven combo. Owners note that when the boat is heeled, the sink can fill and slosh water onto the sole.

The cockpit is of average size and would be more comfortable if the wood coamings weren’t so low.

Beyond the usual issues afflicting old boats, like bedding failing on deck hardware, the Tartan 30 has few peculiarities of construction. A number of owners have installed tie rods between the lower portion of the mast in the cabin, and the underside of the deck, to prevent deflection when the rig is heavily tensioned. Check tabbing of the main bulkhead. Also check the starboard chainplate and its attachment to the bulkhead, which reportedly isn’t as stiff as the port side bulkhead; water migration down a chainplate and into a wood bulkhead is a serious problem. Other issues noted online include inadequate insulation of the ice box, and an engine exhaust system prone to back-siphoning.

Tartans enjoy very active owners groups, especially in the Chesapeake Bay area. T30 owners’ websites have much useful information on troubleshooting and upgrading.

The Tartan 30 is probably the classiest boat of the three finalists. Part of the reason is that Sparkman & Stephens is one of the world’s great yacht design firms, and the work they did for Tartan was very good, with handsome, classic lines. And Tartan construction was above average. Online asking prices start at just under $10,000 and run up to around $23,000, with an average of about $17,000.

The family-friendly Catalina 30 comes with the largest fan club.

More than 6,500 Catalina 30s have been built since the boat was introduced in 1974, which must be some kind of record. Its design was continually upgraded over the years, but the first model, the Mark I, was in production through the same period as the Pearson 30 and Tartan 30. The Mark II came along in 1986. Owner Frank Butler has built more than 70,000 boats since he founded the company in 1970, so he must be doing something right. In 2001, the Catalina 30 was inducted into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame.

Butler drew most of the early designs himself, though he has no formal training in naval architecture or yacht design. He was a machinist by trade, and smart. His first design was the Coronado 25, which he’d asked Sparkman & Stephens to design, but they told him it would take two years and they’d first have to check his finances. So he designed the boat himself, with a fiberglass pan interior, which he believes was an industry first (Henri Amel was doing something similar in France.)

The Catalina is three years newer than the Pearson 30 and Tartan 30, and was not intended as a racer, which explains its wider beam and heavier displacement. Like most Catalinas, the 30 is a family boat, best suited to coastal cruising.

Here’s what we said about the design in our Nov. 15, 1980 review: “The boat has a swept-back, fairly high-aspect-ratio keel of the type made popular by IOR racing boats in the early 1970s. The high aspect ratio spade rudder is faired into the underbody with a small skeg. The boat is conventionally modern in appearance. She is moderately high-sided, with a fairly straight sheer and short ends. The cabin trunk tapers slightly in profile, and is slightly sheered to complement the sheer of the hull. When coupled with the tapered cabin windows—a Catalina trademark—this yields a reasonably attractive appearance compared to many modern boats.”

Of course, what was modern in 1980 and what is modern today are two different things. For one, waterline lengths have increased in relation to length overall, which means shorter overhangs, which means bows that are more plumb.

The hull of the Catalina 30 is solid fiberglass; there is no balsa, no foam, which makes for a heavier boat, but also one that isn’t susceptible to potential delamination. The hull-deck joint is a shoebox, in which the wider deck, with downward-facing flanges, fits over the hull. It is then bonded and fastened with self-tapping screws. A wood sheerstrake glassed to the hull adds strength. The joint is then covered with a vinyl rubrail secured in an aluminum extrusion.

Shoal and deep keels were offered, both external lead through-bolted to the hull.

The masthead rig has upper and double-lower shrouds and is deck- stepped. A wood compression post transfers rigging loads to the keel. A tall rig, for light-air regions, was an option. Check wood spreaders for rot. Early boats had fixed portlights, but these can be upgraded to opening.

Stanchions, double lifelines and double stern and bow pulpits were standard. Stanchions are though-bolted, but backed only by washers, not backing plates of fiberglass or aluminum, which do a better job of transferring loads and preventing cracking of the gelcoat, and possibly the deck laminate, in way of the stanchion bases.

Like Tartan, early models had through-hulls made up of bronze pipe. Gate valves were standard and must be replaced with bronze positive-action seacocks.

The Catalina 30’s generous beam (for its day anyway) gives it good initial or form stability. And coupled with a conservative sail plan, the boat is stiff, much more so than the Pearson 30. The downside of such beamy hull forms is the tendency to develop weather helm when heeled; so it, like many other modern boats, is best when sailed relatively level.

The smallish sailplan also means that performance in light air is not particularly sparkling. Our 1980 review said, “To get good performance in light air the boat will either have to be ordered with the taller rig, or very large headsails must be carried. If headsails larger than a 150% genoa are carried with the normal rig, turning blocks will have to be added aft in order to get a proper lead to the headsail sheet winches.”

The biggest Catalina 30 PHRF fleets, both in California, rate 180 and 192 respectively; the Pearson 30 is 174 and the Tartan 30 177.

A gasoline Atomic 4 engine was standard; a small, underpowered diesel was optional. Look for a boat that’s been repowered with a newer engine like the Yanmar 3GM30F.

Interior “furniture,” such as berths and galley, are formed by an interior fiberglass pan or module dropped into the hull prior to the deck going on. A fiberglass headliner covers the underside of the deck. These make for an easily cleaned interior, and one that looka nicely finished (albeit like a refrigerator). Such liners do, however, restrict access to parts of the hull and deck, make customizing difficult, and are not as good thermal and acoustic insulators as wood. The bulkheads are teak-faced plywood.

Again, owing to its beam, the Catalina 30’s interior is more spacious than the Tartan 30’s or Pearson 30’s. The V-berth is comfortable, followed aft by the head and hanging lockers; a shower was optional. The engine is located very near the center of the boat, under the short leg of the L-shaped portside settee. Access is very good. There’s a U-shaped galley with alcohol stove/oven to port, and a quarterberth and chart table to starboard. But if you thought the Tartan 30 has too many berths, check this: The Catalina 30 supposedly sleeps seven! Two in the V-berth, two in the convertible portside dinette, one on the starboard settee, and two squished into the “double” quarter-berth.

The interior is spacious and wellplanned, but finish quality is only average.

The Catalina 30 is a pretty straightforward boat in terms of both design and construction. No big surprises.

Several potential issues mentioned recently on owner forums: corroded wiring harness between engine and control panel, poor rudder design (corrected with new design in December 1978), wear of rudderstock tube, chainplate attachment to bulkheads, gate valves on pipe through-hulls, and hollows in the lead keel.

A positive with any Catalina is that the company is still in business and able to offer customer support.

Catalina Yachts has been one of the country’s most successful builders because it offers a lot of boat for the money. If construction quality is only average, one must ask, “Do I need more?” Generally, what’s lacking is not structural integrity, but details, like more drawers with dovetail joints and hardwood sides. There’s lots of room in the Catalina 30, and there are hundreds on the used boat market, so you can find a deal. Because the Catalina is a somewhat newer boat than the Pearson 30 and Tartan 30, its prices run higher. Though fixer-uppers can be found, most run between $16,000 and $29,000, with an average of about $22,000.

An examination of 30-footers from the 1970s seems like a good place to begin our comparison of used boats, and the reasons are several: First, though boats 30-plus years old admittedly are getting a little long in the tooth, many are still around, and those well kept may represent great buys on the used-boat market—between $10,000 and $20,000. Second, the 30-foot size is where full cruising accommodations begin, with stand-up headroom, enclosed head, berths for four or five, inboard auxiliary engine, and a decent galley with ice box, sink, and stove-oven possible. Sure, you can find these features in some 27- and 28-footers, but the squeeze is telling.

• 30-Footers From The 1970s
• Pearson Web Resources
• Tartan Web Resources
• Catalina 30
• Catalina Web Resources

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I am looking at a Cooper Seabird 37 mast head sloop, can you point me to any credable reviews on this particular vessel. Any help would be appreciated thank you.

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The Graphics Fairy

Vintage Images, DIY Tutorials & Craft Projects

12 Old Sailboat Pictures!

Written by Karen Watson

12 Old Sailboat Pictures

Today we have a splendid collection of Old Sailboat Pictures! If you are like me, looking at these images makes you want to get out on the water! Featured below are a series of delightful Sailboat images illustrated in pretty colors. Included is a nice silhouette along with black and white and sepia-toned prints. All are nice Sailboat Cliparts to use in your Nautical Craft or Collage Projects. They would also be nice to use for a Father’s Day Card or Birthday Card for someone who loves Sailing.

Vintage Sailboat Clipart

Pictured above is a cute little card that was found on an Antiquing Trip! Shown are two pretty Birds in a Winter Scene that is set on the Sail of a Sailboat. How imaginative and unusual this one is! I love the soft blue tones in this one.

Old Sailboat Pictures with Seaweed

This is a lovely Vintage Sailboat with Kelp Image! Featured above is a pretty Nautical Scene of a Boat on the water. The boat scene is embellished with some sprigs of Seaweed and Kelp. I think the scene is so tranquil and serene. The still water and bucolic setting with dwellings in the distance is just splendid!

Old Sailboat Pictures with Flowers

Here is a splendid Antique Sailboat with Flowers Image!! This is a picture of a Sailboat filled with Flowers! There are three large, five petaled peach colored flowers in the center of the image. Sprays of purplish blue four-petaled flowers reach out in all directions from the brown wooden boat. White sails billow in the wind as the water ripples beneath the boat. Just gorgeous!

Retro Sailboat Graphics

Here is a super fun Retro Summer Image! Featured above is a black and white Graphic of two Sailboats sailing on the Sea. It is from a 1940’s Printer’s Book in my collection. It appears that the wind is blowing hard by the waves and swirl patterns in the sky. The boat must be moving along at a fast pace, almost as if it is in a race!

Featured here is a lovely Vintage Sailboat Silhouette Image! This black and white Silhouette shows a Sailboat on the Water with some Gulls flying around it. Scanned from a rare Circa 1941/1942 Printer’s Catalog, it is yet another fine graphic!

Antique Sailboat Illustrations

Pictured above is a Vintage Sail Boat and Man Image! This is a sailboat named Spray Boston on the water, with a man on the boat who appears to be the captain. The illustration is so perfectly drawn to detail that it almost appears to be a photograph!

This is a lovely Vintage Ornamental Scene Image! Shown above is a Nautical Scene of Sailboats on the Water. The scene is embellished with a beautiful Decorative Ornament and some pretty Dandelions! Such a sweet piece!

I hope you enjoyed this charming curated collection of Old Sailboat Pictures! You might also like our Ocean Themed Images HERE or our Ship Illustrations Collection HERE .

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Maxine D says

May 22, 2020 at 4:57 am

Wonderful selection of images – thank you Karen Stay safe Blessings Maxine

graphicsfairy says

May 22, 2020 at 4:44 pm

Thank you Maxine, stay safe and have a wonderful weekend 🙂

March 1, 2016 at 6:38 pm

Karen – So finally after 5 years, I’ve used the sailboat image. I made a set of awesome ‘male’ birthday cards today. The colors in the image were perfect with the paper I had picked out. Thanks so much for sharing all your beautiful images! Pat

Karen Watson says

March 2, 2016 at 6:09 pm

Woohoo!! That’s awesome Pat! I love that you found the perfect project to go with that image!

Betty Benton says

June 3, 2012 at 12:31 pm

I had to have this image because Patti P. made a terrific card with it! Thanks so much!

Patti P. says

January 23, 2012 at 7:59 pm

This is gorgeous…thanks so much. patti

March 2, 2011 at 10:11 pm

Célia Costa (Celly) says

March 2, 2011 at 12:03 am

Beautiful !!!! Thanks so much !

bes53913 says

March 1, 2011 at 6:26 pm

Love it! Anything nautical just calls to me. Thank you so much for sharing.

Auntie Em says

March 1, 2011 at 6:06 pm

I love this sailboat image. I can hardly wait to see the boats on the water again! Thank you for sharing! 🙂

marilynprestonn says

March 1, 2011 at 2:35 pm

Love sailboats! Thank you for sahreing this beautiful one with us.

March 1, 2011 at 10:35 am

LIKE ME !!!

I just LOVE Nautical Vintage !

You don´t seem to have any Lighthouses ?????

best regards Loppe Denmark

Anonymous says

March 1, 2011 at 9:56 am

Great boat image, thank you

Karen- The Graphics Fairy says

March 1, 2011 at 3:58 am

I’m glad you all liked this one!

Pat, I’m glad you were able to use those wings! I’ll cross my fingers that the tornados will stay away from you!

charles says

March 1, 2011 at 1:57 am

very cool post xoxo karen

March 1, 2011 at 1:22 am

This is a great image: a classic with a modern look.

Best regards,

GeorgiaBabydoll says

March 1, 2011 at 1:21 am

Karen, I really like the sailboat. Spring must be near. But then again, that means tornado season – YIKES! I’ll use this one soon. I used the angel wings and need to post my scrapbook page with that for you. 🙂 Hugs, Pat

Posted 2024-09-10 10:52

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1957 Old Town Whitecap Sailboat - $1,000

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1957 Old Town Whitecap Sailboat - boats - by owner - marine sale -...

1957 Old Town Whitecap Sailboat 13.5' $1,000 Sadly two other boat projects have come before this beautiful little sail boat. This is a lapstrake "whitecap" model built by the Old Town Canoe company...

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