Spirits and glasses were raised high as the Outremer team accepted the Multihull of the Year award for its Outremer 52 model at the British Yachting Awards in London at The Royal Thames Yacht Club. Elected exclusively by the general public, the 52-footer was one of five contenders in this year’s multihull category.

The competition was fierce, according to a BYA spokesperson, as all five contenders made strong cases for the top honor. However, it was the Outremer 52’s “undeniable allure” and “outstanding craftsmanship” that secured the most votes from the sailing community. 

“It’s an honor to receive this public acknowledgment of the hard work and innovation that has gone into our 52 design,” said Outremer Sales Director Matthieu Rougevin-Baville, upon receiving the award in London. “The popularity of the 52 has continued to grow our close-knit community of Outremer owners since its official launch in Cannes 2022.” 

The Outremer 52 combines the signature features of the legendary 51 (the model’s successor) with the fresh look and feel of the 55—which won the European Yacht of the Year award in 2022—such as the adjustable helm, the view forward through the saloon, and the helm seat designed for two people. This merging of design elements, in addition to the involvement of renowned names in the industry—such as the naval architects VPLP and the French designers Patrick Le Quément and Darnet Design—have contributed to a design that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional and well-engineered.

Drawing inspiration from its predecessors, the Outremer 52 design brief sought to preserve the qualities that first made the brand a household name among sailors, while introducing new elements to enhance the overall experience. One of the standout features of the Outremer 52 model is its seaworthiness. According to Outremer’s parent company Grand Large Yachting, the naval architects and designers worked tirelessly to create a vessel that can handle even the most challenging bluewater cruising conditions. 

Weight savings achieved by optimization of the 52’s structural build components allowed for an increase in the amount of glazing and openings aboard the boat, without undermining performance. The result was greater visibility for the crew underway. The layout of the interiors and exteriors above deck were also made more conducive to keeping a better lookout. For example, the bar area of the cockpit allows the crew to eat meals while on watch. Night watches can be kept from the bench in the salon, which faces forward.

The Outremer team will present the Outremer 52 at the 2024 Miami International Boat Show in February. Adjacent to the boat show, on February 17, Grand Large Yachting will host a comprehensive day-long seminar featuring industry experts, trainers and seasoned sailors. This event will cover a wide range of topics, from cruising routes and understanding weather patterns, to ensuring safety both on board and at sea.

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Aboard our 31-foot Hunter, Ragtime, our dinghy was the unsung hero of our cruising escapades. It was always the first thing we deployed upon arrival to a destination, and it was the last thing we packed away before we departed. It was our family Ford, our Honda for the harbor, our Miata of the marina (I’ll see myself out…). 

To the untrained eye, a dinghy might appear to be no more than a floating dock cart to tote provisions, pets and people. But as cruisers well know, it’s so much more. 

A dinghy is an all-access pass to exploring new coves and reaching short-water fishing spots. It’s a recon vessel for scouting surrounding depth, seafloor terrain and on-shore amenities. And, of course, it’s an escape pod should all hell break loose. A dinghy also provides endless amounts of fun, and even some boathandling education, for the kiddos. 

Ragtime’s dinghy was a 9-foot-6-inch Achilles with a 4 hp Mercury outboard. For 13-year-old me, it allowed a real taste of freedom. We named it Cascade (after Scott Joplin’s jubilant rag “The Cascades”). I can still feel the elation of hopping in the dink after dropping the hook in a new port of call and then roaming around the harbor, checking out neighboring boats, scouring the shallows for marine life. When there were no other boats around and the no-wake zones approved of it, I’d tear off on plane in a puff of sea spray to an imagined finish line across the bay. 

Our Cascade was state-of-the-art back in the ’90s, but it’s a dinosaur compared with offerings from the modern-day dinghy domain. Today, hybrid designs rule, combining the benefits of inflatable and rigid-­hull boats. Lighter-weight materials have enhanced ­portability and improved fuel efficiency. Some manufacturers offer sail-­conversion kits for multipurpose use. (Really, who doesn’t miss dinghy sailing?) Inflation systems have been enhanced; ­modular ­options for seating and stowage are often available; and electric propulsion has staked a serious claim in the power ­department.

 When the time comes to ­replace your dinghy or buy your first one, these four standouts in the market are fit to serve any mothership between 25 and 45 feet.   

Lammina AL 9.5

If strength and durability are atop your checklist, then the AB Lammina AL 9.5 is worth a look. AB’s line of marine-­grade aluminum-­hull ­inflatables comes with AWS certification, Orca 820 Hypalon fabric, and marine-grade aluminum and Axalta powder coating. The Superlight models, available at lengths of 9.5 feet and smaller, have a 0.09-inch-thick aluminum hull and are intended for boats with lighter-capacity davits. The hulls can resist abrasions from rocky shores, coral and sandy beaches, and the design cuts through wakes and chop with minimal pounding, resulting in a dry, stable ride. Check out the well-conceived bow locker and its capacity for a 6-gallon portable fuel tank.

Cadet Series

Compact and easy to stow in a cockpit locker, Zodiac’s Cadet series tenders hold their own against larger models. The progressive-diameter buoyancy tube design provides marked stability. Cadets have a longer life span and a high safety level because of a welded float closure and a glued overlap. Owners can choose among several versions. The Aero line, with an inflatable-air sole, is the lightest. The high-performance Aluminum line, with an aluminum sole, has an inflatable keel for quick planing and improved maneuverability. Fitting the slatted sole in the Roll Up line involves inflating buoyancy tubes. Stowage is a cinch; this tender folds up into a carrying bag, with no need to remove the slats.

Classic (CL) 310

In 10 years of manufacturing tenders, the 310 has carved out its niche as Highfield’s bestselling tender size—ideal for as many as five people and up to a 20 hp engine. The standard bow on the CL 310 can stow a 6.5-gallon fuel tank or other equipment. Construction includes 2.5 mm thick, powder-coated marine-­grade aluminum, coupled with tubes made of 1100-dtex coated fabric and a full-length keel guard. The optional FCT helm console forward gives the line a pickup-truck quality for long-range cruisers looking to haul gear and groceries. Total weight with the console and a 20 hp motor is about 400 pounds wet, which makes the 310 a solid, stable ride and puts it on a lot of davits. Highfield also makes an Ultralite line for cruisers who need a lighter platform that’s simpler to manage on deck.

Portland Pudgy

If lifesaving situations are high on your mind, then consider the Portland Pudgy. With or without the inflatable lifeboat canopy, the Pudgy is a dynamic lifeboat. It can’t deflate, and it can be sailed, rowed, or motored to safety. The Pudgy is constructed with rotation-molded, high-density compounded polyethylene (the same material used for top-quality whitewater kayaks). It’s stable, difficult to capsize, and easy to right. Closed-cell foam under the sole makes it “unsinkable,” according to the manufacturer. As for recreational use, the Pudgy is a fun family tender, a safe and sea-friendly sailing dinghy, and a great all-around rowboat/motorboat. Under sail, it can take surprisingly rough seas and heavy winds. Choose between a gaff or square-top Marconi sail. Every piece of equipment designed for the Pudgy can be stowed in the interior stowage chambers via five hatches. The Pudgy is US Coast Guard-approved as a dinghy for four people with a 2 hp or 3 hp motor.

The post Standout Dinghies to Bring Along on the Adventure appeared first on Cruising World.

Eibbor and Knarf’s parents were kidnapped by Frost Giants. The boys desperately needed help. Scooter Squirrel raced to Winston Woodchuck, who dived into his burrow, frantically digging until he reached the tunnels of the Dwarves. They summoned Frey, who came with his longship, Skidbladnir, and took the boys to Asgard to plead their case to Odin. Skidbladnir was enchanted so that, among other magical traits, it always had fair winds and got where it needed to go. 

Such were the bedtime stories Dad told my brother, Frank, and me more than 60 years ago in the wild hills of West Bolton, Vermont, overlooking Lake Champlain. Despite the US Navy being born on Lake Champlain and the famous Capt. Phillips living a few miles from our house, Vermont is the only landlocked state in New England, so it might not seem an apt setting for nautical lore and traditions. However, a few years after my grandfather returned from World War II, he and my then-preteen ­father built a 16-foot Moth and ignited an obsession in Dad for sailboats. He found plans for a 26-foot ketch that became his lifelong white whale. I grew up with those plans and, under Dad’s tutelage, learned almost every rig that had sailed for the past thousand years by copying illustrations in The Book of Old Ships by Henry B. Culver and Gordon Grant.

 My initial 20 or so were canoes. I bought my first canoe with my paper-route money at age 11 and got a Gunter-rig sailing kit. That Grumman canoe still hangs in the barn in the winter, but in 55 years, it has never had a name. My first experience with naming a boat was as a teenager, when a 16-foot Rocket-class sloop that had been in a chicken coop for 25 years was donated to our Explorer post. We restored her and sailed the chickens—I mean the dickens—out of her on Lake Champlain. Our best adolescent workmanship notwithstanding, her seams could work the caulking in a chop, and we named her Kon Liki. It was 39 years before I named a second boat.

On the cusp of October 2009, another artist, Cole Johnson, and I stood at the lip of the 1,200-foot canyon of Canada’s Kogaluk River (“Little River” in Inuktitut) with our canoe in the howling wilderness of the Labrador Barrenlands. A river we’d been on nine days earlier had wandered into a boulder garden and had not come out, so we struck out overland, north to the Kogaluk, hoping that it would have water. As we stood, buffeted by the gale winds of the Barrens, it was a profound relief and joy to look down to the sparkling river far below. At that moment, a feeling welled up to name our silent companion, the stalwart canoe that would, days later, on the Labrador Sea, save our lives. The name came to me instantly, Bonnie, my then girlfriend, now wife (it was also, by chance, Cole’s mother’s name), steadfast and true no matter the challenge. That was one of only two canoes I have ever named. 

After COVID struck and closed Canada, I was stuck in Vermont, so I hiked the 273-mile Long Trail end to end as a painting trip. The paintings from the hike sold out so, in 2021, I decided to do the same thing on Lake Champlain. But I needed a bigger boat. I found a wooden, double-ended, 20-foot pocket cruiser (appropriately for my transition back to sail, a “canoe yawl”) at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. It was essentially a nice trailer with a free boat on it. Bonnie and I spent two months restoring that boat. I’d planned to spend at least six weeks aboard, so the boat needed a name. We bandied several about as we sanded the boat to bare wood, sealed the hull, and built accommodations in the cabin. Years ago, I had toured on the national art show circuit in a 15-passenger Dodge van dubbed the Artful Dodger. This boat was cute and a bit plump, but well-rounded with lovely lines. As a sleek creature of the water and my nascent floating studio, it almost named itself the Artful Otter.

The voyage of the Artful Otter was a wonderful experience during which I named my second canoe, a tubby 11-foot bright-green cutie that Bonnie had owned since childhood. That was the canoe that helped bring us together (another story), and I used it as Artful Otter’s tender. With the tiny green boat trailing lightly behind on the waves, its name became obvious: Leaflet.

The voyage raised funds for charities and made the artists some money. Expanding from the idea of the Long Trail trip, I involved other artists who all wanted to continue the project, so we needed a yet bigger boat. I cruised the yacht websites looking for an affordable, artistic vessel. That turned out to be a tall order. Brother Frank, now a retired US Coast Guard captain, steered me away from a couple of old wooden beauties that appealed to the artist in me but would have probably sunk—my plans, anyway. 

Then, I found it: a wooden, 1962 Aries 32 ketch in Chester, Nova Scotia. A double-ender like Artful Otter, this boat underwent a marine survey that impressed even sea dog Frank. And I could afford it by selling Artful Otter. That was a ­painful thought. Nonetheless, I brought the printout of the listing down to dinner, the one meal that Dad, Bonnie and I share every day.

Dad is an old-time Vermonter with Yankee frugality deeply ingrained, so I never saw his reaction coming. He had gotten his teenage ketch plans out while Bonnie and I restored Artful Otter, but presumably the enormity of the project hit, and he had not proceeded beyond that. Looking at the ­photos of this ketch at dinner, though, he set his jaw and quietly said, “That’s my boat.”

“Huh?” I started to explain the plan when he cut me off. 

“Don’t sell the Otter. I’ll buy this boat,” he said. 

And that was that. I suspect that, at age 90, he was realizing that lifelong dreams needed to come to reality ASAP, and he would not discuss it. 

Chester, Nova Scotia, is at least a 1,200-mile sail back to Vermont. After dinner, Bonnie upped the ante with the idea of Frank and me taking Dad on a bucket-list trip of a lifetime by sailing home with him in the ketch. He will be 91 when we get underway in July, but his mind is sound, and he is healthy and strong. Frank jumped aboard immediately, and I’ve never seen Dad so enthused.

Rub-a-dub-dub, three old men in a…well, the boat needed a name. Yet apart from a brief inspection in a heavy snowstorm, I had no physical connection with the boat. My names for other boats had been bestowed organically, but this time, it seemed, we might need to dream up one out of thin air. 

Artful Otter II, the working name during the search, was jettisoned ­instantly, closely followed by my overlong fixation with plays on art and ­ketches such as Sketchy Otter, Art S’Ketch, ­Sketch-A-Ketch, CanUS’Ketch (Bonnie is Canadian) and other such ideas. Sea dog Frank thought my Bonnie Pearl was a wonderfully nautical play on Captain Jack Sparrow’s Black Pearl and Bonnie. Dad was politely nonplussed. 

Then, it hit me. The three of us setting off on an adventure: Eibbor and Knarf stories, Scooter Squirrel, the Dwarves, the Norse gods, and a magic longship, like a double-ender ketch. 

As is true of many Germanic-language names, it is not pretty to an American (or Canadian) ear, but it resonates with the three of us 60 years later: Skidbladnir.

Hailing from Lake Champlain, wildlife artist, naturalist, and outdoorsman Rob Mullen operates out of his floating studio, the canoe-yawl Artful Otter. Lately, his sailing and painting grounds have grown to include the 1962 wooden Aries 32 ketch Skidbladnir.

The post To Name a Boat: The Art and History of My Many Vessels appeared first on Cruising World.

When Groupe Beneteau’s Excess Catamarans introduced its first model in 2019, a test sail in winds approaching 40 knots made it abundantly clear that the 38-foot-7-inch Excess 12 wasn’t just another pretty new face in the ever-growing cat crowd. That boat could sail.

A recent light-air outing aboard the company’s newest model, the Excess 14, was perhaps equally revealing. With a hull length right around 44 feet and a beam of 25 feet, 9 inches, this is a big, roomy and comfortable cruising cat. But in just 5 knots of breeze, sailing with the main and working jib set, the chart plotter’s speed over ground read 4.1 knots heading upwind with the sails sheeted hard. A little later, with the jib rolled up and the code zero unfurled and set on a sprit that brings the boat’s LOA to 52 feet, 5 inches, our boatspeed was 5.7 knots on a reach in wind gusting to maybe 6. 

Those were conditions that would have left a lot of similar-size multihulls parked, but the Excess 14 felt relatively lively underway and “tacked quickly,” I wrote in my notes. I also noted that line handling was easy, thanks to sheet winches within reach of the helms and an electric Harken FlatWinder winch that handles a traveler mounted outboard of a comfortable bench seat that spans most of the transom.

For the record, I’m a fan of the Excess brand DNA that calls for outdoor helm stations located far aft on either stern. Sitting at them underway, you can see and hear the water rush by and feel the breeze in your face. You know, like when you’re sailing. You can converse with people seated in the cockpit, and you have easy access to the salon should you care to set the autopilot and keep watch out of the elements, through windows that provide nearly 360 degrees of visibility.

Open to fresh ideas, the team at Excess started with a blank slate when they conceived the 14, and they gave naval architects at VPLP Design some liberty in terms of hull design in their quest for better performance. VPLP, drawing from their experience with a long line of racing machines, then tested and ultimately opted for asymmetrical hulls—think of a monohull sliced lengthwise down the middle and then separated—that tend to reduce the size of the waves produced between the hulls, thereby reducing drag that slows down the boat.

The design team also toyed with replacing the stub keels affixed to most cruising cats, including earlier Excess models, with the sort of lifting daggerboards found on high-performance cats. They dropped that idea, however, because daggerboards add complexity when sailing and take away from living space below. Instead, the 14 has more-efficient, deeper and thinner fixed foils that increase draft to 4 feet, 10 inches—a few inches deeper than what you would expect to find on cats of a similar size.

There are also interesting ­innovations found in the 14’s interior, where saving weight has a direct relationship to livelier sailing. Relatively lighter carbon-fiber cloth is employed in some structural areas for strength, and some bulkheads are infused using foam coring. And there’s less wood used in furniture, drawers and stowage areas. Overhead, the cabin top is injected-molded, eliminating the need for a liner. And in hulls with two staterooms and two head compartments located amidships, the toilets share a single holding tank to reduce plumbing, while the staterooms share one larger Webasto air-conditioning unit, saving the weight and wiring required for two. 

Excess is also involved with Groupe Beneteau’s overall efforts to adopt more-sustainable building practices. Laminates used for the performance mainsail and genoa are recycled material, and hemp fibers are used in place of fiberglass and injected with partly bio-sourced resin in some nonstructural parts such as locker lids. Even furniture knobs have been replaced by neat little loops of rope.

Buyers have a few decisions to make when ordering an Excess 14. There is a four-­stateroom version that would be well-suited for charter, and there are a couple of three-stateroom options. In one, the owner gets a large fore-and-aft bunk aft, a sitting area with a desk at the foot of the companionway, a head and shower forward, and a walk-in closet in place of a V-berth. A second plan, called the Transformer Version, has bunks far forward that can be folded down for sleeping or up for stowage. (One company photo shows a paddleboard stashed away there.) That’s the layout we saw in Miami and the one I’d choose if it were my boat. In all the layouts, the salon gets lots of sunlight and has a pleasant, airy feeling with the sliding door and window open aft. There’s an abundance of fridge and freezer space adjacent to the galley to port. Dining tables are indoors, at the front of the salon, and in the cockpit. 

The Miami boat included a pair of optional 57 hp Yanmar diesels with saildrives (45 hp engines come standard) that pushed us along at 7.8 knots in cruising speed and 8.4 knots in get-home-quick mode. Gear included an electric winch at the starboard helm to make raising the main easier, as well as engine controls at either wheel to make docking simpler. Davits are available, as are canvas Biminis over the wheels for shade.

The boat also had an optional seating area on the flybridge. It reminded me a bit of a stretch version of the footwell that you’d find on a Sunfish. I’m not sure if it’s an option I’d choose, and with the boom set relatively low on the mast, it wouldn’t be a place to lounge underway. Some might like to sit up there while at anchor to enjoy the view though.

The sail-away price for the boat we visited is right around $980,000, but that’s loaded with gear, including an Onan generator and a Pulse rig and sail package that includes a 70-foot-8-inch mast instead of the standard 64-foot-11-inch spar. The upwind Pulse rig sail area of 1,453 square feet will be appreciated by those who sail in variable conditions and like to go fast; in the trades, the standard 1,323 square feet might suffice, and the shorter rig would let you just squeeze under most Intracoastal Waterway bridges.

Me? I was happy to have the added horsepower provided by the bigger square-top main. Sailing a big cat in 5 knots of breeze isn’t always fun, but aboard the Excess 14, we had a jolly old time.

Excess 14 Specifications

Sea Trial

The post Sailboat Review: Light and Lively Excess 14 appeared first on Cruising World.

Few boats would merit a glance from a savvy, experienced skipper looking to consolidate the best qualities of his performance cruiser and his motoryacht into just one boat.

Someone might even ask: “Are you kidding me? Can you do that?”

Enter the Oyster 495.

As the smallest yacht the company has developed from concept since 2005, the 495 is rigorously detailed. It is true to the heritage of a builder where a 50-footer has become the entry-level model. 

For this latest raised-salon offering, Oyster created a new facility in Hythe, on the Southampton shores of southern England. The aim is to build 12 boats a year, and sales to date suggest that this figure is not overly ambitious. 

I encountered Genevieve, the well-traveled Hull No. 1, in Southern California, where the boat had been delivered to the owner in Santa Barbara after being shown extensively in Europe. She was purchased to replace a performance cruiser and a powerboat. 

First impressions count, and the 495 makes a great one. If you’re switching over from a different brand, forget about bringing along your plates and glassware. All of that is provided, with subtle logos and fitted stowage. Mood lighting is available at the touch of a button. The TV raises and disappears with another button. In the guest stateroom forward, hatches overhead open in opposite directions. The queen berth in the owner’s stateroom could be a boat-show sales tool, but the cabin top is equipped for the lee cloths you will need when the boat is doing what it is meant to do: go places. 

To that end, an aluminum mast with electric furling is standard, but Genevieve is equipped with a Seldén carbon rig with in-mast electric furling and a hydraulics package including a mainsheet, vang, outhaul, backstay, and ­in-boom ram. In operation, it was whisper-quiet. 

The twin wheels offer clear sightlines from secure footing, along with command posts that have buttons to deploy and furl sails, and to adjust everything adjustable without straining a finger or risking a hangnail. Lewmar EVO primaries are handy, just outboard of the helm stations. Optional dual thrusters make everyone a hero going and coming to the dock, and smaller items such as pre-rigged preventers speak to that shadowy concierge who seems to have been everywhere. 

With four of us aboard, the cockpit was more than ­generous. I imagined many sociable scenes to come as the sails came out. The Yanmar saildrive was so quiet, it had to go off for me to even notice it had been on. Put that down to sandwich insulation glued, not screwed. 

The breeze was single digits, not enough to make the boat light up under a 105 percent jib, and we were dragging a wide transom and two rudders. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable sailing. I also appreciated seeing the cabin house square to the seating, to make a comfortable backrest looking aft, stretched out on passage. Rounding the forward backing the way some manufacturers do may work when you’re not going anywhere, but what is a boat for? 

The cockpit is laid out to walk on a single level back to a full-beam lazarette, which has ample stowage and access to the steering, backstay, exhaust and seacocks. Step back farther, and you are stepping down a reverse transom to a shower and an electronically operated swim platform. When the boat is stern-tied, that will be the boarding ladder. 

Belowdecks is bright, with close attention to ­ventilation. The opening coachroof windows in the salon will delight passengers in a tropical anchorage with the breeze wafting through. Batteries and tankage are centered under the salon sole, focusing the weight where it belongs. A U-shaped galley, two steps down to port, places most of the cook’s needs at hand in a space where it will be easy to brace underway, and the cook is not isolated from crew and guests. The twin sinks are on centerline for efficient drainage. 

The saloon table lowers to bed height for those who are overblessed with kids or grandkids, and the step-down nav station is separated but not isolated. A swing-out computer screen is here, along with CZone control and monitoring instead of fuse panels. A freezer is abaft the nav station, where it won’t see a lot of traffic unless it’s stocked with ice cream for those kids. 

Opposite the nav station, twin doors open wide to an engine compartment thoughtfully laid out to be serviced without provoking naughty words. Clear labeling matters, and I liked seeing the Panda generator within a sound-­insulated compartment.  

All the way aft, the owner’s stateroom has 6 feet, 4 inches of headroom, a sofa, cedar-lined lockers, escape hatches, and Oyster’s signature vertical portlights for a special view of the world. Forward of the salon is a cozy over/under double that shares a head and shower with the bright and airy forward stateroom. Nowhere above or belowdecks does the level of fit-and-finish fall short. 

Oyster describes the hull as an “overspecified laminate resin structure with a combination of stringers and frames for extreme strength and durability.” I believe it. Genevieve had the L-shaped standard keel and a draft of 7 feet, 5 inches. A shoal-draft keel is an option. 

Lunch waited ashore, ­creating an opportunity to ­observe how magically the sails disappeared and how comfortably the boat motored at 9-plus knots. It’s replacing a powerboat, remember. There was also a moment to ­demonstrate that, under power, the Oyster 495 will spin in its own length. That gave me a grin too.

Oyster 495 Specifications

The post Sailboat Review: Oyster 495 Combines Performance and Power In Under 50 Feet appeared first on Cruising World.

It was an unsettled early evening in the picturesque Rhode Island seaside town of Little Compton, and the question wasn’t if the skies would soon open to torrential downpours, but when. Happily, at least at the outset, the rain held off long enough for the growing crowd to have a good look at the focal point of the gathering, the belle of this cheerful little celebratory ball, sitting in the driveway just steps away from the big barn from which she’d finally emerged. Jud Chase’s home-built cruising boat was immaculate. The attention to detail was stunning. The compact 30-footer, At Last, was nothing short of a work of nautical art.

The technical details of At Last’s construction make for a cool, compelling story. But the boat itself is only a small slice of a grander yarn. In fact, the creation of At Last is a tale of family, perseverance and collaboration. It’s also about friendship. Oh, and the rather inescapable fact that it took the better part of 40 years to build. At Last, indeed. 

It all began in the mid-1960s, when Chase and the boat’s designer, naval architect Danny Greene, were classmates and best buds at Durfee High School in nearby Fall River, Massachusetts. (Danny and I later became pals and colleagues on the editorial staff of this magazine in its early years.) After graduation, they lost track of each other for a spell—while Chase refurbished a catboat, Greene earned his design and engineering degree from Webb Institute—and then reconnected in the early 1980s quite by chance. Or was it kismet?

“I told him I was thinking about building a boat, and he said, ‘Oh, I could design something that would be just what you want,’” Chase recalled. “I was looking for something comfortable, safe, lively, and responsive that I could cruise on Narragansett Bay and the cape and islands.” 

With that, the pair began noodling over the lines for a design Greene would ultimately dub “Cloud Nine”: a nod to both the boat’s 9-foot beam and roughly 9-meter (about 30-foot) length overall. 

Fortuitously, and not coincidentally, Chase had begun working for cutting-edge boatbuilder Eric Goetz, which was basically a master class in laminating strong, fast, light hulls. “I had access to some of the best people in the industry building high-end boats,” he said. “The engineers and naval architects who helped me were huge in the project.”

At Last benefited greatly from the shared knowledge and input. Displacing 7,500 pounds with a 5-foot draft, the hull is strip-planked South American cedar—a half-inch-­­thick by seven-eighths wide—scarfed together the length of the boat and topped by two layers of red Meranti veneer, with additional layers of fiberglass inside and out (the interior glasswork and tabbed bulkheads were vacuum-bagged). 

Chase’s son, Peter, an infant when work began, grew up to be a talented metalworker who fabricated the 315 stainless-steel pulpit (“No rust spots on this boat”), and bronze forestay fitting and rudder gudgeons. For the rig, Chase found, refurbished and stepped an old J/30 spar on a tabernacle. The engine is a 10 hp Yamaha outboard with a long shaft mounted in a cockpit well. The lead keel came off one of Goetz’s personal boats that Chase cut to shape with a chainsaw. It seems that every part of the boat has its own story.

Which, of course, leads to the name itself. Over the decades, the project proceeded in fits and starts, with the usual constraints of time and money. But when it was finally time to launch, Chase didn’t have a name. A family friend, cresting her 100th birthday, asked about it and came up with the answer. For perhaps obvious reasons, At Last is pretty fitting, but the real inspiration was an old tune of the same title by the great Etta James (the lettering on the hull is in the same font as that on her original release of the song).

“I found a dream that I could speak to,” she sang, “a dream I can call my own.” Now, At Last has transitioned from Chase’s dream to reality. It’s time to go sailing. 

The post Off Watch: 40 Years In the Making, the 30-foot Design Is a Nautical Work of Art appeared first on Cruising World.

For me, for many reasons, certain boats and brands are synonymous with the waters or regions where they were created. The places are an essential component of the boats’ DNA. I’ll always associate a varnished mahogany runabout with upstate New York, or a cool little vintage catboat with Buzzards Bay and southern New England. Every classic Hinckley or Morris that I come across paints a vivid portrait of coastal Maine. Even yachts that sail or cruise far and wide all over the world still convey a sense of place. Recently, aboard a new Tartan 455, we pointed the bow into choppy Lake Erie, and I intuited an instant connection to the nearby northeast Ohio plant where the boat was spawned. It all felt like home. 

Other people see different things. After I uploaded a photo to social media of myself steering the 455, an old pal quickly hit me back with a comment, asking: “Tartan is still building boats?” 

The answer is an emphatic yes, and pretty darn good ones at that. The company has certainly had its ups and downs over the years, but it’s now navigating smoother waters for a couple of major reasons. First, it was recently acquired by Seattle Yachts, which made significant investments in the product and facilities, and appears firmly committed for the long haul. Second, longtime Tartan designer Tim Jackett is running operations, and the native Ohio homeboy is giving it his all.

Jackett says the 455 evolved from powerboats by Legacy, a company Tartan acquired in 2010. “The roots of it came after having some exposure to the Legacy brand and looking at how the deck and interior of that sedan style of powerboat works out so nicely,” he says. His first swing at the design in sailboat mode was a 37-foot motorsailer with a substantial trim tab that powered up at 14 knots. (It was never built.) When the owner of a Tartan 3700 approached him about commissioning a larger boat, Jackett returned to expand upon his earlier incarnation.

“But the concept was the same,” he says. “More of a sailing hull, but a nice, big, well-lit living space with inside steering, and then an aft cockpit that gave you the normal sailing experience of wind and water in your face when you wanted it.” 

Down a few steps into the deep cockpit, sliding doors open into the salon, which transitions into the forward living areas. The bulletproof laminate is a vacuum-bagged, infused sandwich that employs epoxy resin with a foam core in the hull construction and end-grain balsa in the deck. The lead keel supports a hefty ballast bulb and is available in deep- and shallow-draft configurations. 

There are a couple of accommodations plans, including a two-stateroom version or the three-stateroom layout employed in the model we sailed, with guest staterooms to port and starboard, and an owner’s space forward with an attached head. The well-executed joiner work and furniture were cherry, though teak and maple are available (much of it sourced from northeast Ohio’s Amish mills). I’d say this is primarily a comfortable couple’s boat with space for occasional visits from family and friends.

Aesthetically, I found the lines plan of the 455 to be handsome and pleasing, not a particularly easy task with a large deckhouse, which Jackett incorporated nicely into the profile. 

Wraparound windows allow light to pour in from all directions, as does the deckhouse’s overhead window. A split hydraulic backstay provides easy access to the drop-down transom and boarding platform between the twin wheels, which are stationed well outboard. (There’s a single, deep spade rudder.) Moving forward, an outboard ramp rises from the cockpit to the side decks, which makes for easy egress to the topside and foredeck. I believe this feature originated with the Jeanneau line, and I always thought it was a trend that would spill over to other builders (see the Moody 41DS). It’s just too simple and elegant a solution to an age-old design conundrum. There are grippy stainless-steel handrails just about everywhere. This Tartan is a big boat but an easy one to negotiate.

The carbon-fiber, double-spreader rig is fashioned in Tartan’s in-house autoclave, as are the rudder post and other reinforcements. The company’s Cruise Control Rig double-headsail sail plan (also known as a Solent setup) has become a fixture across the brand, with a Code Zero-style reacher on the forward stay and a smaller, self-tacking jib on the aft one. The powerful, full-battened mainsail is stashed in a Leisure Furl in-boom furler, and there’s a wide traveler atop the deckhouse that facilitates the end-boom mainsail sheeting. All the running rigging is led into the cockpit and handled by a combination of rope, clutches and Harken electric winches. The excellent sails come from Sobstad’s loft in nearby Rocky Hill. 

Over the years, I’ve sailed many a Jackett design, and the common denominator is they sail exceedingly well. We sailed the 455 on an early-fall afternoon after a cold front rolled through, offering up ideal 10- to 15-knot northwest breezes. The waves in the relatively shallow lake were closely spaced. As I took the wheel and came onto the wind under the smaller jib, it took me a while to stop pinching and get in the groove. But once I fell off a good 10 degrees, the boat and I settled in, and it muscled through the chop with aplomb.

The steering was tight and accurate. Jackett says he was still playing with the optimal rudder configuration, but it all felt fine to me. Topside, the Jefa wheels are cable-controlled, while the deckhouse steering station is on a hydraulic ram. You toggle between the two, depending on where you’re driving. We swapped out the self-tacker for the large reacher and bore off another 10 degrees, and the boat absolutely lit up, trucking along on a beam reach at bursts over 9 knots in complete and utter control. We even jibed the big sail through the exceedingly tight foretriangle, a maneuver I wouldn’t have thought possible. It was quite the sail.

Fittingly, the first Tartan 455 is going to live on the Great Lakes, with Lake Huron’s North Channel a likely regular cruising ground. But I can envision this to be a terrific yacht for the Pacific Northwest and beyond, and ideal for high-latitude adventures. You might not be able to take the Ohio out of a Tartan, but you can take this Tartan just about anywhere. 

 Tartan 455 SPECIFICATIONS

Herb McCormick is a CW editor-at-large.

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My old mate Ronnie Simpson was on the phone, having just pulled into Halifax, Nova Scotia, after a short hop from Portland, Maine. It was the first week of September, and he was en route to A Coruña, Spain, aboard his newly renamed Open 50, Shipyard Brewing. On October 28, he would start the Global Solo Challenge—a nonstop, singlehanded round-the-world race with a rolling, pursuit-style start for boats from 32 to 60 feet. 

“We were seeing a lot of cyclonic ­activity,” he told me, describing the suddenly bustling North Atlantic ­tropical-weather picture. “I think it was the right decision.”

Knowing Ronnie, he’d definitely given it a lot of considerable thought. Because as I’d come to learn, he basically has one speed: fast forward, with dispatch. 

I’d last sailed with Ronnie almost exactly a year earlier, when he rolled into Newport, Rhode Island, aboard his new ride, then called Sparrow, at the outset of his campaign. We enjoyed a wild, windy outing in what he openly described as a training trip: “We’re doing a lot of ­learning here today.” 

And he was clear that he was ­competing in the Global Solo Challenge with a broader goal in mind: to win it and then find sponsorship for an Open 60 for the next running of the Vendée Globe race, in 2024. “If doing [the Global Solo Challenge] on an Open 50 was the endgame, I probably wouldn’t be here,” he’d said. “I consider this my shot for the Vendée. I don’t know why I’m so driven to do that race, but I wake up every day and I want to do it, and I go to sleep every night and I want to do it.” Understood. And, I must say, Ronnie’s track record for getting stuff accomplished is pretty stellar. 

I first met Ronnie in a professional sense, as his former editor here at Cruising World, where he chronicled his incredible journey as a sailor in a series of articles starting with a piece called “From Fallujah to Fiji.” It was a detailed account of a decade-long odyssey that began with his enlistment in the US Marine Corps just days after graduation from high school, and it recounted the day in Iraq when his Humvee came under attack and he was nearly blown to smithereens. 

Quite by accident (or was it fate?), he found solace in sailing. He bought a 41-foot cruising boat that he abandoned in a hurricane, and he purchased a ­succession of small boats aboard which he raced alone to Hawaii and later rambled across the Pacific to Hawaii. With that background, he became a pro sailor and rigger, and notched more than 130,000 nautical miles leading up to his entry in the Global Solo Challenge. 

After his visit to Newport this past year, he ambled down the East Coast and then knocked off his solo 2,000-nautical-mile qualifying sail, which concluded in Portland, Maine. There, all sorts of magic unfolded. 

He met a local girl named Marissa and fell in love. She introduced him to Fred Forsley, the CEO of Portland’s Shipyard Brewing Company, which agreed to become his title sponsor. At the Maine Yacht Center, run by accomplished fellow solo sailor Brian Harris, he knocked off a long list of projects, including major structural repairs, to get his 50-footer race-ready. 

“Brian and the whole staff at MYC made me feel like family. They were a massive help,” he says. “Shipyard Brewing has a long history of supporting returning veterans, going back to World War II. I found this amazing girlfriend, a perfect sponsor, a bunch of new friends and an awesome boatyard, all in Portland, where I plan to return after the race.” Wow. Maine, man. 

With his close association with the nonprofit veteran-affairs ­organization US Patriot Sailing (which owns Shipyard Brewing), Ronnie remains true to his beginnings. He could still use ­support. Interested parties can follow his ­voyage and contribute to his cause by visiting ronniesimpsonracing.com or ­uspatriotsailing.org. They all have a long way to go on such a worthwhile mission.

With that, the day after we spoke, Ronnie was back underway across the North Atlantic. The plan was pretty straightforward. He had places to go. He had races to crush. 

Herb McCormick is a CW editor-at-large.

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For over 18 years since the debut of the first Elan Impression model, the Impression line has held a significant position in the family cruising segment. These vessels, often dubbed “modern classics,” have earned multiple awards and are widely recognized for their reliability, ease of maintenance and sailing, safety, rigidity, and durability. They have become synonymous with the idea of enjoying a worry-free, relaxing time on the water while exploring the world with family and friends. Some have even successfully circumnavigated the globe with minimal crew. Additionally, they have remained a favored choice for many investors due to their stable value retention in the world’s largest charter markets.

Although the Elan Impression models have undergone several iterations, redesigns, and modernizations, it has been a considerable amount of time since a completely new Elan Impression model has been introduced. Following the successful launches of the unique Elan GT6 and ambitious Elan E6, the decision was made to unveil a brand-new yacht to carry on the Impression Line’s legacy. Meet the Elan Impression 43, which scored a nomination for “Best Luxury Midsize Cruiser” in CW’s 2024 Boat of the Year competition.

Featuring a modern wide-beam hull, the Impression 43 offers more space compared to its predecessors. It maintains the traditional raised coach roof, referred to as a “semi-deck-salon,” and stands up well against its competitors. The hull and sail plan were designed by Humphreys Yacht Design, promising strong sailing characteristics, even when fully loaded.

Collaborating with the design studio Pininfarina, responsible for the award-winning Elan E6, resulted in appealing aesthetics for the Elan Impression 43.

The hull and sail plan have been optimized to facilitate easy short-handed sailing. Elan’s customary 3D VAIL composite technology has been employed, creating a lightweight, sturdy, and secure construction process. This technology utilizes a vacuum-assisted infusion lamination process (VAIL) to produce a flawless hull without imperfections or air bubbles, coupled with a vinyl ester outer layer to ensure osmosis resistance. The “3D” aspect of this lamination is applied to the vertical and lateral stringers, enhancing the mechanical properties of the hull and rigging, contributing to Elan’s acclaimed hull stiffness. The deck also employs VAIL technology, adding to its lightness and durability. This construction process is not only advantageous for the vessel but also promotes worker safety and reduces environmental impact by minimizing chemical exposure and waste.

The yacht has twin rudders designed by Humphreys Yacht Design, ensuring rigidity, endurance, and precise control. This twin-rudder design facilitates fingertip steering and reduces the risk of broaching.

The cockpit is designed for enjoyment, both at anchor and underway. With ample seating for up to 10 people, comfort is a priority. An optional modular cockpit table can convert into two sunbeds, allowing for lounging and sunbathing in the cockpit. Beautifully designed steering pedestals accommodate 9-inch electronics and a variety of other instruments. The twin helm with composite steering wheels provides freedom of movement aboard.

Numerous cockpit lockers offer ample space for a life raft and other essential equipment. Integrated into the deck are two transom boxes, expanding the seating area for the skipper and guests, and capable of holding a grill and a refrigerator. The yacht comes standard with a small bathing platform that can be upgraded to a larger platform, offering more space, safety, and a closed transom feel. Elan’s iconic transom seats, a hallmark of the Impression line, add a nice touch. The deck can be customized with synthetic or real teak, based on the owner’s preferences. Large, flush hatches and portlights in the coach roof bring in natural light and good ventilation. The yacht comes with a standard self-tacking jib, which can be upgraded to a genoa, among other options.

Moving to the interior, it boasts a “rustic” oak veneer and marine-grade plywood, contrasted with modern gray-colored storage cupboards. To enhance durability, solid oak wood finishes are applied to areas that are subject to the most wear and tear. The salon comfortably seats guests around a center table, flanked by two solid wood chairs that can be stowed in a dedicated space when sailing. The settee can also be easily converted into a double berth.

The long side-galley has a three-ring stove with an oven and a front-opening refrigerator within a convenient L-shaped cabinet. This layout offers abundant surface space and cupboards for storage. The stove area is protected by easy-to-clean panels and is ventilated by a hatch above. Owners can choose between three- or four-cabin versions. The three-cabin version includes an en-suite with an island bed and a spacious head with a separate shower. Opting for the four-cabin version introduces a cabin with bunk beds, ideal for families or groups of friends.

Elan Impression 43 Specifications

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Renewing a popular model is always a daunting task, especially when it’s been a bestseller for almost a decade, as was the case with the Oceanis 38.1. The challenge laid before the designers, Marc Lombard and Nauta Design, was clear: enhance volume and boost performance while preserving the ease of use that has defined the Oceanis line since its inception in 1986.

Beyond the elegant profile, the 37.1’s interior space in the salon is nearly as generous as that of a 40-foot vessel. The hull features a distinctive flare with a rib beneath, not only maintaining graceful lines below the waterline but also delivering increased power and stability. This design tweak also enhances the hull’s structural integrity, adeptly managing weight distribution and creating more interior space in the bow area.

Stepping inside the salon, we find a clever layout, slightly offset to port. It offers tremendous volume, complete with a cozy sofa and a spacious dining table accommodating six. This configuration seamlessly faces the galley, allowing the crew to go about their tasks without disrupting the dining area. Meanwhile, the passageway to the forward cabin is set off, completely obtrusive to guests. Generously sized portholes integrated into the hull side of the forward cabin provides excellent visibility and natural light. In the two-bathroom version, the bed is positioned against the starboard hull. The aft accommodations are equally spacious. In the standard version, there’s a king-size double bed and a substantial sail locker aft of the bathroom, accessible from both inside and out. Even in the three-cabin version, the bedding remains well-proportioned.

The sense of interior volume extends to the expansive and remarkably open cockpit, stretching over three meters in length. The outdoor living areas are designed to create a sense of openness, with a deliberate lack of backstays—a configuration previously employed on the Oceanis 30.1 and 34.1 models. When at anchor, access to the swim platform is easy. Simply lift the helm seats, and a broad walkway leads to the lowered platform, ensuring safety and making it a perfect spot for swimming and watching the world go by.

The large double spreaders (optionally equipped with an in-mast furling system) suggest impressive sailing performance for the Oceanis 37.1. In the standard version with a self-tacking jib, the focus is on making sailing more effortless, while those who relish spirited sailing will adore the First Line version with its square-top mainsail and Genoa (providing an additional 12 percent sail area). To facilitate easy handling by a smaller crew, all the rigging has been directed towards the two aft winches, with only the halyards remaining grouped around the coachroof. All the essential instruments, including a 7-inch plotter, are conveniently located on the starboard helm console.

In a nod to sustainability, the Oceanis 37.1 incorporates Iroko, an African wood that can substitute for teak, for its cockpit decking. This innovative approach, known as Iro-Deck, utilizes laminated layers to create each strip of plywood decking. This method ensures uniform coloration, excellent durability, and eliminates the risk of cracks, a common issue with solid wood decks.

Adapting to contemporary environmental challenges, the design team also addressed the 37.1’s power source. With a growing interest in carbon-free sailing for inland waterway cruising, this model offers an electric engine option featuring a 12 kW pod and 10 kilowatt-hour batteries. This setup provides a motoring range of 2 hours at 5 knots between charges, all while emitting no carbon and maintaining an eco-friendly silence.

Beneteau Oceanis 37.1 Specifications

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