Nowhere is the north/south European divide more evident than in cruising yacht design. The cold North Sea and Baltic types tend to favour function first. For us it’s all about…
Boats
Boreal 52 boat test – The sailor’s off-roader
If ‘off-road’ or ‘off-piste’ were categories in sailing, the Boréal 52 would be among the top contenders. From the brushed aluminium topsides to the no-nonsense, multi-layered protection offered by the…
Italia 15.98 boat test – a cool performer
From supercars and pointy shoes to novel pasta shapes, Italian design is lauded the world over. But it can lack practicality – there’s no room for the kids in a…
Broadblue Rapier 550 boat test – Are you ready for a 54ft catamaran that steers like a car?
Marty McFly, Michael J Fox’s lead character in the 1980s film Back to the Future, breaks into a wild electric guitar solo while playing a Chuck Berry number during a…
Rustler 37 boat test – Just your cup of tea?
They say the key to the perfect cup of tea is to use a good old-fashioned teapot. It brews the leaves properly and provides an altogether different tasting cuppa, more…
Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 on test – a multi-purpose cruiser-racer
For all the meticulous market analysis and detailed planning behind a new production boat launch, sometimes even the big players can get caught unawares and stumble upon a recipe for…
Pogo 30 on test – pocket performer with cruising aspirations
Let me come clean: the Pogo 30 is the most enjoyable boat I have ever sailed. I’ve certainly never returned from a boat test so excited or pumped before. Nor…