The Tison 12m is a stunning ultra-light daysailer that is intended to strip sailing back to its simplest fundamentals, though with top quality materials and deck hardware being employed. The…
New yachts
First look: Y Yachts’ Y Breeze – a 75ft daysailer? (sold with crew included!)
Y-Yachts has unveiled a fascinating new 75ft luxury daysailer concept, the Y Breeze. Y-Yachts founder Michael Schmidt, the veteran racing sailor, industry pioneer and former Hanse Yachts owner, is known for…
First look: ClubSwan 43 – first UK-built Swan
One design classes used to provide top-level racing for huge numbers, as anyone who raced Lightwave 395s, Sigma 38s or X-99s in the late 1980s, or J/109s and even J/111s…
First look: Grand Soleil 65 – new big cruiser from GS
The Grand Soleil 65 is offered in both LC (long cruise) and performance variants. Externally key differences are in the coachroof and the shorter coamings of the performance boat. However,…
First look: Bestevaer 36 – downsized pilothouse cruiser
In a world in which yachts are constantly becoming larger, this Dutch brand is bucking the trend, with the smallest-ever model in its 20-year history. It’s intended to offer performance…
First look: Gunboat’s GB80 and GB70
In the seven years since Grand Large Yachting purchased cult catamaran brand Gunboat and brought it to a new headquarters in the south of France, it has steadily increased its…
First look: Frers 59m – a fusion of classic looks and low freeboard
Nearly 20 years after delivering the famous Adèle, Vitters is nearing completion of a new 59m ketch – this time drawn by Germán Frers. The boat is again a fusion…
Linjett 39 review: Contemporary interpretation of a traditional design
How quickly will today’s new yachts date? A handful are surely destined to become design classics, but many will be quickly forgotten, becoming the floating equivalent of an ageing mass-market…
Second hand boats: How to finance a yacht
If you are one of the many boat owners who buys with cash, then great – you can saunter on by without worrying how to finance a yacht. It’s a…
Contest 49CS review: luxurious bluewater cruiser
Ahead of testing the Contest 49CS we had some miserable weather, certainly not the sort of conditions you’d ordinarily choose to go out in. It had been blowing 30 knots…
Pete Goss: a new mini-exploration yacht that’s a bit different
They won’t come into a marina very often, but when they do, Pete Goss and his wife, Tracey will be doing a lot of talking. They were in Mayflower Marina…
First look: Swan 55 new model from respected brand
Why bring out a Swan 55 when you only launched a Swan 58 last year? Because they’re different boats aimed at different types of sailors and owners, says Nautor. Both…
First look: Hanse 510 – decidedly different style
Hanse’s second model from the board of the Berret-Racoupeau design studio, the Hanse 510, sets the German yard firmly on a course towards a completely new range with a decidedly…
Best yacht 2023: European yacht of the year winners
The European Yacht of the Year programme is a highlight of my year as it gives us jury members the opportunity to assemble our shortlist of the best nominees, seatrial…
First look: Najad 450CC – next generation model
Najad’s Judel Vrolijk-designed 440 from 2005 was very well regarded at the time and later further improved to create the 450CC in 2016. Now the Swedish yard has launched a…
Boot Düsseldorf 2023: Top new yachts making their debut
One of the worlds most exciting boat shows comes round every January and often features a host of new yacht launches ready for the year ahead. Boot Düsseldorf this year…
First look: Outremer 52
Grand Large Yachting has pooled serious knowledge, design and build experience to create what it deems to be an ideal family-sized fast catamaran for world voyaging. The Outremer 52 combines…
First look: New ClubSwan 41
Almost throughout Nautor Swan’s history its yachts have been popular and at times extremely successful choices for offshore racing. The Swan 45 that sold more than 50 boats between 2001…
First look: RM 1380 – largest new yacht from the French marque
I like RM 1380 and I’m clearly not alone in appreciating these (typically) brightly coloured plywood epoxy fast cruisers – with over 500 hulls launched during the La Rochelle yard’s…
First look: RP56 Vasara
Were you in the position to order a one-off cruiser racer to the highest spec, it would make sense to involve one of the most successful design and build combination…