Sailboat Reviews

Practical Sailor 2016 Index

Some say that markets afford a true test of a products value, if so, then boat shows are a great place to test the waters. Over the last two decades, in-water show attendees have noticed how catamarans and trimarans have taken over more and more slip space. Apparently, a growing number of boat buyers are convinced that two or three hulls are better than one. Skeptics still question whether this is a case of design breakthrough or more an example of a marketing success. We think its probably a good dose of each, and its time to take a close look at whats really driving this multihull mania.

When the heeling moment of a multihull overwhelms the righting moment, the boats going to turn upside down. The optimist points out that youll still be afloat, albeit inverted. The bottom line is the cruise or race is definitely over and the trick is not getting trapped under in the cockpit, side deck netting or tangle of a crumpled spar and rigging.

Just as the Caribbean cruising dream was at its peak in the American consciousness, Endeavour yachts brought in Americas Cup designer Johan Valentijn to create a new breed of Endeavours to compete with an already crowded field of center-cockpit cruisers, most of them bound for the Caribbean charter trade. The end result was a boat that managed to maintain a surprisingly tolerable aesthetic, unlike the typical wedding-cake center cockpit cruiser. The combination of teak trim, bootstripe, and balanced proportions camouflages what is essentially a floating condo.

The Endeavour 42 is relatively heavily built to charter-boat scan'tlings, but inconsistencies between hulls means there will be some variability in quality. The biggest refit challenge is the fuel tank.

Ive been the fortunate witness to the rebirth of a boat and the inspiring maturation of a boy. And Practical Sailor readers have unknowingly been along for the ride. For the past five years, boatbuilder Robert Helmick has allowed his Endeavour 42 Lost Boys to serve as a test platform for a wide array of sailing gear featured in these pages.

After corrosion destroyed the water-lift muffler aboard his 1972 Irwin 37 (above) and he could not find a replacement, subscriber Gene Millard fabricated his own.

Its hard to mistake the Stiletto 27s appearance-typically with blazing topside graphics and aircraft-style, pop-top companionway hatches. Its also hard for the average sailor to appreciate the sophistication of the Stilettos construction-epoxy-saturated fiberglass over a Nomex honeycomb core. There is probably no production hull built in the U.S. with a better strength-to-weight ratio than the Stiletto. And although the design is 40 years old, the Nomex honeycomb fabrication is still impressive.

This summer, Stiletto Manufacturing will be launching the all-new Stiletto X-Series, including a foiling catamaran, with the first boats expected to splash about the time this article went press. Carrying on the Stiletto tradition, the 10-meter X-Series models are being marketed as high-performance boats that are fast, beachable, trailerable, and affordable, as well as easy to handle and ideal for coastal family getaways.

If you grew up sailing in Florida in the 1970s and 80s as I did, you probably spent many hours daydreaming and looking at Hunters, or if you were fortunate, sailing one. Those memories might not exist at all were it not for bit of luck and perseverance. While the U.S. economy was caught in a global recession, the Hunter Marine plant in Florida was still churning out sailboat hulls by the dozens.