Sailboat Reviews

At boat shows, you see clipper-bowed boats with wooden spars cheek by jowl with IOR racers with reverse transoms and straight sheerlines. Each may be attractive in its own way. Both can also be little more than caricatures. Although “style” may sound like a question of pure aesthetics, style is also a matter of function. A reverse transom on an IOR boat is there purely for rating reasons. For the owner or potential buyer of the cruiser/racer modeled in some fashion after an IOR racer, a reverse transom may be a reminder of a racing heritage.

A snug-fitting teak grating adds safety and a touch of class to the cockpit of any boat. Spray or rain runs under the grating to the cockpit drains, leaving a reasonably dry footing for hopping about the cockpit as you haul in sheets to tack or trim sails. Unfortunately, you can't buy a grating off the shelf to fit your boat, and having a grating custom-built can be a costly and nerve-wracking experience. The solution to both of these problems: build your own grating. Its a fun job that can keep you busy for a few winter evenings, and you can build it for less than one-third the cost of a custom-built job.

The Tord Sunden-designed Swede classic, the International Folkboat, shares many of the same features as the Nordic Folkboat: the displacement and sail area are the same, the shallow drafts are similar, and the $10,000-price tag runs about equal. The IF, though, has done away with Nordic Folkboat clinker hull, the Nordic’s reverse transom has been cut short, and the IF’s shallow self-draining cockpit replaces the Nordic’s deep well. The most notable difference is that the IF is fiberglass. This well-made boat with a loyal following performs well under blustery conditions, and remains popular with coastal cruisers and weekenders.

Practical Sailor reviews a custom, backyard-built Tiki 30, a wood boat designed by cat-cult hero James Wharram (www.wharram.com) and built by bluewater voyager Dave Martin. Like most of Wharram's designs, testers found, the real genius in the Tiki 30 comes more from whats not found than whats present on board. No lead, no liners, and no inboard engine adds up to a displacement that is so light that a low-tech, no-boom small sail plan can provide enough drive to make way. In light zephyrs, this agile cat will tack and make progress to windward. Not only is the light-air cruiser efficient under sail, but it's also efficient to build. The price point is attractive, as long as one views the labor commitment as part of the recreational experience. But when all the glue and paint has finally cured, the bottom line is that the Tiki 30 is best suited to cruisers willing to slip away without huge battery banks or large-volume tanks, and with less mechanical propulsion reliance.

Letters to Practical Sailor, October 2010. Subjects include an owner's comments about MacGregor boats, digital maps, teak cleaners, props and adhesives.

Introduced last year, the sleek J/95 is a lightweight, 30-foot sloop with a plumb bow, a bronze centerboard, twin rudders, and a Spartan interior. The J/95 is the brainchild of Rod Johnstone and is built by C&C Fiberglass Composites (CCFC) in Bristol, Rhode Island. An ideal option for baby boomers settling in the shallow estuary areas of the Carolinas and Southwest Florida, the race-ready J/95 is a high performance daysailer thats fun and easy to sail right off the dock. It also offers the potential to take off as a one-design race boat.

The BMW Oracle teams recent win of the Americas Cup-along with a flood of e-mail from multihull fans-has given us good reason to revisit the performance multihull alternative. In this reader-requested sequel to our Need For Speed monohull report (September 2009), we focus on design features that make multihulls fast and fun to sail, and examine why many feel that two or three hulls are better than one. It quickly becomes obvious that todays boats diverge sharply from the iconic Hobie Cat 16. To really get excited about performance in sailing catamarans and trimarans, lightweight, lean hulls and sizable sail area are a must. In this review we look at five terrific performance multihulls: The Hobie Getaway, Weta Trimaran, Windrider Rave, Corsair Dash 750, and Telstar.

After starting out in monohulls many years ago, Im now cruising aboard my third catamaran. All of my cats-a Maine Cat 30, a Kelsall 40, and now an Outremer 45-could be classified as performance cruisers: light weight, narrow hulls, daggerboards, and generous sailplans. I try to stay out of the mono/multi debate-were all sailors, and all boats have their pros and cons. One of the first questions that comes up regarding cruising cat design is whether daggerboards or fixed keels are better. My Maine Cat had one daggerboard, and my Outremer has two. My Kelsall came with keels, which I eventually cut off and replaced with daggerboards. I like boards, but the pros and cons are worth considering.

Confession: I did not bother to tune in to the last Americas Cup. Yep. Rather roll in poison ivy than endorse that billionaires game gone awry. Besides, even if I were paying attention, no coverage materialized on my bargain cable service. Sure, I admire the engineering feats and sailing expertise that went into the contenders as much as the next water rat, but if it takes a team of lawyers to wrangle over the meanings of "constructed" just to stage a sailboat race, Im gone. Sure would like a ride on one of those machines though . . . (sigh).

Cape Dory sloops-even those like the 25, which was not designed by Carl Alberg-have one of the most loyal followings among production boats. These loyal owners, added to a reputation for quality construction, enables Cape Dory boats to hold their resale value well, making them prime candidates for a do-it-yourself project boat like Practical Sailors test boat, Satori, a 1981 Cape Dory 25.Satori was purchased in 2008 in Sarasota, Fla., for $1,500. Although structurally sound for a boat her age, the interior had been gutted.Satoris sale price included an inventory of like-new sails, a new 5-horsepower Nissan outboard, and ground tackle. Completely rebuilding a boats interior would seem daunting to many, but Satori owner Jon Perkins is a carpenter by trade so he had the tools, resources, and know-how to get the job done. Cape Dory is an ideal fixer-upper boat, if the owner is up for the project. On today market, the Cape Dory 25 can fetch $3,000-$8,000. The pocket cruiser is also an excellent boat to fix and sail as a nice weekend cruiser for a family or a coastal cruiser for a couple.