Sailboat Reviews

The trophy daysailer market is rife with branding, image, and various forms of snob appeal. The e33, however, makes its pitch on practical grounds. Reports from the field highlight the performance/comfort/control combination that makes the e33 a fun raceboat. You don't need a big crew, you can exercise your tactical talents to the max, and you give away nothing in boatspeed. Our time sailing the e33 convinced us that it is not only a legitimate performance sailboat, but that attaining that performance is sinfully easy. The e33 daysailers bonus points include a cockpit that takes up more than half the deck space and can hold five or six adults comfortably; cockpit-led control lines; carbon-fiber spars; and a hydraulic headstay control. Below, Spartan accommodations include berths for four, an enclosed head, and a built-in cooler. With the look of a classic and the innovative design of a modern daysailer, the e33 is e Sailing Yachts intelligent, inspired, comprehensive attempt to capture the fun of performance sailing.

It always seems that a storm rolls into Annapolis, Md., just in time for the United States Sailboat Show. Held in October, the annual exhibition is the nations biggest sailboat-only show. Until this year, my favorite show was in 2006, when a 40-knot gale whipped into town, and the floating docks rolled like a Nantucket whaler with her decks awash. With the wind and spray lashing the show tents, boat buyers defiantly carried on, one hand groping for a lifeline, the other grasping the checkbook. This years storm was of a different sort. Theres something eerily soothing about a large crowd of people ogling new boats while the world markets go into a death spiral. During the shows opening day, five televisions in the waterfront bar Pussers Landing tracked the Dows precipitous plunge. In one fell swoop, my boys college fund and any hope of retiring before Im deaf as a post were carried off in an avalanche of debt. To my surprise, the people around me seemed preoccupied with only boats.

The U.S. Naval Academy’s new Navy 44 MkII is a seaworthy workhorse that skips the design fluff and focuses on being training-boat tough and race-boat efficient. Designed by David Pedrick, the Navy 44 MkII—younger sister to the Navy MkI racer-cruiser-teacher--is meant to be cruised and raced for 20 years, and to endure two or three times the wear and tear of the average production boat. The boat was designed to act as a sail-training platform with heavy-duty usage by midshipman, while at the same time performing like a race boat for experienced crew. The biggest challenge in designing the boat lay in achieving the requisite strength, stability, and longevity while keeping the vessel's weight from overwhelming performance. Equipped with a Yanmar 4JH4E, and a full array of B&G electronics, the sloop also has Furuno radar, GPS, a NavNet digital chart system, Icom VHF, and SSB.

Eight fixed-transom Hypalon and PVC rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) from seven manufacturers were put through their paces as testers inspected each for on-the-water performance, inflation ease, lifting, seating, storage space, transom design, and hull design. RIB brands tested were AB, Avon, Achilles, Brig, Mercury, Caribe, and Zodiac. With a 9.9-horsepower Mercury outboard four-stroke engine pushing it, each dinghy was tested for speed, ability to plane, handling, tracking, stability, comfort level, and how well it deflected spray when powering through 1- to 2-foot wakes. The test RIBs from Achilles, Caribe, and Zodiac rated the highest in the field of fixed-transom rigid inflatable boats. Testers liked the ring-type oarlocks on the Caribe L10 and the Brigs bow handle. Practical Sailor pet peeves included bad oar stowage on most of the boats and thin rub strakes. Although classified as lightweight, the average weight of these test boats was 136 pounds.

When it comes to the pure love of sailing, its hard to beat a small, light efficient boat whose sole mission is to harness the wind. Designed in New Zealand, built in China, imported to the U.S. by Nor Banks Sailing of Duck, N.C., the 14-foot-6-inch, 220-pound Weta 4.4 trimaran with 158 square feet of sail was conceived in New Zealand by father-and-son team Roger and Chris Kitchen, and designed with collaborative help from a handful of experienced sailors. The challenge was creating a cost-effective boat with the strength-to-weight ratio needed for performance sailing. The boat uses carbon fiber on the framework, and on the mast and sprit while the light, stiff hull structure, daggerboard and rudder are built using less costly E-glass and Divinycell foam. The boomless mainsail, made by windsurfer sailmaker Gaastra, incorporates five full tubular battens that control draft and allow the mainsheet to be attached to a well-reinforced clew rather than a conventional boom. The high-tech Gaastra sail package, like the Harken hardware and carbon sprit and mast are all standards. The success of this pocket-sized trimaran is due in part to its triple threat sailplan of main, jib, and easy-handling, furling screacher. The screacher can add a virtual turbo boost. This 60- square-foot gennaker deploys like any roller furler but is trimmed via a single sheet led through both port and starboard leads. The ride is both exhilarating and responsive.

At first glance, the Etap 28s is an appealing, nicely finished, modern European-styled pocket-cruiser-but its what lies beneath the skin that sets it apart. This is one of the few boats with a ship-in-ship, double-hull structure with enough closed-cell polyurethane foam between the skins to provide floatation even if the hull is breached in multiple places. The foam has enough buoyancy to offset the weight of the keel and diesel engine and has been distributed so that a flooded boat would remain stable and be able to make way under sail. This feature can be a significant safety factor to any sailor, but is especially appealing to those sailing in colder waters. In addition to offering positive buoyancy, the Etap 28s sports a spacious cabin and a no-nonsense sail plan that makes it an easy boat to sail. With a compact head, a dedicated nav station, small galley and aft berth, the boat is set up well for family coastal cruising. Details like fiddles and grab rails also showcase its potential as an offshore cruiser.

Fiberglass boatbuilding really hit its stride in the 1970s, and a lot of big-time boatbuilders were pumping out a lot of good boats. Although boats 30-plus years old are a little long in the tooth, a 1970s fiberglass boat that has been well taken care of is an excellent starting point in a search for an affordable used boat. Those searching for a $10,000 to $20,000 sailboat would do well to search for a fiberglass cruiser from the 1970s. Practical Sailor examines nine models of 30-year-old 30-foot sailboats that are fun to sail, have sufficient accommodations for a family cruiser, and are plentiful on the open market. Among a field including the C&C 30, Cal 2-30, Hunter 30, Irwin Competition 30, Newport 30 PH-II, and the O’Day 30, the Pearson 30, Tartan 30, and Catalina 30 stand above the others. A close look at these three used boats—the Sparkman & Stephens-designed Tartan, the racer/cruiser Pearson, and the well-rounded family boat, the Catalina—offers an idea of what to look for and what to expect when you’re searching those used-boat classifieds.

Who can forget that first day? When you finally took command of your new used boat, and, probably with a friend or spouse, sailed it home? If the boat is well used, like the nine boats featured this month ("30s from the 70s," page 8), the odds are great that some mishap enlivened the voyage home. I still have faded photos of my friend Steve Cannon, with his whole head wrapped up in gauze (think Bugs Bunny with a toothache), grinning at the tiller when Tosca finally met the sunlight-spangled waters of Biscayne Bay, Fla., her new home. In his chin were seven stitches, the result of a sharp blow from a slippery fuel dock on the Intracoastal Waterway. Whenever I dig up the photo, I still can smell the diesel in Steves T-shirt-residue from six hours of cycling the boats algae-laden fuel through a home-made filter. Thus began the great adventure.

Born as bluewater cruising boats, the Shannon 37 and Shannon 38 are a few of the designs that made Shannon Yachts a formidable semi-custom boatbuilder. Both boats, traditional designs by Walter Schultz, have relatively heavy displacements and long keels. This makes for comfortable offshore sailing, while their multiple sailplan options make short-handed voyaging possible. This Practical Sailor boat review includes a look at two Shannons: Hull No. 1 of the Shannon 38, owned by circumnavigators Bob Burns and Judi Nester, who completed a 14-year circumnavigation aboard their boat 30 years after it first splashed down in Narragansett Bay, R.I.; and a Shannon 37, Silk, owned by well-known bluewater voyagers Beth Leonard and Evans Starzinger, who finished a three-year circumnavigation aboard Silk. Testers found that the Shannons compare favorably to other full-bodied cruisers, including the Pacific Seacraft, the Cabo Rico 38, and Tayana 37.

The Hanse 400 is a cruising boat for those who love to sail, and a club racer for those who enjoy a summer cruise. Its construction quality and price point qualify it as a cost-effective alternative in the 40-footer marketplace. In comparison to mainstream production cruising boats, the Hanse 400 is an absolute performance standout, not only in its ability under sail, but in its ease of operation. (Photos by Ralph Naranjo)