used_sailboats

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.

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.

For better or worse, the Columbia 8.7 is modern in appearance, with a very straight sheer, pronounced forward overhang, and no overhang aft. The stern is decidedly unusual, with an exaggerated wineglass-section transom. This reduces the apparent size of the back end of the boat, which would otherwise look very ungainly since beam is carried well aft. From an aesthetic point of view, you either like the stern or you don't.

The Dragonfly 800 comes in two configurations, one for racing and one for what the company calls cruising, which is a misnomer only in that it implies a plodding demeanor, which is hardly the case. The essential difference is a taller mast and Kevlar sails for the racing model.

The EXPO Solar Sailer was conceived by Hoyt (who has a long list of conceptions to his credit), designed by Hood (who needs no introduction) and built by TPI(at present, or one time or another, the builder of J Boats, Aldens, Jeanneau catamarans and Freedoms). Put Gary Hoyt, Ted Hood and Everett Pearson in a canoe and you have the marine industry's maximum tripartite brain power. The cerebral sparks from these three New England dynamos produced the EXPO Solar Sailer.

In profile, the Island Trader 37 looks like she caught a wave on the chin. The sheer seems exaggerated, rising too high in the bow and stern. The low-aspect rig is short, carrying just 567 square feet of sail on a 30' 4" waterline. Displacement is reported anywhere from 18,600 lbs. to 26,400 Lbs. This gives the 37 an incredible displacement/length ratio of 422, and an abominable sail area/displacement ratio of 10.7, easily putting it in the "heavy" or "motorsailer" category.

This 26-footer is totally unlike familiar racer/cruisers from Pearson, Catalina or Hunter. For openers, it looks like a hot rod. The fine entry of its plumb bow and reverse transom give it a grand prix look, as does its 8' 8" beam. The boat displaces only 2,900 pounds on a 22' 0" waterline. It has a 7/8 rig supported by a pair of swept-back spreaders. Standing rigging is 3/16" wire on the uppers, forestay and lowers, 5/32" on the intermediates and running backstays. Ease of movement along wide decks is assisted by inboard shrouds.

This fast and handsome cruiser/racer from the 1970s is an excellent example of what made C&C Yachts such a successful company. C&C stands for George Cuthbertson & George Cassian, the design team that, in 1969, joined in partnership with Belleville Marine Yard, Hinterhoeller Ltd. and Bruckmann Manufacturing to form C&C Yachts. The company had a tumultuous history, from growing to capture an estimated 20 percent of the U.S. market during the 1970s, to suffering a devastating fire in 1994 while owned by Hong Kong businessmen Anthony Koo and Frank Chow of Wa Kwang Shipping. Along the way, they built a tremendous number of boats, not only in the racer/cruiser genre that was their mtier, but also the Landfall cruiser line, and a few oddballs such as the 1977 Mega 30 with a retractable fin keel; the Mega 30 and a handful of others simply bombed.