May 6, 2016
Jeanneau Leader 46
Style, beauty and grace; these are all traits that both pageant queens and Jeanneau’s new Leader 46 have in common. With sleek lines, a chic cream and walnut interior…
May 6, 2016
Marlow-Hunter 31
Impressive space and solid quality set Marlow-Hunter’s latest design apart. Over the past two decades the number of small cruising sailboats available…
May 5, 2016
Gozzard 36
The style is unmistakable. As with our other review this month, the character of the boat has traveled with its designer from his earlier work.
April 29, 2016
Luna 24/SL
The Luna 24/SL brochure emphasizes “cruising comfort for four” but it’s some high- performance cruising! The 24/SL is more conventional version of the high-tech Luna 24 that has been a convincing and North American Quarter-Ton Championships in the past few years. Although it has a pleasant and comfy interior for 24 footer, the 24/SL will still provide plenty of racing excitement…
April 19, 2016
Reliance 12 Meter
Have you ever realized, while sipping drinks in the cockpit after a friendly Wednesday-night race, that the great expanse and expense of accommodation down below is never used? If you answered “yes,” you may be one of the many people to whom Reliance Sailcraft in Montreal has spoken.
March 21, 2016
Beneteau Gran Turismo 40
Beneteau Yachts and Naval Architects Nuvolari – Lenard, really have the new Gran Turismo 40 dialed in for fun in the sun…
March 16, 2016
Carver 28 Ac
The Carver Riviera 28 Aft Cabin, featuring distinctive styling with a true international flavor, represents a totally new design concept.
March 12, 2016
Canoe Cove Tri-Cabin Coho 41
Rick Richardson climbs out of the thigh-deep main hold of Canoe Cove’s Tri-cabin Coho 41…
March 8, 2016
Canoe Cove 48 Tri-Cabin
The Complete West Coast cruiser – big, rugged and luxurious. Twin turbo charged diesel give it spunk. It’s one of the larger quasi-custom craft built on the West Coast…
March 4, 2016
Boston Whaler 11 w/ Volvo 90
Powerboat yachtsmen and cruising sailors both use tenders. Boston Whaler is the worldwide, hands down favourite, and since Volvo seems very keen…
March 2, 2016
Beneteau Swift Trawler 42
Its elegance immediately elicits an admiring whistle. What a look! What style! Beneteau has not missed the mark with this entry into the trawler yacht category…
March 1, 2016
Beneteau First 44.7
Beneteau’s First series is the world leader in production-built, racer-cruisers. The current series of First boats are the product of the teamwork of Beneteau…
March 1, 2016
Beneteau First 36.7
So. You sail your first boat for 24 years, then you decide that it is time to change. What is it like taking delivery of your second new boat…
February 29, 2016
Bayliner Victoria 2750
In the realm of popular-sized cabin cruisers, the Bayliner Victoria Command Bridge 2750 is a standout. De-sign and construction features put it ahead of other…
February 29, 2016
Bayliner 2650 Explorer
The eight-foot beam and deep sheer give this boat the look of some of the classic offshore power yachts. In fact, it’s a…
February 26, 2016
Bayliner 3870
At 38 feet, two inches, the Bayliner 3870 boasts two private staterooms, two heads (one with a bathtub!), a walk in engine room and other features normally found…
February 25, 2016
Bavaria 42
Given our knowledge of the reputation of Bavaria boats, built by a company dedicated to providing boats efficiently and effectively and creating a high-quality product…
February 25, 2016
Bavaria 37
Great sailing. Great layout. Great value. The Bavaria 37 Cruiser is an excellent family performance cruiser entry into the mid 30-foot category…
February 24, 2016
Back Cove 29
Don’t let the traditional lines fool you into thinking that the Back Cove 29 is a lobster boat. It may have some of the styling cues…
February 19, 2016
Altima 60 Pilothouse
My first view of the Altima 60 Pilothouse was in Fort Lauderdale, at New River Marina. Backed in with her stern against the pilings, the Altima looked like many…
February 18, 2016
The Purpose-Built Albin 31 Tournament Express
“I like a purpose-built boat,” says Charlie Tatham, the owner of this month’s test boat, an Albin 31′ Tournament Express. We couldn’t have put it any better ourselves.
February 18, 2016
Albacore Passion
Dinghy sailing is a passion for many and enjoying keen racing in Albacores is part of that passion. An Albacore is a 15 ft. vision of the boat’s designer…
February 17, 2016
Pacemaker 34
After spending a great deal of time in the bilge with a bright light and an ice pick, I found the Pacemaker to be sound. It needed some hard work, tender care and tasteful decoration
February 16, 2016
Hanse 371
The purpose of a boat review is to present the boat is a fair light, without prejudice or bias so that a person thinking of buying or chartering this boat gets an insight into whether or not it fits their purpose. The review should reward effective innovation in design and manufacture and point out any pitfalls or perceived problems. The better we understand the purpose of doing something, the easier it is to stay on course and reach our goal. Honest. I wasn’t hot-dogging. But it did give us the opportunity to put the Hanse 371 through its paces. We had a two-hour window to complete the sailing portion of this review and to attempt to get a cover photo at the same time. Unable to secure a chase boat, we put CY photographer Bill McLeod ashore on the sea wall at the entrance of the Credit River. The winds were light with some gusting and it was the only place where there was open water to capture the shot you see on the cover of this issue.
February 12, 2016
Bavaria 36
When Len Baronit of Yacht Sales West in Vancouver went to Europe to source a new sailboat to import, Bavaria Yachtbau wasn’t even on his list. After looking at a number of builders, Len went to see Bavaria. Being familiar with J& J Designs of Slovenia, Len was interested in how the German boat builder would stack up against some the better known competition. When he got back to his hotel, Len compared the specs of the Bavaria to the other boats on his shopping list; the Bavaria came up as a great value. Added to the attention to detail and quality construction, Len decided to go with the Bavaria and started importing the boat in 1997. He has just brought in the lOOth boat. Bavaria Yachtbau builds a cruising line from 32 to 49 feet and a new racing line available this spring – starting with the Match 38. In fact, few realize that it was a Bavaria 46 that Ashley Judd sailed in the movie Double Jeopardy which was shot in Vancouver. But I digress.
February 12, 2016
Atlantis 55
The Italian yacht builders Azimut and Bennetti are a very large organization, well known for their Italian styling and modern designs. The Atlantis line is a “brand belonging to the Azimut and Benetti” organization…
February 11, 2016
Kelt 7.6
The Kelt 7.6 is a very French boat (reborn as a North American performance cruiser. Its Canadian builders surveyed the market, identified a need, and then developed the boat to fill it. Introducing the Svelte Kelt. On the French boating scene, the Kelt 7.6 has the reputation of an inexpensive but rugged boat-cheap and serviceable…
February 11, 2016
Mainship 34 Trawler
The term “fast trawler” might at first seem to come from the same family is the term “jumbo shrimp” but there really is a good reason for a fast trawler. Recently, there has been a groundswell of interest in trawler boats because they deliver a unique combination of seaworthiness, comfort and space in a fuel-efficient package. They also suit the demographics of the North American population with an increasing number of people reaching retirement at earlier ages. Trawlers are often referred to as blue water cruising boats because they’re well-suited to handling rough water and offshore conditions. Taking a Mainship 34 Trawler down the Intercoastal Waterway to the Carolinas, Florida or even out to the Caribbean is a very realistic goal, even for those new to cruising. Fast trawlers are designed with more support in the aft hull sections and given sufficient power, can move from displacement speeds of 8 or 10 mph to full planing at over 20 mph.
February 10, 2016
Goman 20
Best of both in a 20 footer. Sailing that narrow line between day-racer and full sized cruiser, Goman’s 20 succeeds. Since the time I saw the drawings in early June of last year, I had looked forward to sailing the Goman 20. Almost five months later, on a pleasant Indian summer day in October, I got my chance. Would it be, I wondered, one of those good ideas on paper that can never quite be realized as a boat – the sort of thing that looks like an affordable, if modest, compromise on the boat show floor and turns out to be an impractical proposition on the water? At 20 feet, with a cabin and a full keel, the Goman is in that dangerous area between daysailer and yacht where the unyielding demands of human scale can defeat the best practical and stylistic intentions of a designer.