Sweden's Arcona Yachts built its reputation with durable, no-nonsense boats. The Arcona 380 is a 37-foot, nine-tenths fractional rig, bluewater boat designed as a successor to the venerable Arcona 400. Although the new boat has a modern, European-style hull complete with minimal sheer and plumb bow and stern, the 380's rig and sailplan are practical and traditional–but not old-fashioned. 

The shrouds are outboard on the rail, and there are short genoa tracks well inboard for tacking angles as narrow as 32 degrees to the wind. There are primary winches for the genoa, and secondaries for the spinnaker mounted on the cockpit coaming, which ends just forward of the helms. Two winches mounted on the cabintop handle the halyards and sail controls. The dodger folds down into a cabintop coaming that curves around the companionway hatch. 

The transom center is open, and the opening steps down to a swimstep. The helmsman can sit on the transom, on each side of the opening, at twin wheels mounted on angled pedestals, each with a chartplotter display. Most helmsmen, though, will sit on the side deck aft of the cockpit coaming. 

Belowdecks, the chart table can be folded back to convert the starboard settee into a 6-foot 6-inch berth. There is a V-berth forward, twin cabins aft, and 6-foot 3-inch maximum headroom in the cabin. There is a two-cabin version that offers an enclosed shower in the head area rather than a curtain separating the shower and the head. 

The two-leaf dining table seats six, and has built-in bottle storage. The L-shaped galley has a basket-style refrigerator and a propane stove and oven. The propane is stowed forward in the anchor locker, and a windlass and bow roller are options. 

There is a hanging locker in the forward cabin, cabinets above the settees, some lockers below the settees, and lockers below the cockpit seats. Additional storage comes with the two-cabin version, and that might be a good interior design for extended bluewater cruising. The 380 has a class A offshore rating. 

The hull is solidly built with the bulbed keel attaching to a galvanized steel beam that runs lengthwise down the center of the hull. The beam is glassed into the hull, and it the whole area, up to the chainplates, is strengthened with unidirectional glass. Most of the rest of the hull is cored with Divinycell, and bulkheads are laminated to the deck and the hull. The rudder extends nearly as deep as the shoal-draft keel. Two other keel options are available, 6 feet 11 inches and 7 feet 10 inches. 

The Arcona 400 had a nearly 15-year run at the head of Arcona's fleet. Now there's a worthy successor to that title, the 380.

LOA 37'; LWL 34'9"; Beam 12'6"; Draft 6'3∫ (shoal), 6'11" (medium), 7'10" (deep); Displ. 15,100 lbs.; Ballast 5,300 lbs.; Sail area 930 sq. ft.; Auxiliary Yanmar 30-hp saildrive; Fuel 40 gal.; Water 53 gal.

Estimated price $375,000

Arcona Yachts

School Lane, Hamble, Hampshire, SO31 4NB

44 023 80 45 77 70

www.arconayachts.com