The headline on the press release for the new custom Tartan 37-foot model states, “Imagine a different cruising experience.” I think you have to. This is a very different kind of boat. It’s a bit of a hermaphrodite—half powerboat and half sailboat. Generally this is the kiss of death, but designer Tim Jackett appears to have come up with a design that can avoid that fate.

Oyster has made a name for itself as the premier builder of large semicustom cruising yachts. The designs produced in conjunction with Rob Humphreys are always superb and fit and finish is always top notch. The Oyster style has slowly evolved to keep the look of the boats very current. In short, these are ultimate boats in the world of semicustom.

Now for some contrast. For me, yacht design has always been an art and a science. You pick a target for the objective elements like boat speed and handling characteristics. Maybe you throw in some obj

I am not sure where to start telling you about my friend Steve’s skills. He has so many. I’ll just say Steve is a craftsman who can build anything. He built his own plane, he’s a commercial pilot, then designed his own floats and retractable landing gear to turn the plane into an amphibian. He inherited an aluminum 34-footer that he modified significantly after teaching himself to weld aluminum. So when Steve said he was going to design a new boat for his next project I was not surprised. The surprise was this is a boat I could own with pride.

For some odd reason these days I seem to be attracted to “grandpa boats.”  This new Chuck Paine designed 18-footer looks like just the ticket for me to have some fun with my grandkids, Violet and Drake. In fact it’s perfect in every way.

The new Arcona 465 is built in Sweden and designed by Arcona’s head designer Stefan Quiberg. I like pretty much everything about this boat. The target was a high-performance racer/cruiser optimized

The Alberg 29 was designed by naval architect Carl Alberg and built by Nye Yachts in Canada from 1976 to 1985. The full-keel, masthead sloop was made to replace the much-admired Alberg 30, which had been in production since 1962.

At rare times certain designers can be considered dominant in their genre. Think Doug Peterson in the early IOR days and Bruce Farr in later IOR days. This dominance seldom went outside that genre. You could argue that in Bruce Farr’s case. But when it comes to trailerable, folding trimarans for the past 25 years, maybe longer, Ian Farrier has totally dominated the scene. You think folding tri and you think Ian Farrier. It’s automatic. This has given Ian many years to slowly evolve a near-perfect product. I say “near perfect” because I’m sure Ian has more tricks to come and I don’t want to sound like I’m limiting his creativity. Are these good boats? Numbers don’t lie, not in this case. If that’s not enough for you I have sailed my buddy’s turbo F-27 several times and I can assure you that it is a most enjoyable and at times exciting ride. If you want to sail flat and fast you can’t beat one of Ian’s trimarans.

Owning this beauty is possible. Some people might have to buy a lottery ticket but you might just win. In which case your venerable Catalina 27 might begin to look a little on the small side. Don’t fret. Baltic has the answer for you in this impressive Judel/Vrolijk designed 67-footer.

The Diam 24 One Design trimaran debuted in the U.S. market in Annapolis in October. Tucked away between larger, somewhat stoic sailboats, the Diam 24od seemed giddy, almost dancing as it tugged at the docklines. The layout is inviting and the boat seems to beckon passersby to step aboard.

Cape Dory 28 Practicality coupled with a sense of style sums up the Cape Dory 28 sloop. This one-design, compact cruiser ranks among the more popular boats in its size and class. 

Boy, things in the world of yacht design are moving fast, literally and figuratively. Beneteau, working with the design team of Van Peteghem Lauriot Prevost, is producing what they call the first foiling production monohull.

 The new Lagoon 42 catamaran, also from the Van Peteghem Lauriot Prevost design team, makes a huge contrast to the two sportboats. This design is purely designed for comfort. 

I think I’ll just quote from the Reichel-Pugh press release here: “A high-performance design for inshore and offshore racing. The briefing to the Reichel-Pugh team was to develop a flat-out racer that delivers the thrill of a high-performance design as well as the ability to capture podium positions.” 

 Here is a new boat from Elan, the first in the Gran Turismo series. The designer is Rob Humphreys, with some help from the Elan factory design team. In most cases you can read this as Humphreys did the hull, appendage and rig design, while the factory did the deck and interior. I quite like the look of the boat. The proportions are pleasant.Schedule

I like the term “pocket cruiser” but I have seen it applied to boats as long as 30 feet LOA. The new Sage 15, designed by Jerry Montgomery, would hardly belong in a group of 30-footers, so Sage is calling its new model a “micro cruiser.” I think that works. Schedule

This is the new Hudson Marine cat built in Xiamen, China. Xiamen is where my Flying Tiger boats were built. It is quite the yacht building center now. This new cat is aimed at high performance with an all carbon fiber build, deep daggerboards and a huge rig. Schedule

The sales brochure from 1989 pretty much sums up the Hunter 43 Legend, noting it was designed to exceed the requirements of sailors searching for performance without sacrificing comfort.Schedule