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Perry on Design
2024 January 1 - 12:00 am

This performance cruiser has Italian flair

Here’s a new model from the Solaris yard in Aquileia, Italy. The design is by Javier Soto Acebal, with design contributions from the yard’s in-house design team. In keeping with the well-establish
Perry on Design
2024 January 1 - 12:00 am

An American-built pilothouse cruiser keeps you out of the rain

I can’t recall seeing a Tim Jackett design I did not admire. Tim’s eye captures class proportions and shapes while insuring that performance does not take a back set to aesthetics. It’s sim
Perry on Design
2023 November 1 - 12:00 am

This powerful one-design racer has a superyacht pedigree

I’m not sure when I first became aware of Wally yachts. They are built in Milan, Italy. The company concentrates on maxi types with very sophisticated design work from a number of top designers. The
Perry on Design
2023 November 1 - 12:00 am

Retro style but modern performance are the trademarks of this new cruiser

It’s exciting to see Mark Mills step away from his ultra-high-performance sportboats and show us what he can do when asked for a custom 41-foot cruising boat. The client asked for a fast cruiser tha
Perry on Design
2023 October 1 - 12:00 am

This large cruiser has a plan to fit all types

Now we will flip the design focus 180 degrees and see what designers Berrett-Racoupeau do when the focus is on volume for an LOA limit as opposed to the SwanClub 28’s focus on boat speed for a given
Perry on Design
2023 October 1 - 12:00 am

This new sportboat is the shape of things to come

I’m struggling to find a name for the new crop of high-performance racers like this brand new ClubSwan 28. They are not extreme. I’d say the label of extreme belongs to the foiling America’s Cup
Perry on Design
2023 September 1 - 12:00 am

A comfy cruiser with loads of interior space has options to suit many

Beneteau is certainly the big name in production boats today. It has a lot of practice providing boats that serve a wide range of buyers. Part of the company’s success is its pursuit of interior vol
Perry on Design
2023 September 1 - 12:00 am

This next gen racer-cruiser is elegantly fast

Once in a while someone will ask me, “Who is your favorite designer?” It depends on the day and my mood but I usually have a very short list, if you rule out designers no longer with us. Currently
Perry on Design
2023 July 1 - 12:00 am

Bob Perry gives the interior of a 1998 Farr-designed racer a makeover for offshore sail training

It was quiet in my office, except for my hi-fi. It seemed like with my move to the new beach shack there was the inference that I had retired. Not so. I’m not dead yet. Bruised maybe, but not dead.
Perry on Design
2023 June 1 - 12:00 am

This new cruiser draws inspiration from cruising catamarans for its living spaces

We have two big production built cruising boats to review this month and both are from very prestigious yacht design offices and built by very successful builders. Our theme for this month will b
Perry on Design
2023 June 1 - 12:00 am

Beautifully designed by German Frers, this powerful cruiser is built for the open ocean

Now let’s see what Hallberg-Rassy working with my favorite designer, German Frers, can do with the volume issue. This is a substantially heavier boat than the Jeanneau. Heavier means more displ
Perry on Design
2023 March 1 - 12:00 am

This foiling 30-footer puts speed into shorthanded racing

I’m proud this month to bring you two reviews of boats designed by two of the many interns I have had in the office over the last 48 years, Mark Mills and Paul Bieker. I have had interns from all ov
Perry on Design
2023 March 1 - 12:00 am

Not designed to a specific rule, this racer’s natural speed is winning races

Here’s a new design from Mark Mills in Ireland. The Cape 31, built in South Africa, has been selling very well and as of this printing will probably have at least 50 boats racing all over Europe and
Perry on Design
2023 March 1 - 12:00 am

A complex, traditional-looking design suits an experienced owner

You may not be familiar with the name Mark Fitzgerald but if you have followed the design work of Chuck Paine’s office you have seen Mark’s work. Mark has been Chuck’s right-hand man for years a
Perry on Design
2023 March 1 - 12:00 am

This modern catboat boasts style and performance

I was 14 years old and beginning to get very interested in yacht design. I have no idea why. Nobody in my family had ever owned a sailboat. I had probably been sailing twice. But with the focus a
Perry on Design
2023 January 1 - 12:00 am

This sleek cat cruises with speed and comfort

It’s multihull month, aren’t we lucky? But there’s no point in getting all curmudgeonly about it. Today the charter boat scene is dominated by catamarans. They have a big footprint on the water
Perry on Design
2023 January 1 - 12:00 am

A spacious and lavish cruising cat with a look our reviewer likes

Let’s take a look at what the same designers, VPLP, can do with an extra 6 feet 6 inches of LOA. If you compare the two sailplan profiles I think you’ll see the establishment of a specific type of
Perry on Design
2022 November 1 - 12:00 am

This midsize cruiser has options to suit all kinds of sailors

I have a soft spot for Dufour boats. I once sailed the Chicago-Mackinac Race in a Dufour Arpege 30. We were the slowest rated boat in the race and we lived up to our rating. I remember the heat a
Perry on Design
2022 November 1 - 12:00 am

A room with a view is found in this offshore cruiser with a spacious deck saloon

I live in the Pacific Northwest where we get more than our fair share of rain. I understand the appeal of a raised-saloon boat. Drop the hook in a remote harbor and sit inside dry, warm and comfy
Perry on Design
2022 October 1 - 12:00 am

Elegant and fast, this new Nautor design pulls out all the stops for great cruising

Oh boy! I’ve been looking forward to reviewing this new Swan 55. Why? German Frers is my favorite designer. He has an eye for subtle beauty, never “over designing” and he sure knows how to desig

Perry on Design

  • An American-built pilothouse cruiser keeps you out of the rain

  • This performance cruiser has Italian flair

  • Retro style but modern performance are the trademarks of this new cruiser

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