2022 July 1

Italia Yachts 14.98

A fast and sexy looking racer-cruiser that ups the cool factor

Here is a new design from Italian designer Maurizio Cossutti and the Italia Yachts design team. This boat is 2 feet longer on deck than the Dehler. The Italia group provided me with an extensive set o

2022 June 1

Gypsy

Bob Perry designs a custom 53-foot motorsailer with a Pacific Northwest aesthetic

By Robert H. Perry

My client writes: “I’ve admired Bob Perry’s designs for years and in 2010 we were fortunate enough to have our own Valiant 42 built (sadly the last hull laid up). She has taken care of us for th

2022 April 1

HH 44

This sexy looking cruising cat was designed for speed

By Robert H. Perry

At first glance at the 2D sailplan this 44-foot catamaran appears to be a stubby and kind of awkward looking cat. But don’t be fooled. Add the third dimension, the depth and the complex geometry of

2022 April 1

First 36

The revival of Beneteau’s First series of racer-cruisers continues with this midsized family boat

By Robert H. Perry

This new Beneteau First model was designed by a team led by Kristian Hajnsek. Samuel Manuard, known for his Class 40 and IMOCA 60 class racers did the basic design. Structural design came from Pure De

2022 March 1

Ollie

This beautiful daysailer will be created by build-it-yourselfers

By Robert H. Perry

I was cruising around on Facebook one day and I saw a boat that jumped out at me. It was a great looking boat and very nicely drawn. Clearly the designer had some well honed skills and a good eye

2022 March 1

PC 55

A wolf in sheep’s clothing, this classic cruiser is deceptively powerful

By Robert H. Perry

Here’s an elegant design from the Hoek design office in Holland for Performance Classic Yachts in the United Kingdom. The company has built a series of Hoek designs in Turkey that have proven quite

2022 January 1

Balance 482

With a emphasis on performance, this cruising catamaran doesn’t skimp on comfort and styling

By Robert H. Perry

I understand that it is difficult to sell boats from two-dimensional working drawings for a new design. Many sailors have trouble reading 2D drawings and need 3D renderings to understand the new

2022 January 1

Lagoon 55

This cruising catamaran has room for a crowd to sail in comfort

By Robert H. Perry

I don’t know if many of you have heard the story of how I got my job as “technical editor” of SAILING but I’ll tell it again. It’s a funny story.It was late in 1974 and SAILING Editor M

2021 November 1

Beneteau Oceanis 34.1

This swift family cruiser is handsome and thoughtfully laid out

By Robert H. Perry

Holy cow! My editor has given me two new French boats to review this month, the Oceanis 34.1 by Beneteau and the Sun Odyssey 380 by Jeanneau. I had to study these two boats carefully to even tell them

2021 November 1

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 380

This good-looking family cruiser’s deck is laid out for easy sailing

By Robert H. Perry

Now let’s see what Marc Lombard, the same designer as the Oceanis 31.4 can do when you give him a very similar design brief and an additional 2 feet 8 inches of additional hull length. Looking at th

2021 October 1

J/45

With a racer-cruiser pedigree, this performance cruiser will make speedy offshore passages

By Robert H. Perry

Sometimes when I listen to an old Jackson Brown album, I get the feeling that Mr. Brown had been following me around taking notes. I get a similar feeling when I look at a new J/Boats cruising design.

2021 October 1

Hylas 57

This elegant cruiser is meant for ocean sailing

By Robert H. Perry

When I was 15, I worked in a meat market, Ray’s Meats, after school. My walk home would take me past an old-fashioned drug store that had an extensive assortment of magazines including at least four

2021 September 1

BP 28

After 50 years and hundreds of designs, Bob Perry revisits one of his classics and redesigns it for the modern era

By Robert H. Perry

It was 1973. I had left my job drawing ferrocement boat plans for Jay Benford and was headed to Boston to work for Dick Carter—my dream job. I never bought into the ferrocement “craze” that Benf

2021 July 1

Kinetic 54

This new cruising catamaran boasts good performance with comfortable living space

By Robert H. Perry

Let’s add 12 feet to the LOA and see what designers Simonis Voogd can do with an LOA of 54 feet 3 inches. I think the main difference between this big cat built by Kinetics Catamarans and the Bali 4

2021 July 1

Bali 4.2

This comfortable cruising cat has plenty of space for three couples to lounge about

By Robert H. Perry

I try to keep my reviews objective. I don’t always succeed. If I see what I consider to be a “design flaw” I’ll point it out. But aesthetics are so subjective. I hesitate to impose my sen

2021 June 1

Hallberg-Rassy 50

With all kinds of bells and whistles available, this cruiser can make ocean passages in comfort

By Robert H. Perry

I always enjoy getting a new Hallberg-Rassy model to review. I like German Frers hull designs and the layouts and decks of the H-R boats are always very well thought out. This new model at 50 fee

2021 June 1

Jeanneau 60

This powerful performance cruiser has speed and style for world cruising

By Robert H. Perry

Here’s a big, stylish cruising boat from Jeanneau with the focus on comfort. The Jeanneau Yacht 60 is designed by Philippe Briand, a very accomplished designer of both racing and cruising boats.Look

2021 April 1

Oyster 495

The raised-saloon cruiser has creature comforts for two couples

By Robert H. Perry

Here’s a new Oyster model that is about the same LOA as the Shogun 50, but this is a cruising boat with no pretense to being a race boat. Oyster did not invent the raised saloon configuration.

2021 April 1

Shogun 50

The racer-cruiser is 200% fast and comfortable

By Robert H. Perry

I frequently ask my editor Greta to give me something interesting and different to review. Well, I got my wish this month. This new design by Oscar and Haken Södergren is really different. If yo

2021 March 1

Dufour 430

Sleek performance cruiser checks all the right boxes for offshore sailing

By Robert H. Perry

Dufour is one of the oldest French production builders still in business. In 1974 I raced a Dufour Arpege in the Chicago-Mackinac race. The Arpege was an older design at that time. This latest Dufour,

A fast and sexy looking racer-cruiser that ups the cool factor

Bob Perry designs a custom 53-foot motorsailer with a Pacific Northwest aesthetic

This sexy looking cruising cat was designed for speed

The revival of Beneteau’s First series of racer-cruisers continues with this midsized family boat

This beautiful daysailer will be created by build-it-yourselfers

A wolf in sheep’s clothing, this classic cruiser is deceptively powerful

With a emphasis on performance, this cruising catamaran doesn’t skimp on comfort and styling

This cruising catamaran has room for a crowd to sail in comfort

This swift family cruiser is handsome and thoughtfully laid out

This good-looking family cruiser’s deck is laid out for easy sailing

With a racer-cruiser pedigree, this performance cruiser will make speedy offshore passages

This elegant cruiser is meant for ocean sailing

After 50 years and hundreds of designs, Bob Perry revisits one of his classics and redesigns it for the modern era

This new cruising catamaran boasts good performance with comfortable living space

This comfortable cruising cat has plenty of space for three couples to lounge about

With all kinds of bells and whistles available, this cruiser can make ocean passages in comfort

This powerful performance cruiser has speed and style for world cruising

The raised-saloon cruiser has creature comforts for two couples

The racer-cruiser is 200% fast and comfortable

Sleek performance cruiser checks all the right boxes for offshore sailing

Perry on Design

This rugged pilothouse cutter can handle the rough stuff in comfort

This small oceangoing cruiser can be built by DIY builders

This cruiser has plenty of options for comfortable family cruising

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