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Perry on Design
2024 October 2 - 12:00 am

A svelte cruising cat that has performance front and center

It will be fun to see what happens when we compare two catamarans with similar L/Ds using both hulls, and similar L/Ds using each hull individually, while reducing LOA by 9.62 feet.  The 48 Open
Perry on Design
2024 October 1 - 12:00 am

This cruising cat’s palatial accommodations have sailors living in comfort

The Catana Group is launching its 14th Bali catamaran model, the 5.8, in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the line. The promo blurb says “always bigger,” and I’m not going to argue with
Perry on Design
2024 September 1 - 12:00 am

A family cruiser that has so many interior options there’s sure to be one to suit

Dufour is a French builder that has been around as long or longer than I have been designing. Its Arpege model was hugely successful and began life as a half-tonner. This new Dufour is aimed at the cr
Perry on Design
2024 September 1 - 12:00 am

This raised saloon offshore cruiser offers comfort and performance

I first met Tim Kernan about 20 years ago when he was attending The Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design in Maine, taking its yacht design course. The students are required to complete an in
Perry on Design
2024 July 1 - 12:00 am

This gentleman’s skiff takes you sailing fast and comfortable

Regular readers probably know that years ago Mark Mills was an intern in my office. He was fun to have around and really knew sailing. I would listen to him talking to my clients on the phone with his
Perry on Design
2024 July 1 - 12:00 am

An offshore cruiser with plenty of options for family cruising

The newest design in the Elan series of cruising boats is this Rob Humphreys-designed Elan Impression 43, which marks 20 years of Humphreys designs for Elan. The deck is designed by the Pininfarina st
Perry on Design
2024 June 1 - 12:00 am

A daysailer with a vintage vibe will turn heads in every anchorage

We have two very contrasting designs to review this month. The first is this very special design that I’ll call a “weekender” although there’s nothing to stop it from sailing out for a mo
Perry on Design
2024 June 1 - 12:00 am

This high-powered, high-tech cruising trimaran has speed to burn

Now for that contrast I mentioned earlier: The Rapido 40 designed by Morrelli & Melvin in southern California, is a high-performance, high-tech, folding trimaran built by Triac Composites in Ho Ch
Perry on Design
2024 April 1 - 12:00 am

This small oceangoing cruiser can be built by DIY builders

It’s hard to find interesting designs for review these days. So this month I thought we’d try a little different approach. In early 1973 I quit my design job in Seattle, loaded my Peugeot wagon an
Perry on Design
2024 April 1 - 12:00 am

This rugged pilothouse cutter can handle the rough stuff in comfort

When Yves-Marie, Chuck and I left Dick Carter’s tower in Nahant, Massachusetts, to try it on our own I don’t think either of us knew where the future would take us in the world of yacht design. We
Perry on Design
2024 March 1 - 12:00 am

This folding trimaran for fun cruising offers plenty of options

Holy cow! We have a 40-foot folding trimaran to review. This will be fun. My buddy Doug, who lived on the next beach, had one. It wasn’t a Dragonfly but it was similar and not as nice as the Dragonf
Perry on Design
2024 March 1 - 12:00 am

The redesign of a popular 50-foot cruiser offers better performance and more comfort

This month we are going to look at a revamp of the X4.9. I’m not very familiar with the 4.9 but the promotional material I have does a good job of highlighting the changes and there are many. X-Yach
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

  • A svelte cruising cat that has performance front and center

  • This cruising cat’s palatial accommodations have sailors living in comfort

  • This raised saloon offshore cruiser offers comfort and performance

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