ANNUAL BOAT SHOW PREVIEW

IN THIS ISSUE WE ARE HAPPY TO BRING YOU highlights of 14 new cruising monohulls that will be making waves at the fall boat shows in the U.S. and Europe. As we were putting the section together, we noticed several trends emerging in cruising boat design.

First, there seems to be a new emphasis on boats in the 40-foot size range. This is a change from all of the activity in the 50-plus range that has been so dominant of late. A 40-foot cruising sloop is a great size for a couple and perfectly capable of carrying them safely across oceans. And, the cost to buy and own a 40-footer is significantly less than cruising boats over 50 feet.

More and more designers are going with self-tacking jibs or with Solent rigs. Self-tacking jibs are great for close-hauled sailing and reaching but are less effective downwind, hence the need to rig a reacher that flies forward of the jib – that’s the Solent configuration. It’s a good system that can be easily managed from the cockpit by a lone watch stander.

Twin rudders are here to stay and are used on more of our modern cruisers. The reason is simple. Many new designs have very broad beams aft and fairly flat underbodies. When the boat heels to 15 degrees or more, a single rudder will cavitate and lose its connection with the water, causing the boat to broach. Two rudders mean you always have one rudder fully immersed and engaged. The downside is that twin rudders are not protected by the keel.

Hardtop Biminis are appearing on new designs as well as Targa-type arches. Often these two are combined. The protection from sun and rain these hard tops provide is great. Plus, they get the mainsheet tackle out of the cockpit. Several boats with hard tops have roll-away sun roofs that will give the helmsperson a good view of the mainsail. And, hardtop Biminis are a good place to mount solar panels.

Lastly, T-bulb keels are now appearing on designs that we would consider to be racer-cruisers. While T-bulbs enhance stability and windward sailing performance, they also have the bad habit of snagging crab and lobster pot lines and seaweed. But, it seems the performance trade-off of a T-bulb is gaining a following so builders are offering them.

Have fun at the boat shows this fall.

Blue Water Sailing

summer 2023

Blue Water Sailing, LLC

747 Aquidneck Avenue, Middletown, Rhode Island 02842USA phone: 401.847.7612 web: www.bwsailing.com

Editorial

Editor & Publisher George Day george@bwsailing.com

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Circulation

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Blue Water Sailing is copyrighted 2023. All rights reserved.

Blue Water Sailing is published quarterly by Day Communications, Inc. 747 Aquidneck Ave. Middletown, RI 02842

ISSN#1091-1979

On Thursday, Sept 14th join three multihull experts to learn how to buy, equip and master multihull cruising. We’ll take you through the decision process on what multihulls to buy, how to evaluate the available design styles and brands, how to equip and fit out a cruising multihull for safety and comfort, and how to gain the skills you need to really enjoy the multihull cruising life. Plus, we’ll answer all your multihull questions and steer you to boats, charter companies and sailing schools that fit your personal requirements.

Pricing:

$50 per person / $90 per couple

Location of Seminar:

Seamen’s Church Institute located within the Show at 15 Market Square, Newport, RI

Date/Time:

September 14th from 9am to noon

Note: Admission ticket to the Newport International Boat Show is not included in the above seminar. Purchase admission to the show here. Limited Seating, Recommending to purchase in advance.

Click here to sign up.

The Presenters

Bob Gleason

Bob Gleason started sailing on monohulls of all types. During high school, he was captain of the sailing team and in college sailed with the national Championship team at of the Tufts University Jumbos. Bob raced both monohulls and multihulls to a number of national championships.

After more than 10 years representing Hobie Cat and Windsurfing International, including a stint as the chairman to the Olympic Windsurfing Exhibition event at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Bob found his focus with Corsair Trimarans. After four years working for the Corsair Marine Bob launched The Multihull Source in 1995.

His emphasis on performance did not waiver as he went on to win nearly a dozen Corsair National Championships. In 40 years, Bob has owned and campaigned more than 30 different catamarans and trimarans. Bob and The Multihull Source promote performance multihull sailing: Bob started Gunboat Multihulls, Inc. in 2003, has represented, Windrider, Weta, Prout, Gemini, Catana, and HH, and now represents Corsair, Seawind, and the exciting latest addition, Rapido trimarans. He is currently campaigning the latest Tri Me, a Rapido 40.

Derek Escher is a lifelong sailor. He resides in Barrington, Rhode Island. He has been active in the catamaran business since 1994, and has been a broker since 1999, also representing Outremer, HH, Catana, Gunboat and other brands.

Derek owned and operated Katimavik Adventures, a charter catamaran, from 1995-2000 in the Grenadines (Caribbean). He is currently a broker with Just Catamarans based in Ft Lauderdale Florida. Derek has extensive experience teaching, and in racing sailboats. Derek has a lot of offshore miles, having sailed between New England and the Caribbean more than 20 times, and he has taught offshore passagemaking.

While Derek’s passion is high performance sailing multihulls, he is equally adept at discussing luxury cruising cats and even performance monohulls.

George Day, who lives in Middletown, RI, is the founder, publisher and editor of Day Communications, Inc., which publishes the magazines Blue Water Sailing and Multihulls Today and the weekly e-newsletters Cruising Compass and Cruising Odyssey (edited by Peter Janssen). In the 1980s, at the start of his career, he was the second editor of Cruising World magazine. In the 1990s, George, with his wife Rosa and their two sons Simon and Tim, spent five years circumnavigating the world westabout via the Panama and Suez Canals aboard their 43-foot ketch Clover.

George has sailed many thousands of miles on modern cruising catamarans and trimarans, including an offshore passage on the first Gunboat, Tribe, from Charleston to Newport through a Cape Hatteras gale and from Virginia to the BVI on the Outremer 51 Archer.

George is a member of the Cruising Club of America, the Ocean Cruising Club, the Seven Seas Cruising Club and Ida Lewis Yacht Club. He is the author of three sailing books: Out There (with Herb McCormick), Safety at Sea and The Well Managed Sailboat.