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2021 September 1

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

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

This new cruising catamaran boasts good performance with comfortable living space

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

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

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

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

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

This powerful performance cruiser has speed and style for world cruising

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

The raised-saloon cruiser has creature comforts for two couples

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

The racer-cruiser is 200% fast and comfortable

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

Sleek performance cruiser checks all the right boxes for offshore sailing

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,
2021 March 1

This racer-cruiser puts the focus on speed with a slick deck layout

This month we have two new European builds to review, the Dehler 38 SQ and the Dufour 430 Grand Large. It would be nice to compare the differences in the two designs, but most of the differences are i
2021 January 1

The modern cold-molded cruiser has speed and style for fast passages

Here’s a handsome new design by my friend Kevin Dibley. Kevin is a very good designer and a nice guy. The builder is Lyman-Morse and the company’s pedigree goes back many years. I have been to tha
2021 January 1
This month we have two very nice cruising boats to review. It’s hard these days to clearly define “cruising boat.” My definition is any boat that you can cruise. That leaves a lot of latitude.&n
2020 November 1

With clever interior design, this new cruising cat feels bigger than 42 feet

Leopard Catamarans has 25 years of cruising catamaran experience. The result is this new 42-foot model that builds off the success of the Leopard 40 model along with advances in styling made with the
2020 November 1

This elegant cruising catamaran has speed and sailability

The French catamaran builder Catana started building cruising cats 20 years ago, and at that time, cruising cats were far from mainstream. If you went to the Annapolis boat show back then you might se
2020 October 1

When a designer takes on a crowd as a client, the result is an offshore cruiser that pleases the masses

I was cruising through Facebook one morning and I saw a post that referenced a “Robert Perry Yacht Design Fan Club.” I thought it must be a joke, so I did a search. I found a very well-compos
2020 September 1

This new cruiser has a large array of options sure to please every sailor

Here’s a new Beneteau Oceanis model that ticks all the boxes. About the only thing I can see that’s not offered is a hard dodger and that would be hard to work in with this deck plan. The thing th
2020 September 1

The fresh thinking behind this cruising cat results in a good looking speedster

This new catamaran was designed by VPLP with an interior design from Patrick Le Quement. Like almost all cruising cats the profile is a bit brutal and this is a function of pulling all the beam—21 f
2020 August 1

This new daysailer has performance for all ages

If my buddy calls and invited me for a sail aboard his new daysailer I think I have a pretty good idea what to expect and how to prepare for the day. I’d bring some bottled water, sunscreen, a sandw
2020 August 1

With elan and speed, this luxury daysailer will turn heads

We have two high-performance daysailers to review this month. Both boats are promoted as daysailers, which begs the question: “Exactly what is a daysailer?” Is it a boat you sail during the day? A
2020 June 1

This expedition schooner has the right stuff for high-latitude sailing

Every month I pester my editor Greta, “Find me something interesting. Find me something I can sink my teeth into.” Well, this month she has outdone herself. Thanks Greta. I think the most fun for
2020 May 1

This stylish ketch is designed for work and play

I get some unusual design commissions but this is the first time another yacht designer has asked me to design a boat for him. Rob Leighton­—I call him Capt. Rob—is an accomplished yacht des

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 folding trimaran for fun cruising offers plenty of options

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