The designer drawings from Ed Dubois’ office are beautiful, precisely crafted drawings that well convey the nature of this design.

First off, the name Bulletproof 43 was always intended as a joke.  The client said, “Call it bulletproof” one day in jest and it stuck. Secondly, there is nothing standard or normal about this project. I met with the client. We agreed that the boat would be an offshore-capable cutter with full keel, outboard rudder and generous displacement, similar to the client’s last boat.

The Dehler 42 model was designed by Judel/Vrolijk with the interior design done in house by Dehler. This design is typical of what we see coming out of the European production yards today. I’m not sure I have ever seen a time when there was less variation in the style of Mom and Pop production boats. I’m not saying that is a bad thing but I do like some variation from time to time.

 Cossutti Yacht Design designed this new Salona model, the 380. That is a new design office to me. The design of the 380 is similar to the bigger Dehler 42. The two designs, despite the 2-foot 8-

Holy cow! This is the most extensive conceptual design package I have ever seen. One thing I can always count on in these reviews is that the Farr office will send me top-notch design drawings and not

The Winner 8.0 is a Dutch design and build. The design is from the Van de Stadt office, and it has been around since I was a kid and maybe even before that. Over the years, it has produced hundreds of outstanding designs. The builder is Winner Yachts. From what I can see, the 8.0 is designed to be a fast cruising boat that also comes in a performance model for those interested in racing. It’s a handsome package with clean styling and no affectations.

Sometimes I get in arguments when I mention this, but I see a distinct Euro style and a distinct American style in yachts. Of course there is plenty of cross pollination between the two styles, but I have no problem pointing out a Euro-styled boat or an American classic-styled boat. I’d put the Alerion boats, including this new Sport 30, into the classic American-style genre. US Watercraft, in partnership with Langan Design Partners, designed the Sport 30.

At first look I was inclined to think, “Oh God, please don’t make this fast.” But I knew that scow bows have a long and successful history so the chances were strong that this bow would work. It works on the many scow one-design classes and even the old, sedate, CCA rule had Hoot Mon, a scowlike yawl with a successful race record. 

 This is a heavy boat, weighing 72,600 pounds, but with the long DWL and minimal overhangs, the D/L is only 140. The L/B is 3.55 making it on the narrow side of medium beam. Two keels are available, one drawing 9 feet 10 inches in a T-bulb configuration and the other drawing 8 feet 6 inches.

 I suppose you could go so far as to call this 20-footer a motorsailer given that you could sit at the mini dinette and have enough visibility to see forward and enjoy the scenery while the autopilot does the driving. 

In Bavaria’s Open 40, Marc Lombard created an interesting design that blurs the line between cockpit and interior. The freeboard is high to allow for headroom in the hulls, and the hull ends are chopped off to maximize the DWL. I see square-cornered fixed ports in the hull sides. This seems to be a very popular styling feature of the new European models today. I think the look works well in this design.

Fountaine Pajot was one of the first companies to build large cruising cats. Its designs have always been well crafted and very good looking. Barret Racoupeau designed the new flagship model, the Ipanema 58. In the ultra-competitive world of cruising cats it was only a matter of time before someone looked at the huge footprint and thought, “Hey! We can add a second story!” 

Cruising catamarans were well established before Gunboat. Twin-hulled boats had become mainstream and very popular with charterers. As time went on, the two hulls, connected by a main cabin, expanded to the point that almost the entire rectangle was filled with accommodations. Cruising cats got heavier and heavier. Efficient daggerboards gave way to shoal, very low-aspect, stubby keels. With this evolution the hope of good speed to weather was dramatically reduced. In time the big cruising cat became an accommodation-focused platform that was a far cry from the performance-oriented cats that had initially caught the attention of sailors.

I like to think I truly understand small boats. I’m a fan of small, simple boats. My last boat, Perrywinkle, was small, and I enjoy reviewing boats that I can imagine owning. The Bente 24 is bu

 The RTC-22 comes to us from Buckley Design in Southampton, England. It’s a good fit to review this month because it’s aimed at the same market as the Bente 24. The RTC-22 is even shorter tha

I have been a big fan of the Van De Stadt Design office since I was a kid and saw the first drawings of the mighty ocean-racing ketch Stormvogel. I think “Stormy” caught everyone’s eye. 

The Oceanis 60 is the flagship of the Beneteau fleet, designed by Berret Racoupeau with help on the interior by Nauta Design. This is a very good-looking boat in the European modern style punctuated by a mainsheet arch over the cockpit.

This design combines the efforts of the V. Ahlen design office with the Sirius Design Team. The overall design is highly unusual and I’m not sure I have ever seen so many features combined in a boat this size. Keep in mind that these boats are semicustom, so the layout and finish details are up to the owner working with the yard’s design team. I have drawings for six layouts, but the company built 14 different layouts on its previous 31-foot model. I think we can expect a lot more variations on the new 40.