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2022 Boat of the Year: Best Dinghy

• By Dave Reed
• December 17, 2021

Sailing World Magazine’s annual Boat of the Year tests are conducted in Annapolis, Maryland, following the US Sailboat Show. With independent judges exhaustively inspecting the boats on land and putting them through their paces on the water, this year’s fleet of new performance-sailing boats spanned from small dinghies to high-tech bluewater catamarans. Here’s the best of the best from our 2022 Boat of the Year nominees »

Skeptics be warned: The Happy Cat Hurricane is legit. This is the unanimous assessment from our Boat of the Year judging squad after sailing the surprisingly quick and nimble 16-foot inflatable catamaran in 10 knots of breeze. While it delivers exhilarating sailing, it’s much more than a recreational rubber dinghy—it’s an adventure craft, a portable sailboat, a pontoon motorboat, a lazy-river drifter, or anything you want it to be once it’s pumped and splashed.

Grabner is an Austrian manufacturer of all types of inflatable watercraft, which the company has been building since the mid-1980s. The Happy Cat Hurricane came online in 2017, and a carbon-mast version was added in 2019. The Hurricane Carbon, which the judges tested, is the company’s flagship go-fun craft, and apparently, it can’t make them fast enough.

We racers know fiberglass better than we do rubber, but Alex Caslow, of Redbeard Sailing in Baltimore (the US importer), says Grabner’s vulcanized rubber is “tire-quality” and sourced from Continental. All of the Happy Cat’s tubes, he adds, are handmade, glued and welded in Austria, producing high-quality hulls that should last at least 20 years. There’s a seven-year warranty on the hulls, he says, but should you ever need to, $2,000 is your replacement price (per hull). The all-up price for a new boat, with everything you need to go racing or gunkholing, is currently $15,000.

The magic to keeping the Happy Cat’s tubular platform stiff is the anodized aluminum frame that holds it all together. Tension cables crisscrossed beneath the trampolines provide additional stiffness in waves. The frame also serves as attachment points for the trampolines, which are clipped on rather than laced like most catamaran tramps.

The boat, Caslow says, can be assembled in roughly 40 minutes—from taken out of the storage bags to inflated and sails hoisted. Upgrading from the standard manual pump to a 12-volt air pump accelerates the process, of course.

Bags? That’s right. The entire boat and rig fit into four bags collectively small enough to transport in the average-size car trunk. This portability is its primary selling point, especially in Europe, where hundreds of owners and devotees regularly gather to rally and raid on alpine lakes and coastal enclaves. Its second selling point is that it sails as well as most fiberglass recreational catamarans.

“It definitely caught my eye when we first walked up to it,” Chuck Allen says. “The bright-red hulls, the carbon rig, all the ropes, but especially the interesting setup with the rudder and centerboard being on centerline. I’d never sailed a catamaran with a centerboard.

“The hulls are really firm—they feel just like a RIB tube, and all the aluminum framing and wires are nice quality. I was really curious how it would sail, and believe it or not, it sailed like a champ.”

Greg Stewart says his first impression was one of skepticism as well. “It seemed like it would be one of those boats that looked cool on land but would let us down, but it didn’t at all. It sailed amazingly. It tacked well enough that I didn’t have to backwind the jib, and got up to speed again quickly.”

The ability to tack it like a dinghy, Stewart says, is because of the centerboard and because the rudder is mounted in the best place possible. “What makes it steer so well is the rudder is so far aft, which gives you a nice turning moment between it and the centerboard.”

The centerboard has up/down lines that are led to the front beam and cam cleats, but there is a breaker line in case you get into shallow waters. The centerboard casing also acts as an anchor point for the dolphin striker.

The reverse “wave-piercing” bows have a lot of buoyancy down low, Stewart adds. When he was sailing upwind through chop, they “just want to lift and rise up over the wave.” If flying a hull gets a bit too unnerving, he says, a small ease on the mainsheet or a slight bear away makes the boat settle right down with a soft and pillowy landing. Stewart forgot to conduct the obligatory capsize test, but he said afterward that the boat tended to simply slip sideways if the weather hull got too high. The optional masthead float, however, would be a good choice for peace of mind, he says.

“There’s a great sensation of speed,” Powlison reports, especially with the 91-square-foot gennaker. “The Velocitek SpeedPuck that was on the boat was reading 10 to 11 knots regularly, and it wasn’t hard at all to tack or jibe either. The spinnaker clew is pretty high, and the boomless square-top mainsail (124 square feet) makes it really easy to get across the boat.”

“This boat rips,” was Allen’s final assessment. He gave it high marks all around, but what ultimately stole his favor was a browse through Grabner’s catalog, which showcased the Happy Cat’s versatility: Leave the mast in its bag, erect the optional sun awning, and slap on the outboard motor bracket to transform it into an outboard-powered exploration craft and swimming platform. Or strap on extra fore and aft trampolines, load the boat up with camping gear in dry bags, and explore new places.

“Its biggest appeal really is its portability,” Stewart says. “If you don’t have easy access to a yacht club or storage near the water, you can easily keep this in the garage or apartment without taking up much space at all. Throw it in the car and take it wherever you want.”

Assembly, Caslow says, is simple and quick once the hulls are inflated. The tubes slide into grooves in the frame, tension cables are clipped on with carabiners, the trampoline is strapped on, and the mast can be raised by one person once it’s pinned onto the ball joint.

When it’s assembled, the Hurricane Carbon is only 175 pounds, but it is still a bit unwieldy for solo ramp launching. For this particular challenge, Grabner offers flip-up “slip wheels” that mount to the aft beam and stay on the boat while sailing. With your standard big-wheeled catamaran dolly, however, it’s easy to move around and beach-launch. And once you’re underway and zipping along, crew extended on the wire and the soft bounce of the hull on your bottom, you’ll just want to keep on sailing—happy as a cat on nip.

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Racing sailing dinghy

Fun in its purest form.

Is the wind picking up and you can feel your adrenaline building? Are there already loads of windsurfers, kite surfers and wing foils out on the water? Your Tiwal 3R inflatable dinghy is waiting impatiently for you in its two bags. In just 25 minutes you will be out on the water too. What is on the agenda? Gliding, planing, and surfing. Just a maximum of fun, sensations, and plenty of oxygen!

Maximum boat speed

2 bags + sail

Easily transportable, your boat fits in 2 bags

25 minutes…

To assemble your Tiwal 3R!

To assemble your Tiwal 3R!​

A light and precise boat for exceptional sensations

The Tiwal 3R is a supercharged dinghy that is easy to sail. It accelerates in the slightest breeze and has all the power you need to move to the next patch of air whilst maintaining your speed. It quickly gets up on the plane, and plays with all the elements, whether at sea or on the lake. At sea, it is a pleasure to be on your boat and ride the swell, descending the wave and accelerating in the surf. Breathe easy, it is euphoric.

The Tiwal 3R has excellent seaworthiness, even in heavier weather. It points well upwind and tacks in its own length. The boat combines lightness and responsiveness for an exceptional onboard experience. Have fun, you are in charge!

Performance and precision at your fingertips

The take-anywhere sport boat

• Sail + boom
• Structure Mast Daggerboard Rudder Manual pump Electric pump

A sporty sailing dinghy in just 25 minutes

The boat is assembled in 25 minutes without tools*. The leads for each line are color coded for easy setting up of the rig.

Disassembly happens even faster: in less than 20 minutes, you’ll have got your boat back in its bags.

*just a batten trim key for adjusting the tension

Download the Tiwal 3R assembly manual

Watch the video

Supercharged Features

The design of the Tiwal 3R is the result of intense collaboration between the Tiwal R&D team and our suppliers and super testers. The design choices make the Tiwal 3R a powerful and sporty boat, yet one that remains technically and physically accessible. The Tiwal 3R’s aluminum exoskeleton is specially designed and reinforced to withstand the high forces transmitted by the rig to the hull, even in strong conditions. The structure also allows the sailor’s weight to be shifted aft to increase the power of the boat as the wind picks up. As always in the spirit of our range, the challenge was obviously to offer a boat that can be assembled and disassembled quickly. The dinghy’s form and style are simple and sleek. The Tiwal 3R offers an unprecedented combination of supercharged fun and unmatched practicality for this type of boat.

High-tech design

Technical specs.

Mast : carbon C90 16′ 1” – 5 parts

Boom : carbon C90 - 2 parts

Structure : anodized aluminum

Hull length : 10' 6"

Sail : North Sails (Xi V2 and monofilm)

Blocks : Harken & Ronstan

Rudder blade & daggerboard : Composite material

Boat weight (empty) : 121 lbs

Maximum weight on wings : 1 adult / 242 lbs

Draft : 2' 5"

Tiwal 3R sails

Sail in all weathers

A choice of 3 sails is available to suit all practices.

The 77 ft² “Light wind” sail is designed for winds of 8 to 15 knots maximum.

The 67 ft² “Freeride” sail is more suited to stronger winds (upwards of 10 knots).

The 77/67 ft² reefable sail enables you to sail in all wind conditions.

Customer reviews

We pay particular attention to the construction standards of our boats. Each manufacturing stage is carefully checked here in our workshops and at our suppliers. We take great pride in the quality of our boats. That’s why all our parts are guaranteed for 3 years in private use.  More details

• What is the difference between the Tiwal 3R and the Tiwal 3?
• How to compete in official regattas with the Tiwal 3R racing dinghy?

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Five Rides that Push the Limits of High-performance Sailing

Practical sailor looks at a wide range of sailing craft that emphasize light-air sailing ability and maximum speed.

When yacht designer Bill Lee latched on to the phrase “Fast is Fun,” he did more than label his own design efforts, he sparked a new generation of sailboats that continue to attract ardent followers. Much has changed since those early days when Lees Santa Cruz 27s were being built by land-bound surfers waiting for big winter swells.

Lees plant, affectionately known as the “Chicken Coop,” has been upstaged by climate-controlled facilities and much more esoteric building techniques, but the impact of his designs-particularly on the traditional East Coast naval architecture establishment-reverberates today. The high-performance experiments of Lee and other like-minded sailors spawned a worldwide obsession with lightweight boats that could plane on a reach, and thanks to innovations in designs and materials, that passion continues to grow today.

Photos by Ralph Naranjo

This fledgling group of speed enthusiasts prompted the evolution of a number of design elements and construction techniques aimed squarely at maximizing speed: planing hull forms, carbon rigs, specialized hardware, and sail plans that favor lift over drag. Add to this the innovations from C-Class catamarans, planing Aussie skiffs, and the offbeat foil flyers, each adding its own signature performance push, and its no surprise that sailing speed records have continued to tumble.

The legacy left in the wake of these seafaring hot-rodders has benefited the average sailor with new materials, hardware, and design improvements found in modern boats. And now, theres a growing interest in the fleet of what Lee calls “street legal” boats that further push the envelope of the fast-is-fun philosophy. These boats are usually found in the less- trafficked corners of the boat shows, in essence a sideshow thats well worth a closer look.

After sifting through the field of sailing sports cars on the market today, PS identified five very different production craft that lived up to our expectations. They all meet the “speedster” criteria, but by no means fall into the same mold. At the top end of our size and cost profile is a Lee legacy, the Santa Cruz 37, a wolf in wolfs clothing that offers performance as priority one, two, and three on the design criteria list. Next in line is the Andrews 28, a breakaway racer/cruiser that packs performance and a Spartan minimalists cruising package into a 25.7-foot waterline. Hard to miss is the Open 6.50, an out-and-out go-fast sport boat with room below for little more than a cooler and a bevy of high-tech sails. For the diehard dinghy sailor, we highlight the quick planing Stealth, a 14.5-footer that redefines reaching, and in true giant-slayer fashion, can fly by most 40-footers on a power reach. Finally, we hop aboard a turbo-charged windsurfer, the Starboard Futura, which is powered by a Neil Pryde sail and runs away with the award for most speed and fun for our dollar.

While some of these boats are designed with racing in mind, we rate them here purely according to their fun-factor, the ability to deliver the exhilaration that comes from sailing a high-performance boat. We are particularly interested in boats that can offer satisfying sailing in lighter winds of about 8 knots, common in most areas of North America. If exciting racing on a weekly basis is your goal, then we would recommend also looking at more mainstream boats that are supported by large Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) or one-design fleets in your region.

Santa Cruz 37

Lee may no longer be building boats, but his Santa Cruz legend lives on. The latest iteration of the fast-is-fun form belongs to a lightweight carbon-fiber/ epoxy-resin speedster designed by Kernan Yacht Design and built to International Standards Organization (ISO) Category A standards (designated for boats generally considered capable of offshore sailing). The hull and deck are bonded together, and carbon/PVC foam bulkheads and a carbon-reinforced E-glass grid are set in place using a methacrylate adhesive, creating a stiff, monocoque structure. Theres even a hydraulic lifting option that allows the fin and bulb keel to be retracted vertically for entry into shoal water.

The specs are interesting, and they highlight that this is a boat that must be sailed to be appreciated. Like a cat that is ready to pounce, the large mainsail-dominated sailplan delivers a responsive boost to every puff that crosses the deck. The SC-37 sailplan is indicative of the performance trend toward large mainsails and smaller jibs, and with a sail area/displacement ratio of 28, theres plenty of power to be found in the sailplan. Off the wind, the options increase.

A quick look at the pointy end of the boat reveals a double-barrel set of stem projections. The smaller, well-reinforced A-frame is meant for code-sail handling and is rugged enough to take the on-the-wind loading of a close reach in oceanic conditions. The 7-foot retractable carbon sprit puts the tack of an asymmetric spinnaker right where it belongs, in clear air well away from the furled headsail.

Below is a nicely accented interior thats more than a den for sailbags. The galley, berths, and a small center-line table offer functional accommodations. The cabin ambiance may not live up to a liveaboard cruisers expectations, but it certainly offers welcome solace for the off watch.

With one set of jib winches in the cockpit and a set on the cabintop for spinnaker handling, the helmsperson is not crowded, and theres space for every function. The main halyard is led below and clutched off on the spar itself, minimizing stretch and keeping the halyard tail well out of the way. Having to go below to blow the main halyard is not the best arrangement from a safety and convenience standpoint, but on a boat likely to have multiple crew members, it is not as much of an issue as it would be on a boat aimed at singlehanders or cruising couples. The only other problem we noticed was some rudder cassette binding when hard on the wind. By presstime, the builder had already changed the bearing engineering to eliminate this problem.

Bottom line: Despite its teething pains (rudder problems at this level of the game are not acceptable), the SC-37 truly ramps up the fun factor in this size category. If youre looking strictly for an IRC racer, there are better options out there, and in the more mainstream PHRF or one-design fleets racing, there are some Beneteaus and J/boats in this size range that may better meet your needs. However, if you want to flat out fly on a boat with modest cruising comforts, the SC-37 delivers in spades.

This 21-foot sport boat has been described as “100-percent carbon and 200-percent adrenalin,” and the combination delivers hoots and smiles from all on board. With a 43-percent ballast ratio, wide beam, and a sail area to displacement ratio that redefines the concept of being powered up, this high-strung sportboat gets going while others remain stuck in the water.

Carrying the fast-is-fun philosophy to the next level, Group Finot pushes the limits of what should be labeled “street legal.” In this miniaturized iteration of the go-fast ideal, they have merged an ultra-lightweight (1,168 pounds), carbon and foam-sandwich hull with a carbon sprit and spar. This delivers the ability to carry 425 square feet of sail upwind, and 812 square feet off the wind. Reminiscent of scaled-down 60-footers, this ultralight with a wide beam aft shows zip on and off the wind.

The Open 6.50 is an engineering masterpiece, and a clear example of how aerospace technology can be put to good use in boat building. The hull laminate and foam core are assembled dry in a closed mold and slipped into an autoclave to be baked under elevated pressure and temperature-curing like a high-tech loaf of bread. The carbon-fiber prepreg resin flows when heated, and the exacting nature of the pressure induced bond leads to laminate consistency and the highest of strength-to-weight ratios. Foam flotation and a sealed carbon mast provide the boat with an unsinkable ISO Category-C label and added resistance to capsizing.

Thanks to a drop-keel design, the Open 6.50 can change its draft from 6 feet, 6 inches to 1 foot for easy trailer launching and recovery. Twin rudders tame steering characteristics despite the ultra-wide beam carried all the way to the transom. All of the controls are placed at just the right points for easy trimming, and the flat-top, high-aspect-ratio main and jib deliver maximum punch. The 7-foot retractable carbon sprit adds a downwind dimension to sailing that can only be described as turbocharged.

Optimum crew size varies with conditions and how hard the throttle will be kept down. Two can have plenty of fun sailing the boat, but to squeeze out maximum performance, three to five seems to be the right number, and the range depends upon a tally of size and skill.

The Open 6.50 is an all-Harken hardware platform, and both the deck layout and choice of gear fit the job at hand. The boats light-air ability is astounding, and in only 10 knots of breeze, the crew can coax bouts of planing. Hiking is optional, and remains a legs-in effort, but when the true wind and boat speed start to look the same, its amazing how far forward the apparent wind moves, another reason that a sprit-set, reaching asymmetric spinnaker is favored over a fuller-cut, deep reaching sail.

Bottom line: The Open 6.50 revs up the fine art of daysailing, but the big downside is the price tag, about the same as a well-appointed BMW. With it comes no bunks, diesel auxiliary, or potential for overnighting-just the pure enjoyment of having one of the fastest and most fun sailing machines to be found on any local bay, lake, or other inshore estuary.

Alan Andrews has introduced a new breed of racer-cruiser, and theres good reason to see it as a break-through boat. Gone is the gingerbread trim of tradition and the excess weight that creates increased wetted surface, skin drag, and all the other drag issues that give many cruisers a chronic case of the slows. In its place is a minimalist approach-simple but functional basic cruising amenities, a compact diesel auxiliary and an obvious emphasis on the rig, sailplan, and deck layout-the stuff that sailing is really all about.

The foam sandwich hull is created through a resin-infusion process that minimizes void content and maximizes core adhesion. Carbon fiber is used in key high-load areas to achieve the necessary strength with the least amount of additional weight. A grid is molded into the bilge and loads from the deck-stepped spar are transferred via a compression post to the grid.

An innovative lifting keel retracts into a centerline slot, masquerading in the cabin as a convenient table. With just a quick hoist, the 7-foot deep-draft foil and bulb keel morphs into a 2-foot, 8-inch gunkholer thats trailerable, a feature that opens up North Americas most appealing cruising destinations.

A high-aspect ratio, carbon fiber, tiller-steered rudder can be easily pulled out of its transom-mounted cassette. The combination keel and rudder adjustability make the Andrews 28 much more than just another reincarnation of a Midget Offshore Racing Club (MORC) boat.

When it comes to weekend adventure or a weekslong summer cruise in a remote trailer-sailing destination, theres much going for the A-28. Its accommodations, though far from sumptuous, are adequate for the job at hand. With a sink, one-burner stove, ice box, and enough space to prepare a simple meal, the mini galley rates an adequate score. The berths are comfortable, and theres a small but welcome nav station. Tankage is minimal, but with an enclosed head, albeit with a shade-like faux door, the boat qualifies as a pocket cruiser.

The real appeal of this boat is found underway, when its thoroughbred handling characteristics and efficient sailplan come into their own. The carbon sprit allows a sizable asymmetric spinnaker to be handled by a shorthanded crew, and the sail area is enough to keep things moving even when the breeze isn’t much over 5 knots. The tiller-steered helm is a delight, and Andrews legacy rings through loud and clear.

Bottom line: Sylvana Yachts has delivered a boat built to a performance standard. They have kept the weight in check, and the result is reminiscent of when Porsche built its original speedster, a vehicle that rekindled the fun of driving. Like the German auto icon, Andrews and Sylvan have come up with a sensible price point for their redefined pocket racer/cruiser. At just shy of $90,000, the boat is in the same price point as Hunters, Catalinas, and Beneteaus with similar waterline lengths.

Stealth 14.6

Some sailors see dinghies as childs play while others revel in a chance to hold onto a bit of youth. In truth, the Stealth is more Aussie skiff than traditional 420 or Flying Junior. From above, its shaped like a pizza slice, and the hard chines, high-aspect ratio alloy blades and substantial carbon sprit allude to an elevated level of performance. Conceived by the crew at Kernan Yacht Design and built by CL Sailboats of Fort Erie, Ontario, the Stealth injects rocket fuel into the sport of dinghy sailing.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in this little speedster is the sensible blend of materials that have been used to deliver performance at an affordable price. The hull and deck are comprised of a hand-laid E-glass sandwich structure that is joined with a methylacrylate adhesive called Plexus. The combination of good workmanship and mainstream materials delivers a stiff, durable hull that weighs in at 150 pounds, making it capable of car-top transport. By avoiding esoteric materials and costly molding procedures, the builder is able to add carbon spars and North Sails canvas to the package and still keep the boat price just shy of $10,000.

One of the most interesting attributes of this little skiff is the asymmetric spinnaker that can be set and doused with one set of lines. In 15-knot conditions, a singlehander simply bears off a tad, puts the breeze on the beam, and pops the chute, adding a warp-speed boost. Instead of launching into chaos, the chine digs in, and the boat climbs on top of the water. Sailing takes on a definite surfing overtone, and the positive control of the helm keeps things under control. When its time to reign in the excitement, theres no need for any white knuckle gymnastics, just uncleat the double-ended set-and-douse line, and retract the asymm into its turtle. Caging the beast has never been so easy.

Bottom line: Kids growing bored with nudging a conventional dinghy through the water will gain a new perspective about sailing the moment they set off on a double-digit plane, and the Stealth brings that goal within easy reach. If a bargain-priced, plane-on-a-reach performance will make your day, the Stealth is bound to hold appeal.

• Starboard Futura

The irony in this David-and-Goliath quest for speed under sail is that the smallest, lightest, and less expensive gear often goes the fastest. And nowhere is the sail area/displacement ratio as telling as it is with the last of our speedsters, a Starboard windsurfer and a Neil Pryde sail.

This stand-up sailer has no cockpit, rudder, standing rigging, or hint of creature comfort beyond padded footstraps. But it can leave all of the other boats reviewed here in the dust. The downside of going 25 knots-plus on a windsurfer is the need to spend a couple of seasons developing the skill to access this planing phenomenon. Todays wide, light boards and high-aspect sails make this learning curve much easier than it was during the dawn of the sport when narrow, longboards weighing as much as an elm tree were propelled with tablecloth-like sails.

Test pilot Tara Mitchell (photo above) tried out a 111-liter-volume board powered with a 53-square-foot Neil Pryde sail, one of many designs the company has pioneered. The “Combat” sails are highly reinforced and often used in heavier winds. Carbon masts and booms also fit the strong-and-light theme, and when it comes to shaping up the innovations of sailmakers like Neil Pryde, stiff carbon spars are a big plus. Interestingly, innovative full-batten design sails with fat-head high-aspect ratio shapes were seen on windsurfing sails well before Americas Cup syndicates caught on to their advantage.

Bottom line: Companies like Starboard manufacture a wide range of boards that are light, stable, and fast. The new Futura model is a responsive, highly maneuverable board thats easy to plane and perfectly at home in a wide range of conditions.

Fast, light boats are fun to sail, but there are a few tradeoffs that boat buyers should keep in mind. The first is that all the performance is contingent upon keeping the boats as light as possible, and if youre a person that brings gear to the boat but never takes anything home, beware of whats happening to the waterline. Just as multihulls bog down when overloaded, so do these nimble go-fast monohulls.

Theres also a need to visualize these boats as sports cars, not pickup trucks, and while letting an old Westsail pound against a pier will usually result in more damage being done to the pier than the boat, these new hulls with their stiff, thin skin, sandwich structure arent built to take such non-sailing point loads.

Although Technical Editor Ralph Naranjo, an avid windsurfer, favors the stand-up side of performance sailing and points to the knots-per-dollar advantage the windsurfer offers, he agrees that among our test field, the Andrews 28 is the best all-around performance cruiser/racer for our general readership. Its a boat that can be club-raced by a shorthanded crew and can serve as an excellent pocket cruiser for those who rank voyaging under sail higher than dockside entertaining. This little sloop has been designed to be easily maintained and quick to get underway-features that definitely deliver more hours under sail.

• Santa Cruz 37 in Context
• Open 6.50 in Context
• Andrews 28 in Context
• Stealth 14.6 in Context
• Download PDF Format

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The Definitive Guide to Different Types of Dinghies

If you’ve ever gone out sailing or are just starting out, you’ve probably had the opportunity to get onto a dinghy to scoot yourself around. Dinghies can be extremely useful and fun at the same time whether you’re on a sailing dinghy or a power dinghy. The first time I ever got on a dinghy was a two person sailing dinghy, which is exactly when I started learning how to sail.

So what are the different types of dinghies? The different types of dinghies include sailing dinghies and power dinghies. Sailing dinghies have sails and do not have any type of motor attached to them and power dinghies have no sails and rely on motor power to move through the water.

When it comes to a dinghy, don’t let the size fool you. These little vessels can catch some serious speed and are central to many boating competitions around the world.

However, sailing dinghies and power dinghies usually serve different purposes, so let’s dive into the different types of dinghies to get a better understanding.

Sailing Dinghies

Sailing around on a dinghy is one of the more overlooked styles of sailing since everyone seems to want to get on a bigger yacht.

While there’s no arguing against the feeling of sailing on a larger vessel, dinghy sailing is a lot of fun which requires a good understanding of sailing fundamentals and an eye for precision.

High-Performance Dinghies

A high-performance sailing dinghy is as the name suggests; high-performance.

Its design is optimized to produce a fast and powerful sailing dinghy that can perform well in many environments and is often found in top regattas around the world. As you’ll soon realize, most sailing dinghies are constructed using fiberglass.

High-performance sailing dinghies usually have a spinnaker that can be attached to the sailboat so as to improve the speed of the boat under the right conditions.

Along with that, these sailing dinghies have what’s called a trapeze which is a wire that’s attached to the top of the mast and comes all the way down to the sailor’ harness.

This allows you to balance the force of the wind against the sail when the weather really kicks in.

Racing Dinghies

As you might have assumed already from the name, racing sailing dinghies are used primarily in racing environments.

While not too dissimilar to a high-performance sailing dinghy, there are some differences in terms of size, weight, and shape of the hull.

The design of a racing sailing dinghy is very important, but the skills of the crew on-board are usually what matters the most. Again, these types of sailing dinghies are made out of fiberglass.

The tactics implemented by the crew on a racing sailing dinghy are incredibly important. A racing sailing dinghy allows for crews to take advantage of the dinghy’s design so that they can tack and jibe much faster and more fluid than other dinghies.

On top of that, the hull of a racing sailing dinghy is quite flat which allows it to plane much easier resulting in a reduction of hull surface area touching the water.

Cruising Dinghies

If you’re not looking to compete with a racing or high-performance sailing dinghy, then you’re more likely to be sailing around in a cruising sailing dinghy. As the name suggests, they are made to cruise around the water and comfortably at that.

Designed for stability and safety in mind, cruising sailing dinghies are one of the most leisurely dinghies to take out on the water. Cruising dinghies are almost always made out of fiberglass.

As opposed to the previous sailing dinghies, cruising sailing dinghies generally have smaller sails and a more round hull .

As you might have guessed, the smaller the sails the less potential energy (and thus speed) your dinghy has.

The smaller sail also makes it easier to handle while cruising along. When it comes to the hull, a rounder hull also brings stability to the sailing dinghy as well as a very low chance of planing since there’s more contact between the hull and the water.

Cruiser-Racer Dinghies

If you have an inkling for racing but want to just cruise around comfortably from time to time, using a cruiser-racer sailing dinghy is an excellent choice.

These sailing dinghies are perfect for many different sailing environments and are my preferred type of sailing dinghy. It’s extremely common to find cruiser-racer dinghies made out of fiberglass.

Just like a cruising dinghy, the experience of being on a cruiser-racer dinghy is comfortable and provides good stability when out on the water.

However, if you want to turn up the notch and get it moving quickly, you can do just that since they have flatter hulls and generally larger sails. In the end, a cruiser-racer dinghy is right smack dab between a racing and cruising dinghy.

Classic Dinghies

If you’re looking for a classic experience on a sailing dinghy, then why not try out a… classic!

Classic dinghies can be found more often than you might think and can be fun to learn on when just starting out.

While you definitely won’t get the same performance as the other types of sailing dinghies, they’re quite comfortable and easy to use.

As opposed to most sailing dinghies, classic dinghies can be found to be made out of wood but usually they’re made from fiberglass.

Classic dinghies are unique in the sense that they have a cat sail and mast configuration . A cat, or “catboat”, has a single sail connected to a mast positioned at the bow of the sailboat.

Again, this makes them very easy to use and can be a great way to start learning how to sail. Also, I think they look rather nice, so beauty definitely plays a bit of a role in using a classic dinghy.

Power Dinghies

Before setting sail and exploring the beautiful waters of the world, you’ll want to make sure you know what kind of dinghy you have on-board.

As opposed to sailing dinghies, larger sailboats often times will have a power dinghy on-board in case you and your crew need to scoot around the local area quickly and easily.

Also, if you ever plan on anchoring out anywhere, it’s helpful to have a power dinghy to get to and from shore or to simply explore the surroundings.

The main differentiating factor between one power dinghy and another is the type of motor. More often than not, you’ll find dinghies with outboard motors, but that doesn’t encompass ever power dinghy out there.

Outboard Motor

As I just mentioned, the most common type of motor you’ll find on a power dinghy is an outboard motor.

Simply put, an outboard motor is attached on the backside of the power dinghy by means of a stern bracket and clamps or by bolts and nuts. Most outboard motor are powered by gasoline/petrol, however I’ve been on plenty of electrically powered dinghies when out fishing.

Outboard motors are popular because they’re relatively easy to maintain and can be replaced quickly if they crap out.

They also can be tilted up while still propelling your power dinghy forward, which allows you to cruise around shallow water without having your motor’s propellers hit the ground.

Your outboard motor can be either 2-stroke or 4-stroke. A 2-stroke motor requires mixing the gasoline/petrol with oil (most of the times this is automatic) and are generally less expensive to purchase.

A 4-stroke motor doesn’t require an oil-gasoline/petrol mix and is usually quieter, smoother, and more environmentally friendly, however more expensive to buy.

Inboard Motor

It’s not common that you’ll find a power dinghy with an inboard motor. However, you might see them if you’re on a power dinghy that holds 10 or more passengers and if the power dinghy is heavier in weight.

An inboard motor is fitted inside the power dinghy, so working on it or replacing it is a much larger hassle compared to an outboard motor.

Since power dinghies with inboard motors are quite heavy, you won’t find them on most sailboats. You will see them on shores where people are being taxied around as well as on-board much larger water vessels like megayachts.

Jet Drive Motor

Another type of dinghy motor is the jet drive motor, which, like the inboard motor, isn’t the most common type of motor to see on a power dinghy.

Similar to an inboard motor, a jet drive motor is generally built into the power dinghy making it more difficult to maintain and replace.

However, having a jet drive motor has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is one of safety being that, similar to a jet ski, a power dinghy with a jet drive motor doesn’t have propellers meaning nearby swimmers are much safer.

A major disadvantage to jet drive motor is that they can easily get items stuck inside of them, like plastic bags, jellyfish, and more, resulting in the motor shutting down.

Dinghy Materials

Apart from a power dinghies motor, another major differentiating factor when it comes to power dinghies is the material it’s made out of.

While the most common types of power dinghy you’ll find nowadays are inflatable, there are still plenty of solid material power dinghies out there.

If you’re on a power dinghy, there’s a good chance that it’s an inflatable power dinghy. There are several advantages of using an inflatable power dinghy especially that they’re easy to stow and less likely to damage vessels when they coming alongside.

A major disadvantage to using an inflatable power dinghy is that, unlike solid materials, they’re easier to puncture by reefs, sticks, and other sharp debris.

Fiberglass and Metal

Power dinghies that are made out of solid materials are often made out of either fiberglass or metal. While these types of materials aren’t as common nowadays for a power dinghy onboard a sailboat to have, they certainly aren’t rare.

The main advantage of having a power dinghy made out of fiberglass or metal is that it’s highly unlikely to be punctured compared to an inflatable power dinghy.

Some disadvantages include the fact that they can be heavy and they can scratch a sailboat’s hull when coming alongside.

Unless you’re a collector of classic dinghies, whether power or sailing, you won’t find many dinghies made out of wood nowadays.

Certainly, they exist but on much rarer occasions. The main advantage of a wood power dinghy is that it can look classy and antique-like while also not easily puncturable.

However, the downsides include those of the fiberglass/metal power dinghies as well as it being susceptible to leaks and having a greater maintenance cost compared to other power dinghies.

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Become the Confident Skipper of Your Own Sailboat

The best dinghy sailboats for all your sailing activities..

• Post author: Anns
• Post published: October 12, 2022
• Post category: Uncategorized
• Post comments: 0 Comments

Introduction

If you’re looking to go sailing, it’s important to know what type of boat you should use. Here are some of the best dinghy sailboats that can help you get started:

The Sunfish is a small, easy-to-sail dinghy that’s perfect for beginners. With its large sail area relative to its size, the Sunfish can be sailed with a single person (though it’s typically raced in pairs).

The Sunfish is incredibly popular and has been around since 1957; it’s estimated that more than 1 million have been built worldwide. In fact, many people start their sailing careers on this very boat! You can find them throughout the world: from Florida to Australia and everywhere in between.

Racing dinghies are often called “cruising” boats because they’re so much fun to sail on open water—even if you don’t plan on racing. They’re easy enough to tow behind your car or truck when you need transportation, but still fast enough for some serious action once you get out there!

The Laser is a single-handed dinghy that can reach speeds of over 20 mph. This is because it’s lightweight, making it easy to move with one hand and accelerate quickly. The Laser is also very responsive, which means you’ll feel like you’re in complete control of your boat while sailing. This makes the Laser great for racing because it will let you get ahead of your competition easily.

The best part about this boat is its versatility—you can take out family members or friends if they have never sailed before, or if they aren’t very experienced sailors!

Hobie Bravo

If you’re looking for a dinghy sailboat that is great for racing, the Hobie Bravo is your best bet. It’s easy to sail and can be handled by anyone. This boat can also be enjoyed by kids, teens, and adults alike—making it a fun option for your whole family.

If you’re looking for a dinghy sailboat, the Optimist is the smallest but most popular of all. It’s a single-handed boat that is ideal for kids to learn to sail in. The stability of this boat makes it safe even for young kids to use.

The Optimist can be used as an introductory experience or as a stepping stone towards bigger boats like the Laser, which we’ll discuss later.

The 470 is the largest of our dinghy sailboats, designed for three people. It’s just as much fun to sail with two or even one person though! The 470 also comes in a super light version that you can use with a spinnaker.

The 420 is a small, two-person racing dinghy that’s ideal for beginners. It’s also a great boat for experienced sailors looking to get into competitive sailing. With its fast hull design and lightweight rig, the 420 can travel faster than most other dinghies.

The 420 is simple enough that you’ll be able to learn how to sail it in just a few hours—but it still offers plenty of challenge as your skills improve. A well-built boat will be easy to balance on the water and responsive when handled correctly by both crew members at once.

The Snipe is a small, fast boat that is known for its maneuverability. It can be sailed by one person and is popular with beginners because it’s so easily handled. The boat will also accommodate two people for short periods of time, but because it was designed to be single-handed, having two crew on board does make things more difficult.

The Snipe is a good choice for lakes and ponds because its shallow draft allows it to skim over shallow waters (which often have rocks or other obstacles in them). This makes the Snipe especially useful as a dinghy sailing boat for racing around buoys or around markers in open water races that use buoys as markers instead of land-based marks like lighthouses or buoys tethered near shorelines.

If you want to go out sailing, here are the boats you can use.

If you’re looking to go out sailing, here is a list of the boats you can use:

Sunfish: A great boat to start on. It’s inexpensive and easy to sail.

Laser: The Laser is a one-design class dinghy that is used for racing around the world. It’s fast and stable, so it’s perfect for racing or just having fun in smooth water conditions.

Hobie Bravo: This boat has been designed by Hobie Cat Company specifically for beginners who want more freedom when sailing their boats on lakes, rivers or calm waters. They are compact enough that they can fit into most vehicles easily, making them very portable! The Hobie Bravo has an adjustable centerboard that lets you adjust the draft of your sailboat depending on how much wind there will be during your trip (or if there isn’t any). This makes it easier than ever before!

We hope you enjoyed reading about the best dinghy sailboats for all your sailing activities. We know there are a lot of options out there and we tried to give a variety of different boats so you can find what works best for where you live (or want to sail).

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Better Sailing

Dinghy Sailing: Beginner’s Guide

Sailing on a Dinghy or Small Boat is a good choice in learning how to sail. This is because Dinghies are simple, easy to maneuver, and very responsive to your actions as well as to Wind conditions. Sailing on a Dinghy will give beginners a sort of training ground – they will learn the basics and understand the different important aspects of the sport.

Learn what this Sailing Variation is all about. The following sections will give you some insights on the various features of Dinghy Sailing:

Dinghies – Types and Classes

Sailing History indicates that Sailing was used for trade and transportation before it became a source of enjoyment. It was in the late 1900s that people began using Small Boats for leisure and sport.

The term ‘Dinghy’ is from India, which means ‘small’. A Dinghy is a small Sailboat designed to accommodate one or two persons and is usually used in recreational Sailing. It is powered by wind, outboard motor, or paddles.

In general, Dinghies are classified according to their purpose. They come in many types and features which suit different conditions.

In this section, know the numerous Dinghy Types and Classes:

Basic Types

• General – Purpose Dinghies : Dinghies under this type are most appropriate when learning the very basics of Sailing. These are usually used for leisure and enjoyment. Wayfarer is an example of a General-Purpose Dinghy. It is less than 16 feet long and is often used for short trips. Other examples include Mirror and Enterprise.
• Skiffs : Considered as the fastest Dinghy Type, a Skiff is a flat-hulled open Dinghy which can accommodate one or two persons. It can be powered using oars or a motor. Examples of Skiffs are Musto Skiff, 49er, Jersey Skiff, and 18ft. Skiff.
• High-Performance Dinghies : Dinghies under this type are fast and are used primarily for Racing.
• Racing Dinghies : As the name suggests, Dinghies under this type are used primarily for Dinghy Racing.

Here are some Classes of Dinghies:

• Laser Radial
• Jersey Skiff

These are the basic Dinghy Types and Classes. Take note that each one has its own features and is designed for a particular purpose.

Dinghies – Care and Maintenance

A Dinghy can be subjected to a lot of elements that can contribute to wear and tear over time. Thus, make the necessary steps to take care of your Dinghy after sailing in order to maintain its good performance every time you go onboard.

There are several things to do as far as proper care and maintenance is concerned. In this section, know some guidelines on how to take good care of your Dinghy:

• Once the Dinghy is ashore, rinse it thoroughly with fresh water.
• After washing the Rudder, Centerboard, and/or Daggerboard, store them in their respective bags.
• Make regular inspections so that damages or problems (if any) will be attended to before they become worse.
• Make sure to run repairs on parts that need to be fixed.
• Lay the Mainsail out on a clean, flat surface.
• Fold the top over onto the body of the Sail. Roll the Sail carefully and make sure that the roll is at right angles with the Leech.
• After rolling the entire Sail, put it in a sail bag.
• You can use a trolley to store your Dinghy. Tie the boat securely on the trolley. Put the detachable items inside the Dinghy. Fit the boat cover over the top and make sure that it is fastened firmly. Secure it under the Hull, Bow, as well as the sidedecks. To prevent your Dinghy from being blown over, tie the Sailboat down to securing points on the ground.
• Put your Dinghy in an area where it can be safe and secure. Dinghies can be left at Dinghy parks in many Sailing Clubs.

These are some tips on how to take care of your Dinghy and keep its good working condition. Regular checks and inspection on the components of your Dinghy can help ensure its good performance every time you go sailing.

Small Sailboat Buying Guide – How to Buy Dinghies

Dinghies and small Keelboats come in a wide range of features. Each is made and designed for a particular purpose to suit the needs of so many fans of Small Boat or Dinghy Sailing. However, there are many models that can be used for other types of Sailing besides the one in which it is designed for.

As a beginner, you need not buy a Dinghy or a Small Keelboat. Buy one when you have already tried different Dinghies and other Sailboats, and if you know by now the Sailing Variation that attracts you most.

In this section, know the different things to consider in buying Small Boats:

• Consider your skill and experience : Obviously, Sailing will be much more fun and a lot safer if your Sailboat is suitable to your skill as well as experience. Many Dinghies and small Keelboats have features that make them a bit more complex compared to other boats of the same type, therefore requiring more techniques. Hence, take your level of skill and know-how into consideration. Make sure that you and your Small Boat are well-matched to each other.
• Decide what Sailing Variation interests you most : Suitability is very important. As mentioned earlier, each Dinghy or Small Keelboat is designed for a particular type of Sailing. Therefore, make up your mind on what sort of Sailing attracts you most.
• Make some research : There are so many information resources available that can give you some ideas on the features of different Small Boats. Magazines and websites related to Sailing are good sources of information that you need.
• Get some advice : Experienced sailors can give you pointers on the advantages and drawbacks of a number of Small Boats. It is likely that they have tried several boats with varying features so they will be helpful in choosing the right Small Boat for you.

Make use of our Small Boat Buying Guide, as these pointers can help you in buying Dinghies. Take your time in the selection process. Look at several types and check the features of each one. Choose the one that suits your needs.

You can also read the “ How to Right a Capsized Sailboat ” article for this essential information if you thinking of starting Dinghy Sailing.

Dinghy Sailing Beginner’s Guide – Conclusion

It is obvious that knowing the essentials of Small Boat Sailing is crucial should you wish to pursue this Sailing Variation. Aside from the fact that you will learn different skills, the more important thing is that the learning process is a fun and exciting experience.

Peter is the editor of Better Sailing. He has sailed for countless hours and has maintained his own boats and sailboats for years. After years of trial and error, he decided to start this website to share the knowledge.

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Fast sailboats from the future

Reach high speeds, helm with confidence a new generation of sailboats

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Fastest Cruising Sailboats

Last Updated by

Jacob Collier

August 30, 2022

If you're looking to buy a sailboat, getting a cruising sailboat may have crossed your mind. So, what are the fastest cruising sailboats out there?

Like everything else in life, not all sailboats are created equal. Cruising sailboats have a lot to offer if you are looking for a reliable boat that allows you to take a long getaway and is easy to navigate.

Some of the fastest cruising sailboats include the Beneteau Oceanis 30.1, which can travel at 20 knots; the Grand Soleil 34, which touches 20 knots; and the Italia 9.98, which can reach up to 40 knots. Of course, there are many other high-speed cruising sailboats that you can choose from.

If you love to cruise but still want to reach your destination fast, then a fast cruising sailboat will be your best option. After asking many sailing experts and cruising sailboat owners, we finally have the skinny on the fastest cruising sailboats.

As avid watersports enthusiasts and sailboat owners, we can help guide you through the process of choosing between some of the fastest cruising sailboats in the world.

Table of contents

‍ Fastest Cruising Sailboats

The boat you buy should be influenced by your local waters or where you plan to travel. Because many portions of the coastline are exposed to the ocean, if our coastal cruising grounds were in New England, we’d want our boat to be able to manage offshore conditions Due to the logs and debris floating about in the Pacific Northwest, we’d want a sturdy rudderpost and a shielded prop; a tall rig would be a godsend in the light airs that are common during summer. It would be pointless to buy a boat without a centerboard if I lived near the Florida Keys.

Because her cruising gear makes up lesser of the overall displacement than a bluewater liveaboard yacht, a coastal boat can be a relatively light design. However, going offshore does not require sacrificing sailing performance. The classic Valiant 40 by Bob Perry is a wonderful example. Its low displacement, strong sailing ability, and comfortable layout make it an excellent candidate for long-distance cruising; many other recent designs are the same.

Italia 9.98

Italia Yachts created the Italia 9.98 Fuoriserie, which won the ORC - C - 2015 World Championship. She is a racing yacht that may also be used for cruising. However, the design is intended to race and win, and the mast and boom are composed of carbon fiber. The interior features include two double bedrooms, two sleepers in the saloon, a kitchen, and a chart table.

The 34-foot Italia 9.98 was clearly the most striking of the five boats that made up the Performance Cruiser class in terms of pure look. The boat comes in two versions: the 34 Club, designed for cruising and is distinguished by its twin wheels, and the 34 Fuoriserie, designed for racing.

Both versions have the same interior, which is extremely welcoming and modern for cruising. A wide trimmed in a teak cutaway that can also be used as a ring frame lead to the spacious double-berth forward, which virtually beckons you to climb in and kick far back. The drop-leaf table, crossed by the keel-stepped spar, is flanked by two huge center settees.

The galley and the navigation station, located to port and starboard, are welcome surprises. The galley contains a huge fridge and a two-burner stove gimballed, while the navigation station is bigger than you could anticipate for a boat this size.

Innovative, detachable cloth lockers may be offloaded while in race mode. Cabin doors encased in metal for durability are among the many appealing touches to this vessel. There's a large double stateroom to port and a tiny double cabin to starboard. Except for some teak trim, all furnishings and fixtures are sleek, white composite constructions that appear more aeronautical than nautical. Overall, the entire design and aesthetics are very nice and contemporary.

The cockpit is roomy on the inside; the molded-in bench seats may be enlarged with specialized storage bins, which can be left at the dock for racing and reinstalled when cruising. A large lazarette locker is located aft of the beam-width traveler, which is located aft of the tiller.

The open transom gives the impression of being aboard a larger boat. The German-style double-ended mainsheet is led below deck, adding to the modern motif; sheet leads are, of course, changeable. The genuinely exceptional nonskid is molded into the deck.

The boat has an optional sprit that could be used to fly, reaching, and off-wind sails. Another version of the sprit incorporates an anchor roller; the boat we were on did not have a windlass, but one is available. It would be simple to adapt this boat from racing to cruising mode.

The Grand Soleil 34

When the Italian boatyard Grand Soleil was established in the 1970s, its first model was a 34-footer designed by Finot. It was an instant success, with over 300 units sold. It set the firm on the path to success that lasted decades, mainly with a succession of considerably bigger, more complicated racer/cruisers. The maker opted to go back to its origins with the Grand Soleil 34 for 2020, and it's a fantastic boat.

There are a few key rating criteria that racing boats compete under these days, plus a rising movement of doublehanded classes in several major regattas. Since conditions vary dramatically depending on where you plan to sail, the Grand Soleil 34 doubles as a cruiser. The need for a versatile vessel has been taken into account by Grand Soleil and is evident in its exquisite design. The Grand Soleil 34 does this by offering a variety of keel, rig, and deck options, allowing owners to tailor their boat to their specific location or events.

The shallower of the two keel choices, which is also the ideal cruising configuration, draws under 6 feet and is equipped with a lead bulb; a deeper 7-foot-2-inch foil is also available. A conventional aluminum stick or one of two alternative carbon spars are available as rig options. The boat has dual rudders and wheels, but you can alternatively have a single rudder with a tiller. The power unit on our variant was a 20 hp diesel with saildrive, which was an option. The boat design has the optional 30 hp diesel with saildrive, with a 20 hp auxiliary as standard.

The accommodations are essentially the same regardless of the performance package you choose. You still have options, though. In cruising mode, the open layout features a wide double berth in the bow, but while racing, you can remove the cushions and their base to transform the area into massive sail stowage. For competitive sailors concerned with keeping weight to a minimum, most of the oak furnishings and floors may be replaced with composite materials or even carbon.

A pair of settees flank a drop-leaf table in the middle of the boat, and there's a wide double cabin aft, to port, and a capacious head on the opposite starboard side, via which you can reach a large storage compartment beneath the cockpit seat. The great news is that there is also plenty of storage space for sailing.

Impression 45.1

The Elan Impression 45.1 now features a longer and broader cockpit, defined by dual wheels, a split cockpit table, and a folding sunbed, as inspired by the Elan GT5. A contemporary vertical transom was built, and two big cockpit storage boxes that may be furnished with a grill, sink, or refrigerator. Because of its hull design and recognizable deck saloon windows, the Impression 45.1 is light and airy. The saloon has a big settee that completely surrounds the table without blocking the path.

The galley has been moved forward to provide greater space for living and navigation. You also get solid iroko wood for the interior furniture material after months of testing because it was discovered to have the best endurance characteristics, a lovely traditional aesthetic, and an acceptable pricing point. The Elan Impression 45.1 will be offered with two cabin configurations, one for friends and family and the other for demanding charter parties.

Customers may now select between an open transom for a sportier look and a closed transom with a wide swim platform for safety and comfort. One of the more noticeable improvements is a new window, which illuminates the back cabins and adds to her instantly identifiable appearance.

It's no wonder that many would-be bluewater cruisers have this German Frers design on their wish list. The hull is well-built, featuring a sturdy masthead sloop sail plan—200-mile days are not out of the question—and the deck arrangement is ergonomically efficient. Belowdecks, no two boats are alike, thanks to the builders' willingness to experiment with layout and finish. The RS (Raised saloon) model expands on the already spacious interior. The new Hylas 56 has a similar streamlined hull. It is no wonder that its owners praise the boat's seakeeping and maneuverability.

With the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, more Lagoons than any other brand of a catamaran have crossed

the Atlantic and more 440s have participated than any other Lagoon. It's simple to understand why

this yacht is so popular among visitors visiting the tropics. The saloon, the spacious cockpit, the broad trampoline forward, and the flybridge provide plenty of opportunities for the crew to have quiet time on passage or assemble for meals and socialize in port. The 440 is not a Sportster when it comes to

sailing, but it is capable of decent trip times while keeping its crew safe and comfortable.

The Meta 50' is a strong and comfortable long-distance cruising sailing yacht. This beachable twin-keel offshore sailing yacht has a 1.80m draught, lovely sunbathing places, and a garage big enough to fit the semi-rigid tender with an outboard motor.

This enormous sailing boat has two double bedrooms in the back, a spacious saloon with an open kitchen and panoramic views, a chart table, a bathroom, and a large owner's stateroom with a dressing room and separate bathroom. In the forepeak, a skipper's cabin with an attached bathroom is also available, which is just one of the many comforts on the Meta.

The Meta 50' is constructed of ultra-resistant prestressed Strongall aluminum and may be customized to meet your exact requirements. Thanks to the ballastable dual keel system, the TurboKeels version will have performance comparable to a 3.50m draught keelboat while simultaneously reducing the list by 15-20°.

Domani introduces the S30, a one-of-a-kind sailing experience that combines sportiness, elegance, and design in a single exquisite sports boat. Less is more, and free time is valuable; that is what you get with this cruiser. The design also uses a back-to-basics approach, with fewer components and less upkeep. It's all about disconnecting from shore power and sailing away in minutes. With electronic sail propulsion, it's light and green, and its manageable size makes it easy to carry or store.

Summer in the Fjords is unlike any other, as is summer in St Tropez. Explore new beaches and seas, meet new people, and expand your sailing horizons beyond the neighborhood harbor. Isn't it true that the goal of every journey is to learn something new? It is easy to see what the brand is all about. The Domani is about Gran Turismo-style sailing: quick, exciting, and elegant.

The Beneteau Oceanis 30.1

The Beneteau Oceanis 30.1, a 31-foot-3-inch tiny yacht that was best-equipped and spec'd out as a specialized cruising boat, was also given the title of Best Performance Cruiser for 2020. But don't be fooled by her modest internal amenities; she is a lively small ship.

The sail layout emphasizes power aloft with a single-spreader fractional number rig with a square-top main. Our test boat has an optional bowsprit and a lap-streak genoa; the normal version features a self-tacking 100 percent headsail. Although dual wheels make handling straightforward, old-school men (like me) can choose a tiller.

A boarding ladder and a small fold-down boarding step are included on the transom. Also, a Facnor headsail furler is stationed alongside the Lewmar windlass on the opposite end. The overall level of attention to detail is outstanding.

The adaptability of the 30.1 was a strong selling point for the judging panel. There are four keel variations, as well as a centerboard. A tabernacle may be added to the deck-stepped mast for simple lowering and trailering to a new location or navigating waterways. It was also the most affordable option in the category, at $160,000. The benefits just kept on coming.

The forward V-berth is undoubtedly spectacular, and the deck-stepped spar described before freed up the space below, especially in the center saloon and eating area. The entire galley is to port at the foot of the companionway, and the enclosed head is to starboard, where there is also a practical tiny navigation station. A large aft double cabin may also be found to starboard. This is an ideal solution for a small family or a couple of couples.

There's plenty of natural light below deck thanks to the coachroof windows, and overhead hatches, which are supplemented by energy-efficient LED lighting. The eye-catching hull decorations grab attention, and the well-executed dodger is an excellent spot to get out of the rain.

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Born into a family of sailing enthusiasts, words like “ballast” and “jibing” were often a part of dinner conversations. These days Jacob sails a Hallberg-Rassy 44, having covered almost 6000 NM. While he’s made several voyages, his favorite one is the trip from California to Hawaii as it was his first fully independent voyage.

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• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Fastest sailboats: The teams aiming to break 80 knots

• April 6, 2022

It's been nearly a decade since Sailrocket set a new record to become the world's fastest sailboat. Now two teams are hoping to set a new record with their radical designs, Mark Chisnell reports

On 24 November 2012, Paul Larsen and his Sailrocket team rewrote our understanding of the physics of sailboats, stamping their names indelibly in the record books as they set a new record for the world’s fastest sailboat.

A little over a week earlier, at a spot called Walvis Bay on the coast of Namibia, Sailrocket 2 had pushed the outright sailing speed record up by the biggest-ever margin – from 55.65 to 59.23 knots. The performance on the 24th smashed it beyond all expectations though, a gloriously windy day that saw Sailrocket 2 deliver a 65.45 knot average officially becoming the world’s fastest sailboat.

It was a remarkable human achievement, piloting a boat down a 500m course at speeds that had previously been thought impossible. “Your job is to go 100% down that course, there’s no halfway about it,” Paul Larsen told me, almost a decade later. “By the time you’ve got a big team and all the momentum of that project going, your biggest fear is not going fast.”

The risks are inescapable though, as Larsen had revealed in a blog; “As I lay awake in bed that morning I considered writing a little note that I hoped would never be read and stashing it somewhere. Too morbid. Just get it right, Larsen.”

Growth of the world’s fastest sailboat

To put Sailrocket’s performance into context you need to consider the trajectory and history of the sailing speed record . It started back in 1972 with Tim Colman and Crossbow setting an opening mark of 26.30 knots.

Yellow Pages in 1993. Photo: Frederick Clement/DPPI Media/Alamy

By 1993, Yellow Pages had upped that all the way to 46.52 knots – an average improvement of almost a knot every year. But then something changes, progress halts for over a decade. The windsurfers and kiteboarders eventually start nudging it back up, but it’s 16 years before another yacht – Alain Thebault’s foil-borne L’Hydroptère – sets a new record, not even five knots quicker than Yellow Pages .

It was thought that the speed of sailing machines was reaching a ceiling, a physical limit defined by the cavitation point. If you have ever made a cup of tea at altitude then you will know that the boiling point (the transformation point where water changes from a liquid into a vapour), varies with pressure. The lower the pressure, the lower the temperature required for water to boil. So, at the top of Everest, water will boil at about 68°C.

There’s also low pressure on the leeward side of an aero- or hydrofoil . Foils provide a lifting force because of the pressure difference between one side and the other. This difference creates the force as the foil tries to equalise the pressure.

L’Hydroptère claimed the record in 2009. Photo: Christophe Launay

If a hydrofoil goes fast enough then the pressure to leeward will drop sufficiently that the water starts to ‘boil’ or vaporise. This creates a loss of lift, and instability as smooth flow turns chaotic, with vapour bubbles flowing down the foil to an area of higher pressure where they collapse.

It’s this speed limit that we see America’s Cup and SailGP foilers hit on a reach. Once the speed gets much above 50 knots the foils – which are designed to suppress cavitation for as long as possible – finally start to cavitate and the boats just can’t go any faster.

To get past this point a completely different type of foil is required, one that does not try to eliminate cavitation but instead tries to stabilise it, and this is the secret to the 65-knot speed of Sailrocket 2 . “That’s the brilliant [foil] design that we settled on, with a lot of help from guys like Aerotrope and Chris Hornzee-Jones. Chris did amazing work behind the scenes on that project, including designing the final foils,” said Larsen.

Article continues below…

Syroco: Radical design aiming to set a new speed record

If having a top-flight speed sailor as a part of your team taking on the challenge of creating the world’s…

SP80: Swiss team hoping to build the fastest sailboat

SP80 was conceived by three graduates of Swiss engineering school, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Benoît Gaudiot, Xavier Lepercq and…

Sailrocket obliterates world record….again

Matthew Sheahan talks to Paul Larsen shortly after he exceeds 65 knots, shattering his own world record

The team realised the foil didn’t need to be impossibly thin to suppress and avoid cavitation. Instead, they could encourage it and push past the cavitation point with a foil that would cavitate in a stable fashion.

“To make a dinghy or a powerboat analogy, it’s like when you get over that hump and the boat gets up on the plane. We all know when the water separates off the back of the boat, you don’t want your transom gurgling around at the back there with all that drag,” Larsen explains.

Current speed record holders Paul Larsen and Vestas Sailrocket 2. Photo: Vestas SailRocket

In a similar fashion, Sailrocket 2 ’s foil is able to shed the turbulent, draggy flow of early cavitation and replace it with a single smooth pocket of vapour around the foil as air sucks down from the surface. Larsen calls this a base ventilated foil, it’s also sometimes termed a super-ventilating foil.

“So you end up with these very shallow camber, base ventilated foils, and they’re not overly efficient but they don’t have a limit,” he explained. “They keep working. It’s like a jet fighter’s wings. They’re not efficient, but if you put a big jet engine behind them, they keep going where the others stop and hit the ceiling.”

Force alignment

The jet engine was the other part of the problem. How do you generate enough power from the aerofoil to push a horribly inefficient hydrofoil up to the speeds required to start cavitation, and then blow through that barrier?

The answer lay in a decades-old idea – force alignment. In conventional sailboats, be they dinghies, multihulls or yachts, the aerodynamic force created by the sails is both pushing the boat forward and pushing it over.

The force is resisted by a combination of a hydrodynamic force from a foil in the water, and weight – either the crew’s bodyweight or the weight of a keel. These two forces act at a distance from the centre of effort of the sail – creating opposing levers, with the forces of mass and hydrodynamic lift opposing the aerodynamic force generated by the sail (or wingsail).

The use of these forces to create a propulsive forward force demands a structure of a commensurate size and strength. So to go faster required more force and/or lighter overall weight, but also stronger structures. It was big improvements in the strength and weight characteristics of materials that allowed much of the jumps in speeds set through the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

Vestas Sailrocket 2 used force alignment to achieve her remarkable speeds

But there was another way: by offsetting the forces and aligning them. “So [you] have the centre of effort of the aerodynamic forces, the sail or the wing, directly aligned with the opposing force of the foil,” explains Larsen. In other words, remove the levers by having the force from the sail directly oppose the force from the hydrofoil.

“We didn’t come up with that concept, that was written about in the 1960s by Bernard Smith in the book The 40-Knot Sailboat ,” Larsen adds. Smith’s insights were so far ahead of his time that it took almost five decades for them to be fully realised in Sailrocket 2’s record.

Sailrocket 2 achieved the force alignment with a wing mounted on the leeward hull that was canted over the windward hull by 30°. The force it generated was driving the boat forward and trying to lift the windward hull out of the water.

This force was resisted by a foil under the windward hull. And so that foil was pulling down rather than pushing up. It’s a crucial distinction between Sailrocket 2 and the type of foiling craft used in the America’s Cup or SailGP. In those boats, it’s the leeward hydrofoil that pushes back against the sail force. It also lifts the whole boat up and out of the water.

These two breakthrough ideas – force alignment and super-ventilated foils – along with a ‘no guts, no glory’ attitude, took Larsen and his Sailrocket 2 team over 65 knots, a mark that has been held for almost a decade. But might the time have come for that record to be broken?

“I think we’ve sat on it for long enough and it’s definitely time for it to be challenged,” Larsen says. “There was a time I was quite protective and proud of it, and wanted to sit on that throne for a while. But right now I want to see what other people can do with it and see what their solutions might be. I’ll see if it motivates me enough to get back out there myself!”

New fastest sailboat challengers

There are two major challenges shaping up to take on the Sailrocket team’s record and both should take to the water later this year or early in 2023. One of them, Syroco , has been set up by Alex Caizergues, the first man to travel sail-powered at over 100km/h on water, and twice holder of the outright sailing speed record on his kiteboard. The other, SP80 , has come out of the Swiss engineering school École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Kite-powered SP80 challenge uses a super-ventilating surface piercing foil. Photo: SP80

Both are using the principles that Larsen established, and both teams think they won’t just break the record but will smash it. Syroco ’s stated target is 150km/h, a breathtaking 80.99 knots. SP80 is also chasing the 80-knot barrier.

“I actually like where both projects are aiming,” said Larsen. “They’re definitely using the force alignment concept.” Both the SP80 and Syroco teams will use a kite, aligning its aerodynamic force with the hydrodynamic force from a foil. This should allow the generation of an immense drive force on a relatively light structure. They will need all the power they can get to push through the cavitation point.

The SP80 project is also using a super-ventilating, surface piercing foil like Sailrocket’s. “Vestas Sailrocket and the work done by Paul Larsen and his team was the main source of inspiration that we used to develop the boat,” said Benoît Gaudiot, one of the three founders of SP80 .

They started throwing around ideas in 2017, building super-ventilated fins for a kiteboard. Gaudiot, an experience kitespeed sailor quickly got it to 41 knots. They were going to need a different approach to beat the record though.

“The body cannot handle the power that is required to reach more than 60 knots,” said Gaudiot.

SP80 co-founders Xavier Lepercq, Mayeul van den Broek and Benoît Gaudiot. Photo: SP80

Another of the founders, Xavier Lepercq, built a simulation tool, and they started developing designs. What they came up with was a trimaran powered by a kite, whose aligned force was balanced by a surface-piercing foil.

Once this was formulated the team quickly grew, with EPFL pledging its support and sponsors coming on board. “In the team, we have six full-time employees and almost 40 students from EPFL,” explained Mayeul van den Broek, the team’s project manager. They tested a prototype on Lake Geneva in 2020 and in June 2021 began construction of the full-size craft at Persico Marine.

The transition to a kite means that the biggest challenge to both teams is control – accurately balancing the aero and hydrodynamic forces. SP80 has tackled it with what they call the ‘power module’. “The idea behind this is to balance the force. The way we designed the boat, the main thing to achieve was stability,” said Gaudiot.

The exact mechanism of the power module is confidential, but it’s visible at the back of the boat in their visualisations and animations. It provides a direct link between the kite and the hydrofoil and appears to ‘trim’ the hydrofoil depending on the force vector coming from the kite. The shape of the foil and the linkage to the power module are key to the flight stability of the craft.

Swiss SP80 team has been testing its prototype on Lake Geneva. Photo: SP80

“It’s fully mechanical and it’s fully adjusting the balance by itself,” said Gaudiot. “The controls will be quite simple for the pilot. There will be no need for me to control the height, the elevation of the boat, just the direction. And the power of the kite.” The kite lines will run to the cockpit and be controlled with the hands, while the direction of the boat will be controlled with the feet.

The SP80 team plan to challenge the record from a base in the south of France early in 2023, and Paul Larsen is looking forward to it. “I think the SP80 is a more practical solution that has made compromises for practicality. And I think I can get my head around that one a bit more. I think SP80 is probably closer to getting results. And I want to see how a kite’s going to go against the [Sailrocket] wing, because historically wings are faster.”

Flight on water

Looking to spoil the Swiss party is Syroco , a French company that comes to the world sailing speed record with gold-plated credentials. Co-founder and CEO Alex Caizergues has already held the record on his kiteboard.

“Since Paul broke the sailing speed record, I knew that we had to change the software and the way to go fast on water. I knew that I had to assemble around me a team of people able to build this kind of craft,” Caizergues recalls.

Caizergues isn’t just an athlete, he’s a business school graduate with an entrepreneurial track record. Syroco was set up in 2019 with four co-founders and support from technology entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Artist’s rendering of how the Syroco craft will look in action. Photo: Syroco

They want to do more than just break the record, building a technology business around the attempt. The team has about 15 people working in Marseille with specialists in fluid mechanics, structures, software and data analytics.

“Our l’aile d’eau concept… it’s a little bit like Sailrocket,” said Caizergues. The concept is very simple; a hydrofoil will ‘fly’ underwater, pulled along by a cable that’s connected to a kite flying in the air above it.

Suspended between the two is a capsule containing the pilot Alex Caizergues, and a co-pilot. The aero and hydrodynamic forces oppose each other in an almost perfect representation of the aligned forces concept that powered Sailrocket 2 .

It should have the greatest speed potential because there is nothing extraneous. The capsule is only there because both the aero and hydrodynamic wings must be controlled, and the forces balanced by the pilots (not automated).

The Syroco prototype under test being towed by a RIB. Photo: Syroco

And that’s the tough part, controlling it, particularly keeping the foil in the water. “Nope,” responds Alex, quickly, when I mention this possibility. “The foil never goes out of the water.” The Syroco foil isn’t surface piercing, it runs below the surface, only connected to the capsule and the kite by a cable.

It doesn’t rely on dragging air from the surface to stabilise the cavitation around the foil. Instead, it will rely on the cavitation creating its own stable pocket of water vapour around the foil – this is called super-cavitation. When it occurs the water flows around the bubble of vapour as though it were a solid, significantly enhancing the performance of the foil – as long as the bubble remains stable.

The problem is keeping the bubble intact. Paul Larsen pointed out that the cable gives the air a pathway down to the super-cavitating foil. “How they’re going to stop air sucking down from the surface and rupturing the bubble, that’s the real trick. It’s a very dynamic problem to solve. It’ll be interesting to see how well their simulations live up to the reality of what they’re about to strap themselves into…”

The control mechanisms for the final craft are still being worked on, but they have flown a prototype, towed by a RIB rigged with a 5m-high mast that simulated the force from the kite. The team hopes to commit to a final design with construction starting in the spring.

Human element

And then of course, there will be the matter of executing the plan on the day. “If you’ve done your maths, you’ve done your engineering, you’ve been thorough, that gives you confidence when you stand up on top of that course on one of those big days and you’re not exactly sure what’s about to happen,” recalls Larsen.

Kiteboarder and businessman Alex Caizergues leads the Syroco project. Photo: Syroco

“You know it’s probably just slightly above your top wind range but all the cameras are rolling and the drones are in the air and everyone’s waiting with their stopwatches. That gives you the confidence to say: ‘Yeah, I’m going to go and wring its neck.’”

“Any crashes I had [and there were several] usually all the systems I had in place [for safety] were still completely locked on among all the wreckage. You’d go and flick off that lever you were going to use to control something – because by the time you’ve realised what’s happening, it’s happened.”

“If we go again with Sailrocket, then safety will feature bigger. I wouldn’t get in that boat and go that speed again. We got away with it because we had to.”

“Safety is really important for us,” agrees Benoît Gaudiot. They have built a kevlar cockpit for protection, installed a six-point harness and an F1-inspired seat. Gaudiot will wear a helmet with oxygen that will switch on if the helmet detects water in contact with its mask. “I would be able to stay in the water for a few minutes to have a diver come and open it.”

“The critical point on the boat is the hydrofoil. If the hydrofoil breaks, the boat…” Van den Broek interjects. “…will take off,” Gaudiot finishes the sentence for him.

Their enthusiasm for the project is infectious, the words tumbling out. And no one wants the boat to take off. One big advantage that they have that Larsen did not, is that they can release the power source. “With a kite it’s a few lines and you can just cut it super-fast,” says Gaudiot. “You can do it by yourself. You can do it from a distance, from the chase boat. You can do it automatically.”

“I think both those guys [Caizergues and Gaudiot], they’ve got the mentality,” said Larsen. “They’re not going to get up there and be scared of what they’re doing or intimidated too much by the craft.”

And what if they do break the record that Paul Larsen and his team have owned for almost a decade?

“We opened the door on a whole new world full of potential. And so there is a part of me that’s curious as to what lies further down that path. We validated the concepts that could get above what people thought were the cavitation limits and the ceilings of speed sailing. We proved you could get beyond that. They can take you to new levels of physics.

“The boat [ Sailrocket 2 ] is sitting there in perfect shape. It was made to last forever… we could rig that thing up and do 65 knots in a week or two.” And if his record goes, I wouldn’t put it past him to dust her off and do just that.

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First Drive: The New Arc Sport Electric Boat Is So Smooth & Quiet – It’s a Pleasure to Ride!

The new Arc Sport is a new clean-sheet electric ski boat design. The company is based in southern California with a mission to create premium zero emissions wakeboard, surf, and ski boats. This boat starts with a new hull design that prioritizes smooth ride and efficiency. There have been other attempts to produce an electric wakeboard boat, but range and time on the water have been a problem.

The Arc Sport is a 24-foot direct-drive deep-V boat. This struck me immediately as I boarded the boat. It’s roomy and the sides of the boat protect against the elements with relatively deep seats. The front windshield is also taller than what I am used to with a boat this size. (Note: I have owned two ski boats: a 1994 Ski Brendella 20i and a 2004 Tige 22ve.)

There is a high-torque 570-horsepower electric motor mounted under the floor in the center of the boat. It’s connected to the water prop via a direct driveshaft connection. There is a large 226 kWh battery mounted closer to the rear of the boat. Arc says this battery can provide between 4-6 hours of fun on the water. The boat will support level 1, level 2, and level 3 fast charging.

We spent about 2 hours on the boat (going through the no-wake zone at the Long Beach Marina). We did about a dozen fast passes at the Marina Stadium. After all this, we used about 15% of the battery.

The boat has so much power and torque, it simply jumps up on plane. You need to be gentle with the throttle if you are towing a boarder or a skier behind you. The boat has a digital rudder position gauge, cruise control, cameras, water ballast control, trim tabs, and bow & stern thrusters. It also has over-the-air update and monitoring capability.

The boat goes on sale later this summer with a starting price of $258,000. Some of the first “founder” models will cost more. The company is selling direct to the consumer (there is no dealership network).

The company has already sold its first flagship model the “Arc One”. Now, it’s time to focus on the Arc Sport. The boat comes with a tandem axle trailer. The boat’s dry weight is around 6,900 lbs (without the trailer), so it can be towed by most half-ton and heavy-duty pickup trucks.

Please stay tuned, our first drive video with the Arc Sport is coming soon.

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Black Hawk, missile base, Navy SEAL boat and more. Anduril’s boss has it all

Palmer luckey’s defense technology company anduril is getting closer to creating best unmanned fighter jets..

Prabhat Ranjan Mishra

Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril.

The founder of defense-tech startup Anduril owns some amazing military-grade vehicles, including a UH-60 Black Hawk chopper, and even maintains an underground missile base. Palmer Luckey, who is developing advanced autonomous weapons, has the fastest-ever boat developed by the US Navy, six helicopters, and a 1985 ex-Marine Corps Humvee in his top-class military collection.

He bought the Mark V Special Operations Craft from the US Navy. Powered by a little over 5,000 horsepower engine, the boat entered the service with the US Navy SEAL in 1995.

Luckey has US Navy’s Mark V Special Operations Craft

“It was designed specifically for Navy SEAL insertion and extraction missions,” the billionaire told Emily Chang during a recent episode of The Circuit . “It runs really fast, and it’s a lot of fun. I grew up watching the Marine Corps practice right offshore in their helicopters. Watching Navy ships do exercises gets in your brain, and it doesn’t leave.” Known for its high speed and stability in rough weather, the boat has an M2 heavy-barreled 50 BMG machine gun mounted on it. Luckey revealed that most of its neighbors like it, and “a handful hate it.”

Anduril developing unmanned fighter jets

Known for founding Oculus and its virtual reality headsets, the billionaire’s Anduril is inching closer in the Department of Defense’s program to develop unmanned fighter jets.

“This is a half-scaled model of Fury, which is an autonomous fighter jet that we are building,” said Luckey. 

Leveraging next-gen software, Fury is designed to accelerate the development, testing, and fielding of Mission Autonomy into operational reality for the warfighter, delivering an unfair advantage for unrivaled deterrence.

The company claims that, unlike traditional defense contractors who focus primarily on hardware, Anduril’s core system is Lattice OS, an autonomous sensemaking and command & control platform that serves as the core platform for our suite of capabilities. 

“Some of the U.S. technology is very bad and it’s also extremely expensive and not necessarily adapted to the types of conflicts we are going to face in the future. The US has a lot of investment in legacy weapon systems that aren’t necessary,” said Luckey.

He feels that Anduril can take a slice of the Pentagon’s $850 budget and reinvent how they do business from the outside.

Luckey has a missile base

A while ago, he purchased the world’s largest video game collection. He also has missiles and keeps them at his secretive base 200 ft underground. When Chang asked about the location of the base, Luckey said: “I can’t tell you.”  

The billionaire grew up in Long Beach, watching a lot of aerospace culture and defense activities. “Southern California unlike, a lot of places, is a place where almost everybody knows someone who has served in the military or has a family member who has served in the military.”

The billionaire has also spent enough time in China for the manufacturing of Oculus VR headsets. He feels that the U.S. has become heavily dependent on Chinese manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain materials. “It’s really extraordinary how they have pulled themselves up from nothing. We’re the ones that gave him blueprint, we’re the ones that gave him tech,” feels the defense mogul.

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ABOUT THE EDITOR

Prabhat Ranjan Mishra Prabhat, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, is a tech and defense journalist. While he enjoys writing on modern weapons and emerging tech, he has also reported on global politics and business. He has been previously associated with well-known media houses, including the International Business Times (Singapore Edition) and ANI.

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Man gets realistic picture of his boat painted on a fence intended to hide it

A California man who was ordered to keep his boat out of sight has had the last laugh by commissioning an artist to paint a realistic image of it on the fence that obscures it.

Local government officials told Etienne Constable, of Seaside, California, in July that he had to build a 6-foot fence to hide the boat from view of his neighbors.

In a light-hearted jibe at officialdom, Constable decided to follow the directive, which said nothing about how the fence should be decorated, and asked local artist Hanif Panni to create a mural that makes it look as if the fence isn't there.

"I’m not a rule-breaker, but I like to make a political statement as necessary, as well as a humorous statement and a creative statement," he told NBC affiliate KSBW of Monterey Bay .

He is yet to have had any contact from the city about the mural — but he said he considers it to be covered by the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in the First Amendment.

"The reaction is extremely more than we ever expected, and we’re both just tickled about it," Constable said, referring to the stir the image has made on social media, where it has been shared many times.

Panni, who paints images across the Central Coast area, told KSBW: "I’m a big proponent of public art in spaces. It engages people in ways that reaching out and having conversations doesn’t sometimes."

And Panni added that since the Seaside boat mural has gone viral, other boat owners have approached him to see whether he can do the same for them.

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

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First unit in EXTRA Yachts' X90 Fast yacht series sold

Extra Yachts , a brand of Palumbo Superyachts , has announced the sale of the first unit in its 27-metre X90 Fast series. The client was introduced by Kristina Falkone of Aberton Yachts , with delivery expected in summer 2025.

The model is built in GRP and characterised by gently curved, sporty lines and a "subdued" window design in the hull. Exterior design is owed to Milan-based studio Hot Lab .

"The X90 Fast is intended for mature owners looking for a design with strong characteristics and exceptional internal liveability," said a spokesperson from the Italian shipyard. "The model offers a customisation not comparable to any option currently available on the market."

Accommodation is across five cabins, including a master cabin amidships, which takes advantage of the yacht's 7.1-metre beam. There are further quarters for a crew of four. Interiors incorporate white and natural woods with glass inserts for a bright, airy feel. According to the shipyard, all structural furniture has been underplayed to emphasise the views outside.

The main saloon is separated from the stern cockpit by a galley with up-down windows. The crew can reach their quarters and the sundeck from this area, leaving the fore lounge and wheelhouse to the exclusive use of guests. The lounge layout offers the option of an indoor dining table or a relaxation area with a bar.

The cockpit features a 10-seater dining table, C-shaped sofa seating and sunbathing spot and a bathing platform. Up top, the sundeck has another sunbathing spot, a dining and relaxation area and a fully-equipped bar. There is also an alternate layout that includes a second helm station and Jacuzzi with sunpad.

Powered by three IPS 1350 Volvo Penta engines, the X90 Fast lives up to its name with a maximum speed of 30 knots and a cruising speed of 24 knots. The yacht's range is 1,000 nautical miles at 24 knots.

The model was first unveiled at the 2023 Cannes Yachting Festival alongside the 29-metre X98 RPH.

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'Time stopped for me': Witness describes aftermath of fatal boat crash

A resident of a home on a lake north of Kingston, Ont., where three people died in a boat crash is shaken after he and his brother were among the first to respond to the collision.

Ontario Provincial Police say the crash happened in the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake after 9:30 p.m. Saturday, involving "an open bow fishing-style boat" and a speedboat.

Three people were pronounced dead at the scene, including a 21-year-old woman and 23-year-old man from South Frontenac Township, and a 22-year-old woman from Elginburg, Ont. OPP say five other people between the ages of 21 and 44 were taken to hospital in Kingston with various injuries.

'I wish we could have done more'

Tony Hammond, who lives on Bobs Lake, heard the crash Saturday from his cottage deck.

He had seen a group of young people on a fishing boat across the bay earlier that evening. He said they were playing music and having a good time. 

Then he heard the distinctive roar of a speed boat's engine and the sound of the crash.

"We heard the crunch," Hammond told CBC on Monday. "Time stopped for me."

He rushed to phone 911, then took a boat out onto the water to survey the situation along with his brother. 

Hammond said they found debris and a woman's body in the lake. They attempted to perform CPR to resuscitate her, though they were unsuccessful. 

"We got her out as fast as humanly possible," he recalled. "There were no signs of life." 

Hammond said he continued searching the waters for another 30 to 45 minutes, until search and rescue arrived, but he only had a flashlight. 

"I wish we could have done more," he said. 

'Boat responsibly,' boating safety expert urges

Frontenac OPP are investigating the incident, assisted by a collision reconstructionist and members of the technical collision investigation team. Police say the collision reconstructionist will work to examine both boats.

On Tuesday, OPP officers could be seen scouring the site of the crash.

Police divers searched the water for evidence that may have sunk following the collision.

"There might be a lot of debris, marks, evidence, things like that, that need to be collected for the investigation to conclude ... what the cause of this collision is, whether it's speed-related, life-jacket usage or [non-]usage, and different factors," said Const. Rob Martell Tuesday.

"An incident like this does hit pretty hard on the local community."

On Tuesday evening, OPP said on social media they've completed their on-site investigation and regular marine traffic can continue on Bobs Lake.

Boating at night can be a challenge, a safety expert said. 

"When you're boating out there at night, you really have to be cognisant of other people that could be out there," said Ian Gilson, director of the Canadian Safe Boating Council.

Visibility is reduced at night — an effect that can be amplified due to glare caused by boat lights, other surrounding lights and the increased risk of fog in the spring and summer months that often results from varying air and water temperatures, Gilson explained.

He said boaters should always wear a life-jacket and boat sober.

At night, additional safety considerations are required. Boaters should ensure that their boat lights are on and that they're advancing at a cautious speed. It's also important, he said, that boaters remain alert in case sounds or sights of approaching boaters emerge. 

Gilson emphasized the Canadian Safe Boating Council wants people to enjoy boating. But in order for it to be a pleasurable experience, he said, it's important boaters "respect" the water and be mindful of their surroundings.

"Just don't do risky things ... and just boat responsibly."

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Reporting by Gergely Szakacs amd Krisztina Fenyo Editing by David Goodman and Susan Fenton

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Gergely reports on central European economics, central banking and government policy, with content usually appearing on the Macro Matters, Markets, Business and World sections of the website. He has nearly two decades' worth of experience in financial journalism at Reuters and holds advanced degrees in English and Communication.

A two-storey restaurant building collapsed on the beach in Palma de Mallorca on Thursday, killing at least four people and injuring 16 people in the tourism hot spot in Spain's Balearic Islands, the country's national police said.

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Putin in Belarus to discuss security, tactical nuclear weapon exercises

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived on Thursday in Belarus, Moscow's closest ally, for talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko expected to focus on security and exercises with tactical nuclear weapons.