The wife and I had a chance to go to the sailboat show on Friday. The weather was on and off rainy. Most boat vendors let you leave your shoes on. The Keens were perfect for on/off rain and easy on/off.
A few observations from the show:
1. The Gunboat 60 looks awesome. Didn't get a chance to go in but what a great looking catamaran.
2. The Blue Jacket 40 was really interesting and the craftsmanship was phenomenal. Three cabins in a 40 foot boat is rare. The tradeoff was only one head. The quoted price tag of $450k for a 40ft sailboat is way steep however.
3. The new Catalina 275 Sport is a confusing boat. I am biased as I have an 1985 Cat 27 but I can't imagine a cruising couple starting out in it and its not really a racing boat (like a J Boat) either. I am only 5'8" and I couldn't stand up completely down below. The $80k price tag seems like a steep entry price. Didn't see any really viable family boats below 30 feet. Sub-30 feet seems to be focused on racing.
4. The new Hunter 37 is totally different than the other Hunter boats. Sleeker, straighter lines, and the overall craftmanship (interior and exterior) seems to have stepped up a notch or two. Very clean and uncluttered deck.
5. Catalina looked like they were using solid teak in their interiors. Beneteau in contrast appeared to be using vaneer all over the place. I would be worried about how well vaneer holds up over time.
6. Many boats now have HUGE port holes some of them halfway down the hull on both port and starboard. Seems like a large water ingress point if the port hole fails (even if unlikely)
Favorite Boats: Catalina 355, Hylas 49, Hylas 56, Passport 47, and Blue Jacket 40
Should be fun to hear other thoughts on the show and boats.
Josh
A few observations from the show:
1. The Gunboat 60 looks awesome. Didn't get a chance to go in but what a great looking catamaran.
2. The Blue Jacket 40 was really interesting and the craftsmanship was phenomenal. Three cabins in a 40 foot boat is rare. The tradeoff was only one head. The quoted price tag of $450k for a 40ft sailboat is way steep however.
3. The new Catalina 275 Sport is a confusing boat. I am biased as I have an 1985 Cat 27 but I can't imagine a cruising couple starting out in it and its not really a racing boat (like a J Boat) either. I am only 5'8" and I couldn't stand up completely down below. The $80k price tag seems like a steep entry price. Didn't see any really viable family boats below 30 feet. Sub-30 feet seems to be focused on racing.
4. The new Hunter 37 is totally different than the other Hunter boats. Sleeker, straighter lines, and the overall craftmanship (interior and exterior) seems to have stepped up a notch or two. Very clean and uncluttered deck.
5. Catalina looked like they were using solid teak in their interiors. Beneteau in contrast appeared to be using vaneer all over the place. I would be worried about how well vaneer holds up over time.
6. Many boats now have HUGE port holes some of them halfway down the hull on both port and starboard. Seems like a large water ingress point if the port hole fails (even if unlikely)
Favorite Boats: Catalina 355, Hylas 49, Hylas 56, Passport 47, and Blue Jacket 40
Should be fun to hear other thoughts on the show and boats.
Josh