Yacht brokers don’t really sell boats, they sell dreams. To buy any sailing yacht requires a leap of faith: a conviction that the winds will blow in our favour, and that the places we voyage to will be better than the places we leave behind (or at the very least, that the experience of sailing there will be better than staying put).
No matter how hard-headed you plan to be about a yacht purchase, it’s easy to get distracted. At boat shows an overdose of polished chrome or fancy systems can overwhelm sense and reason. Sales patter can paint a picture of idyllic sailing experiences that are not, in fact, how you actually spend and enjoy your time on the water.
With so many different designs on the market, making the right choice is far from easy. What’s more, few of us get to regularly sail a really wide selection of yachts. Even when we do test sail a boat we’re considering buying, time on board is often limited. So how best to use that time wisely, and to work out what is really important?
We asked boat testers, who compare and trial dozens of different yachts all year round, for their tricks of the trade to help find the boat that best matches your needs.
This story is from the October 2020 edition of Yachting World.
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This story is from the October 2020 edition of Yachting World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TAKING OWNERSHIP
WILL BRUTON ON UPSKILLING ON BOARD
SPECIAL REPORT
DAN HOUSTON ON CHANGES TO THE SHIPPING FORECAST
NAVIGATION BRIEFING
TOM CHENEY ON RACING ACROSS THE CHANNEL
NEW YACHTS
SOME EXCITING, AND VERY DIFFERENT, NEW 40-FOOTERS
21ST CENTURY TWINS
RM'S DISTINCTIVE NEW FLAGSHIP OFFERS AN ENTICING COMBINATION OF GOOD SAILING QUALITIES, SPACIOUS ACCOMMODATION AND TWIN KEELS AS STANDARD
UNLIKELY HERO
A CROSS-EUROPE ADVENTURE IN A 10FT DINGHY SEES SANDY MACKINNON NEARLY COME A CROPPER OFF WHITSTABLE’S MUD FLATS
HER OWN WAY
COLE BRAUER IS THE FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN TO SAIL SOLO NON-STOP AROUND THE WORLD. HELEN FRETTER FINDS OUT HOW SHE’S SHAKING THINGS UP
THE MIGHTY ESSEQUIBO
JAMES AND JAYNE PEARCE DISCOVER THEIRS IS THE ONLY YACHT IN THE COUNTRY CRUISING REMARKABLE GUYANA
CAPE NORTH
CRUISING BEYOND THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, JANNEKE KUYSTERS AND WIETZE VAN DER LAAN ENJOY A SURPRISING SUMMER IN NORWAY
DOWN WINDING
WHICH DOWNWIND SAILS ARE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOU? AND HOW DO YOU TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF SAIL HANDLING ON A TRADEWIND PASSAGE? TOBY HODGES QUIZZED MORE THAN 240 SKIPPERS IN LAST YEAR'S ARC TO FIND OUT