The Maxi with the most

Why has the Maxi 84 proved so popular since her launch 45 years ago? David Harding sailed Maximus, the 'work in progress' refurbished PBO Project Boat, to find out

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Even when you test boats for a living, some makes manage to pass you by for decades.

For example, I had known Contests – seen them, photographed them and known people who owned them – forever, but it wasn’t until 2019 that I tested my first one. Similarly, I only sailed my first Maxi a couple of years ago, and that was a relatively recent model, so it was with interest that I approached Maximus to see what this design from 1977 had to offer. I knew a little of the history and that the boat was afloat and sailing but very much still ‘work in progress’. Other than that, it was all new territory.

You don’t have to be a serious boat nerd to know that Maxis have always had a reputation for being sportier and more geared towards production building than boats from the west coast of Sweden, such as the Malos and Najads, that are widely seen as setting the quality standards by which cruising yachts are judged. Given that the designer of the Maxis, Pelle Petterson, has a couple of Olympic medals to his name and has skippered two Swedish challenges for the America’s Cup, it’s no surprise that his Maxis have a performance tilt.

The Maxi 84 was one of his earlier designs and was an instant hit, combining good performance with easy handling, roomy accommodation and robust construction. By modern standards she’s a fairly heavy boat, displacing 3,000kg (over 6,500lb) on a waterline length of just 7.2m (23ft 7in). She’s also fairly modestly canvassed, so everything points to a boat that’s going to be at her best when the breeze picks up, especially given her 45% ballast ratio.