SCANMAR 40

This stylish and beautifully finished 40-footer is a fine example of a performance cruiser built in Scandinavia to a standard that boats rarely are today

- DAVID HARDING

All too often it’s easy to think of today’s mainstream production cruisers as being designed for mass appeal and built to a strict (or sometimes restrictive) budget. While such commercial necessities might lead to compromises that some purists don’t approve of, they result in boats that typically provide the space, the style and (in most conditions) the pace that people find acceptable, at a price they can afford.

If you pay more you will generally get more – perhaps greater structural reassurance, better performance and handcrafted joinery. But even critical and highly experienced sailors will sometimes decide that they can’t justify spending the money for the sort of sailing they’re going to be doing, so they decide to live with the compromises when buying a new boat.

Alternatively, of course, you can buy second-hand. This way you undoubtedly get more for your money in many respects, and you might be able to buy a boat of a quality that would be unaffordable new. On the other hand, you will get not only an older boat but also an older design. It will probably have less interior space, with hardware and a rig that will make you work harder. It’s a question of swings and roundabouts. I spend my life hopping between new boats and those built in the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s, and am always thinking about what has been gained and lost as design and construction have evolved.