Boat Show Preview September 2006
30 NEW Cruising Boats for the 2007 Season
By George Day

As we head into the end of the Northern summer – the season when we all have been using our boats as often as possible – we inevitably look ahead at the fall boat show season when builders from around the country and the world will be introducing their new models for 2007.

It is always fun to look at new boats to see what the fashions and trends are going to be, especially so if you are in the market for a new boat. After a summer of sailing, we all have a better idea of what we want and need in a cruising boat. And we may have developed some idea about where we really hope to go in our boats when the time and the checkbook are right.

This fall we are previewing 30 new designs – from 25 to 68 feet – with an average length of 44 feet, two inches. It says something about the global market today that only seven of the new designs are built in North America with the remaining 23 coming to the U.S. from builders in Europe and South Africa. France continues to be the leading sailboat building nation, but Germany and Sweden are very much contenders.

So, as you walk the docks this season, you will see more Euro styling than ever; you will see more sailing performance built into the cruising designs; and you will see another generation of innovations that make sailing large cruising boats easier, safer and more comfortable.

UP TO 40 FEET

Eastsail Yachts has been building traditional pocket cruisers near the New Hampshire coastline for a generation. This summer the company launched the New Moon 25, drawn by Yankee yacht designer Eliot Spalding. With a springy sheer, spoon bow and outboard rudder, the new boat looks salty and traditional.

The little cruiser is an evolution of the popular Offshore 25 and offers more room below, a large sail plan and outboard power instead of an inboard diesel. The net result is a small offshore quality boat that will be easy to own, easy to maintain and will take her crew of one or two anywhere they might choose to sail.

The New Moon has a displacement of 6,800 pounds, a full keel and an attached rudder. The 9.9 horsepower outboard sits in a well just forward of the rudder so the propeller fits neatly in an aperture cut in the rudder’s leading edge.

Down below, accommodations are necessarily simple but comfortable. The main cabin has full headroom – something you don’t often see in a 25-footer. A V-berth forward, a long settee and a quarter berth make room for four adults. The cabin has a fold-down table, a small galley and an icebox. There is ample storage for provisions and tanks hold up to 50 gallons of freshwater.

A sweet little cruiser at a fair price, the New Moon 25 will appeal to traditionalists who want their sailing to be simple and safe.