Seen at the 2015 Annapolis Sailboat Show: Wrapup

I've been milking the Annapolis Sailboat Show for several posts (it was, after all, only 4 months ago), but it is time to wrap it up with a post featuring a few of the other boats that captured my eye.

Sailboat manufacturers are designing or redesigning some of their product line so they can be marketed for sail-training or community sailing groups. Beneteau has reworked their Beneteau 22 for American Sailing Association as a sail-trainer (so it sports an ASA designation). A very long cockpit for big groups, double rudder for positive control, a dutchman sytstem for holding the mainsail, roller furling jib; all make for a simpler boat. Click here for more information on the Beneteau ASA First 22.

Corsair has brought out a 20 foot (6 meter) day-sailing trimaran, the Pulse 600. If you want to go fast, as fast as anything on the river or bay, but do it more sedately than hanging from a trapeze or foiling, this would seem to be a good option. Again, like the Beneteau ASA, the Pulse 600 has a nice long cockpit to accommodate all your friends. More info at the Corsair website.

The RS Quest is their model for a main/jib dinghy trainer. The 14' (4.3 meter) roto-molded Quest dinghy with assymetric was designed using the requirements of the British Sea Cadets. Most modern roto-molded hulls use chines, or in this case a stepped spray chine to provide stiffening to the hull.

It really is amazing how complicated a dinghy interior they are able to manufacture in roto-molded construction nowadays. I wonder if these companies have a dedicated roto-molding engineer to successfully put together a dinghy such as the RS Quest.

To take the stresses off the plastic hull, RS has put the mast of the Quest onto an aluminum mast thwart (shades of the pre-WWII Uffa 14's!). More information on the RS Quest here.

The Seascape 18 joins a long list of those mini-sport boats, the one's that measure plus/minus 20' in length (the Open 5.7 and the Viper VX One are two that come immediately to mind). This one is built in Poland and the VOR influence is definitely seen in the very wide stern and double rudders. Information on the Seascape 18 over here.

A step up from a bean bag chair, I like the idea of a couple of soft chairs thrown around the Seascape 18's wide cockpit floor for post-race socializing. The Torqueedo E-outboard was also a nice touch.