
How quickly will today’s new yachts date? A handful are surely destined to become design classics, but many will be quickly forgotten, becoming the floating equivalent of an ageing mass-market car. Part of the reason is many big boatbuilders see sales volumes tail off only a few years after each model is launched, necessitating its replacement.
Smaller yards, by contrast, can take a different approach, emphasising the long term. Linjett is a family firm in the Stockholm archipelago, building 10-15 boats a year across a three model range from 34-43ft. It enjoys outstanding customer loyalty and looks after 220 Linjetts every winter – a quarter of all boats built since the brand’s inception 50 years ago.
The small production numbers of new yachts means design and tooling costs must be amortised over a long period – each model is expected to remain in production for up to 15 years, which in turn leads to different ways of thinking. From a distance this 39 has echoes of classic early 1990s designs such as Stephen Jones’ Sadler Starlight 39. Closer up, and especially once you start sailing, it’s very clear this is a contemporary design in many respects, with performance and handling to match.
Broad reaching under the cruising gennaker in 16 knots of true wind we clocked 9 knots boat speed, with the true breeze a little aft of the beam and the apparent well forward. The boat was very powered up at this stage and lacks the rock solid feel in gusts of today’s twin-rudder boats that also have full forward sections and therefore extremely high form stability.
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Yachting World.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Yachting World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på

RAPID EVOLUTION
A CRUISING CATAMARAN OFFERINGBETTER HANDLING, MORE SPEEDAND SAFER PASSAGE-MAKING – WITHOUT THE COMPLICATIONS OFDAGGERBOARDS?

MARGIN OF ERROR
KNOCKED DOWN, BECALMED, GROUNDED, AND LOST, GRAHAM COX'S ATTEMPT TO SAIL FROM AUSTRALIA TO NEW ZEALAND IN A 24-FOOTER ENDS IN NEAR DISASTER

TRIBAL QUEST
IT WAS THE DREAM OF A LIFETIME FOR JAMES ASHWELL TO SAIL TO THE REMOTE ISLANDS OF VANUATU, THE SOLOMON ISLANDS AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA

CHASED BY MONSTERS
THE SOLO VENDÉE GLOBE SAILORS ARE NOW TRAVELLING SO FAST THEY CAN TRY TO OUTRUN MOTHER NATURE. HELEN FRETTER FINDS OUT WHAT IT TAKES TO CIRCLE THE WORLD AT MACH SPEED

DALMATIAN DREAMS
TOBY HODGES AND FAMILY FIND PLENTY OF SURPRISES AS THEY CHARTER A NEW SUNSAIL MODEL FROM THE FAMED OLD CROATIAN CITY OF DUBROVNIK

ICE 66 RS
ICE HAS LITERALLY RAISED THE ROOF WITH ITS LATEST DESIGN, THANKS TO AN ENCOURAGING PAIRING OF FARR AND ITALIAN DESIGN

MATTHEW SHEAHAN
SOMETIMES YOU DON'T NEED TO ADOPT EVERY TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCE TO STAY AT THE FRONT, AS THE IMOCA CLASS IS PROVING

SPECIAL REPORT
ELAINE BUNTING ON TRANSATLANTIC MULTIHULLS

NIKKI HENDERSON
WHY SAIL OFFSHORE? OFTEN IT'S TO MAGNIFY YOUR LIFE. THE BIGGER QUESTION IS, WILL YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?

INDIAN OCEAN JEWELS
WILDLY DIVERGENT SAILING AND CULTURAL EXPERIENCES CHALLENGE AND DELIGHT SASKIA STAINER-HUTCHINS AS SHE ISLAND-HOPS ACROSS THE VAST INDIAN OCEAN