Colin starts the Online Book off with an introduction to French lifting keel boats and how Boréal have refined that proven concept.
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Online Book:
Voyaging Boats from Boréal
The book starts with Colin’s in-depth and well informed (he has supervised the build of several Boréals) review of this innovative, lifting keel aluminum voyaging boat built in France, and moves on to John and Phyllis’ take on the boat, together with an owner’s review.
If you are in the market for an offshore boat to take you to out-of-the-way places in safety, you need to read this book. Even if you don’t buy a Boréal, you will learn a huge amount about what makes a good expedition boat.
Disclosure: Boréal is a supporting corporate member of this web site.
Table of Contents:
An in-depth look at the hull form and construction of the Boréal 44.
Colin moves on to examine the boat in detail with many photographs.
One of the biggest challenges with lifting keel boats is how to design a rudder for them that really works? Jean-François Eeman, one of the partners at Boréal, shares their approach to this tricky problem.
Colin answers the most important question: how does she sail?
Colin’s story about a man that dreamt of building a great boat…and did.
Part 2 of Colin’s story about a man who designed and built his own boat and then sailed her to one of the toughest voyaging destinations in the world. Don’t miss this inspiring read.
John’s in-depth review, complete with many photographs, of one of the most interesting and all around cool boats being built today.
After 20,000 miles of voyaging, including some of the world’s toughest cruising destinations, Christopher and Molly tell the real story about how their Boréal 47 has performed.
After seven years of building great expedition sailboats, Boréal have put everything they have learned into the new 55. And no one is better qualified to tell you about this new boat, that we can all learn from, than Colin, who supervised her build.
There are few trickier places to sail than the waters surrounding the British Isles and when you throw in fall weather that goes double. Colin puts his decades of experience in the area to work to make it look easy—we can all learn a lot about coastal passagemaking from this article on the maiden voyage of the first Boréal 55.
Colin continues his tale of a fall voyage to Scotland, complete with snug loch anchorages, a gale in confined tidal waters, and a fast canal transit, wrapping up with a summary of the Boréal 55 based on a good real-world test—lots more to learn and enjoy.
Colin’s report on testing some of the latest and coolest gear on a brand new Boreal 55: autopilot, plotter, radar, stove, hydrogenerator, it’s all here. A real gear-heads article.
Eight years ago a new boat builder launched one of the most innovative cruising boats we have seen in a generation. Since then, Colin has been an eye witness to, and participant in, making those boats ever better. Now he and Managing Director Jean-Francois Eeman sit down to discuss what Boréal has accomplished and reveal some of their plans for the future.
Colin and Jean-Francois Eeman, Boréal Yachts’ Managing Director, pick up where they left off in Part I and talk about Boréal’s plans for the future—it’s exciting stuff.
For over 10 years the Boréal 44/47 has been in a class of her own when we think about buying a new aluminum centreboard expedition boat, or any offshore cruising boat, for that matter. But now there is a new challenger in the neighbourhood: the Garcia Exploration 45. In this, the first of four articles, John compares the rigs of these two boats. And even if you are not interested in either boat, you will get some good ideas of what to look for in a boat to go to out-of-the-way hazardous places, particularly the high latitudes—or even just offshore.
Sailboats are about…well sailing, so a good deck and cockpit layout is vital, and often neglected. How do these two boats stack up? John takes a look, and also shares what to look for on any offshore boat.
Looking at hull form and build quality is less fun than delving into cockpits and interior spaces. But the former are a lot more important, since these are boats, not condos, and a good hull form and build are vital when we actually go voyaging.
Inside steering stations are wonderful, but the details matter, to the point that getting them wrong can result in disaster. John compares the two very different approaches of the Garcia and the Boréal and shares tips that will be useful even if you are not considering buying either of these boats, or even if you are contemplating a motorboat.
It’s no secret that John puts interior arrangement behind most other selection criteria when evaluating boats, but it’s also true that he and Phyllis lived aboard for some 20 years, so he applies that experience to comparing the two boats, and in the process shares a bunch of tips that will help in any boat selection. He then winds up with a comparison of price, size, and value for money between the two boats.