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At this end of the market, don’t fixate on a particular model. Look for a reasonably equipped and lovingly maintained boat. For example, this Dufour Arpège caught my eye. She has clearly had fastidious owners and looks in excellent condition. The arpège is a great boat to sail. Dufour 30...

No-nonsense performance cruisers with fairly spartan interiors are quite a popular idea in France. The pogo 36 as seen here for example. Mind you, they didn’t make it like this to make it cheaper !!

Yep. That’s the figure I’m aware of. 9’6” or 290cm.

I reckon the driver is probably at the wheel of an Audi when he’s not in his truck, so isn’t in the habit of using his mirrors

No. From just outside Paris, Saint Germain en Laye to be precise. I named my boat Benbow mainly because it was a nickname my Mum had for my Dad, but also because it was the name of the pub in Treasure Island, and because John Benbow devoted his career to making life a misery for the French...

Of course, many of the early Swans (36 & 43 for example) had lovely 2 tone interiors; pale panels (in Koto iirc) framed in dark wood (mahogany maybe ?). I always found the look very attractive, though the pale wood is more prone to staining and often on these boats will have been painted over.

The toe rails on my Sun Odyssey 349 are synthetic with a wood grain finish. Visually, I can’t tell the difference, yet they are gloriously maintenance free.

The unavailability of teak and the questionable morality of continuing to cut down mature trees is well known, and is part of the change in the style of yacht interiors, but it is also a question of style and individual taste. I guess Contessa Yachts could be accused of being amongst those who...

Sounds like you need to join the amalgamated union of foredeck crews and associated trades and get all stroppy with the management down at the blunt end. I remember the foredeck crew on the Swan 43 I used to race on (a feisty lady dentist from Wales) saying “We’ll only put the f***ing...

…and quite possibly less likely to be infected with the dreaded diesel bug.

TBH, not having stained any stained glass windows on my boat has never been an issue for me. I understand the Archbishop of Canterbury is a keen sailor. Maybe it would float his boat ?

How UK centric is Boatie ? Does it extend across the channel ?

Back in the early 80s the Fjord dealer in Lymington (nice guy whose name now escapes me) got stopped on the Ridgeway towing a boat behind his scruffy old landrover. His tank was dipped, followed by an indignant “Hey ! This is petrol !”. The engine of his Landrover was so rattly that they had...

Happy with mine, but my lawn is indeed flat and well cared for and not too big.

Robot mower is the way to go, along with automatic watering. That allows me to clear off to the boat and leave the garden to look after itself 😃

Don’t worry. As soon as you buy a new one you’ll find it !!

The formulae I have for sheet and halyard loads (for a Genoa, not a gennaker) are Genoa sheet load in lbs = SA * V² * 0.00431. Halyard load in lbs = (SA * .00256 * V²) + Sheet load SA = Sail area in sqft V = Wind speed in knots

About 20 years ago one of my friends, who had virtually no sailing experience, bought a new Oceanis 311 at the Paris boat show, the boat being delivered to Cherbourg in the spring. He asked me to help him sail it down to Trebeurden in North Brittany, where he had secured a berth. I agreed, on...

Surely they are flying the wrong courtesy flag. Shouldn’t it be the red ensign rather than the union flag ?

Proof of EU VAT status. Ouzo and a bouzouki.