
Boot Düsseldorf 2025
Finns det en båtmässa som är värd namnet, så är det världens största inomhusmässa i Düsseldorf.
Det är här många premiärvisar sina nya båtar, och vill man se de där udda märkena så är det hit (eller La Rochelle) man skall åka. Här är mina spaningar.

Först på min lista stod J/boats. Framför allt för att synka virprogrammet för vår nya J/90.
Inga nyheter här, men för många Skandinaver så var det första gången man såg J/40, som nyligen utsågs till European Yacht of the Year. Många hade hoppas på att få se lillasystern, J/36 (som är en uppdaterad J/112e) men den var inte här.

Det var också viktigt att synka med våra samarbetspartners. Hos B&G var den största nyheten plotters som är “ultrawide”. Kanske inte överst på vår önskelista, men det finns ett behov av att sätta sådana i luckgarage, instrumentpaneler, rattkonsoler eller interiört.
Vi väntar på annonseringarna från Miami i mitten av Februari. Stay tuned.


Överst på listan av båtar att spana in stod Xr-41. Fick en bra genomgång av Ruben R. Rimfors och Urban Lagneus.

Viktigast för mig var att förstå vad man försöker göra. Alla båtar blir ju kompromisser av olika slag, och jag har inte riktigt förstått hur pusslet ser ut. Historiskt har man sagt att en båt under 43 fot kan inte vara för sportig för att ha en chans i ORC, så ur det perspektivet så skulle vet vara ett högriskprojekt att lansera en planande 41-fotare för att slå X-41, ClubSwan 42, Landmark 43 och GS 44P som dominerat i klassen.
När ett varv som X-yacht introducerar en ny båt så har man så klart både kommersiella och sportsliga ambitioner. Och jag tror att detta också är en viktig båt ur ett varumärkes- och kulturperspektiv för varvet.
Man vill göra en båt som är kul att segla (framförallt på undanvind), har ett andra liv som bra cruisingbåt och kan prestera under ORC. Har man lyckats hitta den optimala kombinationen av dessa uppdrag? 14 sålda båtar och en potential att ha 5 båtar på startlinjen i Tallin indikerar att man fått ägarnas förtroende.

Distinkt för.
På just den här båtan finns mycket hydraulik. Man har hittat en lokal partner för att bygga detta system, och det finns så klart stora fördelar för att vara mer aktiv med trimmet. Men det kostar också på mätetalet.
Många modulära lösningar där både sittbrunnsbänkar och delar av inredningen kan plockas bort.
Snygg fack för livflotten. Eller för is och kall öl.
Straight forward däckslayout.
Jag gillade inredningen. Här kunde man plocka bort hela modulen med vask och soffan på akterkant. Enda dilemmat med det var väl att vasken är det enda användbara i ett pentry när man skall segla bana…
Minimalistisk navplats.
Clean akterhytt där både halva kojen och skåpen kan demonteras för racing.
Sammanfattningsvis en väldigt genomtänkt båt som skulle kunna vara den perfekta kompromissen i samma anda som X-95, X-102 och många andra från varvet. Men det finns en liten risk att ambitionen att göra en sportigare planande båt straffar sig mot dominanterna i klassen. Vi håller tummarna för att det funkar!
Den segelbåt som drog mest folk var så klart Firts 30. När världens största segelbåtstillverkare lanserar en prisvärd båt i det här segmentet, dessutom med fokus på rolig segling, så blir det långa köer. 63 båtar var sålda när jag var förbi och man hade tackat nej till återförsäljare som ville köpa 10 båtar att ha på lager.
Just nu får man vänta till mars 2026, men man jobbar på att dubbla produktionstakten.
Sam Manuard har hittat en bra balans mellan Firsts klassiska DNA och de lite mer radikala Seascape-båtarna. Tydligt fylligare i fören men ändå ett slankt skrov gör att båten nog kan löpa på bra på en undanvind.
Det vimlar ju inte av båtar i detta segmentet. De flesta prioriterar volym och är ganska mycket dyrare. Eller mycket sportigare men också mycket dyrare. Närmast kanske Elan 310 var, men även den var 700 kg tyngre. Har man lyckats hitta den perfekta kombinationen här?
Storytellingen handlar ju mycket om den roliga seglingen, även om det återstår att se hur mycket vind som krävs för att båten skall plana. Men det är uppenbart att prispunkten (ett baspris på €100,000) har varit styrande för många designval. Och det behöver ju inte vara dåligt om det innebär att fler får det roligare på vattnet.
Det är kanske också en lärdom från den första båten efter att Beneteau köpte Seascape, First 36 som blev fin men väldigt dyr.
Modernt. Inredningen delar onekligen folk i två läger. De som saknar trä, och de som tycker att detta känns mycket fräschare. Jag skulle inte ha problem att semestersegla i den här båten.
Man har valt att köra kork på durken vid nedgång och pentry för att få full ståhöjd där.
För att möta både prispunkt och få låg vikt så har man lagt mycket tid på design av interiör. Den verkar bestå av väldigt få stora delar som agerar både strukur för mast/köl och inredning. Verkar vettigt, men kanske lite klurigare när man går på grund?
Jag tror det finns utrymme för en “performance-version”, men det lär dröja om efterfrågan är på den här nivån.
Var jag tvungen att välja en båt som fick seglingshjärtat att slå lite fortare så var det Grand Soleil Blue, en hållbar (och återvinningsbar) weekender med fokus på segling. Det här är ju en vy man skulle kunna stå ut med?
Och i en värld där volym är allt är det uppfriskande att se en akter som ser ut så här!
- Skrovlängd = 9.99 m
- Bredd = 3.70 m
- Djup = 2.20 m
- Replacement = 3.5 t
Skall vi gissa att Medelhavet är en större marknad än Skandinavien?
Precis lagom mycket inredning för en weekend.
En Grand Soleil I andra ändan av spektrat. Deras 52-fotare är som en 70-fotare inuti.
Nautor hade två intressanta båtar på plats. ClubSwan 28 och ClubSwan 43. Typ Juan K-designer med väldigt olika profil.
Också intressant att höra hur saker funkar under nye ägaren Sanlorenzo, som är mest kända för sina superyachts i aluminium.
28:an är ju en modern tolkning av Open 7.50? Eller en lite mindre Cape 31?
Båtarna skall ju framförallt användas på ClubSwan-cirkusen, där de blir än bättre instegsklass än ClubSwan 36. Denna blev alldeles för dyr (behov av proffs + en båt som var dyr att transportera mellan eventet). Nu har man ju också fått till ett samarbete med American Magic:
Clean. Eftersom båten inte har häckstag, så krummar man masten genom att pumpa upp masten med hydraulik.
Stökigt när gennakern inte kommer ner ordentligt och någon måste fram på däck och der i luckan 😀
Snygga detaljer.
Förstag och jib-cunningham.
Sedan en titt på storasystern, ClubSwan 43. detta har varit ett trassligt projekt inom Nautor; började som en 41-fotare och sedan har det funnits ett antal varianter med olika stil och byggplats. De första två båtarna byggdes i Spanien, och det var ganska mycket saker som inte blev rätt. Det uppenbara var väl vikten.
Från båt nummer tre tror man sig ha styr på det hela.
Inga konstigheter.
Snygg integration av fockskena och brytblock.
Speciell och minimalistisk inredning, men jag gillade den. Så klart går det mesta att ta i land för racing.
Dragonfly 36 lockade mycket folk och såg mycket fin ut. Varvet går från klarhet till klarhet. Nästan så man blir sugen på att provsegla…
Kul att Heyman 42 PPH var på mässan. Sjukt rätt på många sätt, men man verkar ha fått lite bakläxa på en del detaljlösningar. Vi håller tummarna för att Gabriel säljer ett antal.
Bland de finaste båtarna på mässan så klart: Eagle 46.
Den här stack så klart ut. Franska Birdyfish hade man ju också velat prova.
J/99 Disko Trooper | Rolex Sydney Hobart 2024
Photo: CYCA | Ashley Dart.
Here’s the race report from Jules Hall on Disko Trooper Contender Sailcloth. Probably the J/99 that has done the most offshore miles, and Julkes and co-skipper Jan ‘Clogs’ Scholten are a team we could learn a lot from.
Rolex Sydney – Hobart 2024
You’re always nervous before a Hobart race. And the unfolding weather picture plays a massive part in the level of those nerves. This year it was clear from at least a week out that we were in for some serious wind on the first night, with the early forecasts suggesting 50+ knots from the north! We could also see that the NE corner of Tasmania was going to be a critical gate to navigate, with a large wind hole in the lee of the land. So it was never going to be easy!
Race day arrived hot and sunny. The CYCA was its usual crazy hive of activity. A mix of competitors, shore crew, media, family and spectators. The excitement is palpable. Knowing what we were in for, one of the hardest parts of the whole event was the two hours before departure. You just want to get on with it!
Finally we slipped lines and headed for the starting area. The northerly breeze was already in and the harbour was uncharacteristically windy for a summer morning. Check-ins completed we headed down to the heads to see what conditions were like across to the turning marks. Definitely the #4 jib!
The northerly breeze meant an upwind start. As we were starting on line 3 (of 4) that also meant plenty of disturbed air from the bigger boats ahead. We got off the line nicely, pushing to the western boundary to tack across the fleet on the favoured port tack. From there it was bouncing along the eastern shore, playing the shifts and chasing clear air. It went well and we were the first boat from our start line out the heads and to the turning mark. Mistral was marching up behind, but rating 69 points higher than us it was nice to be leading her!
Photo: Salty Dingo.
Bearing away we went straight to the masthead A3. The course to Tasman Island is 180 degrees, but the routing had us pushing a little further offshore for max breeze and to hook into the East Australian Current. With TWA of mid 130s we were fast from the get go. The J4 stayed up, nicely undersheeted, acting as a staysail and a ‘preventer of wraps’. Remarkably we were almost at Botany Bay by 14.30hrs. That’s some serious ground to cover in a small boat in 90 minutes!
By late afternoon the winds were nudging high 20s. A reef went into the main. Early evening we were starting to see low thirties. When we saw 30 knot gusts we dropped the A3 and hoisted the brand new S6.This was a moment of truth – was our hypothesis on the benefit of a fractional symmetric kite right??
With winds steadily into the low thirties and gusting higher we were screaming along. Consistently doing mid teens on the boatspeed, often surfing up 20 knots, with a max of 22 knots a couple of times. But the boat was beautifully stable and you could comfortably steer around the waves – which were starting to build. We knew midnight to 0300 hrs was max wind. By 2200 hrs the gusts were hitting the higher 30s. You know it’s windy when you’re going at 18 knots and you can feel a solid breeze on the back of your head. Although we hadn’t had any major wipeouts we decided to be a little conservative, dropped the kite and transferred to a poled out J4. As the saying goes – ‘to finish first, first you have to finish’. In hindsight we could have probably held the kite. But it would have been pretty wild!
After midnight we started to see puffs nudging 40 knots. Max TWS was 41.5 knots. But most of the time 35 – 40 knots. We were still screaming along with the poled out J4. Probably only 5-10% slower than the kite but very stable. By now we had a second reef in the main. Very easy to steer and control the boat.
As dawn broke the wind started to ease. Out came the reefs, but we could see the southerly coming towards us so opted not to re-hoist the kite. A little too conservative in hindsight but with the news of two fatalities and one man overboard the previous night, all relatively close to us, we were pretty shaken.
The southerly hit as forecast at 0730hrs. It’s so weird when that transition comes through. It happens almost immediately and you go from 25 knots behind to 25 knots on the nose. The waves take a good couple of hours to adapt. In the meantime you’ve the waves rolling into the wind, with the tops blown back at you.
The next 36 hours were all on the nose. TWS probably averaged 20 – 25 knots, with a few patches higher and some lower.
Green Cape was epic. We tacked along the shore around the lighthouse, then back into the bays towards Gabo Island. This was Clog’s 20th Hobart and it was the first time he’s been into those bays. With a couple more smaller fronts scheduled for Bass Strait we wanted to make sure we were on the inside of the shifts. It worked nicely – although it did require holding our nerve. The northern half of Bass Strait the boats to the east of us were considerably further south. But it was all about preparation for the impending transition on the NE Tassie coast.
The evening of 28th December we were blasting past Banks Strait, to the south of Flinders Island about 45nm offshore. With a TWA of 60 degrees or so and TWS of high 20s it was like having a firehose directed at your eyes. It was a black night and the temperature had dropped considerably. So it was not comfortable!
As dawn broke we could see the park up off St Helens. A remarkable amount of the fleet had sailed into the hole, all to leeward of us. Maybe it was harder for them arriving a little earlier, but we had seen a vein of wind nearer to land on the weather models and our higher route enabled us to hook into it. We sailed around a huge number of boats, fetching fast in 10 – 12 knots TWS and flatter water.
This was a critical part of the race for us. The boats below couldn’t get high enough to get into the channel of wind nearer the shore. The tables turned and what had felt like a losing routing across the paddock flipped and became the clear winner. Not only did we have wind, we were cracking sheets in flat water and going fast. Huge gains.
The 29th was a day of lighter winds for the most part. We had the kite up for a while but as evening approached the wind veered and it was back to headsails. All the boats around us were significantly bigger, the next smallest was Midnight Rambler, the very successful Sydney 36 owned by Ed Psaltis and based in Hobart. All the Sydney 38s were behind and plenty of the forty footers. We had a significant lead in IRC Division 5. The nearest boat was Love & War, but they were 10 miles behind and rating 11 points higher had to beat us on the water by an hour. They were significantly further offshore. Our positioning looked good.
Early evening we were approaching the Tasman peninsular. Although we were beating into a southerly, this was a local effect caused by the gradient westerly wrapping around the high land mass on the SE corner of Tasmania and pushing up the east coast. Close in it was almost SE, further out S and if you went even further out SW. Being the most easterly boat was a strong position to be in.
Eagle Hawk Neck is where it went wrong!
It was 20.00 hrs and we were tacking towards the shore. Midnight Rambler, Wots Next, Trouble & Strife and XS Moment were all just ahead. We followed them into the bay south of Maria Island but the pressure was dropping. We decided to tack back out. Pressure increased a couple of knots and we got some southing on the big headland at Cape Surville. We could now see consistent pressure across Pirates bay to shore and tacked back in. Again it softened as went in, but better than before. Midnight Rambler was now 2 nm ahead. They tacked on the shore and took off. As we came in it was getting dusky. And the pressure was easing significantly. Nerves were jangling.
We decided we had gone far enough and were about to tack when we got an enormous lift. We were now in an almost easterly wind, sailing course but still on port tack. Weird, but good. So we kept going.
And then the wind died. We were approx 1.5nm offshore. But the boats 2nm ahead were doing 8 knots so we assumed it was a temporary lull. Oops.
No panic at first. We still had a solid 3 hour lead on Love & War, the next J99 was 23nm behind and Min River (JPK 1030) was 40 miles offshore and behind. All we had to do was get going again. What was left of the Sydney 38 fleet followed in behind us. The J133 Ragtime was nearby but they had tacked back out to sea. And we had two other forty footers following us.
When we got a zephyr of wind, it came from the west (gradient direction). So we put up the trusty drifter and tried to get going. It died a few minutes later. Up ahead the other boats were still going well. And Ragtime was now back in pressure 3nm to leeward, further offshore. Also going well.
We were in no man’s land. Not enough wind to keep up with the boats ahead, and because of the westerly wind direction, no apparent angles to get back out to Ragtime. Fast forward three hours and we had a real problem. Love & War had seen what was happening and tacked out early, holding the less favourable southerly wind, but critically staying in pressure. Even though pushing 1 knot of current offshore (we had a small current advantage at least, 0.5 knot southerly set).
We flipped and flopped for 3 hours. The drifter working overtime. Tension mounting exponentially. And then Clogs drew on all his Pittwater skills (notorious for its fickle wind), finding a tiny vein of wind within 100m of Tasman Island. From the north! Suddenly we were off again. Pressure was 10 – 15 knots and we were using the drifter as a kite. The laneway was tiny. As soon you got more than a few hundred metres from Tasman Island it dropped and you had to gybe back. It was now approaching 01.00hrs on 30th December and it was a black, cold night. Tacking back to the huge cliffs of the Tasman Island was intimidating. But the water was deep and we could get very close to the shore, holding max wind, before we gybed out.
Love & Was was now 5nm ahead. But we could see she had slowed to 2 knots approaching Cape Raoul. We could also see the boats a couple of miles south of Tasman Island moving nicely. So we continued past the island, sailing SSW in our private vein of wind. Gybing onto starboard and heading west we were again back with bigger boats, all fetching towards Cape Raoul.
At this point in the race we were surrounded by the most incredible phosphorescence. Despite the light wind the breeze was against the current and the surface had a tiny chop – with every wavelet glowing green. From a distance they looked like hundreds of starboard nav lights and you had this sense we were surrounded by boats. There were probably only half a dozen in reality!
Rapidly catching Love & War we got within two miles. They came south to cover us and to avoid any holes around Cape Raoul. Then it was into Storm Bay for dawn. TWS was 8 – 10 knots, later gusting to 13. TWA 75 degrees.
Storm Bay is 11nm across. The wind was from the north and we were heading west north west. So it was a fetch. We had to finish within an hour of Love & War to beat her. But she’s 47 feet long and we are 32 feet. Waterline length equals speed. And this was playing into their hands all too well. Up went the BRO. Up went a jib. And we trimmed like lunatics. By now we hadn’t slept for over 18 hours. The fatigue was immense. But we had no option. The whole race was coming down to the last few miles.
We did remarkably well across Storm Bay. Love & War only gained 2.8 miles over nearly two hours of sailing. We entered the Derwent River at 0900 hours. Just as the tide started to ebb. Now onto a beat the outgoing tide made this a longer leg. Again to Love & War’s advantage. We just had to pick the shifts and currents better.
Rounding the Iron Pot we tacked into the first bay. We had the Beneteau 40, Navy One, right alongside and Toecutter just astern. There was more wind in the middle of the river, but more counter current. I’m not convinced the bays worked that well for us. We got lifted off the shore, but the wind was two knots lighter. And you had to sail through headers to get there. Luckily that was only a couple of miles, then the river widened and the current eased a little.
We crossed to the western shore just south of Taroona, enjoying an awesome tacking dual with Toecutter. The water was flat, the sun was shining and the wind was still a pleasant 8 – 10 knots. Approaching the John Garrow light we saw that Love & War had finished. We had 16 mins to sail the last 1.07nm. But it was upwind and the tide was against, nearing max ebb. It was going to be a miracle if we made it, but we convinced ourselves it was possible.
By now we had camera boats around us, drones hovering overhead and we could see the yellow finish buoys. A final tack to lay and it was best course and max hope. It took us 21 minutes to cover that final mile. And with that we waved goodbye to the division win. A position we’d had sewn up just a few hours before. But that’s Hobart and that’s the way it goes. There is just so much local knowledge required on that fickle Tassie coast.
Huge congratulations to Love & War on winning division 5. And to Mistral for winning the double handed division. They sailed an amazing race, pushing incredibly hard the whole way. There was a moment on 28th December where we wrestled the Double Handed lead back, as they navigated their own hole, but they ended up winning by a comfortable margin.
And with that we concluded another epic Hobart race. The first 48 hours were very tough, with strong winds. The final part was tough because of the lack of wind. But the one consistent is the incredible atmosphere both in Sydney and again in Hobart. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, and their finishing partner, Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania do the most incredible job. We spent a far amount of time with the French competitors on Cocody, Mistral and Min River. Those pros have sailed the biggest events in the world and they all agreed there is no event that rivals the atmosphere and experience of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart.
Final positions:
- Double Handed IRC – 2nd (23 starters, 14 finishers)
- IRC Division 5 – 2nd (13 starters, 8 finishers)
- IRC overall – 16th (78 starters, 56 finishers)
- 104 boats started the race. 74 finished.
Xr-41 seglar
Det här ser ju rätt ut på många sätt!?
Skall definitivt kollas in när jag är i Düsseldorf torsdag och fredag. Vilka andra båtar bör stå på listan?
Världens mesta high-tech-jolle?
Många av oss har följt Tom Morris eller “Mozzy Sails” för bra analyser av America’s Cup-båtarna.
Han är ju också jolleseglare, och här är en intressant genomgång av hur han har instrumenterat sin E-jolle, och hur han analyserar data, video och ljud efter träningar.
- Vakaros Atlas 2 (kompass & GPS)
- Calypso Ultrasonic (vind-data)
- Cyclops smart𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸² Atto (lastsensor)
- Njord Analytics (analysplattform)
- GoPro (kamera)
- DJI Wireless Mic (mikrofon)
Vilken bottenfärg 2025?
Frågan kommer upp med jämna mellanrum, men nu är det ju ännu viktigare då flera av de bra alternativen förbjudits.
Veckans läsarfråga:
Hej Peter!
Önskar dig ett gott nytt år, varit en hel del intressant läsning under 2024 och grattis till den nya båten!
Jag har ett pågående arbete med att byta anti-fouling till sommaren men de är väldigt svårt att veta vad jag faktiskt skall applicera när de är dags.
Jag seglar IMX40 #46 FoXy Lady som tidigare seglats på östkusten och båten har tidigare haft vc17 och senast Jotun VK racing som jag varit nöjd med( vit, bra anti-fouling, lätt att stryka på tunnt och slipbar) . Då båda nu är otillåtna i Sverige så vet jag inte vad man skall välja.
Jag tänkte att du kanske är den som har bäst koll på seglings pulsen i Västsverige, vad använder sig de båtar som inte transporteras på trailer 2025 och vad kommer ni själva använda?
Jag kan tillägga att jag också frågade X-yachts vad de kommer ha på sin XR41 och de kommer köra Hempel Hard Racing, vilken också är otillåten i Sverige.
God fortsättning
//Jens Gustafsson
IMX40 #46 FoXy Lady