Yachting Monthly - April 2016

I’ll be the first to admit that a 28ft daysailer

costing the best part of £70,000 – without

sails and a motor – is not what most of us

want in a cruising yacht, but believe me, if

you saw her at a boat show, you’d stop too.

Her sumptuous curves are drawn by the

very talented but curiously uncelebrated

Martin Menzner, head of Berckemeyer Yacht

Design. She’s built in cold-moulded cedar

using vacuum bagging for maximum infusion

efficiency, then those dreamy khaya wood

veneers are glued onto the hull using epoxy

resin. The deck is teak, the keel is a lead bulb

on a carbon fibre fin and the rudder is wood-

cored carbon.

Up top she has a square-headed mainsail

on a carbon mast with two aft-swept

spreaders, a carbon boom supported by

a carbon gas kicker and offwind sails are

flown from a retractable bowsprit, in carbon

fibre, naturally. Two Harken winches handle

the lines and there’s a Bartels through-deck

furler for the self-tacking jib.

The retractable pole and furler comprise

most of the features down below. Apart from

opulent swathes of rich, matt-varnished

wood begging to be stroked, there are four

Price guide €90,252 inc VAT, ex sails and motor (around £68,435) LOA 8.5m 27ft 11in LWL 8m 26ft 3in Cabins One Beam 2.5m 8ft 3in

Draught 1.75m 5ft 9in Displacement 1,500kg (3,306 lb) Contact LA Yacht Email [email protected] Website http://www.la-yacht.de

slender berths, strictly for beautiful people,

two bin lockers for odds and ends, a couple

of batteries tucked away for the 2.5kW

electric motor and not much else.

Who would she suit?

Apart from having a fair chunk of cash and

probably a waterside property (think Como,

or Geneva) at which to berth their LA28, her

owners are likely to be art collectors, with an

unassailable eye for the exquisite.

If you’re wondering where the fridge is,

she’s not your sort of boat

BOATS & EQUIPMENT

APRIL 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 91

LA28

I can almost hear the

snorts of derision, but

consider this: a boat is

meant to be lived in, not

looked at. A yacht that’s

easy to sail, functional,

bright, spacious, airy and

comfortable is a triumph,

not an aberration. The

Lagoon 42 is all about

ease and convenience.

Sailing her is a one-

person job: stick her on autopilot and enjoy

the view. From the elevated helm position,

you can see three corners clearly and the

fourth if you duck down beneath the bimini.

With two engines and a little practice, close-

quarters manoeuvring will not be a problem,

regardless of her windage.

At anchor she offers a fabulous shady

cockpit, two bathing platforms and davits

Lagoon 42

for a tender. If you fancy a spot of sun, stroll

down the boulevard-wide sidedecks to

the foredeck, or climb through the helm

station and use the sun lounger atop the

bimini. Step through the sliding doors, grab a

drink from the galley (starboard aft), glance

at the chart, then settle down in the saloon

and enjoy the view. Ready to shower and

change? Step down into the starboard hull,

Price as seen €350,400 inc VAT (around £266,274) LOA 12.8m 42ft LWL 12.5m 41ft

Cabins three or four Beam 7.7m (25ft 3in) Draught 1.25m (4ft 1in) Displacement 12,000kg

(26,460 lb) UK contact Ancasta Te l 02380 450000 Website http://www.ancasta.com

pop your phone on the desk in the

small sitting room, drop your book on the

huge berth aft and wander forward into

the en suite.

Yours kids or guests have two en suite

cabins in the port hull. There is also a four-

cabin version, all cabins en suite.

Who would she suit?

For a family looking for a holiday cruiser

in the Med, or a couple thinking about a trade

wind circumnavigation, she should

be on the shortlist.

photos: Berckemeyer
photo: GrAhAm sNook

The Lagoon 42 is all about ease and comfort