Yachting Monthly – May 2018

If you are looking for a Scandinavian

bluewater cruiser, the first stop has

to be a builder on the Swedish island

of Orust. In fact, three of the four boats

here hail from this one island on the

Swedish west coast. First on our list is

the Najad 380, a sound, seaworthy and

stunning-looking yacht with all the attributes

on Frank and Marie’s desirables list.

The standard spec for the 380

was comprehensive. Despite

this, most of them were then

fully kitted out for offshore

sailing, so they should come

with a lot of useful extras.

Like all Najads, she was

solidly constructed with an

alloy framework under the floor,

full-length longitudinal stringers

and bonded-in bulkheads. Her

hull is solid, hand-laid GRP

below the waterline and epoxy

treated from new. Her topsides

and deck are foam cored for lightness

and insulation.

She isn’t the flightiest of vessels – the

substantial lead ballast is held in a bulb at

the foot of the keel, giving her an impressive

righting moment that keeps her stiff in heavy,

offshore conditions, despite her generous

sail area. She has a deep, balanced rudder

supported by a half-skeg, so she rarely, if

ever, loses her bite on the water.

Her longish keel helps keep

leeway down to a minimum and

gives her excellent directional

stability off the wind. Her deeply

vee’d bow is well submerged,

giving her a delightfully

comfortable motion in a

seaway – exactly what you

want on a long ocean passage.

As with most Swedish

cruising yachts, she has

a solid windscreen with sturdy

handholds each side, which

 M

any people who

want to sail off

into the sunset

dream of doing it

on a Scandinavian

yacht. The boats are beautifully crafted

and exude quality. After a life of work,

Marie and Frank are now in the enviable

position of having the means to buy one.

Frank and Marie have spent their

lives making ends meet and ensuring

their two children got through university

without accumulating too much debt.

Now it’s their time. They both sailed

dinghies in their youth and even bought

a small Newbridge

Venturer before

they were married

to go sailing

from their home

port in Dartmouth.

However, once the

kids arrived, they

could no longer

afford to keep her.

Now, thanks to

the sale of a small

house Marie has

inherited plus a

cash drawdown

from Frank’s

pension, they want

to spend a few

years bluewater

cruising before they take up bridge.

Their ideal yacht would be a traditional

Scandinavian design between 37-40ft

and at Marie’s insistence, have a large,

private master cabin. They also want

a decent-sized guest cabin for friends,

many of whom are planning to join

them as they cruise around the Med

and Caribbean, and possibly a second

heads compartment.

Frank wants the boat to be easily

handled, with all the important sail

controls led aft to the cockpit, and

after sailing with friends last year on

their Moody 425, they have both come

to like the feel of a centre-cockpit boat.

They have a generous budget of

around £200,000 but sensibly want

to hold £20K back to refit her for the trip.

NAJAD 380

Her long fin keel and half-

skeg rudder giver the Najad

good directional stability

SPECIFICATIONS

LOA 11.55m (38ft 0in)

LWL 9.90m (32ft 6in)

BEAM 3.65m (12ft 0in)

DRAUGHT 1.95m (6ft 4in)

DISPLACEMENT

8,300kg (18,260lb)

DESIGNER Judel/Vrolijk

BUILDER

Najad Varvet, Sweden

OWNERS ASSOCIATION

http://www.najad.co.uk

Duncan Kent,

yacht tester for 25

years, presents a

selection of centre-

cockpit cruising

boats for the

bluewater cruiser

FIND ME A...

Centre-cockpit cruiser

under £180K

PRICE £165,000£185,000 YEAR 20052008

Hallberg-Rassy 37

Malo 39 Classic

Nordship 380 DS