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Step aboard enough boats and you start noticing something long before you see the woodwork, the rig, or the state of the sails. It’s the smell. Every cabin has its own version of it. Some are friendly and familiar — a mix of varnish, canvas, and the memory of yesterday’s coffee. Others remind you of wet lockers, old hose, and a leak that’s been there longer than the current owner. Whatever form it takes, smell is often the first hint of how a boat has been living. Boat smell

If yacht listings told the whole truth, life would be very simple. You’d scroll through a few dozen boats, pick the one that makes your heart skip, wire the funds, and sail off toward whatever horizon feels most patient that day. Sadly, the world of pre-owned cruising yachts doesn’t work like that. What you see in the photos is only a small part of the real story, and sometimes the part that matters least. TrueNorth Yacht Advisors It’s not that sellers are trying to hide anyt

What Chainplates Are (And Why Your Mast Refuses to Stand Without Them) Chainplates are deceptively simple pieces of stainless steel, usually flat bars bolted to the strongest parts of the hull. Their job is to anchor the standing rigging—the shrouds and stays that keep the mast from falling over whenever the boat leans into real wind. Classic sailboat - chainplates Think of them as the skeletal attachment points of your entire rig. Subtract them, and the mast becomes a very t

Some boats earn their reputation through marketing. Others earn it through glossy interiors, fancy upholstery, and a good Instagram filter. And then there’s Hallberg-Rassy — a yard that built its reputation the slow, stubborn, Swedish way: by delivering boats that look after their crew when the weather decides to make things interesting. The Hallberg-Rassy 44 is a perfect example of this philosophy. It’s modern, more lively than earlier HR models, and undeniably handsome. But

And why doing your homework properly can save you from a very expensive mistake. Amel 55 - TrueNorth Yacht Advisors Some yachts become popular because they’re pretty. Some because they’re fast. And then there are the Amels — boats that earn their reputation the hard way: by carrying real people across real oceans, year after year, while other yachts quietly give up. The Amel 55 sits right in the middle of that legacy. It’s the last great ketch of the old Amel philosophy, and

Stay with me for a few minutes and you’ll understand the 12 boats that offer the best mix of pedigree, build quality, and genuine offshore ability — all for under $50,000. And more importantly, you’ll learn the one thing every buyer must do before they fall in love with any of them. Westsail 32 Most sailors dream of slipping the lines and pointing the bow toward a horizon that doesn’t end. But dreams and budgets rarely speak the same language — especially when you start shopp

From the first listing click to final survey — how to cut through bad photos, hidden problems, and broker optimism using a structured pre-survey documentation method. Avoid this! Buying a Used Bluewater Sailboat the Smart Way Buying a used bluewater sailboat should feel like the beginning of a grand adventure. But for most people, it feels more like trying to solve a mystery using half a jigsaw puzzle and a handful of blurry, badly lit photos taken with a phone older than the

A data-driven look at falling demand, inflated asking prices, and how to secure a bluewater boat for far less than the listing price. The dreamboat? Every few weeks, a familiar drama plays out quietly in marinas around the world. A retired couple stands on the deck of their well-loved 40-footer, remembering ocean crossings, sunsets, and a time when diesel was cheap and their knees didn’t click. They list the boat for what it used to be worth — not what the market will actual

A funny, truthful guide through the confusion, costs, and small victories of buying your first cruising yacht.   The Dream Begins People don’t start shopping for boats.They start daydreaming their way out of their own lives. It usually happens somewhere inconvenient: in a supermarket queue, in a meeting that should have been an email, or while staring at the ceiling at three in the morning wondering when life got so… beige. A small thought arrives uninvited: There must be mor