Sailboats of the 2023 Sydney International Boat Show

The show had it all, from the suitcase-sized Minicat portable sailing catamaran to the Beneteau Oceanis Yacht 54 performance cruiser. In between, there was something for most keen sailors on show at Darling Harbour.

Entry-level boats were displayed at the Boating Industry Association-led Discover Sailing and Paddling Hub which featured tiny Sabot prams, the crazily fast 16-foot skiffs and similar small classes.

On a nearby stage, sailors that have lived the dream to the extreme talked freely about how to use sailboats, providing inspiration to casual and dedicated show visitors who also heard everything from how to join a local club to the best canoe to buy.

Even Hobie, the pioneer of sail-powered canoes such as the Hobie Mirage trimaran series, had a display in the International Convention Centre hall.

For anyone thinking about starting out in sailing, the Sydney boat show had a wide choice of vessels to choose from.

One of the beginner boats on display was the Cygnet 20, an Australian-made cabin cruiser.

The boat is easy to tow behind a family car and can easily be stored in the driveway or shed, or on a handstand at a marina or yacht club.

The small mast is designed to be easy to hoist, while a lifting keel gives the boat shallow-water access so you can almost pull it up onto a beach.

A growing new category is the day sailer or weekender. These may have a toilet and a larger hull, while an exclusive few are priced like exotic cars.

A prime example of how exclusive this class of boat can get was on display at Sydney with the Dutch-made Saffiere Yachts 33 Life, priced from $539,000, showing an extraordinary level of refinement for what was a performance yacht with carbon spars and racing sails, while below decks included a bed and toilet.

Similarly, the French-made Tofinou 9.7 is a classy yacht with a cockpit large enough to entertain a family for a day at sea, and with a lifting keel for versatility.

Cruising yachts are the most popular market segment, and this is where the choice of boats on show in Sydney was the widest.

Size matters, both in price and how these vessels are used. Coastal sailors could start with the Viko S30, an Italian-designed and Polish-built sports cruiser priced from an affordable $235,000 sail away. The Viko looked fairly well-built based on our show walkthrough.

Not everyone was at the show, with some brands preferring to hold a satellite event of their own.

Jeanneau based its display at Middle Harbour and featured the circa $345,000 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349, a sailboat that has rightly become a bestseller for the French builder. The boat combines a three-cabin interior with a comfortable cockpit and usable sail plan.

The $499,900 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 380 is a slightly larger version with modern ideas such as a very beamy hull with twin rudders for support and a legendary Marc Lombard design, with two or three double cabins.

Another new competitor at Sydney was the circa $350,000 Beneteau Oceanis 34.1 offering a performance sail plan upgrade, and three cabins.

A 50-footer of a more leisurely style on display at Sydney was the Bavaria C50, a cavernous family cruiser with a large aft cockpit that can have up to five cabins below decks. A tough choice for visitors was between this and the stylish circa-$1.35 million Beneteau Oceanis Yacht 54 we mentioned earlier.

In a similar vein, the French-made, circa $730,000 Dufour 470 was on display, showing an accomplished and very stylishly angled hull; ideal for those long coastal miles.

Across town at a display at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, yet another category of yacht was on show combining the space of a motor boat with the clean energy of a yacht; the Moody 41 Deck Saloon.

This 13.0-metre yacht’s design provides a single-level living space running from the cockpit to the panoramic saloon with 360-degree views.

Performance sailors keen on the return of Beneteau’s legendary First marque were rewarded with the circa $590,000 Beneteau First 36, a fast cruiser ideal for enjoying regattas yet with all basic comforts such as hot water, a toilet and a galley below.

Sister company Jeanneau showed its exciting new model, the circa $260,000 Jeanneau Sunfast 3300, which has a large one-design fleet in Europe and is becoming a popular double-handed race boat in Australia.

Another fast performer at Sydney was the Italian-made Grand Soleil LC46 featuring a high-performance rig and refined interior (only pricing in Euro was available). The Grand Soleil 44 that sat beside it was the ORC World Champion in its class in 2021 and 2022.

A Slovenian competitor, the 50-foot Elan E6, bobbed nearby showing sleek low-profile lines reflecting its English/Italian design flare and promising similar turns of speed to a Ferrari with its upgraded sail plan.

Also on display at Windcraft’s CYCA event was the new German Dehler 42 performance cruiser that recently arrived in Sydney, along with a new Solaris 47 from the Italian shipyard renowned for its exceptionally high-quality performance cruising yachts.

Multihulls represent the fastest-growing sector for many good reasons, such as comfort and lifestyle, and the high-end trimarans are the world’s fastest wind-powered vessels featuring the sailability of a monohull combined with the stability of a catamaran.

At Sydney, only the small Corsair 760 trimaran, a trailerable folding model that can come with a larger cabin for weekending or the more race-orientated version, represented this exciting category. Dealer Brent Vaughan at Multihull Central said a local fleet of the Corsairs was building at Cronulla in southern Sydney for those who want to race.

Cruising catamarans is a market sweet spot and was strongly represented at Sydney, with entry-level models such as Beneteau’s 38-foot Excess 11 and the 38-foot Seawind 1150 Lite both slipping in at less than $1 million.

Both these catamarans can have four large cabins and a spacious galley, and are lively down-wind sailers.

Interestingly, auxiliary power options for the Seawind include diesel outboard engines or 29hp Yanmar inboards.

Also at The Yacht Sails Co pontoon was the Fountaine Pajot Isla 40, another ideal cruising starter. 

South African builder Leopard had its new award-winning Leopard 42 model, a sturdily built cruiser for all seasons, along with the Leopard 50.

Buyers keen on making an ocean passage flocked to the newly designed Catana 50 Ocean Class that premiered with dealer Dream Yacht Sales.

This French boat is intended as a comfortable bluewater cruiser, combining lightness with carbon-infused strength. Electric daggerboards ensure upwind performance, something cruising catamarans with mini keels aren’t good at.

Another Catana at the show was the popular Bali 4.6. The Bali concept puts comfort and flexible living to the fore and the 4.6 was a prime example, with the entire aft section open to the elements via a lifting door.

Moving up a notch, the $2 million Lagoon 46 demonstrated the refined experience that owner Beneteau has put into this long-running marque.

Another vessel making an Australian debut at the Sydney show was the Lagoon Sixty 5 catamaran. The new 65-foot catamaran, on show at the TMG stand, promises to deliver on all the experience gained from the success of the now legendary Lagoon 620.

The Sixty 5 is a flybridge model with three levels of living space. A choice of layouts has up to six cabins with galley options as well, while the saloon has convenient bow access through the forward door.

At the other end of the scale, the circa $8000 Minicat Guppy is known for its simplicity and swift assembly, and an exhilarating sailing experience.

With a flexible composite mast, attached floats and no anchoring lines, it offers great convenience for anyone who loves to sail but doesn’t have a lot of space.