Dear readers,

"Typical caravan", "This has nothing to do with sailing anymore", "Why don't you go chill out at a beauty resort?", reactions to the Presentation of the new Hanse 590.

"Living room with boathouse around it", "Idea for the next April Fool's article: Catamaran with five storeys above water ... Although it wouldn't be that far removed from the current models", comments on the Innovations in the multihull sector.

"Rarely seen an uglier watercraft", "Aesthetically extremely ugly", opinions on the new Sunbeam 29.1.

The quotes are taken from corresponding articles on the new boats mentioned on the YACHT Facebook page. You can also read opinions to the contrary there, of course. But I ask myself: why this mockery, this spitefulness, indeed this intolerance? Is it just due to the medium of Facebook, where things tend to be less nice? Or do sailors tend to be a mix of know-it-alls and arrogance? Probably less so.

The three examples have something in common; they represent the latest developments in boat design, hull design and modern boat building. They show the shipyards' desire to generate added value, a plus in individual appearance, comfort and modernity. They want to set themselves apart from the competition, not to copy, but to innovate. And I think they are definitely succeeding in this. With its negative stem, chines and hardtop, the Hanse is not only recognisable as a design from Greifswald, but also shows that a modern cockpit can offer as much space as a multihull. The new catamarans offer even more seating and lounging options on deck, even more compartments, toilets and comfort. With its diagonal chines, overhanging foredeck and covered superstructure, the Sunbeam has an unmistakable, dynamic and unique design. By the way, she sails very well.

And didn't the same scoffers perhaps complain about uniformity in yacht building all too recently? That you couldn't tell a Hanse from a Bavaria, a Beneteau from a Jeanneau or a Dufour? Long gone. Shipyards are finding their visual niches, their style, their unique selling points. That's a good thing, every taste is catered for, the progressive with the latest designs, the traditional with the familiar designs that still exist, and in between there is a huge variety, the range is huge and diversified. Let's just be happy about it!

Now no-one has to like extra-wide and high hulls, or have toilet facilities for all four cabins, and everyone can condemn chines and edges, but why the fuss? Quite simply, the market will either accept modern boats or not.

And if the earlier designs, the previous generation boat, were so much better, why do unit sales drop and then suddenly rise again as soon as a model is replaced by a new, inevitably more modern one?

And perhaps the whole issue is just a question of getting used to it. When the first Mercedes A-Class came onto the market in 1997, a large part of Germany was outraged by the bulbous vehicle. A designer I no longer know said at the time that a good design does not have to be immediately convincing, that acceptance would follow the surprise and that people would still find great favour in the new vehicle. He was proved right. By 2004, over one million A-Class cars had been sold. Despite the damage to its image caused by the moose test and despite or because of its special design.

Fridtjof Gunkel,

Deputy Editor-in-Chief YACHT

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