24 feet offer a surprising amount of potential for a wide variety of concepts. Residential boats, daysailers or sports boats - the variety in the comparison test is enormous. The first part focusses on interior space and quality of life
The differences could not be more extreme. A whopping 1.84 metres headroom versus 1.36 metres; 2.05 tonnes versus 950 kilograms - the new Henk 25.5 and the aged Shark 24 are worlds apart, but underline the clear development towards comfort-oriented small cruisers.
Four fully-fledged berths and a miniature toilet room are now standard, and the storage space can compete with that of full-size nine-metre yachts. Only the sportier test boats, the Skippi 750 PC and the Mak 7, have a more spartan layout below deck. Less freeboard and a narrower waterline width do make a noticeable dent in the volume of space. In the current issue of YACHT, you can read which boat had the edge below deck, where concept errors and detail deficiencies lurk in the boats manufactured in Poland and in which disciplines the Shark 24, which is still being built, can score points.
The second part of the big comparison test will be published in issue 14, on newsstands from 24 June. The focus here is on sailing performance, which offers many a surprise.
