The Canon

This is a list of boats we consider worth understanding. It is short because the criterion is hard: behind each boat stands a stated purpose, a person or a yard that decided what the boat is for and paid for that decision with refusals. Ask any boat on this list “why are you like this?” and you get an answer, not a link to a focus group.

We select on four traits. Visible refusal: the designer sacrificed something for the boat’s purpose, and you can see it from the dock. A readable position: the boat can be described in one sentence without opening a catalogue. Proof: the fleet has confirmed the concept in miles, not press releases. And a living market of knowledge: owners of these boats talk, in forums, blogs and passage reports, so a boat can be understood before it is bought.

The Canon is not a ranking and not a “best boats” list. There are no places in it: an aluminum expedition centreboarder and a weeknight club racer do not compete. Nor is it a verdict on the rest of the market: most of the world’s boats are sensible compromises built for sensible purposes. This page is simply about the other kind.

The full Canon — every model by category, finished dossiers and the queue for the rest — lives in the Boats section.