Design #541 Cookson 15M

Yacht Design's expertise makes for a powerful supporting argument.

Cookson intends offering the boat in two incarnations, a race version and a racer cruiser version. The race version would have a bigger cockpit, smaller cabin arrangement, with an optional coffee grinder, and virtually nothing forward of the mast below, while the racer cruiser would have an owner's double cabin forward of the mast, bigger aft cabins and a correspondingly smaller cockpit.

The idea is that the racer versions would be held to a one-design format, a la the Farr 40 class. But, with a sensible handicap system, the racers and racer-cruisers could compete fairly against each other as well.

The target is to offer both versions in a basic sail-away configuration for $NZ1 million and Cookson says he already has strong interest from owners eager to move up to a yacht of this size with decent amenities, a sweet hull shape and the added technical interest of a canting keel and trim tab for sizzling performance.