Estelle Cockcroft

Estelle Cockcroft is a seasoned sailor, catamaran expert, and co-founder of Catamaran Guru. With over 70,000 NM sailed and 30+ years aboard, she empowers new cruisers with expert advice on liveaboard life, yacht ownership, and ocean adventures.

lagoon 450 SporTop 2

Our New Cruising Catamaran: 2016 Lagoon 450 SporTop

Why Did We Choose This Catamaran As Our Own New Cruising Boat? While traveling from boat show to boat show in 2015, we conducted numerous seminars and consultations all around America with sailors searching for their “dream boat”. It resulted in the sales of numerous catamarans in 2015 (FYI catamarans prices are VERY affordable now). We

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Bali 4.0 sailing

Catamaran Dealers & Their Biases For/Against: Bali4.0 vs Lucia 40

Bali 4.0 vs FP Lucia 40 Catamarans After the Paris boat show, a Bali owner alerted me about a blog post by a Fountaine Pajot dealer criticizing the Bali 4.0. He was a little miffed and asked for our opinion. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t pay attention to these snipes, but the post was blatantly misleading and

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Bali40

Dueling Forties Update: Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40 & Bali 4.0

A Brief Look At The 40ft Catamarans Models At The 2015 Paris Boat Show The Bali 4.0 and Lucia 40 catamarans are very different boats and each has unique features that will appeal to different people. Both are boats with good sailing characteristics, are built and finished well and are similarly priced. Personally, I prefer the

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40ft catamarans

The Dueling Forties: The 40ft Catamaran Lineup For 2016

The 2015 / 2016 yacht buying season unquestionably belongs to the 40ft catamaran. There are several reasons for this popularity. The old 40ft Island Spirits, Admiral 40’s, Leopard 40’s, and others were highly successful cats, but are no longer manufactured. Their departure from the market left a big void in this size range for several

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chart metalworks charlotte guptill

Nautical Jewelry by CHART metalworks

American Product Review: Nautical Jewelry by CHART metalworks The Annapolis Boat Show as full of talented artisans including Charlotte Guptill of CHART metalworks. She and her husband, John, keep creative jewelry and some decorative accessories like bottle openers and stoppers flowing out to their nautical fans. The simple attractive baubles are great gifts for women

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fort lauderdale international boat show 2015

Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show 2015

Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show 2015 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the “Yachting Capital of the World” will host the 56th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show on Nov 5-Nov 9, 2015. The Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show venue stretches for  almost one mile along the Inter-Coastal Waterway. For the first time this year the catamaran basin was added at

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Bali 4.3 is a perfect boat for a boat partnership between 2 families

Boat Partnerships: Sharing The Financial Burden

Buying a boat with a partner is becoming more popular in part because yacht charter companies allow more generous “owner’s use” as an incentive. So multiple families can each enjoy 2-4 cruising weeks per year, which is often more than most people can use annually. Another reason yacht partnerships are desirable is that the financial

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