POINTER 30

THE TEST VERDICT

When current trends for high-volume boats are seeing hull shapes inflating like balloons, a boat with a graceful sheer and unashamedly low topsides is something of a breath of fresh air. Clearly, this has an impact on accommodation space, which is why boats have got bigger, but if you’re willing to do without standing headroom, you’ll reap the rewards of a boat that puts less between you and your sailing.

She sails beautifully with a good turn of speed – though I didn’t get chance to see her really stretching her legs – and she is clearly a weatherly boat. Her ballast is reassuringly chunky to keep the boat stiff in a blow and to stand up to a generous sailplan. Twin rudders do detract marginally from the feel on the helm, but this boat has managed to minimise the effect more than most other boats, thanks to the single wheel and mostly frictionless set-up, making her engagingly direct to helm.

The boat appears extremely well built by a knowledgeable team with a long heritage of GRP boatbuilding. Even if the fit-out is on the basic side, it is executed and finished extremely neatly and to a high standard.

WOULD SHE SUIT YOU AND YOUR CREW?

The Pointer 30 is built around a simple premise of fun sailing with friends, sitting below for a pleasant coffee, then heading ashore for showers and a meal out. Of course, you can sleep on board and if you don’t mind keeping things simple, there’s no reason you couldn’t cruise much further, particularly as a couple.

I suspect the kind of sailing this boat is built for reflects the reality of most cruising sailors’ regular habits far more than a boat built for long-distance adventures, even if that’s what we like to think we’ll be doing. If you’ve taken an honest look at how you sail and have found that weekend cruising with friends is what you actually do, then this boat will deliver ample sailing pleasure with understated elegance and assurance.