Sad news, anyway can we expect from a shoemaker something else but consumer and fashion goods?
Irony apart, we must acknowledge that Nautor is always trying to work hard with new products in a very competitive and difficult sector of the economy.
As in many fields of the human behavior, there are two constant opposite driving forces: the first is to preserve and keep the culture and the memory of the past, the second is for change and innovation.
The first drive is for acknowledging works of art, masterpieces as are the first boats designed for Nautor by S&S. Their owners are proud of their boats and often they are uncertain whether to keep their boat only maintained and substantially unchanged from their original design even for the smallest details, or to make some upgrade with more modern technologies. I refer, as an example, to Blakes seacocks and toilets, the old Sailor vhf and the Neco autopilot. Anyway these boats still give us the immense pleasure of sailing and enjoying the beauties of the sea life. They are not to be kept under a glass shrine. Even the last J-class are changed, and they are still reminiscent of an era of a glorious past. Few people would blame now an old Swan for having rollerfurling on deck or self tailing winches.
The second drive is innovation, often confused with fashion. The stress on speed is enormous and results in more fragile boats. The reason is due not simply to the technological progress in boatbuilding and new performance ratings. It is due, too, to the enormous improvements in communication, and this results in less risk for the crews racing on boats in case of incident. These boats will inevitably last less. They belong to a consumer and fashion good category as I have written before…
I would of course prefer that Nautor might have chosen for a more traditional line of products, with safety and quality as a first issue. I would have preferred lines as those S&S Morris, or Spirit, or Classic boats, even Halberg Rassy. Anyway this is only a personal feeling, I wonder if I would have made the same choice as a partner in Nautor.
It is good that this site continues, so we have all the data for these beautiful boats.