Rassker: World’s coolest yachts

Yachting World has been asking top sailors and marine industry gurus to choose the coolest and most innovative yachts of our times, and Magnus Rassy nominated the 26-foot Rassker. Here’s the report:

“In 1983, at 16 years old, I dreamed of building my own keelboat. An IOR Half Tonner was the top of my list, but I soon realized this was far out of my budget,” says Magnus Rassy reflecting on why he has picked Rassker as his nomination for world’s coolest yacht.

“Instead, I designed my own Quarter Tonner-style boat, which was empty inside, to keep it simple and keep costs down.

“When I calculated the material cost, it was exactly what I had in my bank account, so I started immediately. My father and I built the boat over the winter of 1983-84.

“The Orust area is world renowned, with several thousand years of boatbuilding history, but this was the first boat built in this area with a Divinycell [PVC foam] core, Kevlar, an open transom and a bolt-on lead keel.

“We had so much fun with it and quite a lot of racing success. Rassker is now 38 years old, under its original name and second owner, and is still amazingly competitive both in terms of looks and racing results.”

Background: Twenty years after designing Rassker, Magnus Rassy took over the ownership and running of Hallberg-Rassy from his father Christoph in 2003. Since then he has instigated the modernization of the yard and the introduction of the successful new generation line of Frers-designed cruising yachts.

For Yachting World’s list of cool boats, click here.