Rambler 88: 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 Paul Tetlow nominated Rambler 88. Here’s the report:

Rambler 88 was designed as a giant slayer. After the loss of his Rambler 100, owner George David asked designer Juan Kouyoumdjian to create a boat that was capable of taking on 100-footers, and Rambler 88 features radical elements, including rudders with teeth or ‘tubercles’ on the trailing edge.

Rambler 88 scored a series of line honors wins, first in multiple Rolex Middle Sea, RORC 600 and Rolex Fastnet Races. But in 2016 they took on a different fleet, in the race division of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers.

“George David’s team delivered a nail-biting finish in ARC 2016 to break the previous ARC record by an hour, and the record still stands at 8 days, 6 hours, 29 minutes and 15 seconds,” explains Tetlow, the new head of the World Cruising Club.

“Although the ARC is a cruising rally for ‘normal’ cruising boats, it adds to everyone’s excitement when the course record is beaten. Most boats complete the 2,700-mile crossing in around 18 to 21 days. The sense of how developments in race boats filter into cruising boat design felt very real.”

Rambler 88 stats rating
Top speed: 37 knots
LOA: 27m/88ft
Beam: 7.1m/23ft 4in
Launched: 2014
Price: Undisclosed
Adrenalin factor: 90%

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