SOUTHERLY 540

A swing-keel cruiser that offers both bluewater performance and thin-water freedom

By Zuzana Prochazka

For anyone wrestling with the tradeoffs between deep-draft sailing performance and shallow gunkholing cruising capability, the Southerly 540, with its lifting keel, may be the perfect solution. The Ed Duboisdesigned 54-footer is now part of the Discovery Yachts Group Line and is built in Southampton, England. We went aboard to see just how this big boat can be managed shorthanded and venture virtually anywhere in the world. DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION The hand-laminated, vacuum-bagged vinylester/foam core sandwich hull (solid glass below the waterline) has a fine entry, which allows the boat to put her shoulder into big head seas and carve a path straight through. Despite her exceptional volume, the 540 has a low profile with a nearly-flush deck and a rounded coachroof. The fixed angled windows swoop back like a shaped eyebrow…

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Sail - New Boat & Gear Review (Digital) - 1 Issue, 2019

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