Boat Test ~Saffier SE27 Leisure
The new Saffier Se 27 Leisure offers a welcome change to the trend of ever-bigger daysailers. Smaller perhaps, but no less fun, as Riemer Witteveen finds out
Hitting the sweet spot?
PHOTOS KLAAS WIERSMA
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hen Dutch boat building brothers Dennis and Dean Hennevanger asked me to test sail the Saffier Se 33 a couple of years ago, I obviously could not refuse. The boat was rather big for a daysailer, but also surprisingly simple to handle. Above all it was a fast machine. Not having sailed that kind of boat before, I was amazed by this take on sailing: no fuss with getting your boat prepped for a weekend away, just untie your lines and take
it for a spin. Like you would with a motorbike on a sunny day instead of loading up your caravan for hours. Shortly after testing that boat, the Hennevangers announced the even bigger Se 37 Lounge. I caught myself wondering what was next? Can they go even bigger? Isn’t 37 foot already too big for a boat you can’t even spend a two week holiday in? Then, by the end of 2019, the Hennevanger brothers announced the latest Saffier was in the pipeline and I was not disappointed. Instead of going bigger, they actually went smaller. The Se 27 Leisure is unmistakably a boat that fits within the more
DECEMBER 2021 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting
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Effortless fast sailing in style is the name of the game
modern Elegance range of the yard, with sleeker lines and faster hulls than the more traditional looking Classic range. Dennis Hennevanger has always compared Saffiers with luxurious cars: “The Saffiers in the Elegance range are like supercars: good looking, fast and exciting to drive. Whereas the boats in the Classic range are more like the Jaguars and Bentleys.” As we walk down to the boat I look at my colleague Anke and I cannot help but state the obvious: “We have chosen a perfect day for this test!” Before casting off, Dennis shouts to me from the docks: “You
