5. From BEOWULF to WIND HORSE - Steve Dashew on the Birth of FPB Explorer Yachts - Berthon International Yacht Brokerage

Sue Grant sits down with designer, yachtsman, and long-time friend Steve Dashew to chart the leap from the record-setting sailboat BEOWULF to FPB 83 WIND HORSE—the boat that founded the FPB explorer-yacht line. Steve recalls why he and Linda built a fast, easily run sailboat, the two-handed 300-mile days they logged, and the stormy passage that flipped a prejudice against powerboats on its head: a broken boom, a hard motor-sail home, and a revelation about comfort, control, and speed. That moment led to Wind Horse—long, lean, efficient, and conceived from a sailor’s priorities: steering control, gentle motion, accessible systems, and high average speed. Sue and Steve dig into tank-test lessons, why 10–14-knot passages transform routing and safety, and how two people can realistically manage a serious ocean machine. They close with how those ideas became a family of 18 FPB hulls—powerboats designed by sailors to go farther, faster, and in control.
Steve Dashew - Dashew Offshore (berthoninternational.com/yacht-sales-brokerage…)
Iconic yacht designer and one of the true legends of modern ocean cruising.

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