The center-cockpit Vista 515 is a thoroughly contemporary boat, and it’s big enough to satisfy the offshore aspirations of most sailing couples today-if they can afford it-in terms of accommodations and handling. Passport Yachts also offers it with an aft cockpit and, as the Vista 485, with a reverse transom and either a center or an aft cockpit.
Abovedecks, the Vista 515 glistens with stainless steel, much of it in the form of such hardware as the bulwark-mounted roller fairleads-just one item on a long list of standard fixtures and gear in a very complete package.
Belowdecks, the layout can be customized, within the constraints of structural necessities, to the whims of individual owners, and it’s executed in impeccable joiner work. The layout of the center-cockpit boat has a master stateroom aft, a forward stateroom in a choice of configurations, a central saloon, and a midships space that can be an office or a cabin. In the starboard passage under the cockpit, the narrow, straight-line galley keeps the cook secure and socially connected to the saloon.
A fixed windshield deflects spray from the large cockpit and serves as an anchor for the dodger. Large lockers under the aft deck provide ample stowage for cruising gear. Sails are subject to owner choice, and the in-mast furling mainsail on the tested boat perhaps didn’t do it justice when we registered 2.8 knots upwind in a scant 5 knots of wind. Reaching, the boat sailed at 5.1 knots. Under power, the Passport Vista 515 reached 8.6 knots flat out and 7.2 knots at a cruising speed of 2,200 rpm.
Passport Vista 515 Specs
LOA: 51′ 6″
LWL: 44′ 0″
Beam: 15′ 2″
Draft (deep): 6′ 6″
Sail Area: 1,070 sq. ft.
Displacement: 38,000 lb.
Water: 200 gal.
Fuel: 200 gal.
Engine: 100-hp. Yanmar
Designer: Robert H. Perry
Price: $815,000
Passport Yachts, (410) 263-0008, www.passportyachts.com
