Owners & Recognition

The U530’s case is best made by the people who sail it and by the sailors abroad who’ve taken notice.

What owners say

A boat you can sail with no training. One early owner: people who don’t know sailing are afraid of it, but you can learn on this boat with no instruction — open a small sail and teach yourself. A single furling sail means no trim headaches; if it’s not working, furl it and motor; if the motor won’t start, row — and the rowing is the real thing, not a dinghy’s. The clear cockpit even makes it good for fishing, and because you pull it ashore rather than leave it in the water, cleaning the bottom is cheap and easy. At this price, a boat like this is rare. — Akın Ç.

From a lifetime of racing dinghies to a “dream boat”. A former 470, Finn, Snipe and Flying Dutchman racer came to the U530 after years of saying “every boat is a metre too short.” His verdict: performance and balance kept to the fore, plus a designer’s practical solutions, add up to a dream boat. He praised the furling sail, the lifting blade, the light hull, and a rowing setup comfortable and fast enough to be a mode in its own right — and the build quality and non-traditional construction. He made the point that matters most in Turkey: the boat lives on its trailer, so the usual barrier — nowhere to keep it — falls away. — Mehmet E., former dinghy racer

Balance, performance, ease of use. The same owner later summed the boat up in three words — balance, performance and ease of use — and credited the engineering and material knowledge behind it. — Mehmet E.

A super boat for Turkey. An experienced sailor highlighted the practical wide cockpit, the keel that lifts and lowers vertically on its winch, the way it turns into a rowing boat whenever you like, and its stability: “It has become a super boat for Turkey.” — Timur G.

Extraordinary even in near-calm. On a windless day — “not a leaf stirred” — one owner found the boat still performed remarkably, thanks to its stability and sail; a true sailor’s boat, with ergonomic oars and a quick rig. His advice to anyone undecided: take a test sail and decide quickly. — Ufuk H.

A complete beginner, sailing on trust. The 26th owner had never sailed in his life and took it up simply by trusting the designer and following the boat online — exactly what the U530 was built to make possible: a boat that suits beginners and experienced sailors alike. — Erkan B.

Noticed abroad

• Australia — sailors called it “this little speedster” and admired the “boomless roller-furling leg o’ mutton” rig and its pace — and asked whether it had a website.
• Canada — naval architect Tad Roberts noted it as a good candidate for an expedition race like the R2AK.
• United States — Howard Rice, a noted small-boat sailor, called it a “very clever design.”
• France — the rotating-mast furling rig the U530 uses has been adopted on single-handed and offshore boats abroad, including by ocean-crossing micro-cruiser sailor Yann Quénet.

For a boat built in a small Turkish workshop, that’s meaningful attention from the places that take small-boat sailing most seriously.