Sail · Row · Camp

One hull, three ways to spend a day on the water — or several days. This is the idea the whole boat is built around.

Sail

The U530 sails like a much more expensive boat and handles like a much simpler one. The rig is an 11 m² high-roach main on an unstayed mast — no boom, no shrouds, one sheet, one tiller. Nothing else to trim. In fresh wind it reaches into double figures and holds 8–9 knots upwind; its hull is shaped to surf on a broad reach rather than push through the water. And yet it’s a boat you can learn on alone. Reducing sail means pulling a single line to roll the main around the mast — so a gust that would send you scrambling on another boat is handled from your seat in seconds. More than one U530 owner had never sailed before buying one. You can open a handkerchief of sail, teach yourself in flat water, and grow into the rest.

In short: racing-boat speed, beginner-simple controls, instant depower.

Row

Most sailboats treat oars as a token gesture. The U530 treats rowing as a real second mode. A proper sliding-seat rowing system with 3.5-metre performance oars and stainless oarlocks, good for a sustained 3–4 knots. When the sail is furled away the cockpit is clear and uncluttered — no boom or rigging in the way — so you have room to row properly and get genuine exercise. It’s also your fallback: if the wind dies and the outboard won’t start, you row home, not wait for a tow. Owners single out the rowing as one of the things that sets the boat apart.

In short: a true rowing boat hiding inside a sailboat.

Camp

The cabin is wide enough for two adults to lie down and spend the night. Because there’s no centreboard case intruding below, the berth sits lower and there’s more headroom than the boat’s size suggests. Pack an inflatable mat and sleeping bag, life jackets as pillows, a camp stove and a small kettle, and the U530 becomes a way to explore the coast the way a touring cyclist explores a country — slowly, close up, reaching coves and islands bigger boats sail past. Beach it for the night, cook aboard, wake up on the water. A cockpit camping tent is among the options.

In short: a pocket expedition boat.

The thread

A hull light enough to row and fast enough to surf; a furling sail that gets out of the way for rowing, motoring, camping; weight low enough (~200 kg ready to sail) that it lives on a trailer and is on the water 20 minutes after you arrive.