Classic Boat Club | Comet: 5 hulls celebrating Comar’s signature excellence

Forlì, 1961: Sipla, a small fiberglass Flying Junior manufacturer, is born. These are the dawn of large-scale production, and the new company soon becomes a pioneer in naval production in vtr. Growth is steady, small masterpieces such as Van de Stadt’s Meteori are born, and finally, in 1971, a small hull destined to change all the cards on the table is born. Small, innovative, agile, signed by four hands by Vand de Stadt-Finot, the Comet 910 was in fact born, a masterpiece, as well as winner of that year’s Middle Sea Race. Hence, the boom. Sipla grows, expands and changes its name. It is born Comar, proponent of exceptional hulls throughout the period to follow.

Classic Boat Club | Comet: 5 hulls celebrating Comar’s signature excellence

From the Comet 910 to the much larger 375 cruiser, via racers such as the 333 or the 28 Race, over the years, Comar has signed hulls that are nothing short of exceptional.But what of the ‘older’ classics, the cult boats of the last century? So many survive, cared for, pampered and loved by their owners. From the smallest hulls of the early days, to Vallicelli’s signature racing masterpieces, here are 5 classics of the shipyard today entered in the Classic Boat Club…

• What is the Classic Boat Club? It is the community by GdV dedicated to all fans of the ‘vintage’ world, a platform to enhance and share the design culture and spirit of sailing of the last century. Anyone can be a member: it’s super easy and offers a lot of benefits. Here is all the information about it!

COMET 28 RACE, EMOTIONS

1984, Comar launches a small masterpiece, although its potential is not immediately grasped. Signed by the master of France, Jean Marie Finot, it is the Comet 28 Race, a small-big performer launched in as many as 75 hulls. Just 8.60 meters long, 2.49 wide at maximum beam, despite her iniial passage into obscurity, she would soon prove to be an excellent racer, thus gaining no small consensus among the enthusiasts of the time. Her flag-bearer in the Classic Boat Club’s Official Register of Classic Boats of Historical Value, Emotions, launched in 1986.

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Thirty-fourth boat of its current owner, now restored and updated, this little 28 Race is a bolide, a lightning bolt in more than one race course. Not for nothing, the 2025 edition of the Barcolana, saw it win in class against a few hundred competitors… Full of continuous upgrades, this little Finot prodigy is indeed a boat that lives the spirit of sailing to the fullest and, just as it did in her time, undergoes continuous upgrades and improvements, thus remaining competitive even 40 years after her first launch. And her speeds prove it, fluctuating between a critical 6.1 and 6.2 upwind, with performance one knot higher than true on the slack, where the reduced displacement extracts the full potential from the new VMGs.

COMET 910, PICKWICK

1971, Comar launches a future milestone of Italian sailing. It is the Comet 910, a small cruiser signed by the very capable hands of Finot and Van de Stadt. 9.10 meters long, 3.06 wide at the maximum beam, she will be a true discovery for Italian boating, as well as a revelation for the shipyard, which will go on to produce as many as 490 examples. To serve as its standard bearer in the Official Register of the Classic Boat Club, Pickwick, launched in 1977 and specimen No. #220 in the legendary series.

Used primarily for solo sailing, Pickwick has been in the hands of her current owner for about 4 years and is undergoing constant maintenance and improvement, with major interventions dedicated to keeping her in her best shape. From engine changes to planned deck and rigging refits, she is a truly lived-in boat, a true testament to one of the great Mediterranean designs of the ‘pop’ era of sailing.

COMET 1000, BARRACUDA

Ten years after the 910, Groupe Finot returned in 1981 to sign a Comar hull. it was the Comet 1000, a solid hull, strong in excellent marine qualities and harmonious lines. The deck is immediately particularly appreciated, strong with a very elongated deckhouse and full of large lights to illuminate the interior.

His witness to registry, Barracuda, 9.80 meters long and 3.30 wide at the beam. A well-maintained hull to say the least, an excellent witness to how, not a few decades later, a classic boat can continue to make its good figure, giving, at the same time, not a few emotions to anyone who has the opportunity to own one.

Classic Boats. COMET 333, SPAGHETTI SWAN

1988, the signature in Comar’s house is that of the great Italian master, the creator of Brava, the daddy of Azzurra: it is, of course, Vallicelli and, his gem, is, of course, the legendary Comet 333, a small bolide. 9.13 meters long and 3.15 meters wide, Comet 333 was in fact a little Three Quarter Tonner beast and, not for nothing, she would be chosen in 1989 for the first edition of the Giro d’Italia a Vela…

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At the registry, he makes the Spaghetti Swan (above), an excellent early specimen, a boat capable of both running and being comfortable cruising. For that matter, from original design, the little 333 does not lack complete furnishings, qualities that also make her excellent as a cruiser.

COMET 375, MASQUE

1987, Comar launches a hull absolutely son of the period. And it will be a success. As many as 112 examples for this 11.5-meter signed Finot-Peterson. It is the Comet 375, a cruiser of excellence available in several versions, including the CL, Comfort Lusso, of which Masciò (image below) Is standing in for Registry.

Solid and well-finished, the 375 CL is the most comfortable version of many produced, strong with a particularly finished interior -signed Corazza- and full of cutting-edge solutions for its time. Masciò, in this sense, then shines as an exemplar, now in new hands and strong from continuous refits and upgrades, demonstrating how, with the right care, a Classic Boat is more than hard to finish…

Nasce il Registro Ufficiale delle Classic Boat di Valore Storico: ecco cosa sapere