I usually consider taste in boat design--any architecture, really--to be strictly a matter of fashion. What we all think looks really great in 2004 will probably look dated and silly and 2014. As we were sailing in Long Island Sound on Saturday, we met a boat near Duck Island Roads that had those "classic" lines. Sweeping shear, overhangs, a noticable but not exaggerated tumblehome. At first I thought it was an 8 meter, but then I noticed it had a masthead rig. To tell the truth, it wasn't especially bristol. It could have used a good washing. But my wife, who doesn't know a yawl from a unicycle, took one look and said "what a beautiful boat." I had to admit, she was right.