Testimonial - Peter C. Brown

Owner’s comments regarding Dolphin 460 #15, Muse.

After many years of reading, attending boat shows, tours of French factories, endless discussions (many with Phil Berman), etc. we decided on purchasing a Dolphin 460 for our cruising years in the Caribbean. We took delivery of Hull #15 in May, 2006, named her Muse, and sailed Muse to Trinidad. While our total time on Muse is still limited, I can say without reservation that Dolphin makes a great boat and we have zero regrets.

I spent about 10 days at the Dolphin ship yard before our delivery. As a result, I had the opportunity to watch the construction of 3 boats at various stages of completion. I can not say enough about the quality of the build and the attention to every minor detail. Try as I might, I can not find a space, fitting, or finish that detracts from that impression. In addition to the army of technicians who assemble the boats, a quality assurance person is always present to make sure that nothing is overlooked. I am told that over 20,000 man-hours goes into each boat. Prior to our association with Dolphin, we had held the French Privilege boats as our Gold Standard for quality. I now feel that Dolphin is on an equal footing with Privilege and may even exceed these highly regarded boats. Finally, the hardware and sails (Volvo, Antal, Goiot, B&G, North and others) are all first rate.

The sailing properties of the Dolphin have been described in the promotional literature and I found nothing that would qualify those comments. The upwind performance, owing to the dagger boards, is on par with our previous monohulls and far superior to chartered catamarans we have sailed on in the Bahamas and in the British Virgin Islands. The ride from Brazil, which was mostly off the wind in 10-25 kts, brought boat speeds routinely in the 8-10 kt range with bursts up to 17 kts. Throughout, the ride was stable and mostly dry. There was no discernable flexing, creaking, or groaning in more demanding conditions. Under power, the new D2-40 Volvos with 115 A alternators standard, perform incredibly well; and, maneuverability while docking is exquisite and visibility is adequate.

Finally, Phil Berman and his associates have been professional and on top of every detail during the entire procedure leading up to the launch and in helping with post-launch issues. In addition, Junior Pimenta and his associates at Dolphin are a pleasure to deal with and cooperation was high throughout the ordering and delivery process and remains high well after Muse left Brazil. It is very apparent that Dolphin takes their jobs seriously and wants every owner to be happy with their choice of a Dolphin.