Design and Construction
Built by Maxi Yachts/Delphia, the 1200 is laminated in vinylester resin with a PVC core in both hull and deck, and strength is concentrated where it matters: carbon reinforcements wrap the internal grid that carries keel, rig and chainplate loads, as well as the rudder frame and the stem and bowsprit anchor. That structural intent shows in the numbers — a ballast ratio near 34 percent and an RCD Category A rating for offshore capability. Petterson’s brief was a boat that is simple, fast and ergonomic as well as safe, durable and, through Polish production, affordable, and the 1200 reads as a genuine meld of the racer-cruiser and family-cruiser ideals the name once stood for.
Rig and Handling
The sail plan carries 904 square feet of area for a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 22.7, delivered through a fully battened mainsail on multi-directional in-mast cars as standard. Petterson’s cockpit-tidiness goal produced halyard stowage in the coamings and sheet-tail stowage below the cockpit table, with primaries sited inboard around a central mainsheet pedestal and a single reversible winch — a solution he vouched for after checking it on his own boat anchor. Steering runs through chain-and-cable Jefa gear to lightweight carbon-fibre wheels, and the narrow rudder blade does little to deflect propwash from the saildrive. The standard reversible electric winch will only release the sheet under load, but its jolty acceleration and deceleration shakes the power out of the sail. Later hulls were slated to carry a 110 percent jib rather than the review boat’s smaller foretriangle.
Accommodations
Tony Castro’s interior is the first Maxi cabin not drawn by Petterson, and it is deliberately simple and elegant — white panels against teak trim and solid wood frames. The boat is offered in two- or three-cabin layout. Practical touches abound: a flip-back chart-table seat that enlarges saloon lounging space in port, a pull-out extractor fan over the cooker, and both top- and front-opening fridges. Solid teak fiddles and deck-height stainless handrails add security, and ventilation is everywhere — through every cupboard door and panel and in the mesh backs of the seat cushions. The 5-foot 3-inch cockpit benches, though, are too short for most to stretch out flat.
Equipment and Standard Kit
The 1200 shipped richly specified: teak deck, retractable bow thruster, race-spec winches and two fridges were all included, with the anchor stowing on a single roller in the carbon-fibre bowsprit. A windlass, oddly, was not standard. The 28-horsepower Volvo Penta diesel with saildrive sits behind a 150-litre fuel and 260-litre water capacity, and the tested hull — number one off the line — showed the production baseline before later jib changes.
The Verdict
The Maxi 1200 is a thoughtfully engineered revival of the marque’s dual-personality heritage, with real structural intent and a cockpit laid out by a sailor who tested his own ideas. The standard equipment list is generous, the interior ventilation and detailing genuinely considered. The reversible winch’s rough control is the one clear blemish on an otherwise coherent cruiser-racer.
Pros
- Carbon-reinforced load grid and PVC-core vinylester laminate construction
- Inboard primaries, central pedestal and tidy cockpit stowage by Petterson’s own design
- Rich standard kit: teak deck, bow thruster, twin fridges, full-batten main
- Castro interior with thorough ventilation and smart port-side concessions
Cons
- Reversible electric winch shakes sail power with jolty acceleration and deceleration
- No standard windlass despite otherwise complete equipment
- Cockpit benches too short for flat lounging
