Passport Vista 515 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The 515's hull is solid fiberglass, hand laminated with stitched biaxial fabrics and 100 percent vinylester resin throughout, with aramid reinforcement in the layup and a matrix of foam-cored stringers in the lower hull and sides for stiffness. There is no wood coring anywhere; the deck is closed-cell Divinycell foam composite with high-density H200 reinforcement under every through-bolted deck fitting, backed by stainless plates. A watertight forward bulkhead and tabbed marine-plywood bulkheads throughout give the structure its compartmentation. The lead ballast is glassed inside a modified fin keel integral with the hull mold, with no keel bolts, and the semi-balanced rudder hangs from a half skeg on a stainless post. Reviewing the boat, Cruising World found the joiner work impeccable, and a later used-boat survey described the hulls as built to ABYC and CE requirements.

Rig and Handling

The 515 carries a Solent rig with a Selden internal-furling mast and five internally led halyards, 316 stainless rigging with compression fittings, and Furlex furlers on both the working jib and reaching stays. A Hard Vang and Harken traveler manage the main, while all winches are Harken Radial, headed by two #70 primaries. Most sail handling is accomplished from the cockpit, and the tested boat's in-mast furling main perhaps didn't do it justice when the tester logged 2.8 knots upwind in a scant 5 knots of breeze; reaching, it made 5.1 knots, and under the Yanmar it reached 8.6 knots flat out, cruising at 7.2 knots at 2,200 rpm. Under power the builder fitted excellent all-sides engine access, though a used-market inspector found the compartment a bit cramped with commonly serviced items still reachable.

Accommodations

Below, the standard arrangement is two staterooms and two heads, with the center-cockpit version placing a master aft, a configurable forward stateroom, a central saloon, and a midships space that can serve as office or cabin. Buyers chose American cherry or Burmese teak veneers with solid wood trim, and Cruising World described a saloon almost obscenely spacious with a cathedral ceiling. The starboard passage galley is narrow and straight-line, keeping the cook secure yet connected to the saloon. A later reviewer noted the port-side outboard space by the companionway steps has been used as both a pilot berth and navigation station, and that the angular settee lacks sweeping curves. Optional three-stateroom and fully custom interiors were available, and one surveyor reported the interior can be disassembled with minimal tools.

Equipment and Systems

The engine is a Yanmar common-rail diesel (the builder cites 110 hp; a period review listed 100) with a foam-insulated room, Racor filter, and bronze shaft gear. Electrical infrastructure is serious: four AGM house batteries plus two start/windlass banks, Balmar alternator with spare, twin Duo Chargers, and a 3,000-watt inverter-charger on a CE/ABYC Blue Sea panel. Plumbing includes 250-gallon aluminum fuel and 316L stainless water tanks, dual Rule bilge pumps totaling 6,500 GPH plus a forward-area emergency pump, and two heads with Raritan toilets and holding tanks. The standard sailaway package was commissioned and launched ready to sail.

The Verdict

The Vista 515 is a low-production, heavily specified Perry cruiser that rewards the buyer who wants custom interior woodwork and offshore-capable systems without a mass-market deck saloon. Its molded structure is conservative and well-compartmented, and its standard gear list is unusually complete for the class.

Pros

Solid vinylester hull with encapsulated lead ballast and no keel bolts
Extensive standard equipment from sourced vendors (Harken, Selden, RayMarine, Blue Sea)
Customizable, impeccably joined interior with roomy center-cockpit layout
Strong bilge-pump capacity and watertight forward bulkhead

Cons