Arcadia’s quirky little Sherpa was one of my favorite boats of 2016 when we tested the first one on a pristine summer’s day in the Bay of Naples, and it has remained a firm favorite ever since.
The manifest oddness of its appearance—which in the intervening years has come to seem a lot less odd, as other shipyards adopt the look and the idea—evaporated as soon as I walked up the gangplank. To do so is to instantly understand the concept, which represents a truly intelligent ordering of priorities. Its focus is on using the boat as a boat. Nothing is allowed to impede the pleasure of simply being afloat.
The new version of the Sherpa is about 6 feet longer on the same beam, the extra length coming from modifications made to the stern sections to cope with the weight of larger engines. It also offers more options than the original—not just in the engine room but in its accommodations, too—and has significantly more fuel capacity. But otherwise, thankfully, the basic concept has not been meddled with.
There are many stand-out spots on board, and one of the best is the wheelhouse, a raised platform with seating, a great view—though you have to lean over to see the bow, it’s set so far forward—and sliding windows so you can either enjoy the fresh air or get out of the wind, according to the weather. A walkaround deck leads to the bench seat at the front.
Down below, new layout options abound. The most impressive, and perhaps most tempting until you remember that you have kids, is the “suite version,” in which the entire bow is given over to one big master stateroom, along with a private salon down the starboard side. In the two-cabin version, that space becomes a twin-berth with an en suite head.
The boat at the 2024 Cannes show sported a variation on the three-cabin option. Normally this would have a twin to port and another to starboard with bunk berths, both sharing a head compartment. Instead of the bunks, however, the show boat’s starboard cabin had twin low-level berths plus a drop-down Pullman.
Although a glance at the layout might suggest that things are a little cramped down forward, with so many cabins and berths jostling for elbow room, it hasn’t worked out like that: Headroom throughout never drops below 6 feet, 6 inches, and in places it’s more. The beds, too, are a proper size: Except for the 5-foot, 8-inch Pullman, they’re all at least 6 feet, 3 inches long, and the master’s double is a generous 5 feet, 3 inches in the beam. Another option is a twin-berth crew cabin, amidships, accessed via a deck hatch.
The Sherpa is all about the aft deck, which including the lengthened aft platform actually takes up more than half the boat’s length. It’s an inviting and remarkably comfortable area that makes excellent use of the hull’s substantial beam. The hardtop overhang effectively shades the forward seating, with its sofa and extending table, and the aft areas can also be protected with an awning.
With the engines right aft the central portion of the aft deck, this expansive area of real estate conceals a huge midships lazarette, which on the show boat easily accommodated a 9-foot, 6-inch Williams jet tender, with its hydraulic crane neatly folded on the port side. There is room down there, too, for a personal watercraft.
Another change compared with the original Sherpa is the number of power options. Six-cylinder Volvo IPS 600s is still the standard fit, but now eight-cylinder IPS kits are also offered, in two horsepower options. Although these engines are considerably bigger than the sixes, the existing machinery space takes them without difficulty, and according to Arcadia, it’s the eights that most owners seem to want. The horsepower and performance advantages are modest, although the bigger motors might return better fuel economy at a fast cruise. Arcadia claims a maximum speed of 19.5 knots and a cruising speed of 16.5 with the standard engines, with each of the more powerful options offering another knot or so.
With the Sherpa, it’s not about horsepower. Fast or slow, at anchor or underway, it’s about the sheer enjoyment that comes from being on the sea. I don’t know another boat that is quite so focused on this essential truth.
Arcadia Sherpa 60 Specifications:
LOA: 61’3”
Beam: 18’4”
Draft: 4’4”
Disp: 72,752 lb.
Fuel: 898 gal.
Water: 190 gal.
Power: 2/440-hp Volvo D6 IPS 600; 2/550-hp Volvo D8 IPS 700; 2/600-hp Volvo D8 IPS 800
Price: from $1.9 million
