Interesting Sailboats

[PCP]

One more 38ft boat on the way. It is a performance one and a normally very good and expensive one, it is the new Finngulf, a Finnish boat.

The boat has a hull that appears to be very similar to the Salona 38, has two wheels and the superstructure is very classic with traditional openings instead of the more luminous approach of its competitors (bigger lateral plexiglass surfaces).

The boat features a bowsprit for geneeker not very different from the ones we can see on Xp yacht and on the drawings of the new GS 39.It seems that this kind of bowsprit is starting to be the norm on performance boats.

Contrary to all other new performance cruisers this one seems not to have any port hull.

[PCP]

The tests by European Journalists for the European boat of the year continue, nothing special if they were not continuing under force 10.

Well they say force 10 and the wind was blowing at 49K but the sea had not big waves. Anyway about 50K of wind is not for beginners and on brand new boats, not knowing the boats we can say they take it seriously

EYOTY 2011/2012: Sturmfahrt der Nominierten - YACHT-TV*|*YACHT.DE

[PCP]

I had complained about the cramped space for the wheel-man on the Jeanneau 379 and Hanse 385 as opposed to the space on the more oriented performance boats, or should I say simply, better sailboats.

It seems that is a tendency now. The new Benetau 45 has the cockpit space big enough to have a decent post to the one that is sailing the boat, but the space they have for it seems not much better than the one on the smaller boats:



Well, I guess that what sells this kind of boats is the cockpit space for guests. Probably the tiny place at the wheel will only be used to tack the boat and to put it on autopilot.

I will not post here more about the 45. The hull seems to be the same kind of hull the 41 has but the interior seems even worse. I can understand the interest of this kind of hull for the kind of sailors that will buy this kind of boats, but the interior?

This is the "old 46":





This is the new 45:





I cannot imagine why, in what concerns the interior, someone will prefer the new one over the old one.

The new one is cheaper? If they maintain the same level in prices everybody is going to buy Jeanneaus instead of Benetaus

Or maybe I am wrong. Does anybody like this new interior more than the old one, or will prefer it over this one, the one from the slighter smaller Jeanneau 439?:



I guess on Benetau they are really betting on the Sense line, that has nicer interiors, but unless they lower the prices on the Oceanis (Benetau) I will doubt they can face the competition in the lower price segment.

[PCP]

More drawings of the new Bavaria Vision 46.

The first sketch was more radical (and nice) but at least this one seems to have some innovation and some differences regarding other mass production cruisers.

The cockpit is asymmetrical and can be transformed in a solarium, with a big bed and contrary to all others has two winches on each side, but only one over the cabin. That means probably German sheeting like the Jeanneau 439 but without the need to take the Genoa lines of the winch to put the boom lines in. We cannot see if the boat has a traveler or not.

The boat seems more massif than on the first drawing and seems to have a big free-board, but at least this one seems to have a decent space for the wheels man.









I will not trust more drawings, let's wait for the photos to have an opinion The boat should be presented at the Dusseldorf boat show, in January.

[JAndersB]

Hi everybody,
I promised some video of the Opium. Here is a first video shot by sailmaker Lundh Sails last weekend outside Marstrand. Pretty light winds, 15-16 knots.

Opium 39 - YouTube!

regards,
Anders

[PCP]

Nice boat, nice sailing

What was the max speed you got while on the movie? The boat appears to go faster with little wind with that huge gennaker

You have a cutter configuration. They offer that as an option on Opium or they have made it for you? Do you use lower removable backs stays when you fly the smaller sail?

Regards

Paulo

[JAndersB]

Hi Paulo,
actually the gennaker is not that big, it is in my opinion too small. It is a furling gennaker at appr. 110 sqm while a normal gennaker is quoted by Wauquiez at 120-130 sqm. I am contemplating buying a bigger one. In the more speedy video sequences we are doing appr. 9 knots at 95-100 degres AWA and 15-16 knots TWS but as soon as I back of from that AWA I am loosing pressure.

I ordered the cutter config but never rigged the removable forestay. I made the cutter sail as a furling gennaker but that did not work despite the removable back stays so I recently installed a Furlex 200S on a fixed forestay. Working very well, normal genua can be tacked without any problems and I set the removable back stays when I use the cutter sail.

Regards,
Anders

[PCP]

Nice

Give me some more information about sail areas and their wind targets :

Going at 45º of true wind you will use the genoa till what wind? You roll partially the genoa or do you pass directly to the smaller front sail?

What is the genoa percentage?

you can use the smaller front sail without rolling it with a lot of wind, I guess. How much wind is that , I mean before you have to roll at 45º?

For balance when you use the smaller sail you have the main reefed on the first or second reef (45º)?

I guess that the boat as all boats with very good performance in light wind will reef with not too much wind. You take the first reef on the main (45º) with how much wind?

Do you have a non automatic third reef on the mainsail?

Regards

Paulo

[JAndersB]

Hi Paulo,
I have only had the cutter sail for a couple of weeks so experience limited so far. The genoa is also on the small side, I am in talk with the sailmaker about this right now since I have to have it at the front end of the genoa track while going up wind. I guess 4-5 sqm is missing for a 150% so I guess it is somewhere around 120-130%.

So far I have concluded that first reef goes in to main at 17-18 knots (at 45 degrees AWA). When next action is needed I switch to the cutter sail, at perhaps 22-24 knots. I have also tried using cutter sail with non reefed main but balance is suffering to some extent. I guess it would work better off the wind. We have gone upwind with cutter sail and one reef in up to 26-28 knots of wind. Slightly overpowered at times but boat can take it due to the twin rudders so basically no problem at all except water coming in into the interior through shower drain when side deck under water And you had to make qiuck tacks not to stall the water flow over the keel.

I have a third reef with the outhaul line already through the boom but not connected. Downhaul on hooks. Have not used it so far. We have sailed at 140-150 AWA in 35 knots and had full set of sails and only took in one reef in main in the end when the ground forced us to 120-130 AWA. At that point I did not have the furling cutter sail in place.

Regards,
Anders

[JAndersB]

While we are at it, here is some more sailing with the Opium 39, from launching in Kiel to Torekov in the southwest of Sweden.

Wauquiez Opium 39 sailing part 1.mp4 - YouTube

Regards,
Anders