We’re sailing upwind in 12-14 knots of true wind, with boat speed hovering between 7.4 and 8.0 knots. The helm feels positive and responsive, the boat tacks easily and responds readily to accurate sail trim.
Aside from the lack of heel, it’s the type of experience and real-world cruising speeds you might expect of a 50-something-foot monohull performance cruiser. Yet, this is an enormously spacious 26ft wide platform from the world’s largest boatbuilder, not a niche builder of expensive high-performance designs. Until now, anyone looking for a catamaran
that’s fun and rewarding to sail had a limited choice. Granted, yards such as Outremer and Marsaudon Composites produce fantastic boats, but they can be complex, while high-tech construction and low build volumes inevitably mean hefty prices.
Groupe Beneteau identified a gap in the market into which it launched the Excess brand four years ago. How did the yard achieve good sailing qualities and performance in a high-volume production boat with a commensurate price tag? A policy to chase weight savings in every area, without creating an expensive high-tech boat, started with a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of the entire structure by VPLP's Vannes office, which normally deals with race boats.
Carbon reinforcement was added to highly stressed areas, such as the fully infused PET foam sandwich bulkheads, while weight was dropped from lightly stressed zones including hull skins, through using a lower-density end grain balsa core. This is divided into small squares, separated by resin, so localised damage won't allow water ingress to spread. Layup is monolithic in way of the engines and keels, while the deck is PET foam sandwich.
Denne historien er fra February 2023-utgaven av Yachting World.
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Denne historien er fra February 2023-utgaven av Yachting World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
NIKKI HENDERSON
WHERE DO YOU FIND HANDY BILLY WHEN YOU NEED HIM?
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
IS OLYMPIC SAILING ACTUALLY HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS A SHOWCASE OF THE SPORT FOR BOTH COMPETITORS AND SPECTATORS?
Building fleet for Baltic Sea Race
The second edition of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race, a 635-mile race out of Helsinki, Norway, saw varied conditions and a new benchmark course time set.
New cruising charter 'Odyssey'
Charter company Dream Yacht has launched a new round the world supported cruising programme for yacht owners which draws on the company's extensive network of charter bases.
Mixed fortunes at Marseille
The Paris 2024 sailing regatta saw mixed fortunes for many favourites - some confirming their dominance, others crashing out as variable winds played havoc.
The yacht Bayesian
Bayesian is one of Italian yard Perini Navi's 56m series, originally named Salute.
Seven dead in superyacht sinking
Seven people are dead following the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, a 56m/184ft British-flagged Perini Navi, off the coast of Sicily.
5 EXPERT TIPS HELENA DARVELID ON MULTIHULL CONTROL
Performance multihull racing is growing hugely in popularity. Helena Darvelid shares some key learnings with Andy Rice
PALMA'S FUN FACTOR
FUN ON AND OFF THE WATER IS AN UNBEATABLE COMBINATION AT THE SUPERYACHT CUP PALMA, WRITES PHIL RILEY
SWAN 88 DREAMCATCHER
GLOBAL LEADERS AT THE SEMI-CUSTOM END OF THE PRODUCTION SCENE, NAUTOR SWAN INVITED US FOR THE FIRST SEA TRIALS OF ITS BIG NEW 88