With two next-generation ClubSwan models not just announced but already in build, it’s been another cracking year for Nautor

There are very few luxury boatbuilders who can point to continuous production for 57 years and a list of more than 2,350 launches. Even fewer have maintained high reputations at all four corners of the keelboat world. But for Nautor Swan, these boxes have not only been ticked time and time again but the company has managed to excel in each of its diverse range of yachts while keeping the same family values throughout. It is a balancing act few others have achieved.

From blue water cruisers to elegant and distinctive superyachts, from family cruiser-racers to high-performance one designs, the diversity of this famous brand continues to be remarkable. Added to that, to create and manage a successful international one design racing circuit for a range of models has been a masterstroke.

The concept of the ClubSwan 43 is to create a racing boat that encourages owners to cruise with their families between regattas

There has been plenty of news from a company that has been extremely busy throughout the difficult global conditions but the announcement of the ClubSwan 43 at Düsseldorf Boat Show earlier this year made 2023 particularly special. And in combining this launch with an important 25-year milestone, Nautor has not only revealed more details on the new ClubSwan 43 but has unveiled another ClubSwan model.

A removable forward bulkhead creates an open plan layout inside the ClubSwan 43, which is a useful feature for a swift transition between cruising and racing modes

‘When we started out with the ClubSwan concept 25 years ago we said to ourselves, before looking for new clients let’s make sure that our existing owners have the best that we can offer,’ said Nautor Group president Leonardo Ferragamo. ‘From delivering the best technical services, the best range of opportunities, events and privileges, let’s ensure that as a community they enjoy the pleasure of owning a Swan. From here we went a stage further and created a new brand that would be identified with ClubSwan.

‘We started our one design chapter with the Swan 45 and ClubSwan 42 before then moving on to the next models, the ClubSwan 36 and ClubSwan 50. From there we went even further with some bigger sisters recently, launching the ClubSwan 80 which delivered an electrifying performance in the last year and the impressive ClubSwan 125, a superyacht that is faster than the wind.

‘But that was only part of the project. Creating a circuit of regattas that would appeal to our broad range of owners led to the Nations League and the Nations Trophy was crucial to the success of the plan.

‘So, while we are of course very proud of what we have achieved, we are also very aware that ClubSwan’s success has been down to the faith that has been placed in us by a lot of owners. And it is this that gives us the confidence to look into the future and take a careful look at how to continue this success.’

Twenty-five years later, that focus and the lessons learned along the way have led to two new ClubSwan designs, both designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian. The biggest is the ClubSwan 43.

Fast-paced, fully crewed inshore racing is one of the key elements of the ClubSwan one design regatta circuit. The design and layout of the new ClubSwan 43 is strongly informed by this mode of use, but not to the exclusion of other considerations

Construction is underway with the first boat due to be launched in April 2024 and a target to have four or five boats racing at the Rolex Swan Cup later in the season. ‘The CS43 provides the perfect crossover between racing and cruising and the ability to take part in the most important Swan One design events such as the Nations League and the Swan One Design Worlds. We have also spent a great deal of time focussing on the CS43’s performance under handicap racing,’ says Federico Michetti, head of sports activities and CS43 product manager. ‘It is this versatility that will help to encourage the boat into new markets. The goal was to ensure that the CS43 will compete in the Category A division at ORC events.’

To achieve this important result, the choice of construction methods is crucial.

The laminate will be an epoxy-infused e-glass sandwich construction and solid in the keel and slamming area to guarantee a lightweight, reliable structure. The first two skins will be laid up by hand for the best possible surface finish so there is no need for the added weight of fairing compound.

Down below, the ClubSwan 43 has the well proven layout of a classic cruiser-racer

The moulds are female and CNC milled. Both the hull and the deck will have moulded structural liners to increase production efficiency and to help ensure precise weight control across all boats in the series.

The keel will be a CNC milled, highstrength steel fin with a lead bulb. All of these elements will help to guarantee a strictly one-design construction.

For the rig, a high-modulus carbon mast with the boom and bowsprit also in carbon fibre will optimise the performance of the sailplan. The deck plan featuring six winches was developed with the help of some of the world’s best sailors to guarantee maximum performance in racing but also to give the right level of comfort for cruising.

The transition from one-design to ORC to cruising configuration will be simple and fast. It Is Nautor’s vision for the ClubSwan 43 to be the perfect crossover between one-design racing and performance cruising.

The exterior styling is unmistakably ClubSwan, incorporating legacy Nautor Swan motifs

For naval architect Juan Kouyoumdjian, creating this versatility presented a challenge. ‘We’ve been working hard on the ORC side of the development for more than a year, during which time there have been some big changes to the formulae that lie within the rule,’ he says. ‘The result is that we are confident that the rating for the ClubSwan 43 will be a datum within this size range. Also, we have been able to achieve two competitive ratings, one for the one design configuration with the larger racing sails and the other optimised for ORC. In this one the pin-head mainsail is one of the biggest differences.

‘One of the other advantages that we had was being able to use the ClubSwan 42 as a datum. This is a boat that has been successful under ORC for many years and has placed the bar very high which was a great target for us, albeit a tough one. I’m pleased to say that we are confident that we have surpassed it.’

While the focus on racing was a major factor, Nautor also wanted to broaden the use and appeal of their new design. Once again, the catalyst for this took them back 25 years.

‘One of our aims with this boat was to recreate the spirit of the 1990s when families would cruise their boats between regattas,’ says Michetti. We firmly believe that this size of boat is right for that purpose and will help us achieve this.’

As a result, the accommodation layout and design were considered to be especially important. The overall layout is based around a well-tried and tested configuration with two aft cabins and a symmetrical saloon but the styling and execution by Micheletti + Partners takes the ClubSwan 43 onto another level.

The cockpit configuration is designed for maximum efficiency while racing, but also for comfortable shorthanded cruising

‘In drawing up the interior design of the CS43, I tried to reduce and simplify the basic concepts and I organised the spaces by imagining all the activities that are part of life on board,’ Lucio Micheletti explains.

One of the areas where this design concept is most noticeable is the forecabin, which is ingenious and provides a versatile solution to the different needs of racing and cruising. Here, in cruising mode the cabin has a conventional looking bulkhead to provide privacy. But in racing mode this bulkhead is removed to reduce weight in the bows while also making the interior more spacious.

Meanwhile, after having spent a great deal of time looking at the success and the future of the ClubSwan range and how this has influenced the world of keelboat racing, the irrepressible team at Nautor were considering what was to become arguably their boldest move.

While other yacht building yards typically look at producing larger models to progress, Nautor was looking at the smallest boat they have ever created.

Announced earlier this summer, the ClubSwan 28 represents a new entry point into the ClubSwan racing world and has taken many by surprise. As with the ClubSwan 43, the ClubSwan 28 has been created to join the high-level one design events within the ClubSwan regatta scene, but also to be able to participate in many of the other important events around the world.

Designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian like all of the other models in the current ClubSwan fleet, the new ClubSwan 28 is a deliberately simple sportsboat that can be trailed and fits in a container

‘During the development of this boat we’ve been calling it the ‘ClubSwan Baby’ and it’s proved hard to get out of the habit,’ says Michetti, ‘because the fact is that the ClubSwan 28 is the smallest we have produced and an entry into the Swan racing world. The ClubSwan 28 is also going to be a very exciting boat to race.’

According to Michetti, the sportsboat racing project is based around simplicity, quality of the boat and pure one design speed. To achieve this the specification has been kept as simple as possible with a modest sail plan that includes a mainsail, a light/medium jib, a heavy weather jib, an all-purpose kite and a reaching kite.

Designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian the ability to be trailed was an important feature, as was the need to fit into a 40ft shipping container. ‘The principles of simplicity can be seen clearly in the fact that no hiking is allowed and we have kept the sail wardrobe simple,’ Kouyoumdjian says. ‘The rig is also a carbon fractional spar with no backstays. Instead, the mast bend can be adjusted through a single mast jack.

‘We also set out to create an owner driver class with a maximum number of five crew but with no weight limit and no hiking. The plan is to have six yachts launched by the summer of 2024 and the fleet will join the ClubSwan events around the world.’

So, 25 years after Nautor’s bold move to create a successful international racing scene and a new globally recognised brand, the company can not only look back and celebrate what has been an undisputed success but can point to the future and a scene that does more to bring in new owners and sailors than ever before.

Click here for more information on Nautor Swan »

With a slew of the industry’s highest awards to her name, the First 36 clearly warrants some investigation. Seahorse journalist Øyvind Bordal chooses the wild conditions of the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race for his test sail…

When I wake up, I don’t know where I am. Everything is moving, there’s a lot of noise, water rushes everywhere around me. A red light in front of my face confuses me. Then I hear a deep voice with an eastern European accent. I realise it’s a head lamp with a man behind it. And he says it’s my watch.

Suddenly I remember. I’m lying on a sail bag inside a boat, sailing the Rolex Fastnet Race. And it’s windy. Very windy. I’m wet to the bone, so cold and exhausted that it seems impossible to move my body. But it doesn’t matter how I feel. I have to go.

It’s hard to crawl out into the cockpit without falling. Every time the boat crashes into a wave, the jolt transmits through my body and the boat shakes. Numbers on the mast display flicker in the dark, shadows on the rail must be people, waiting to be replaced. We’re sailing upwind under storm jib with a double reefed mainsail. In the night sky I see lights from helicopters. Voices on the VHF radio are dealing with another Mayday.

The design team had to create a full cruising interior without using exotic materials

The Rolex Fastnet Race of 2023 became one of the races that will be remembered. It was boat breaking conditions – winds gusting to 45kts, in a very confused sea state due to wind against current. It was really extreme: one boat sank, four dismasted, there were a lot of emergencies with crew being rescued with helicopters after personal injuries and boats breaking apart. And it was the perfect opportunity for putting the First 36 to the ultimate test: How would the lightweight composite construction fare? Would a cruiser designed to plane in 12 knots of wind be safe and sound – and would it be competitive at this level of racing?

When the First 36 was launched back in March 22, it made quite a splash. Finally, the audience could see the first mid-size model of the much talked about rebirth of the First series – a new, reinvented generation of the legendary, 40-year-old line of boats from Beneteau, known for hitting the elusive sweet spot between comfort, performance and a reasonable price.

In a way, the new First 36 proved to be no different. Except for one thing: It bridged the gap between the latest technology and the mainstream market. The professional racing industry has developed means to enhance performance quite radically and make much faster boats. But according to the developers of the First 36, there has been a lack of connection between this vast sea of new knowledge and the mainstream market for production boats.

Sam Manuard, naval architect

The First 36’s strongest suit is its remarkable planing performance downwind

As I see it the First 36 is a boat that can let you have fun while sailing as well as having a great time with friends and family while cruising. That was definitely the design specification. The whole design team made a collective effort to bring enjoyable inside space, clever ideas on how to live aboard as well as keeping the boat light and fast. To achieve that we did not want to corner ourselves into something too radical in terms of hull shape. A subtle balance has to be found between absolute performance and motion through waves, which is basically comfort at sea.

I was pleased to experience that fine balance during the Fastnet, where we did have a bit of everything: reaching, upwind and downwind in all conditions from very strong winds to light winds. The motion through big waves upwind during the first night of the race was very much appreciated, especially coming from Imocas and Class40s which are really brutal in waves. We were sailing safely and enjoying the difficult conditions as much as we could. The build quality and the level of structural engineering is also part of this feeling of punching through waves reasonably well. Having a stiff and sound boat is paramount in those conditions as well.

Downwind was also quite fun and we could keep the kite up to 30kts TWS in the short waves of the Channel. There also, the balance of things (hull shape, rig, appendages, light displacement) helped to keep the bow out of the water. We did not have any occurrence of nose diving, which is a big advantage when sailing with friends out of a racing environment. This all-round aspect is also quite remarkable in the light winds where the boat reacts to every puff and sail trim. All in all, a very positive test.

The team of passionate sailors at Seascape and Beneteau was put together for this design challenge and spent four years pondering on how to solve the puzzle. They enlisted the help of naval architect Sam Manuard, arguably the most celebrated designer of professional race yachts in recent years, who shared notes with designer Lorenzo Argento, the man behind Brenta, A-Yachts, several Wallys and also designer of the new First range. Lorenzo actually liked the 36 so much that he now owns one himself (see panel). Structural engineering was key and for this Pure Design was brought in. They put together the structure of the latest generation of America’s Cup boats and several Imocas, and are widely regarded as the best in the world in their field of expertise. Finally, for research and innovation, SITO, a young and awardwinning industrial design team was chosen.

‘We have always been very outspoken about our belief in this boat’, says Tit Plevnik, the head of communications and customer experience at Seascape, Beneteau’s partner for small and medium Firsts. ‘We are not afraid to say that this is an unseen combination of performance and comfort. No one else has taken it so far in the mainstream market. I know that some smaller custom or semi-production yards have done similar things, but no one has achieved this in the mainstream market, where Beneteau is solidly placed.

Lorenzo Argento, designer

The F36 is fun to sail at any wind speed

While working with the Seascape/ Beneteau team on the preliminary brief and concepts, it started to excite both my memories - I spent few months on a First Class 10 back in the Southampton days, sailing her from Newport RI back to England - and my current (given that nearly 40 years have gone by) dream to own and sail the “perfect” boat.

I have been lucky enough to have sailed a number of boats in my career and when asked what is the “perfect” sailing boat, my answer has always been pretty vague. At this point I may have an answer: performance.

Performance is not simply speed or ability to surf in anything above 12kts TWS off the wind. Performance is the pleasure of steering a well-balanced boat in breeze from six TWS up to 35 TWS. It is the pleasure of being close to the water. It is the pleasure of being on a big, yet small boat which feels very “safe” and behaves comfortably yet has the loads of a light boat and is perfectly manageable by a 60-year-old man! Performance is to feel safe, in control, sailing at 15/16kts. Performance is to pull together a bunch of friends to race the Aegean 600 and feeling at peace in the very demanding weather conditions. Performance is to use exactly the same package to go cruising in one of the best, yet most demanding, cruising grounds on the planet (Greece). Performance is easy maintenance (read easy cleaning!) and very practical, comfortable interiors which you literally “hose down” to clean. Performance is integrated structural components that are very well executed, very well engineered and proven to be very solid under all conditions.

I must credit the work of everyone involved. The Beneteau team, the Seascape team, Sam Manuard and his ability to to summarise his wide experience (both as a sailor and creative designer) into a very easy to “read” and use package. Pure Design for optimising what may seem an easy boat to design, but given the weight constraints for the given construction technology (polyester resin and E glass), came up with a superbly optimised scheme. What else? As a user - owner - this is what I mean by the perfect boat.

‘Two promises were made’, Plevnik continues. ‘The first was to provide a boat with a full cruising interior – but still displacing only 4.8t, planing at 12kts of TWS without any special skills required. So basically a cruising boat, just a lot faster and more fun. The second was to build a boat that was also a club racer. Which means it had to be competitive under rating.

‘Obviously, this was a big ask. But now, after two seasons of sailing, the first point is fully proven. Sailing journalists all over the world agree on the exhilarating planing capabilities and our customers constantly tell us that they experience a boat that has finally made speed easy. They have been given a whole new sailing experience without sacrificing the wonders of a modern, comfortable cruising boat. You just ease the sheets and it’s a planing boat with a galley and a bathroom.

‘At the same time, the living space equals a First 40,7. We measured it carefully, so we know. Volume and performance can co-exist – if done correctly. It also feels like a bigger boat above decks. A charter fleet of at least 12 boats is upcoming in Croatia and will be ready in 2025. So the boat is already accepted in the mainstream cruising market. These factors are the background of the numerous awards we have received: European Yacht of the Year, British Yachting Award, Cruising World’s Boat of the Year, Sailing World’s Boat of the Year, Voile Mag’s Boat of the Year and Sail magazine’s Boat of the Year.

The 2023 Fastnet Race was the ultimate test for the First 36 and it performed extremely well, coming 13th in the highly competitive IRC 1 class. It was the only cruising-oriented boat in the top half of the fleet

‘But until recently the second promise was yet to be proven,’ Plevnik says. ‘The new First 36 has been competing locally and has done well. But the big test for the racing – or more precisely, the rating aspect – was the Rolex Fastnet Race 2023. And since the race happened to be sailed in extremely demanding conditions, it also had the benefit of being a full-scale test of the seaworthiness and build quality of the boat.’

As we taxied slowly into rainy Cherbourg on the morning of the fifth day, we could conclude several things: First of all, absolutely nothing broke on the boat. There had been no creaking, no rattling sounds, even though the boat was banged against steep waves for several days and nights. The investment in structural bulkheads, infusion moulding and building the hull and deck as one structural unit has resulted in a really robust, seaworthy vessel. The boat behaved well all the way through and we felt safe and taken care of. The last 100 nautical miles through the Channel was downwind under gennaker in 30ktsplus of wind – finally conditions where the First 36 could flash its most distinctive feature: planing capability. And yes, we picked off one boat after another, no one in sight being faster than us. We topped at 21.4kts, even achieving 20kts on jib and main only, after wind picked up beyond the range of our only remaining gennaker.

The First 36 Fastnet Race idea began with a British owner signing up for a doublehanded entry. The Seascape team suggested this was changed to a fully crewed entry and that a crew with some pro sailors was provided so that the opportunity could be used as a test of the boat’s racing potential. The boat was not fully optimised for IRC, it was a standard boat, although rigged with a carbon mast. Also, it’s important to note that this wasn’t a fully professional, company-endorsed team which had gone through actual training with the boat. We had no time for trimming, testing or tuning and we had not developed an optimal sail plan based on polars. The team came together two days before the race, a mix of eight pros and amateurs from seven nations. None of them had sailed together before.

The success of this boat is down to achieving a balance between good all-round boatspeed, easy handling, structural stiffness and seaworthiness in a high-volume hull, according to its designers

But it was a strong team and an honour for me, as a sailing journalist, to be a part of it: Sam Manuard was the skipper, and Jochem Visser was watch captain, Jure Jerman and former Mini pro Andraz Mihelin were also part of the crew. But it’s also worth mentioning that most of the race was upwind, which is not the most distinctive strong point of this boat. Eighty per cent of the time the race was sailed with jib and main only. Only the last 100 miles were sailed under gennaker. Still – and I find this truly amazing – we came 13th in IRC 1, a class with more than 100 entries. Only roughly 60 per cent were able to complete the race at all. It was the smallest boat in IRC1 and at least in the top end of the fleet it was the only cruising-oriented boat. The competition was professional crews who knew their raceboats really well – boats optimised and proven to perform well in IRC. And it’s obvious that with an optimal sail plan and some training and tuning, we could have been at least three to four hours faster, which would have put us in top five. Had the race been sailed predominantly on open wind angles, goodness knows what might have happened.

In the aftermath, Plevnik sounds pleased too. ‘Looking back’, he says, ‘the Fastnet became the final proof of concept. We now feel that we can tick all the boxes, lean back and say that we really created the boat we envisioned when we started working on this dream back in 2017.’

Click here for more information on the First 36 »

When Spirit Yachts and Ben Ainslie’s BAR Technologies set out to create a wooden foiling motor launch, they chose West System and Pro-Set epoxies

Wood is not a material that’s typically associated with the very latest technologies. Yet the Spirit/ BAR 35ft electric foiling motor yacht is proof that timeless natural materials can be the perfect choice for bleeding-edge projects when it is combined with appropriate resin and reinforcing systems.

An ethos that's always driven Spirit Yachts is one of innovation. The Spirit/BAR foiler is a collaboration of like-minded thinking that combines founder Sean McMillan’s design and styling flair with the yard’s outstanding constructional skills, the expertise in high-speed foiling craft at Ben Ainslie’s BAR Technologies and a visionary, receptive owner.

‘The design brief was for a classically styled powerboat with a clear-coated hardwood finish and aesthetics that paid homage to the Gold Cup racers of the early 1900s,’ says Spirit Yachts’ managing director Karen Underwood. This is, however, a subtle deception as the boat lifts onto its foils at a speed of only 14kts.

This is a critical aspect in creating an electric yacht with a long range, as resistance drops so much once foiling that power consumption falls well below that of displacement vessels that can only proceed at very modest speeds. Nevertheless, this commission required a step change in design and engineering to create a boat that looks right on her moorings and at displacement speeds, while also having the right underwater shape for ultra-efficient foiling. An additional complexity is that the foils retract to reduce draught to only 0.75m (2.6in) which gives flexibility to access shallow berths and small harbours.

BAR Technologies brought its America's Cup design and simulation skills to the project, helping to create optimised shapes below the waterline, with low-riding foiling technology employed to minimise resistance and improve ride comfort. The result is a 35ft electric boat with an impressive 100-mile range at 22kts and a top speed of 30kts, despite having a battery bank of a relatively modest size. This compares with the 25-70-mile range at five knots which to date has been typical for electric motor vessels of similar length.

The epoxy strip planked and carbon sheathed hull is incredibly light and stiff.

The foiler’s unique styling includes immaculate timber topsides along with a flexible deck layout that allows a six-seat open cockpit to be quickly converted into a two-seater spider configuration.

Epoxy strip-planked construction has long been recognised as an affordable, lightweight and very stiff option and the hull of this 35ft boat weighs just 596kg. It's a method that has roots in the pioneering development and information that Gougeon Brothers gifted to every yacht designer and builder in the form of West System epoxy products and literature. It was refined in the late 1980s by Grimsby (UK)-based boatbuilders Farrow and Chambers, who developed a loose-fitting tongue and groove profile that minimises time needed to plank up a boat and gives optimal space for the glue that holds the planks together. Two thinner double diagonal veneers, also epoxy glued, contribute hugely to the overall stiffness of the structure.

If lightweight, rot resistant timbers such as cedar or Douglas fir are used, the resulting structure has an excellent strength to weight ratio as well as enviable longevity – these are boats with an inherent ability to last for 100 years. The hull is then sheathed in glass and epoxy, creating a layer with excellent resistance to point impacts and thus protecting the timber from water ingress. A host of successful yachts have been built in this way, from a slew of well-known designers including Rob Humphreys and Stephen Jones, with the latter choosing the method for his own spirit of tradition 46 footer.

Today, vacuum bagging of the veneers and sheathing increases clamping pressure, creating an even stiffer and lighter structure. At the same time, CNC machining of timber for strong backs and bulkheads reduces build times, while ensuring a high level of repeatable accuracy.

Above: the two-seat spider top converts to a six-seat cockpit.

These benefits have long been recognised by Spirit Yachts. ‘Our very first Spirit, a 37ft sloop, was built with a hull that could be lifted by four people and had no carbon at all. Thirty years later she is in great shape and sailing well,’ says McMillan. ‘In our experience judicious use of carbon can be beneficial as a stiffener in larger 65ft-plus yachts but it is not needed for strength – the correct timber selection is key and the end result is superior in every sense, weight, feel, cost and crucially its carbon footprint.’

Don’t be fooled by the classic styling of McMillan’s yachts, or the use of natural materials. His passion for innovation is as strong as anyone’s in the industry. Notable previous projects include a gaff sloop with a 1,000sq ft (93m²) sail area that weighed only 200kg, plus zeroG, a foiling twin-winged ground effect flying craft that pushed hard against technological boundaries when it was completed nearly 25 years ago.

Nevertheless, Spirit Yachts and BAR Technologies, a spin-off from Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team, have taken the strip planked concept a stage further for this foiling boat. The principle of the timber core remains the same, using yellow cedar over laminated frames. However, the cedar is sheathed on both sides with carbon to increase structural stiffness while adding very little extra weight. The clear timber finish is achieved with a 3.5mm sipo veneer over the outer layer of carbon. This was then faired and coated with West System 105/207 special coating system before varnishing to give an exquisite clear coat finish that shows the natural materials off to their very best.

Above: the finish is a 3.5mm veneer over the outer layer of carbon.

‘We adopted our tried and tested build methods, just scaled for the size of this craft,’ says Spirit Yachts’ yard supervisor Adrian Gooderham, ‘paying particular attention to the overall weight of the build without compromising strength, using West System epoxy and fillers – all products we have trusted for years.’

Despite its reputation for classic styling, Spirit Yachts has also used carbon fibre for many years for rudders and occasionally keel fins. Composite specialist Graham Eeles explains that for this project, with the carbon fibre fabric applied to both the exterior and internal structure and quite a lot of detailing needed on the interior, the ideal solution was a combination of West System and Pro-Set epoxies and adhesives.

Above: BAR optimised the underwater hull shape as well as the foil design

On reflection McMillan, who is well versed at producing highperformance sailing and motor yacht designs that combine a traditional aesthetic above the waterline with state of the art immersed sections, says that the hull could have been built even lighter. ‘I now consider the amount of carbon sheathing could have been reduced by at least 50 per cent and an equivalent hull built at around 500kg,’ he says.

The involvement of Wessex Resins and Adhesives goes far beyond simply the manufacture and supply of epoxy resin systems. The company also provides technical advice and training to clients, including on-site development of production techniques and staff training at Spirit Yachts. The firm’s technical service deals with a wide range of questions, varying from advice on laminating frames for a 1930s sailboat restoration to construction of carbon fibre violins. ‘It’s both inspirational and challenging,’ says sales director David Johnson.

What of the future? ‘There is significant market demand for sustainable leisure vessels, drawing innovation from the wider maritime sector,’ says BAR Technologies’ CEO John Cooper, adding they were ‘hugely excited to partner with Spirit Yachts to push the boundaries or modern classic yacht performance’ with this foiling project.

Similarly, McMillan adds: ‘There’s a trend for forward thinking, environmentally aware yacht buyers that has driven exciting changes in the market. BAR’s background in high-tech racing made them the ideal partner for this project, blending heritage with technology to create a sophisticated yet modern vessel.’

Click here for more information on Wessex Resins »

Reckmann is about to launch a new design within its CZ range of code sail furlers, with an angled drive. Electric and hydraulic versions are available with working loads from four to 16 tons

Reckmann is constantly refining and developing its headsail, code sail and mainsail furling systems, keeping pace with changes in the types of boat that its customers want to sail

Reckmann is best known these days as a market leader in sail-furling solutions for superyachts but they also produce headsail, code sail and mainsail furling systems in standard sizes for 15m to 25m yachts. What these standard furlers and the much larger custom units have in common is the same impeccable engineering – and thus the same rock-solid reliability for which Reckmann has always been renowned.

‘In the old days we made furling gear for boats from 30ft upwards,’ Reckmann CEO Marcus Schuldt recalls. ‘And when a couple went off cruising they had a 35-footer or a 40-footer. Now they tend to start with at least a 50-footer, quite often a 60-footer and sometimes even a 70-footer as their first cruising yacht. The efficiency of modern sail-handling systems allows them to manage a much bigger boat, provided they know how to operate the systems. Two people can sail a 70-footer no problem these days, just pushing buttons, but you still need to know what you’re doing.’

The larger the boat and the smaller the crew, the more crucial the quality of the sail-handling hardware. Reckmann has supplied leading builders such as Nautor, Baltic, Oyster, Contest, Solaris, Grand Soleil and Y Yachts with furling and reefing gears for their blue water-oriented boats.

Furling and reefing functionality is arguably even more important on a large cruising catamaran, which can’t safely spill wind by heeling over and is thus at risk of rig breakage or worse, capsize, when a sail-handling system malfunctions in strong winds. ‘We have already supplied furling gear for some big Lagoons, as well as custom catamarans like the new 46m Art Explorer for example and the demand from large cats is increasing,’ Schuldt says. ‘We don’t make special systems for multihulls; the only difference is that for sure you have higher loads.’

Reckmann’s core products have evolved with the changing size and type of boats that its customers sail. One upcoming product launch is a new design within the CZ range of code sail furlers, with an angled drive. It’s designed to be mounted either on the bow or inside almost any type of bowsprit. Electric and hydraulic versions are available in four standard sizes with working loads from four tons up to 16 tons.

Above: Reckmann’s in-boom drive systems fit inside the mandrel at the front end of the boom.

‘These compact units can be equipped with our new TST (tack swivel toggle) for top-down furling,’ Schuldt says. ‘Nautor will be using them and some others as well. The great advantage is that the forestay is on the same axis as the rotation axis of the system. The stainless steel design of the system prevents any corrosion at this exposed installation point.’

Another recent development is a chainplate attachment for Reckmann’s under-deck headsail furling gears. ‘We have two sizes, UD2-CDF and UD3-CDF in hydraulic and electric versions,’ he says. ‘The advantage is that we can use the deck fitting of our manual furler and have a chainplate attachment below deck. This means that the forestay load is not taken by the deck fitting but by the chainplate. It occupies the same space and you don’t need to make any changes in the boat.’

The chainplate attachment is a big benefit for boatbuilders, he explains, because it avoids the usual need to strongly reinforce the foredeck around the furling unit, which adds a considerable amount of weight – and pitching moment – as well as the extra cost of materials and labour. Another advantage, especially for performance-oriented boats with narrow bows, is that units have no exterior moving parts under the deck so can be fitted more snugly into the bow. They are already being fitted on Swan 55s and 58s, and the Solaris 60s.

Load-sharing code sails and headsails are now putting much higher loads on some rigging and deck hardware components. Reckmann’s chainplate attachment solution has come at exactly the right time to enable boatbuilders to strengthen their foresail tack attachments without making major structural modifications.

‘For sure, cunningham function is becoming more important,’ Schuldt says. ‘If you have the sail on a halyard lock, you need a device to adjust the luff tension.’ Hence the tack swivel slider, originally designed for Reckmann’s custom superyacht furlers, is now available for the standard furling gears. ‘In my personal opinion these new sails are good for the sailmakers but they increase the loads on our hardware, which has to be bigger and stronger – and that is counterproductive in terms of weight and price,’ he says. ‘I would argue that for a cruising boat you don’t need that, but we have adjusted our designs to accommodate the higher loads.’

Above: Reckmann supplies fully integrated solutions with its own hydraulics to ensure high reliability

An under-deck furler is integrated into the boat, unlike an above-deck furler which is simply connected to it and therefore much more easily replaced. The longevity of an underdeck unit is thus an important consideration, so there’s a strong argument for a furling gear that is designed to be serviced and can be expected to last 30 years or more, rather than one that is built to last for a decade and must then be replaced. ‘We have many units that come back here every 8-10 years or so to be serviced,’ Schuldt says. ‘If we’re talking about the environment, our products are the ones you can use for the longest time. You can buy two or three cheaper ones or you buy a Reckmann in the first place.’

Quite a lot of Reckmann’s customers in the 15-25m segment are experienced blue water cruising sailors who are upgrading a yacht to sail shorthanded around the world. ‘We do a lot of refits,’ he says. ‘These are people who really use their boats far offshore in tough conditions. And we have many clients who have swapped to our gears because there was a lack of reliability, things broke and they really need the most reliable systems. We are not the cheapest but I’d argue that we’re the best value for money; as my father always used to say, “I’m not rich enough to buy cheap”.’

Reckmann’s in-boom mainsail furling systems, meanwhile, have been gradually evolving at an incremental pace. Supplied in hydraulic and electric versions to spar makers like Mainfurl, Furlerboom and Axxon, these systems are now found on an increasingly wide range of yachts. Their defining features include a compact, fully integrated drive unit that fits directly inside the mandrel at the front end of the boom, and a high-load clutch with a toothed disc that cannot slip and is designed to withstand an overload.

Above: this new chainplate attachment avoids the usual need to reinforce the foredeck around the deck fitting of an under-deck headsail furler

To boost reliability, the hydraulic BFH version has two cylinders to operate the clutch rather than one, while the electric BFE version is driven by an accumulator. ‘Our electric motors have a system built in that prevents them from overheating and burning out, they will just run slower,’ Schuldt explains. ‘The separate PLC box for the BFE drives allows us to control the torque, speed and current. Therefore we can avoid a tripping fuse due to overload. The furl speed can be easily adjusted to match the speed of the halyard winch exactly, and if necessary we can control captive halyard winches to end up with one-button systems.’

Putting the drive at the front minimises the boom’s kinetic energy during a crash gybe – which is inevitably going to happen at some point in the yacht’s life – and reduces the resulting torsion loads on the gooseneck. It also keeps the power supply as short as possible. For servicing, the drive slides out of the mandrel and there is no need to take the boom off, provided that it has an open front shelf with adequate width.

Like all Reckmann systems, manual operation in an emergency is part of the design. If there’s no oil pressure going to the BFH drive, its clutch can be operated with a hand pump and a bypass valve. The BFE drive has a screw to disengage the clutch manually in an electrical failure. With either system, a line can then be wound around the crown of the unit and the sail furled down.

One final innovation makes these sophisticated systems much easier for amateur sailors to use. With any in-boom furling setup the angle between mast and boom must be precisely correct before the sail is furled, otherwise it’s likely to jam. ‘Our FurlFind system allows a shorthanded crew to find the right angle, even at night,’ Schuldt explains. ‘You find the right position once and the computer knows the position to furl. Then you just push a button and the Reckmann boom vang finds that position and gives a signal, ready to furl. Then you can furl the sail in or out.’ For a novice crew trying to reef in a rising gale, the reassurance of a foolproof system is priceless.

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