Technology and design tools from the America’s Cup, Ultime trimarans and Imocas have been combined to phenomenal effect in the Gunboat 80

The Gunboat 80 belongs in a different category from any other sailing yacht. On one hand it offers thrilling full Grand Prix performance, sailing faster than the wind from a mere four knots upwards, reaching maximum boat speed of over 30kts when cracked off the breeze, and will average well over 350 miles daily on an Atlantic crossing. Yet it’s also a superyacht with space, comfort and amenities that can only be matched by 100ft monohulls.

At this level of the market, owners naturally want a vessel that’s precisely tuned to how they intend to use it. However, custom builds require owners to have their own large and skilled team, while the entire project duration can be as much as six years. In an era in which both yacht design and sailing systems are advancing at a relentless pace, that's a huge lead time.

VPLP live simulator showing GB80-02 with T-rudders in a sea state sailing away from the “ghost” boat behind it, with the same setup except no T-rudders. This allows the design team to accurately assess benefits of specific features in different weather conditions and sail angles over time

By contrast, Gunboat’s very flexible “box rule” customisation concept enables owners to create a tailored high-tech boat, with state-of-the-art design, materials, engineering and systems, in a typical timeframe of only two years. While the shape of the structure, including main bulkheads is fixed, almost everything else can be modified.

The first two boats – both for hugely experienced, well-known serial owners – illustrate how wide the range of possibilities is for this platform. Boat number one is Lord Irvine Laidlaw’s Highland Fling XXVll, which will be used solely for coastal racing in Maxi Multihull regattas in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. It therefore has a very stripped out interior and is optimised to fly a hull in around 12kts of true wind.

Key features of the Gunboat 80’s accommodation layout include huge outside and inside living spaces, four large cabins for the owners and guests, working crew quarters with galley and pantry, for added privacy and Gunboat’s signature forward cockpit where most of the lines and halyards are controlled

The second boat is for a totally different purpose – she will be a family cruiser for an equally well-known owner, who has a decorated history of campaigns, including the GC32, M32 and Melges 32 classes.

Both boats have a common core design developed by VPLP’s racing division, using the same tools and processes as the latest Imoca 60s and Ultime trimarans. They also share sail handling and performance technologies developed for the last two America's Cups.

Highland Fling, which launched in summer 2023, is raced with a 10-12- strong professional crew and is fitted with huge eight-metre asymmetric daggerboards. The ability to raise and lower the boards, even at speeds of more than 20kts, was a key priority for the team. To overcome the huge loads involved, they looked to the high-tech reciprocating roller bearings of the systems employed by the AC72s and the AC50s. Designers for those bearings were asked to redevelop the concept for 80-01.

From the Gunboat design office this shows that most of the Gunboat 80’s sailing and hotel systems are centrally positioned to reduce their effect on the boat’s pitching moment to a minimum.

Xavier Guilbaud, VPLP design

Building on the success of the 68, the Gunboat 80 is the best mix of the two worlds between racing and cruising. The boat has been designed and engineered with a constant eye on weight optimisation as weight is key to performance.

The construction uses all our racing boat experience with prepreg carbon. The core material is Corecell foam for hulls and wetdeck and honeycomb core for deck, cabin top and all interior structure.

Together with long asymmetric boards and a high aspect ratio rig, she is a weapon on all points of sail.

The boat was engineered to full righting moment as the aim is to fly the windward hull when racing. The powerful hulls have been optimised for high speeds with a tense keel line and boxy sections.

The deck layout is organised around six big hydraulically controlled winches. Like the 68, the Gunboat 80 has a forward cockpit where all the halyards, reefing lines, daggerboard manoeuvres, tacklines and furling lines are dispatched on two hydraulic Harken 1125 winches.

The flat foresails’ sheets come to primary winches on the top of the coachroof just next to the side helm stations where the driver, the trimmers and the navigator are next to each other during races (80.01). They communicate with the forward cockpit using headsets.

On top of that, 12 hydraulic cylinders are used for different controls around the boat such as mainsail sheet and traveller, flat sails inhaul, outhaul and tweaker, mast rotation, cunningham and daggerboard control lines. These rams are controlled in the forward cockpit or at both helm stations and also have wireless remote controls.

Highland Fling XVII, hull one of the series, is clearly focusing on racing due to her owner’s programme and has therefore been even more optimised for that. The interior is minimalist and the deck layout is optimised for racing around the cans with a crew of 12 professional sailors. Also, the sail wardrobe is optimised for rating certificate reasons.

The second Gunboat 80 will be fitted with T-foil rudders (above), which are calculated to reduce pitching in typical Caribbean swell by 30 per cent

Having been on board during the Maxi Worlds in Porto Cervo in early September last year, I was quite impressed with the level at which the boat was sailed, after just a few days of training since her launch. The boat performed beautifully with still a lot of potential yet to tap, and has given satisfaction to her owner and is very promising for the future. We’ll be looking to see her on the racecourse in the Caribbean and Med circuits.

Hull #2 of the series, currently under construction with a summer 2024 launch date, is family cruising orientated. Having said that, being a race addict himself, the owner was quite keen to have a fast boat to play with.

The rudders are liftable in order to have access to shallow water moorings. We have also added elevators to the rudders (T-rudders), not so much for added performance, but more for comfort at sea as they allow to absorb the motion.

As part of our research and development programme, we have created our in-house dynamic simulator that we use, not only to better understand our boat’s behaviour in waves, but also to benchmark configurations and geometries of appendages on our Ultim trimarans and Imocas.

Typically on this kind of project, we can offer our customers to simulate their own boat in their own configuration of weight, appendages and sail plan and compare it with another candidate to help them make well-informed decisions.

In this size of boat and budget, this tool, which was originally developed for our racing division, has been very helpful in offering semi-custom options and the ability to adapt to each client.

This is just one example of the overarching philosophy applied by Gunboat - collaborating with top specialists in each field to create the best engineered boat possible. Partnerships in component manufacturing leave Gunboat to focus on its fortés. Hulls, for instance, are built to the same rigorous standards as those of Imoca 60s at Fibre Mechanics in the UK, while decks are moulded by renowned composite specialist Multiplast in Brittany.

‘This approach gives owners the same level of technology they would expect on a custom build,’ says Gunboat’s chief operating officer William Jelbert. ‘But we project manage it, so the client isn’t taking on all the risks. Our specific in-house area of expertise is in composite assembly, systems and interior fitout.’ These are all the complex details that are essential in creating a really great yacht.

Highland Fling’s offwind sails are flown from the masthead and sheeted to the stern. The main traveller is on the aft crossbeam, not the cabin top

Every effort has been made to minimise weight at every stage and construction is of pre-preg carbon, with a high percentage of uni-directional fibres. However, a conundrum in the very high-performance superyacht world is that the hotel systems that make these such comfortable and luxurious places to spend extended periods of time are typically disproportionately heavy.

Gunboat therefore bypassed many traditional marine suppliers for these elements and instead prioritised those in the aerospace sector where feasible. The windows, interior and wiring, for instance, all come from the aerospace industry, helping create a very light displacement for a boat of this size.

A spacious saloon with a forward facing nav station

In contrast to Highland Fling’s stripped out interior, when she launches in June 2024, 80-02 will have fully fitted accommodation, with an icemaker, oven, generous amounts of refrigeration and air conditioning, plus three VIP cabins, a twin cabin for children and civilised quarters for three crew.

As a result, she’s four tonnes heavier than Highland Fling, at 28 tonnes light ship displacement, and has a maximum payload of six tonnes. Yet this is still a yacht that’s capable of sailing ridiculously fast, with speeds of 30kts possible.

Highland Fling is also engineered for a maximum loaded displacement of 34 tonnes. This opens the possibility of retrofitting a luxury interior and associated systems to give the boat a second life after her all-out racing career. It’s an important safeguard against depreciation. Beyond the vast deck spaces and single-level living arrangements, shallow draught is one of the key attractions of a performance cruising multihull. Boat 80-02 therefore has cassette style lifting rudders that allow the boat to anchor in very shallow water.

The aft cockpit (above) is an expansive living space which enjoys a very clear field of vision forward, through the saloon

VPLP’s in-house dynamic simulator showed that this cruising-optimised Gunboat 80 would benefit from 1.2-metre long T foils on the rudders. In a Caribbean swell these will reduce pitching by around 30 per cent, creating a much more comfortable ride, while simultaneously increasing average speeds.

However, the simulator showed the foils would not benefit Highland Fling, given her predominately inshore/coastal regatta programme, which will mostly be in lighter Mediterranean and Caribbean airs and a smaller sea state in coastal waters. On the other hand, in place of Highland Fling’s complex and high maintenance daggerboard bearings, Gunboat 80-02’s boards have maintenance-free selfaligning bearings. These still allow them to be raised and lowered at boat speeds of up to around 15kts.

Both boats have Gunboat’s trademark forward cockpit, with big hydraulic winches to handle halyards, reefing lines, daggerboards, tack lines and furling lines. Sheets for overlapping headsails lead to coachroof winches to the side of the helm stations, while downwind sails are trimmed from winches aft.

Highland Fling is raced with a 10-12-strong professional crew and is fitted with seven-metre asymmetric daggerboards

While Highland Fling races with a large, professional crew, for their cruising programme 80.02 has an array of 16 buttons to operate the hydraulics at each helm station. This means one person can lift the daggerboards up and down, sheet both the headsail and main in and out, or adjust the traveller, cunningham tension and so on while helming. The boat also has a self-tacking J3, again with hydraulic sheeting, for the occasions that demand the ultimate in sail handling simplicity when cruising.

‘This is all about the owner experience,’ says Jelbert. ‘Anyone who comes from a performance background will want to be able to tweak rig and sail trim to perfection.’

It comes as no surprise that loads are truly massive on these boats, with up to 60 tonnes of mast compression possible, hence the comprehensive hydraulic systems, including custom elements, of both the first two boats.

Another technology that emerged from the last couple of America’s Cup cycles is structured luff mainsails.

‘There are very few boats flying structured luff mainsails outside the America’s Cup at this stage. Perhaps the best-known example being Flying Nikka, the Mark Mills AC-style foiling Mini Maxi. We believe the Gunboat 80 was the first cruising catamaran utilising this cutting-edge tech’, explains Jelbert.

Pulling down on the cunningham can induce up to 30 per cent more mast bend, which increases the range of draught in the mainsail to suit various different windspeeds and angles. The resulting performance boost is significant enough that GB80-01, like the AC72s and AC50s, has opted for a slightly lower modulus carbon mast to make the most of this effect

The advantage is that the bend characteristics of the mast change as cunningham tension is increased or eased. So simply pulling down on the cunningham induces up to 30 per cent more mast bend, which increases the range of depth of the sail at different windspeeds and angles. ‘When we started this project, we were looking at cunningham loads around 1.8 tonnes,’ says Jelbert, ‘but these have increased to six tonnes.’ However, the payback of a structured luff is impressively quick and easy control of mainsail shape.

The boats also benefit from the large amount of recent development in halyard locks and their alternatives. Everything on the Gunboat 80 is held by internal bullet locks – even the mainsail reefs don’t have external hooks. The hydraulics package therefore includes a ram inside the boom at the gooseneck to move the entire boom fore and aft in order to achieve the correct tension for the outhaul and each of the reefs.

Successfully producing yachts with such different goals for experienced and discerning owners vindicates Gunboat’s approach to a very customisable series build concept. Looking from the outside it would be easy to assume this is a rarefied sector of the market, but Gunboat managing partner Benoit Lebizay sees it differently.

He points to the size of the International Maxi Association’s regatta scene, which had more than 100 entries in 2023, and highlights that growth in catamaran sales across the board consistently outperforms every other sector of the market. Yet he says, ‘there was no real alternative on the multihull side to the top end of the performance cruising sector’s Swans, Wallys and Southern Winds.’ Today no other yard comes close to Gunboat in being able to create large performance catamarans that will meet the diverse requirements of a growing number of prospective owners.

Click here for more information on Gunboat »

Gelliceaux is the first example of the SW108, a sustainable build that from the outset was conceived and engineered to be a hybrid design.

Lifecycle assessment was the important first step in Southern Wind’s drive to reduce their carbon footprint. Now they’re making positive changes

Sustainability is moving away from being a fashion or a passion, to being almost business as usual. If we don’t go in this direction we won’t be in business in five or 10 years.’ That, in a nutshell, is why Southern Wind has put a lot of effort into a lifecycle assessment (LCA) project, as the shipyard’s planning and control manager Paul Dumbell explains.

Yacht owners’ interest in sustainability is definitely on the rise, so having accurate data on their boats’ environmental impact isn’t just the right thing for Southern Wind to do, it also makes good business sense. It’s a move that many sailing yacht builders – and yacht racing teams – would like to achieve. Relatively few, thus far, have completed the process and had the results independently audited. That’s because if you do it properly, LCA is a long-term commitment and a lot of work.

For Southern Wind, which builds two large, sophisticated and extensively customised sailing yachts a year, LCA is inherently complex to calculate and there isn’t a template to follow. ‘We have one foot in the raceboat industry where composite structure is the dominant cause of impact and our other foot in the superyacht industry where it’s energy use,’ Dumbell explains.

Starting from scratch, without the resources and budget of a big shipyard or top racing team, the LCA took two and a half years to complete. Dumbell is keen to stress that it’s just the first step on the road to becoming a more sustainable shipyard. But it’s a credit to him that the consultants contracted to do the analysis were impressed with the quality and scope of his data.

The LCA had two main areas of focus. One was the build of SW105-05, Sørvind: logging and weighing all materials and components, including all packaging, while also calculating energy use, quantifying freight transport logistics, tracking recycling and waste, and compiling lifecycle data on every item in the supply chain.

The other focus was a survey of the existing fleet, to establish the average impact of a Southern Wind yacht in four modes of operational use: with charter guests or owners on board; on delivery; at a boatyard for maintenance; and in standby mode tied to the dock. Diesel, energy consumptions and crew flights were all factored in. The LCA assumed a typical service life of 30 years – but this is a very conservative estimate, given that every yacht the shipyard has built in its 32 years of operation is still in use, and none of them are thought to be near their end of life.

Above and below: The yard’s hull production technique is a relatively low-waste process using moulds made with timber battens and chipboard. The paper-cored interior panels similarly offer a lower environmental footprint than most suitable alternatives

 

The total cradle-to-grave footprint of SW105-05 was calculated to be just under 7,000 tons of CO2e. It’s tempting to compare that headline figure with established benchmarks – it looks to be equivalent to the footprints of 180 family cars, for example – but Dumbell explains that simple comparisons are likely to be misleading. LCAs are designed to measure an organisation’s impact and find ways to reduce it, not to compare with other organisations, so each LCA is based on a different scope and set of parameters.

Some results were surprising. ‘I expected freight to have a high impact and electricity to be negligible,’ Dumbell says. ‘But freight turned out to be less than expected and the electricity we use in manufacturing is quite significant. That’s because South Africa is mostly powered by conventional energy.’

Materials accounted for 26 per cent of the total footprint and power use during construction was 11 per cent. Energy use over the 30-year operational life of the yacht – mostly diesel consumption – was 63 per cent. Thus the breakdown was roughly a 40:60 split between building a new yacht and running it.

One major reduction in environmental impact has already been achieved. A 300kWp (kilowatt peak) array of solar panels on the roofs of the shipyard significantly reduces its consumption of mains electricity. At weekends, most of the power that the array generates is fed back into the local grid.

Southern Wind’s commercial director Andrea Micheli says it’s important to note the stark difference between the LCAs of sailing yachts and motor yachts. The construction footprint is broadly similar but the footprint of the motor yacht during operational use is massively higher. ‘Even when motoring, a sailing yacht is still far more fuel efficient,’ he says. ‘For a delivery passage of a thousand miles we’re talking about 3,300 litres versus 25,000 litres of fuel for a similar size semi-displacement yacht. The operational carbon footprint of such the motor yacht is seven times higher.’ For an ocean passage, sailing makes an enormous difference. Southern Wind yachts routinely use less than 7,000 litres of fuel on the 7,000-mile delivery trip from Cape Town to the Mediterranean while the same motor yacht would burn about 175,000 (25 times more).

He also points out that if the LCA had been calculated with a 50-year use cycle, (as per a study commissioned by ICOMIA and presented in November 2023 at METS, the Marine Equipment Trade Show), the footprint of operational use would be an even larger proportion of the total.

The build of Sørvind, the fifth yacht in the SW105 series, was a key focus of Southern Wind Shipyard’s lifecycle assessment calculations

The true footprint of carbon fibre is complicated. On one hand it’s the main part of the construction footprint. On the other hand, as Micheli explains, the operational footprint would be significantly larger without it. ‘Many yachts that are a similar size are about 10 tons heavier with the same sail area and they need at least 8kts of wind to start sailing,’ he says. ‘Ours sail well in five to six knots.’ The difference might seem small but in a typical Mediterranean season it increases the number of sailing days significantly.

The next phase is using the LCA to reduce the footprint of the shipyard and its yachts. ‘We are going to start active procurement,’ Dumbell says. 'Preference will be given to suppliers who can support with good data a more environmentally suitable product.’ He is also looking at systems integration to tie the LCA database and modelling software into the shipyard’s project management and ERP systems. ‘In the short term 20 to 30 per cent “Cradle to the Gate” reduction is a good target, including the contribution from the solar panels,’ he says. ‘Consistent longer term reductions will require more effort for smaller improvements.’

Both Dumbell and Micheli are clear that there are currently no viable alternatives to using carbon fibre for masts and hull structure that can deliver an equivalent level of performance, nor for lead in keel bulbs. They are, however, looking seriously at replacing non-load bearing carbon composite components, such as internal partitions, with panels made from basalt fibre and recycled PET core materials.

The shipyard is already moving away from teak decks, towards alternatives such as marine maple, Flexiteek and thermally reflective deck paint. The yard’s technical team is also investigating the option of changing the floor bearers inside the boats from carbon to aluminium. Dumbell is looking at sourcing more sustainable bronze components and copper cables, and possibly reducing the amount of copper by using higher-voltage electrical systems. After finding that water-based paint systems can’t match the gloss of a solvent-based paint system, he is now looking at solvent filtration and containment solutions instead.

Micheli is keen to work on scenarios that can deliver a 10 per cent fuel saving in operational use, which would significantly reduce the yachts’ overall footprint. He says focusing on thermal efficiency – air conditioning systems and the way they are used, as well as larger shade awnings, better ventilation and heat-reflective deck coatings – has a potential to reduce fuel consumption that is comparable with diesel-electric hybrid drive systems. Hybrid drive systems are very appealing for their capability to hydrogenerate electricity while sailing (on the SW96 and SW108, it’s 15kW at 12kts)

This 300kWp array of solar panels on the roof of the shipyard has already reduced its energy footprint significantly

Importantly, the next model in Southern Wind’s range, the 100X, will be more efficient and sustainable by design. It’s a semi-custom yacht, so the production processes will be inherently lower in terms of impact than a smart custom build where the tooling for the deck moulding is often unique and each yacht is extensively, individually customised. Sustainability was a key part of the brief given to Farr Naval Architects, who have been working with the shipyard’s technical manager to design a hull that delivers the excellent performance and handling of a Southern Wind yacht with a slightly higher displacement. This will give more scope for considering sustainable alternatives to many of the materials, components and systems they currently use.

The LCA also offers real value for smart custom and full custom build projects. Any new yacht buyer who cares about environmental impact will now be empowered to make fully informed decisions about options for materials, components and equipment, weighing up sustainability against performance and other considerations such as cost, aesthetics and comfort. And as Dumbell explains, the LCA also provides owners with the necessary data if they choose to support companies specialising in climate change or positive environmental projects, thereby mitigating the impact of the build.

It’s an exciting prospect for forwardthinking owners who want to invest in sustainable innovation.

Click here for more information on Southern Wind »

Elan Yachts made a big splash two years ago with its GT6 performance cruiser. Soon there will be a new version optimised for ocean cruising

If you are the type of person who likes to go off the beaten track, or have a desire to venture into the wild – well, here’s a tool for your dreams. As the name implies, the Elan GT6 X is still a GT6, which means a stylish, Porsche-designed sport cruiser just below 50ft overall, with the power to go fast, even in lighter conditions. Launched in 2021 as the new Elan flagship, the GT6 is a goodlooking boat that will turn heads in any harbour – actually it was the first sub-50ft yacht of its kind to feature a flush deck. The low-profile deck house is another central feature.

But the new Explorer version is a special kind, that addresses a deep longing in a lot of sailors today. Think of it as a four-by-four model – a go anywhere vessel. Almost any boat can do the ARC. But this one is built to do more than that.

Think of The Arctic, desolate, stormridden oceans, with arrivals at anchorages where icebergs and polar bears are more frequent than rum punch bars. This boat will take you there. How about crossing the vast Pacific Ocean, where the nearest marina could be a thousand nautical miles away? If you can do it, this boat surely can. Feel free to continue the list of potential adventures yourself – if this is your thing, you probably have your own specific mental images to add.

Elan Yachts says the new Explorer version of its GT6 will be suitable for cruising in the high Arctic or crossing the Pacific Ocean without needing to stop for fuel, water or provisions

The Slovenian Elan boatyard holds a unique position on the market, in terms of quality of materials, craftmanship, design and composite work. It is an established brand known for producing boats that are easy and rewarding to sail, at a very competitive price. For decades they have had a close collaboration with world renowned UKbased Humphreys Yacht Design, and their skills have ensured efficient, fast and stable hulls. This one has twin rudders, a T-bulb keel and chined hulls, all traits known from the Volvo offshore racers that really put Humphreys Yacht Design on the map. These features were first introduced into the performance cruiser category by Elan and Humphreys in the multiple award-winning Elan 350 and have since become industry standard.

But the big novelty of the GT6 was the design partnership with Studio F.A. Porsche. The car industry has inspired boatyards in several ways, especially for the last decade, and this collaboration has produced a boat that, according to sailing journalists, not only looks good, but also feels right and performs.

Good looks are not a small thing: The joy and pride of looking at your boat with pleasure is something very valuable in itself. But a multiple award-winning design studio will obviously know that form and function must go hand in hand.

An example could be the chines, which are integrated with trapeze-shaped hull windows. At first glance, this is visually pleasing, but seen from the inside the idea has a function: The windows are recessed and able to spread a flow of natural daylight over the interior. Also, the feeling of being in close connection with the sea, even when below decks, is much more tangible when you have a view over the surroundings when sitting in the saloon or lying in the bunks.

The interior aims to combine practical seagoing utility with high-end design, handcrafted furniture and state-of-the-art technical systems and equipment

The design team has not only focused on style, luxury and atmosphere, but also made sure the boat works in real offshore conditions. The forward-facing galley is positioned directly above the keel, the yacht’s most stable area. The galley is built for long trips, with a large, protected countertop and loads of storage. The galley area can be customised and equipped with the owner’s personal needs, when it comes to modern amenities such as dishwasher, front-loading refrigerators, freezing compartment etc. The Porsche designers have created a yacht feeling known from even bigger boats, with oak wood surfaces, carefully arranged ambient lighting and soft rounded corners.

The three-cabin interior has an alternative: A two cabin option, where the starboard aft cabin is transformed to a wet and dry storage/workshop area, accessible both from cockpit and interior. This is a feature that really contributes to a blue water vessel – long voyages are often done with a small crew, and being able to access and service equipment is crucial. You can even install a washing machine in there!

The cockpit area is an even better example of how the merging of form and function can end up with something that works in new ways: With a beam of almost four and half metres, the cockpit is huge and situated lower than a lot of traditional bluewater cruisers, known for elevated centre cockpits. The necessary protection is instead taken care of with high coamings, sprayhood, bimini and wide side decks. This provides a more Mediterranean experience, making the yacht suitable also for other styles of sailing, even the ones including a barbecue and sunbathing on the bathing platform.

The carbon composite cockpit arch is not just an aesthetic design feature. Protection from the elements is a real need in the conditions this boat is built for, and the arch serves as a stable framework for a bimini or cockpit tent, and also holds the main sheet. At the stern, an optional dinghy/solar arch provides sustainable power and makes the dinghy easy to stow and service. In desolate areas, power supply is hard to find, and the dinghy is your lifeline to shore. Having a well-thought-out system for the dinghy is something that will be appreciated, as soon as you start using anchorages instead of marinas.

The name says it quite clearly: The Explorer is for sailors who want to explore. But at the same time, this is not an extreme boat in any way. The design brief was to combine practical maritime utility with high-end design, build it using the latest in GRP composite technology, and provide it with hand-crafted furniture and the whole spectrum of modern equipment. Still, there are a few special features that make this boat especially adapted to life on the high sea. Let’s take a closer look at what they are:

Monolithic structure
When you set out on the open ocean, safety is the number one consideration. And the structure of the hull itself is what ultimately keeps you safe. The Elan GT6 X hull is a monolithic structure, which means it’s one, continuous composite body with laminated bulkheads, stringers and stringer supports integrated into the hull itself. All load bearing elements are laminated into a seamless unit.

3D VAIL construction
This is done through a process called 3D VAIL – 3D Vacuum Assisted Infusion Lamination. It can be seen as next generation vacuum infusion sandwich construction, and Elan offers the option of replacing polyester with vinylester. The output is a robust, stiff, osmosis-proof, and lightweight hull. A major additional safety feature is fully laminated bulkheads in both ends of the boat, fortified back and front to create real, watertight compartments. An even bigger safety factor is the keel attachment. Extra care is taken by integrating the top of the keel to the reinforced hull in a trapezoidal pyramid keel mount, with U profile keel mounting plates, especially designed to improve load distribution and mitigates hull damage in emergencies, making it stronger and more capable of taking a hit.

Large arrays of solar panels can be installed on the coachroof and on a separate gantry mounted over the stern

These are all invisible things, as the case is with a lot of central features in a sailing boat. Looking at the visible side, the inner forestay makes offshore sailing safer and more efficient – the staysail/J3 installation includes the necessary deck and mast reinforcements, as well as a padeye. A self-tacker system and control lines led under deck to winches and clutches close to the steering position ensures easy shorthanded operation. There are no winches or lines cluttering the space around the companionway. The yacht has a singlehanded design, which means that no one has to move out of the way in the cockpit in order for the skipper to be able to manoeuvre the boat, as all winches and lines are available at the helm position. When shore supplies are few and far between, on board storage and sufficient energy becomes more than just a question of comfort. You simply need it to be able to reach your dream destinations. The fuel tank on the GT6 X is 500 litres, and the battery bank can carry up to 840Ah – lithium if chosen. An optional solar installation of well over a kW (nominal) sustainable, free power, and a likewise optional generator with a capacity of 6,4 kW will take care of power needs. Add to that a large watermaker, combined with the standard 300-litre water tank, and you will have a vessel capable of crossing any ocean nonstop.

Diesel, electric or hybrid?
Among the numerous options, Elan GT6 X can be delivered with electric propulsion. An OceanVolt system with a 25kW High Power ServoProp motor, driven by a battery bank with a stunning 62.4 kW capacity (if you choose to go all the way). OceanVolt is the market leader in this area, and the system can regenerate power through the servo prop. If you add a 15kW generator, the boat will morph into a full hybrid yacht. The standard engine is a 57HK Yanmar, with an option to upgrade to 80HK. Production will start in 2024.

Click here for more information on Elan Yachts »

RM Yachts’ new 1080 is a more powerful and spacious version of one of the marque’s most successful boats… and it will be even faster downwind

Over the past 35 years RM Yachts has taken a unique, yet successful, path developing increasingly innovative and refined performance cruising yachts that harness the benefits of building in epoxy and plywood. The RM1080 is the La Rochellebased yard’s latest little rocket and is in many ways a direct development of racing Class40s, both inside and out.

It’s a Marc Lombard design that also retains key attributes of existing RM models, including exceptional attention to detail and standard of finish, plus bright interiors with excellent natural light thanks to the trademark big forward coachroof window. There’s also an option of very efficient twin bulb keels that combine moderate draught with the ability to dry out at low water, yet without compromising sailing qualities.

What are the big differences between this new model and the eight-year-old RM1070 it replaces? While that model was very well regarded, ‘the yacht design world has moved a lot in that time,’ says RM’s César Dohy. ‘The boats are getting more powerful and they are now much wider forward.’

The cockpit coamings have been moved outboard and raised, Class40 style. The result is improved shelter and more space in the cockpit. The backrests of the seats can be removed to create a couple of wide sunbeds

The waterline beam of the new boat is much greater, especially in the forward sections, even if displacement and maximum beam at deck level remain the same. As with many new out-and-out performance designs, the mast is also positioned further aft, with a lot more rake – five to six degrees.

As a result of these changes, ‘this boat will have the same upwind ability as the previous model,’ according to Dohy, ‘but much better reaching and downwind stability, with easy control and higher average speeds.’

That's where some of the changes to the cockpit layout become important. Given the overall length of only 36ft, when sailing fast in heavy seas there's potential for a lot of water on deck. ‘That's why we implemented the high Class40 style coaming,’ he adds. This runs across the side deck at the front of the cockpit, then aft along the gunwale. O There's also a big fabric sprayhood over the companionway. ‘She should be very dry when reaching in big seas and above 20kts,’ says Dohy.

Waterline length is quite short by today’s standards which reduces frictional resistance in light airs

A secondary benefit of the new coamings is that the entire width of the boat can be used for the cockpit when in port or at anchor. The backrests for the benches each side can be removed, creating enough space on each side of the boat for double sun beds. It’s another first for a performance yacht of this size. All four winches are at the companionway, where almost all sail handling operations can be carried out easily by one person. ‘It’s a big point,’ Dohy emphasises. ‘You can do everything there, apart from the mainsail traveller, which is controlled from the helm.’

This is a great setup for cruising because manoeuvres, including reefing, can be carried out really easily and safely. Even if you're on watch on your own everything happens in one place, under the shelter of the large fabric sprayhood. This has three frames – one more than is typical – to make it almost as stiff as a solid structure. It’s also fitted with strong stainless steel handrails along the aft edge and on each side, for use when going forward.

A choice of carbon and aluminium spars is offered and owners can specify the sail wardrobe that suits them best. However, most are expected to opt for a standard five-sail configuration of mainsail, genoa, staysail, asymmetric kite and code zero. This gives a flexible all-round inventory that will cover all situations, without unnecessary cost, while minimising the number of sails that need to be stowed below decks.

The plywood panels are connected fore and aft, then placed on a permanent jig that automatically creates the hull shape

The mainsail is exactly the same size as the genoa, while RM worked hard to make the staysail work as flexibly as possible, both with the gennaker and code zero. Sceptics might wonder whether such a sail is likely to get much use when cruising, especially as it's unlikely to add more than 0.4kts of boat speed. However, its presence, forward of the centre of effort, makes the boat more stable and easier to steer, especially when using the autopilot. That in turn makes for an easier motion and more comfortable ride, while simultaneously increasing average speeds.

For this reason, Dohy says, ‘we find staysails are used a lot on all our boats.’ It's also designed for use upwind when the true wind rises above about 16-17kts. This makes for a much more efficient sail plan than a part furled genoa. And it can be set up in winds well under 20kts, eliminating foredeck acrobatics in rougher conditions and a rising wind.

Why didn’t RM go for a full scow bow shape? ‘It just doesn’t make sense for this type of boat, says Dohy. ‘That’s partly because it's would be too uncomfortable going upwind for a cruising boat.’ However, there's a more fundamental reason as well. ‘We've tried hard to keep the displacement down, but if the hull shape is too wide it's impossible to avoid extra weight.’

How much of an attempt was made to minimise wetted surface area to boost performance light airs and thus minimise use of the engine when cruising? ‘It's a good question,’ says Dohy. ‘She's very beamy on the waterline, but as soon as there is a few degrees of heel the immersed area reduces dramatically.’

After the internal systems and load-bearing steel frames are fitted, a conventional foam sandwich deck goes onto the hull

At the same time, despite the broad bow sections, the RM 1080’s waterline length is relatively short by today’s standards at only 10.4 metres. This reduces frictional resistance in light airs. Yet, at the same time, the underwater profile has a flat run aft, akin to that of many motor boats. This is a crucial factor in promoting early planing.

Below decks the roomy two-cabin accommodation has the same general feel as existing models, with a lot of glazing and plenty of white paint. There’s lots of room, even though the entire design is quite simple to keep the weight down, and there’s less heavy joinery on show than typical heavier cruising yachts.

The biggest difference in the saloon compared with the 1070 is that the table is offset to one side and the new boat feels a little more spacious, simply as a result of the more powerful hull shape and additional waterline beam.

This is particularly noticeable in the owner's cabin forward, where there's roughly an extra 30cm of room. It’s enough to make a big difference to the feeling of space and to improve stowage, making this a much more appealing area than that of the older boat. It’s a factor that should be a key selling point, after the boat’s top-notch performance and its innovative cockpit layout.

As with all RM designs, there’s a very large and well-appointed galley, plus a dedicated technical area aft on the starboard side. This is accessed from the heads compartment and has all the core systems and electrics laid out in an accessible manner. There’s plenty of space in this zone, which is a huge benefit for routine maintenance, for troubleshooting problems and for retrofitting extra equipment at a later date. The technical area is also fitted with a foul weather gear locker with a drain.

When RM was founded in the late 1980s it ploughed a somewhat lonely furrow in producing plywood yachts with an outer layer of epoxy and glass to provide excellent impact resistance. However today, an increasing number of boatbuilders and owners understand the advantages of this type of construction. It’s lighter than monolithic fibreglass construction, and equal to foam sandwich, but with the added advantage that the shape of the boat, with multiple chines, massively increases stiffness.

This construction method also benefits from a beautifully efficient production process. At RM all parts are cut by a CNC machine well in advance of each build so that they can settle to the temperature and the humidity of the carefully controlled factory environment. The plywood panels are connected fore and aft off the boat, using scarfs and big jigsaw style joints to create a single giant full-length plank, which makes for a very smooth, seamless finish.

These are then offered up to a permanently set up jig that automatically creates the hull shape, without the need for a wasteful full mould. After fitting of internal systems, and the galvanised frames that distribute keel loads, the hull is then married to a conventional foam sandwich deck. It’s a well-proven and more environmentally friendly system that creates powerful, distinctive state-of-theart yachts with excellent longevity.

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