T
he old cliché that ‘life begins at
40’ would certainly be supported
by the leisure-obsessed Dubai
resident... and long may it continue!
But age apart, with modern building materials
and methodology, the same can also be said
about yachts. On both the sail and power
front, the modern 40-footer is packing the
same workable space and specification a 55
footer was half a decade ago. Add in the easier
handling and berthing charges of a 12-metre
compared to 15, and the 40-something is
becoming more and more palatable. The
other advantage of a modern 40 footer is the
flybridge. It was Sealine, I think, who was
the first to oversize the mid-range cruiser
flybridge to make a truly social elevated
deck, rather than merely a flying station – I
remember many years ago showing a rather
large gentleman banker friend of mine the
flybridge of a 50-footer at the London Boat
Show the broker had just boasted about.
However, not only were the
companionway steps built
for Italian-sized people, but
the flybridge would only
have taken him and another
friend.. not leaving any room
for any other acquaintances
of the fairer sex. But luckily
increased balsa coring and
CAD design has made these
faux pas mostly a thing of the
past.
As I was just going to print, I knocked over
a pile of papers, and buried among them
were a brace of press releases we’d forgotten
to run some time ago, which has actually
worked well as it now means that both boats
have actually been built and are available
on the water, rather than a mere gleam in a
designer’s eye. So if the flybridge life is for
you, have a look at what new offerings can be
found in Santa’s sack from Gulf Craft with the
new Oryx 40 Fly, and Beneteau’s Monte Carlo
40 (MC4).The other
advantage of
a modern 40
footer is the
flybridge
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