june/july 2018cruisingworld.com91O
ver the years I’ve
enjoyed some pretty
special moments
under sail: steering a big sloop
downwind in the Pacifi c trades
en route to Hawaii, crossing
the Atlantic on a powerful
60-foot cat, rounding Cape
Horn under spinnaker on a
stout steel cutter. But nothing
— and I mean nothing —
quite prepared me for the
pure, sheer joy of driving the
exquisite HH66 on a tight
reach on Chesapeake Bay.
Sitting in the comfortable
molded seat outboard and aft
on the portside quarter (an
identical helm is situated to
starboard), with one hand I
grasped the light, balanced
tiller; at the same time, the
fi ngertips of my other hovered
over the push buttons in the
armrest that controlled all the
critical sailhandling and per-
formance features. Without
even moving, the traveler (up
and down), main and jib sheets
(in and out), and daggerboards
(raised and lowered) were
at my command. So too was
the “panic button” you’d
press to immediately dump
and de-power the mainsail
and vang in the unfortunate
circumstance of becoming
suddenly overpowered in a
gusty breeze. One must pay
close attention when driving
this steed.
I must confess that it was
hard to do while tearing
across the bay in a sweet 12-
to 14-knot breeze. Bearing off
in the lulls and feathering up
in the puffs, steering the boat
was a dynamic experience,
like driving a Porsche on a
winding road. Meanwhile,
the speedo ascended in
ever-increasing increments:
8.2 knots, 10.4 knots, 12.5
knots. It seemed effortless, as
if it was all unfolding in slow
motion. That is, until youglanced over the side and saw
the water rushing past in a
blue blur. That, my friends, is
entertainment.
Our Boat of the Year
judging team was justifi ably
impressed with the cat. “Holy
moly, it’s a carbon 66 -foot
catamaran that displaces less
than 40,000 pounds,” said
Tim Murphy. “This clearly
is not for mere mortals; it’s
a boat that’s intended to be
sailed with a professional
crew, and they’d need some
serious training to handle it.
It’s designed by Morrelli &
Melvin, and it’s a boat where
they talk upfront about fl ying
a hull on a big cruise-worthy
catamaran, as if it were aHobie cat. Along with foiling,
as we saw in the America’s
Cup, this is a new concept
in how we sail our boats. To
go out there and do that on
purpose is remarkable.”
“I’d agree with the
excitement as far as the
sailing performance goes,”
said Ed Sherman. “With the
tiller in hand (there is also an
inside steering station like the
one on the HH55; se e “The
Future is Now,” opposite),
and the ready access to the
sailing controls, it was a great
experience because the tiller
is so light and easy. The boat
just snaps to with every move
you make. So that was quite
a treat. But I do agree thatthis isn’t a couples boat, or at
least one that a couple would
sail alone. There’s just too
much going on. I don’t see a
middle-aged husband-and-
wife team sailing this boat
around the world, at least
without having some people
on board to help them out.”
“I didn’t know that sailing
a high-performance 66 -foot
catamaran with a tiller was on
my bucket list, but I’ve added
it to my mine and checked
it off!” said Bill Bolin. “You’d
want some experienced hands
to help sail it. I think I counted
19 ‘strings’ — halyards, sheets,
reefi ng lines and so forth — in
the forward cockpit, where
all the actual job of sailing the
boat takes place. That’s a lot to
keep track of.”
“Our heads were spinning,”
seconded Murphy, to which
Bolin replied, “Exactly right!”
Like its 55-foot sister ship,
the workmanship on the
HH66 is simply impeccable.
The construction materials and
details are similar to the smaller
boat. It would be impossible to
describe all the neat features
of the boat in a short review.
The staterooms are luxurious,
and the builder encourages
customization in the accom-
modations plan. A locker with
the generator, hydraulics,
batteries and so forth is located
forward, for ideal weight
distribution. The coachroof
of our test boat was adorned
with a couple dozen fl exible
solar panels to maximize
energy independence. Heck,
the bloody boat we inspected
had a built-in piano!
Of course, all this technology
and craftsmanship comes at
a cost, in this example north
of $4 million. It’s obviously
not for the faint of wallet.
But as a testament to how far
contemporary boat design
and execution has evolved,
it’s nothing less than an
engineering marvel. As for
sailing the HH66, some
would call it a near-spiritual
experience. And they’d get no
argument from me.Herb McCormick is CW’s
executive editor.HOOK IN and HANG ON
When it comes to thrills and chills under sail, you’d be hard pressed to beat the truly joyous
experience of driving the HH66 in a fresh breeze.BY HERB McCORMICKBOATS & GEARJON WHITTLE