in front of the wheel. The outhaul runs
at the same pace on a continuous line
system, which moves the clew in and out
via a boom track. To avoid damage, both
use a current-sensitive ‘time out’ feature
- so if either is placed under heavy load
they will momentarily stop, alerting crew
to a potential sail jam or rope snag.
The jib sheets neatly through a wide
shroud base, via coachroof tracks outside
the doghouse and on to electric primary
winches. Manual secondary winches
allow jib cars to be trimmed while sailing.
Powered-up under full main and genoa
in 18 knots of wind we ploughed through
waves at a decent 8.1 knots with a true
wind angle of 50°, which is perfectly
acceptable for offshore passagemaking.
Our test boat had the optional cutter
rig adding a 24m^2 self-tacking staysail to
the 126m^2 sail plan. Setting the staysail
while beating in 20 knots gained a further
0.3 knots of boat speed, with no adverse
effects to balance. Personally, I can’t
imagine why you wouldn’t tick the staysail
box; it adds a manageable sail area to
the forward triangle, while providing a
dedicated heavy weather sail.
Finally calling an end to our upwind
slog, we put the bow down looking
for a lunchtime anchorage in the
lee of Isle de Rey. Off the breeze
The helmsman’s
chair swivels and
adjusts in height
and there are
reasonable views
of the sails.
Far left: the
cavernous and
well laid out
engine room under
the cockpit sole› Christophe Breschi Christophe Breschi
JS EvrardJS Evrard