Yachting

MAY 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 87

NEW BOAT TEST

Sailplan
She has a Bergstrom and Ridder
(B&R) Seldén rig that does away
with the backstay. The spreaders
are angled 30° aft, which means
that when running downwind the
sail rests on the rig, but you do get
a lighter mast section, which means
less weight aloft – always a good
thing. The mainsheet is safely out of
the way overhead, on the stainless
steel arch. It’s taken both from the
end of the boom down the port side
of the overhead arch and forward
to the mast before coming back to the
coachroof winches. This allows either crew
or helm to control the sheet with ease.
Lines for the traveller exit neatly inside the
arch, but the jammer angle for these and
the sheet is quite high, so the lines have
to be lifted up to around shoulder height
before they release – perhaps an exit lower
would improve matters, or the angle of the
jammers could be made adjustable.

Deck layout

With 2.92m (9ft 7in) between coaming

backrests, the cockpit is incredibly wide.

Marlow has done away with the usual side

decks outboard of the cockpit, instead

the coaming drops near-vertically to the

gunwale. At the forward corners of the

cockpit, where there would usually be a

curved backrest, a step has been moulded

in to ease access between cockpit and

side decks. Without sprayhood

down, this area lacks handholds – a

shame, as the handrails on the turn

of the coachroof are so good.

The Lewmar 30ST genoa sheet

winches are atop the coaming,

outboard of the step – the problem

is, you can’t rotate a winch handle

through 360° unless the guardrail

is lifted. Instead, you’ll probably

find yourself ratcheting the handle

back and forth. It is possible to

remove the guardrail, but I’d rather

not. The port-side genoa sheet

comes very close to the forward edge of

the coaming and if the genoa car were a

few stops further back, the sheet might

chafe the gelcoat. There is a reinforced

stanchion just forward of the cockpit, with

a gap in the moulded GRP toerail, to make

boarding the boat easier.

The aperture of the cockpit locker (to

port) isn’t the biggest, but fear not, it

can also be accessed via the door in the

There are steps in the forward coaming to access the side decks