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FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE SELDOM WRONG, so walking up the Sydney dock to the CNB 76
Charlotte was a fairly startling affair for even this world-weary yachting journalist. A few years
back, I’d been wandering around the Construction Navale Bordeaux (CNB) yard when plans
were being laid for this 76-foot performance cruiser, so to see it in the flesh, as it were, was a
moment to savour.
Instantly recognisable are the angular lines that grace other production yachts under the
Beneteau Group, such as the Jeanneau 64 that is also penned by the prolific Philippe Briand. But
the major difference between the mass-production yachts from the Beneteau Group is CNB’s 30
years of custom superyacht building.
“We went to Briand with all our most popular superyacht features and asked him to create a
luxury yacht from these ideas,” says CNB Sales Director Thomas Gailly.
The result is a four-cabin luxury cruising yacht that can be semi-customised, yet won’t break
the bank of Monte Carlo (Euro 2.8-3 million ex-factory), which is a major differentiator from its
big-name competitors and major reason why 16 have sold in only two years.
Hull #14 will be delivered in October by Japanese dealer First Marine to a former motorboat
Owner who will voyage across the Atlantic, then take the Pacific home during the 2017 Transpac
Race to Hawaii.
A key selling point for CNB is the relatively fast build time achieved through a modularised
approach to constructing the CNB 76, allowing the in-house carpentry, electrical and engineering
teams to work on each section of the yacht while the foam-infused hull is laid up.
The Sydney-based Owner of hull #6 Charlotte had his yacht supplied by Vicsail Australia
within eight months of placing his order, and this included the handover in the historic French
city of Bordeaux. Having walked around the miles of acreage at the Bordeaux yard, which shares
both build synergies and location with Lagoon catamarans, I could see how the large new sheds
had plenty space to house the various construction teams.PHOTO: CNB