72 November 2017
This first PC55 is a fully composite
build. It has an E-glass skin over
a foam core, carbon ring frames,
carbon and foam bulkheads, and
honeycomb sandwich floorboards.
A sacrificial bow section is built into
the forefoot.
The first PC66 was cold
moulded. PC Yachts’s Mark Speirs
explained that it now builds in
carbon composite for the weight
saving benefits. The difference
between using wood core or full
carbon on the PC66 is two tonnes.And the difference between using
carbon and glass fibre is reportedly
around 500kg. Strict weight
control is obviously a key criterion
for a performance-based yacht.
The PC55 is around seven tonnes
lighter than a Truly Classic of
similar size, with more sail area and
a longer waterline.
Speirs thinks he has found
a niche where there is little
competition. Spirit Yachts and Truly
Classics lack comparable volume
and deck space, he says.Forward cabin
A really decent sail locker right forward pushes this double cabin
some way aft and the result here is that you gain a particularly
generous berth for a yacht with classic lines. The cabin has
plenty of light and 2m (6ft 2in) headroom (although it could get
a little dark were a dinghy mounted on the foredeck over the
hatch). Deep drawers under the berth give some stowage and
there is a wardrobe to port, but the addition of shelves along
the hull lining could be useful. There is a tidy ensuite heads to
starboard with separate shower.
Aft cabins
The identical aft cabins feel wonderfully spacious. The
coachroof windows extend well aft so they let light in here, and
together with the large overhead hatches and traditional style
oval hull ports these cabins make these cabins very bright. Both
have a large berth and good stowage space.
The starboard cabin has its own access to the day heads. The
heads is of adequate size with plenty of light and space, but no
separate shower.
ontest: PC55
How technology creates lighter yachts
‘It’s the aesthetic appeal
of those timeless lines
that designers return to’