The GP70 is a pure performance cruiser and no compromises have been made with a full racing crew in mind. Daggerboards are an option but hull #1 has been built with fixed keels
says Paclot. ‘Being quick when you need to take a reef is important and this is the best way to do it.’ More complex deck layouts also take
up more space, resulting in a boat that feels as though it has less room. A happy spin-off from the relentless pursuit of simplicity therefore is that Catch Me has more comfortable areas in which to relax on deck, including foredeck socialising and relaxation spaces. Catch Me’s sail plan is also smaller
than that of a dual purpose boat of a similar size, making her easier to handle and reducing the risk of capsize, yet the very light displacement means this is still a very fast boat. This aspect of very light displacement yachts is often poorly understood: loads vary in proportion to displacement, so a lightweight boat is automatically easier to handle than a heavier design, as well as being faster. The team decided against an automatic sheet release system for Catch Me on the
basis it adds complexity and yet these are not infallible so have the potential to give a false sense of security. Granted, they have been some well-publicised instances of large catamarans capsizing, but these have all been pushed hard in race mode and not while cruising, when it's possible to throttle back to give more margin of safety without an undue loss of speed. Nevertheless, automatic sheet release systems will be available as an option on subsequent boats. VPLP originally drew the GP70 with daggerboards, but in the pursuit of simplicity these were changed to keels for Catch Me, which brings a number of advantages, but surprisingly few drawbacks. While it’s essential for racing yachts to be enormously efficient when sailing upwind, it’s a different matter for long-distance cruisers, where reaching and downwind angles dominate. Catch Me was therefore built with hydrodynamically efficient fixed keels.
These make manoeuvres considerably easier and save weight as there is no need for a powerful lifting mechanism. The lack of daggerboard cases also opens up more options for interior layouts and increases internal volume. This aspect is further enhanced by placing the generous water tanks within the keels. Nevertheless, daggerboards also remain an option for subsequent boats. The GP70 benefits froma lot of storage
space on deck, including four huge lockers forward of the saloon accessed fromthe deck. These have space for fenders and lines, plus all the toys that are an integral part of any extended cruise, fromdive equipment (even including SeaBobs) to paddleboards, wing foiling kit and so on. This is a really important aspect for cruising, when up to 90 per cent of the timemight be spent at anchor, yet is one that is still all too often compromised, even on very large yachts. Why would an owner choose this yacht
over other performancemultihulls of a similar size? ‘It’s perfect for an experienced owner, or someone who understands the technology and concept, and wants to be able to comfortably cruise around the world,’ says Gallay. ‘The boat has all the criteria you need for that, without having toomuch complex equipment that can bring reliability problems.’ The courage to do something different
Sea trials confirm that the first GP70, Catch Me, is easily capable of cruising at a sustained speed of 25 knots
in this part of the very competitive high- performance cruising market is a breath of fresh air and has produced an extremely desirable fast, spacious and safe cruising yacht. Rather than being the equivalent of a floating Ferrari, Catch Me is more akin to a high spec Porsche Cayenne: incredibly powerful but also luxurious, supremely spacious and safe. Catch Me will be on show at the Cannes Yachting Festival in early September.
www.trimarine.com
❑ SEAHORSE 83
LUDOVIC FRUCHAUD
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