Design
Matteo Polli’s trademark aft quarters with soft, high chines give a narrow waterplane on an even keel, symmetrical under- water sections at moderate heel angles and ample form stabilty when steeply heeled
mainsail with in-boom furling or slab reefing, a masthead code zero on the bow with an under-deck furler and a 500sq m gennaker flown from the end of the bowsprit. An inner staysail on a furler can also be fitted. The foretriangle (and hence the self-tacking jib) is notably large and the swept-back spreaders allow a 112% J1 on longitudinal tracks. Aluminium spars with rod rigging are supplied as standard and a carbon upgrade is available. Runners are only required for the inner sail. The sail-handling systems are electric, with three-speed Harken primary winches as standard and the dedicated mainsheet winches. The rig is large enough that a pinhead mainsail will supply ample power even in light winds, but changing the main to a square-top should be relatively easy with
the central mainsheet winch. The sailplan calls for three reefs. ‘The
first reef is taken when sailing upwind at 16-17kts TWS thanks to the high stability of the hull shape,’ Polli explains. ‘The second reef will be taken in combination with the use of the staysail at about 24kts TWS. The third reef will only be needed well above 30kts.’
‘The combination of fine entry and deep forefoot guarantees a very soft ride in head seas’
levels of performance and comfort; with that idea in mind we made some precise choices about the construction of the boat,’ Lostuzzi says. ‘The whole boat is built as a composite sandwich with vacuum infusion to obtain a rigid, lightweight and
Construction The LC version is just 500kg heavier than the Performance version, with identical construction techniques and materials used in both. The emphasis here is on tried-and-tested technologies. ‘The GS72 is a fast cruiser with high
high-quality construction. ‘We decided to use epoxy vinylester resin which has a very good cost-benefit ratio, and also because in the case of dark hull or deck painting it is very resistant to heat, even when post cured at low temperature.’ ‘We opted for E-glass fibres all over the construction with key areas reinforced with unidirectional carbon fibre to improve its rigidity. Again this choice was made to match the characteristics of the design. A full carbon build for sure would be lighter but at the same time much more difficult to soundproof.’
How fast? Polli’s VPP suggests more than 10kts upwind. ‘Reaching is more difficult to state precisely but we can expect to achieve well over 20kts,’ he says. ‘In light wind the boat will be reactive and fun to sail both upwind and reaching, with a target speed of 6.2kts upwind and 7.5kts on a beam reach with 5kts TWS (at 10m height).’ Under power, the standard engine and
The master suite is in the bow, far removed from the noise of the boat’s sailing and hotel systems with a king size berth, large lateral windows and the en suite heads up forward. It’s an ideal arrangement for daysailing between anchorages and general short-range cruising use
tankage should give the Performance version a range of 750nm and the LC version about 900nm. A diesel-electric hybrid option will soon be available. Construction of hull no1 is well under
way and the GS72 is due to make its début – industry-wide supply chain issues permitting – at the Genoa and Cannes Boat Shows this autumn.
www.grandsoleil.net
74 SEAHORSE
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