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It’s a gift


A boat starts with a design brief, so what was the brief for the new CNB 66? ‘Put simply,’ explains her naval architect Philippe Briand, ‘I was asked to design the best semi- custom 60ft production boat in the world’. But that wasn’t all. CNB’s stunningly sleek 66ft performance cruiser was to be the biggest yacht that could be easily be handled by a couple or family without the need for extra crew. It also had to be a capable, comfortable blue water cruiser that offers a good lifestyle for her owners and safe but exciting to sail. As for its appearance, the silhouette of the design was to be kept as clean as possible. Finally, Philippe has his own personal personal brief: ‘I’m a sailor, a boat has to look elegant’. Construction Navale Bordeaux (CNB) was founded more than 30 years ago in 1987, based in a historic shipyard on the “right bank” of the Garonne River, south of the rolling vine-clad hills of the region’s wineries. The shipyard has produced many notable yachts. Its first, the 92ft Frers aluminium cutter Mari-Cha II, was an instant classic while the largest was the 117ft Hamilton II commissioned for Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan. For 20 years, if you wanted CNB quality, a one-off fully custom aluminium yacht was the only option. Then, about a decade or so ago, CNB noticed that its clients’ needs were changing so it evolved with them. Not all clients wanted to wait three


64 SEAHORSE


Philippe Briand explains how you can combine sleek, minimalist contemporary lines with a massive interior volume Designed to


years for a new boat to be custom- designed and built for them. While custom one-off yachts are still available, a semi-custom GRP yacht offers a shorter delivery time at less cost. Price and speed of delivery aren’t the only benefits. The design, build and ancillaries are already well-proven so there is also greater reliability – especially in the first year after delivery, which is a rite of passage that all owners of new full- custom yachts have to experience. Rather than fabricated aluminium, CNB’s usual material of construction, the CNB66 and CNB76 both have strong, lightweight, vacuum-infused GRP hulls built in-house by CNB. No part of the build is outsourced. CNB has its own design department and the hulls, decks, carpentry and stainless steel work are all produced in-house. This enables CNB to control and maintain the quality one expects from a shipyard that was born creating superyachts.


The hull are moulded in the usual way but left free from bulkheads. The interior is made outside of the hull in five accommodation “modules”. Building outside enables access from all directions when constructing the module, making the process more efficient and enabling a higher standard of build quality and finish. All the CNB carpenters need is close to hand and they are not competing with their colleagues for construction space in the confines of a hull. Conduits, cables and pipework are added to the bare hull, as is the


be the largest blue water cruiser which an experienced sailing couple can manage safely by themselves, without


professional crew, the CNB66 has a remarkably sleek and elegant


silhouette for a yacht with such huge interior volume


ducting for the air conditioning system. Once the modules are completed they are craned into exact position, where they are bonded and laminated in place. With all five modules in place the deck is bonded and laminated to the hull to make a strong and stiff boat. CNB’s 66 and 76 are both built using this method and while the yard only offers these two models, there is wide variety in the ways both yachts can be laid out for their owners and adapted to fit the purpose they have in mind for the boat. The CNB 76 was launched in 2013 and aimed at owners who want a stylish long-distance cruiser with the option to race. It was conceived to be managed and sailed by a professional crew. In contrast, the CNB 66 is focused on the owner- skipper. Typical CNB 66 owners will sail as a couple or with their family and enjoy the privacy and freedom of sailing without a paid crew. So while both yachts share the same design ethos they are designed to be used in different ways.


When designing the CNB 66, Briand spoke to owners of similar- sized yachts to find out how they used their boats – asking them where they are on board and what they are doing every hour of the day. Whether it was going for a refreshing morning swim before taking a shower and sitting with the family having breakfast, what feeling they wanted from the sailing, even down to their favourite spot on the boat for


NICOLAS CLARIS/MENTION OBLIGATORE


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