Design
A new name but a formidable heritage
The Arcona 435 has been racking up silverware since its launch in 2018 but the recent addition of One Ton Cup-winning designer Niels Jeppesen has elevated a prestigious 40-year-old brand to another level entirely
There’s a chance that you won’t have heard of Arcona Yachts and even if you have, you still might struggle to describe them. After all, this is a company that has enjoyed 40 years of success, but where much of it has been conducted away from the international spotlight. It is a company that has never set its primary goal as winning races and yet has delivered some impressive results nonetheless. It’s also a company that has produced nearly 1,000 boats in 40 years and has achieved cult status among those who have discovered the marque. But the focus of attention right now is the news that the co-founder of one of the biggest names in performance production boatbuilding and a former competitor has joined forces with Arcona. For Swedes, the fact that he’s a Dane may raise a wry smile, but to the rest of us Niels Jeppesen’s achievements with X-Yachts, the company he co-founded, along with his reputation on the racecourse, means that his views get taken seriously.
So, if you hadn’t heard of Arcona, that is about to change. Since she first slipped into the water in 2018 the Arcona 435 has attracted a good deal of attention as a design that
58 SEAHORSE
delivers far more than her modest, elegant and sleek looks might suggest. Interestingly, even the brochure provides few clues as to what really makes her tick with no mention of her race-winning attributes or setup.
Instead, while her traditional layout and style below decks with her beautifully finished Khaya mahogany interior is that of a cruiser, the message on deck is subtly different. From the windward sheeting car for the mainsheet to in-haulers on the jib sheets, soft shackles on the halyards and deck organisers to allow you to cross sheet halyards and control lines in the pit along with plenty more examples, she is far more the racer/cruiser. On the other hand, a fixed bowsprit with its anchor garage, a spray dodger moulding in the coachroof and a cockpit table that rises out of the floor are details that suggest something quite different. Dig a little deeper into her specification and you’ll find that this is a cruiser that is available with a carbon hull and rig. And then, when you take the helm you’ll discover a 43-footer with the silky smooth, well balanced feel of a grand prix racer. Those who know the brand well will
Above: like every other boat they’ve built, Arcona Yachts’ flag- ship 465 is a quintessential sailor’s yacht with perfect balance and great helm response. Built entirely in carbon and packed with performance- enhancing features, this so-called cruiser has logged speeds in excess of 24kts and won far more than its fair share of regattas
tell you that these are familiar characteristics of the range that was designed by the late Stefan Qviberg. And yet the company has recently gone through a series of key changes in its management with Urban Lagnéus taking over the reins as the new CEO. On the face of it, not something that might seem especially newsworthy outside the marine business sector, but his personal background and his route to the role suggests a career path that almost emulates the dual personality of the Arcona Yachts themselves. A racing sailor from an early age, he started in a Mirror dinghy before working his way up to representing Sweden in the 470 at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. ‘I raced a 470 for 12 years with Magnus Lundgren. We had some good successes and were often in the top 10 in the world, but we couldn’t quite get a world championship win,’ he said. ‘Fifth was our best result at the world championship, but we did win the World Cup in both 1991 and 1992.’ Today, Lagnéus and Lundgren’s partnership afloat continues aboard a J/70 for the Swedish National League but their story ashore is also one that has endured for more than 40 years.
HENRIK TRYGG
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