Design Don’t jump to conclusions
Just because an extremely quick multihull sailor decides to spend some time checking out the cruising lifestyle does not mean for a moment that they have any intention of slowing down...
What sort of boat does a high- performance sailing connoisseur choose when it’s time to go cruising? Gunboat’s mission is to fill that particular niche; it drove the luxury performance segment of the multihull market and has raised the bar significantly with its latest model, the Gunboat 68.
The owner of the third 68 launched is an international businessman with a wealth of offshore and inshore racing experience including the Mini- Transat and Solitaire du Figaro, six Bol d’Or wins and two M2 Speed Tour victories on Lake Geneva, plus recent forays into foiling multihull racing in the Flying Phantom Ultimate and A-Cat classes. He also runs and manages Team Tilt, a Swiss sailing squad with current Olympic and GC32 campaigns. For a sailor of this calibre, even in long-distance cruising mode, a full carbon rocket ship is required. It’s easy to gauge the success of a straight-up racing catamaran: it’s all about boatspeed and regatta results. It’s more complex for a semi-custom cruiser-racer. Speed and wins are obviously important but there’s a wide range of other considerations, one of which is the versatility of the platform. That’s why Gunboat puts so much emphasis on getting the key design and engineering decisions absolutely right at the start of the development process for a new model. For the 68, Gunboat created a
76 SEAHORSE
series of tightly interwoven design loops involving its own build team, naval architects VPLP, designers Patrick Le Quément and Christophe Chedal Anglay, and key external suppliers. Rather than designing in the usual broad strokes, the designers were asked to work with far greater attention to detail, creating exact 3D models of everything. All equipment and systems were ideally positioned and fully integrated, all cable runs were optimally routed and two fully engineered rig packages were created before the build of the first boat began.
The hull structure is designed to handle the differently distributed tack and halyard loads of both rig packages, using either cabled or cable-less sails to give owners a lot of flexibility. And so on, with unusual attention to every detail. The result is a remarkably versatile platform that allows buyers to place the cursor precisely where they want it in terms of performance, complexity, comfort and luxury while retaining the reliability and efficiency of a semi- custom build.
The first three owners took this versatility in different directions: 6801 is the ultimate grand tourer with all performance, equipment and luxury options ticked; 6802 is a pure performance cruiser; and 6803 is a racing sailor’s idea of the ideal
Vast expanses of luxurious living space with perfect ergonomics and sightlines throughout, grand prix performance potential and a safe, smooth ride in rough
seas. Thatʼs cruising, Gunboat
style. One of the most remarkable things about the 68 is the stiffness of the platform
cruiser, built and fitted out with a greater focus on weight saving than the previous two. Gunboat’s chief operating officer William Jelbert manages this process with a focus on weight savings and build quality that’s on par with the best grand prix race builds.
‘Whenever we discussed an option with the owner of 6803, he wanted to know how much it would weigh,’ Jelbert says. ‘We avoided the weight of a genset by using maximum solar and regeneration instead, feeding the latest generation of batteries.’ Gunboat has created a tool to help owners evaluate various features of the boat, their impact on energy requirements in different scenarios (sailing, at anchor and so on), and make educated decisions on amenities, systems design and redundancy. More weight was saved through smart decisions by the owner, such as fitting air conditioning in the hulls but not in
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
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