Design
Matteo Polli explains his design
The GS52 is the latest model in the Performance range of the yard and the underpinning goals set on the design brief were mostly in line with the GS40 and GS44, although the reference set with the glorious previous GS52 designed by German Frers placed a fair amount of pressure on the design team. Seaworthiness, elegance, performance are the three main aspects we needed to conjugate in a modern style. Normally, the larger the size the broader is the range of use so in conceiving the naval architecture of this new GS52 I have tried to put more emphasis on characteristics that allow blue water cruising and trans-ocean passages in a sporty, high-performance mode. The hull lines share the style and functionality of the other models in the range, while the overall volume distribution is relatively different especially underwater. Bow sections are deeper and more flared in the topsides, entries are finer, softening the ride in head seas and keeping the deck drier. All adding up to a perfect equilibrium between speed, feel on the helm and comfort. The appendages and sailplan have
been designed following the same philosophy, especially reducing wetted surface vs sail area as much as possible while keeping high the controllability in difficult situations and the fun of sailing. As on the other models, there are different options that allow to mode the boat for individual specific use ranging from a pure cruising mode to a more performance/racing oriented setup. Initial tests on water are proving the
main goals have been achieved but of course I really look forward to seeing the boat in a racing environment.
78 SEAHORSE
come at the expense of speed in light airs – a crucially important factor for the enjoyment of a yacht that’s frequently overlooked. Whether you are sailing in the Mediterranean or in more northerly parts of Europe and the UK, in mid-summer light winds predominate around half of the time. Therefore, a cruising yacht that can't perform well in light airs may spend an inordinate amount of time motor- sailing when on passage. By contrast, a vessel designed with a low wetted surface area and equipped with an appropriate sailplan can sail at almost the true wind speed on many points of sail in as little as four to eight knots of breeze. That's a game changer for many
owners and one that helps keep families engaged in the kind of bright and sunny weather that makes for some of the most memorable days afloat. But what about the other end of the spectrum? The combination of wide beam and the soft chines aft mean that form stability builds rapidly as the boat starts to heel. This gives the Grand Soleil 52 Performance an enormously powerful hull shape that copes with heavy weather far better than older and narrower hull shapes.
The Performance model variant has an easily-handled deck plan with four winches Of course this is not just about hull
design and form stability. The standard configuration has a hefty keel bulb married to a 2.9m (9ft 7in) draught, which exerts a considerable righting moment as the boat starts to heel. There are also options for 2.3m (7ft 8in) and 2.7m (8ft 1in) – the latter option being optimised for ORC-draught keels. Given the dominance of twin rudders
among successful short-handed racing designs including Imoca 60s, Class 40s and even smaller JPKs over the past three decades, it might be easy to assume a single rudder will always compromise handling. While this was the case for many of the early wide-transom yachts, the reality today is very different. Single rudder designs have continued
to be refined,most notably in circles such as the TP52 fleet. Today, whenmounted well forward and therefore clear of the disturbed water near the transom, a single rudder can be extremely powerful even at high angles of heel. Unlike twin rudder boats, a single rudder design doesn’t need a wide waterline beamaft that increases the hull’s wetted surface area and therefore saps speed in light winds.
A single rudder design doesn’t need a wide waterline beam that saps speed in light winds
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