Saturday, November 15, 2014

TRUE BOAT PORN VERSUS JEANNEAU 64 / AMEL 55 / HR 62

This was to be a post about the new Jeanneau 67, the flagship of Jeanneau but then something changed on my mind and I decided to make something different and more vast. Let's first have a look at the Jeanneau 67, on a test by Yachting world:
Nice boat, isn't it? or should I say nice yacht? and before you start to think that this  yacht is only for a few let me tell you that Jeanneau sold in the last years 800 sailboats between 53 and 57 feet. Push pull technologies allowed this size of boats the ability to be solo sailed, dispensing a crew, but giving all comfort in sea motion, added safety and living space, that only a true big yacht can offer. This one costs about a bit more than a million euros and on this department, meaning with people able to own such a boat and pay the huge costs of maintenance and marina, money is not all that important and probably this boat will be competing with the Amel 55 and Halberg Rassy 62, all interesting boats with the same high technology that allows them to be sailed solo. All very  easy and practical boats. Continuing with YachtyingWorld tests, let's have a look at those two:
Yes, all very practical, not properly beautiful but very comfortable and seaworthy. If they were women we would say that they would not call much attention, they would not be sexy, a bit too fat, they would cook very well and were nice to go along. All very nice but hardly exciting, maybe a quiet love but not a true passion and a torrid affair. That will only happen with a true beauty, a sexy lady that would turn your head around and would make you noticed and envied everywhere you went. Only one of those will be able to raise true passions and an irrational desire. Not as comfortable to live along, as the first fat lady, but one that will give you more pleasure and will make you feel truly alive. If we were talking about boats we would be talking about these ones: Many call them boat porn. I don't like the denomination, it seems there is something dirty about them. What is the problem to prefer a gorgeous sexy woman to a fat but very nice lady? What has that to do with Porn? So from now on no more porn boats, but sexy boats. They can do the same as the fatter ones, faster, more uncomfortably and on a more passionate way. For some the passion that can be translated by hours at the wheel, enjoying every moment, will be very disagreeable to others, that would prefer the boat on autopilot and will want a more sedate motion than the one of  a boat going way faster, with spray flying around from time to time.
So, if you have some millions to spend on a boat, take your pick...and if you don't.... take  your pick anyway because this thing about sexy yachts versus comfortable yachts does not happen only in big boats: we can make this comparison with any cruiser size, even if the big ones are the sexiest and more beautiful ;-).

7 comments:

  1. If I really wanted to buy a boat that size, I'd always still opt for the HR or amel, oyster or whatever.

    They're very good at what they do I think, they can provide 'home'.

    Those other boats are for posing.

    Love your site, one of my bookmarks now. Was a shame about all the forum nonsense because it was really good when the 'community' feel was there. I hope it ends up the same here.

    Regards

    Grant

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    1. Thanks Grant,

      Yes I agree that the fatter ones :-) will give a better home, but not all live on a boat all the time and some would prefer a Ferrari to a Mercedes, even if the Mercedes has a lot more space and kind of makes more sense to do the things a car is used to. But then there is the pleasure of driving and owning a beautiful thing and what is live without those pleasures?
      I understand what you mean but I disagree that the others are just for posing. If they were only for posing they would be only looks...but no, they will smoke any of the fat boats and that's not posing it is sailing better ;-)

      Regards

      Paulo

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    2. Hi Grant,

      I don't want to spend more than a weekend onboard, and most of the time I sail close to the yacht club and sleep at home, then a boat prepared to do a transatlantic trip have no sense for me. My dreamed boat is a daysailer very fast full of carbon fiber and racing sails, but I want to sail with just 2 or 3 friends, not a full professional crew.

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  2. I'm sure that they are very fast boats. I'd love to sail one. I'm currently living aboard so that may be why I'm thinking along these lines.

    The 'thin' ones don't have enough creature comforts for me, there is something stark and uninviting about the interiors.

    This is all hilarious as I'll never be able to afford any of them, so why torture myself looking at them :P I just can't help it.

    Give me the hull and keel of a Pogo, but the interior of a HR or Sweden. I'd never ask for anything ever again!

    Grant

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    1. The closest thing regarding that is a Wauquiez Opium 39:
      http://www.wauquiez.com/en/opium/opium-39
      They had plans to do a bigger boat on that concept but it seems they given up.
      There is an used one for sale here:
      http://www.diamond-yachts.de/deliver.php?id=348

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  3. I think for real passages, the porm boats are totally inadequate. They are great for week end sailors and will outshine the others in the marina. Otherwise, they are useless for the money. I would not take one out on long voyage.

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    1. Week end sailors? Marinas? They will outshine most boats SAILING, if they are good porn LOL...and it is about sailing we are talking about.

      Many of these boats do the med season and the Caribbean season and that's what they owners want. Certainly they are not designed for cold climates but their owners are not interesting in freezing on remote places, just in having fun sailing and live on a comfortable and nice interior on "civilized places".

      There are tastes for everything but calling these boats weekend sailing boats does not make sense. Personally I would not mind :-) to have an Aureus XV. Look at what his concept designer says about the medium displacement boats compared with Aureus, in what regards long range cruising. I agree with him:
      http://blog.aureus-yacht.com/light-vs-heavy-displacement-monohulls-offshore-sailing/

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