ARCONA 435, 2019 EUROPEAN BOAT OF THE YEAR

Most would not expect Arcona to win the 2019 boat of the year trophy for performance cruisers but I am glad they won and I think it is a well deserved victory. After some financial instability on the shipyard last year Arcona was bought by Orust Quality Yachts AB, that is now also the owner of Najad and I hope this yacht will contribute to the success of the new management.

Above the 435, below the 430

The previous  boat was the 430, a very fast and good looking boat  with a very nice interior but looking a bit too classic for my taste, mainly in what regards the cabin port lights,  the shape of the hull, specially on the transom and also the bow design.

On this one they have finally made a boat that, without losing the Arcona identity, looks much more modern. not only on the cabin design, with a lot more light coming inside. but also on the transom design that is much more adapted to short crew sailing and will allow a more easy control downwind and on autopilot.

Much better looking and a more efficient sailboat too. A very beautiful yacht still with a bit of a classical taste and I say that not in a negative way because, contrary to most cases, that does not interfere with the boat's sail performance that is a very good one.

The only thing I would like to have seen changed is the shape of the bow that did not follow the evolution on the transom, remaining a bit outdated. I would have liked to see a bit more buoyancy there, not to mention style. the bow looks a lot better with the optional integrated bowsprit.

The changes were all on the right sense and the Arcona remains light, powerful and less beamy than the average, with a great B/D ratio. I will compare it with the Jeanneau SO 440, not because both boats are similar but because the Jeanneau is a kind of benchmark in what regards 44ft mass produced boats and it will help to show the differences.

The hull length and length of the water line on the Arcona and Jeanneau are respectively- 12.64, LWL 12.20 - 12.00m. Regarding beam, Arcona and Jeanneau have: 3.98 - 4.29m. The Arcona is slightly longer and considerably narrower.  The standard draft of the Arcona is just slightly bigger than the one of the Jeanneau, 2.30 to 2.20m. The Arcona can have also a 2.0m or a 2.6m draft.

The Arcona can have two types of keels (T and L) but it comes standard with a maximum efficiency T keel, with a lead torpedo at the end of a steel foil. The Jeanneau can have several drafts but only one type of keel, a well designed L keel but even so less efficient in lowering the CG than the Arcona standard keel. The  Arcona has a much bigger B/D ( 38% - 27%), being the RM maximized by the type of keel and by the superior draft.

The Arcona is slightly heavier (8900 - 8561kg ) but much more than that difference in weight is difference between the two ballasts (1120 kg) meaning that in what regards the weight of both boats without keel, the Arcona is 339 kg lighter.

The Jeanneau, because it is beamier has more form stability but that is compensated in what regards overall stability by the Arcona's bigger mass and lower center of gravity. What will not be compensated by the Jeanneau is the Arcona's much better safety stability, better AVS and smaller inverted stability. Besides that the Arcona will have an all around much better overall performance that will be more noticed in light wind, upwind and will be incomparably better in stronger winds and demanding conditions.

The SA/D and the D/L confirm that, having the Arcona a bigger SA/D (27 - 23.9) and a smaller D/L (135.8 - 137.8). What these numbers don't show is that the Arcona, due to being considerably narrow, but with a similar or bigger stiffness will need less sail area than the Jeanneau to go at the same speed and that will make the difference in speed potential much bigger than the one already indicated by those  ratios.

The Arcona has a sandwich hull having as core 20mm divinycell, all lamination is done with vinylester resins, its vacuum bagged, all bulkheads are laminated to hull and deck and as main structure it has a galvanized steel girder, bolted to the main bulkhead and laminated to stringers. It can also be made fully in carbon and  that will make it a faster and even  stiffer boat, a lighter one too, but that is an expensive option (115 000 euros) and will only make sense for racing since it will increase a lot the noise inside the boat while sailing upwind with waves.

The keel and the the chainplates are connected to the steel structure. In what concerns the Jeanneau the built is much low tech, cheaper and less strong. If you don't know how it is built there is a description on the previous post  (about the Solaris 50).

The interior is of excellent quality and very good taste, a tad classical without looking old. Unfortunately the photos from the shipyard are taken on a boat with blue fabric on seats and cushions and I can tell you that the version with light cream fabric is much nicer and much more luminous (you can see that on the movie).

The interior electrical illumination contributes to make the interior even nicer, it is one of the best I have seen and it comes standard with the boat.

It has a good storage, that could be better because there are no lockers under the cockpit seats, even if it has a big cockpit locker, aft the wheels with access by two hatches, and a huge anchor locker that is subdivided and works also as sail locker. I didn't like the division on that locker, that provides little space for chain but they said that is easily modified.

The Arcona comes standard with a 40hp saildrive Yanmar with a 180L diesel tank and a 300L water tank. In what concerns standard equipment this boat is equipped as all boats should be, with a lot of equipment and a small options list.

Many things that are expensive options on other boats are here standard. It comes standard with 6 Harken winches (2X60 and 4X46), Harken travelers for the genoa and mainsheet, backstay tensioner, 6 mooring cleats, a sprayhood that enters on a "garage", anchor, waterboiler, all portholes come standard with mosquito nets, 6 fenders and  4 mooring lines.

The sails are not included as well as the electronics but it comes with a flexofold propeller. Contrary to other boats the trimming and launching at the yard is not expensive and in a general way the extras are less expensive than in other expensive boats  and some of them make me envious, like an upgrade to have a water cooled refrigerator for 518 euros and an installed and integrated solar panel for 1287 euros.

The standard yacht costs 359 961 euros and a well equipped boat, with about the same equipment (extras) I chose for the Solaris, will cost about 425 000 euros, on the water in Sweden. Considering a 20% VAT it will go to about 510 000 euros, plus transport, in case you will not pick it at the shipyard.

The Solaris 44  has a hull only 15cm longer and it costs 60 000 euro more, with about the same equipment. The Solaris price compared to the one of the Halberg Rassy 44 and the one of the  X 4-6 was quite good and that makes the price of the Arcona 435 even better. 

A great boat at a very nice price and a well chosen boat of the year. The Arcona 435 has been tested by many sail magazines and without exception all test sailors found it a delightful boat to sail: fast, pleasurable and comfortable and that counted a lot in what regards the choice as 2019 boat of the year.

THE BEAUTIFUL SOLARIS 44

The old Solaris 44

One of the most beautiful boats at Dusseldorf was the Solaris 44. I was a bit confused about it before seeing the boat. There is a recent Solaris 44, a 2011 nice design by Soto Acebal and since they had not changed the name I thought that perhaps it was a MKII, with the same hull, a different cabin design and a new interior.

Not so, it is a completely different boat, also designed by Soto and if the old design still looks modern, the new one is just gorgeous. The hulls are very different even if with the same beam. It is impressive the design evolution in only 7 years.

Above the new one, below the old one.

We can see that even if the previous hull cannot be considered an outdated one and the boat still looks very well, the new hull is much more contemporary,  inspired on offshore racers' hulls like the ones on the Volvos and not as on the previous 44, on the traditional line of IRC racers.

This one will certainly be easier to sail fast downwind and easier on autopilot, a better hull for a reduced crew as they are normally on cruising boats.

Both boats have the same beam but on the new one it is brought all to the transom. If we compare it to the one of the Jeanneau SO 440, that is not a beamy boat (the Oceanis is a lot beamier), we will see that the Solaris 44 is narrower than the Jeanneau ( 4.18-4.29m) and that has a bigger water line, (12.71-12.00).

Regarding light displacement the Solaris is heavier ( 9900 - 8561kg) but that 1339 kg difference corresponds practically to the difference in weight between the ballast on the two boats (1320kg) having the Solaris to be built much more strongly to be able to resist the much bigger RM forces generated by extra ballast.

Above the new one, below the old one

Regarding B/D ratio the Solaris has a much bigger one, (36.4% -26.6%) and the RM generated by ballast is substantially increased on the Solaris by a bigger standard draft (2.60 to 2.20m) and a more efficient keel design. Obviously the safety stability and the AVS on the Solaris would be much better than the ones on the Jeanneau SO 44.

Regarding boat power, the superior hull form stability on the Jeanneau will be more than compensated by the big difference on RM generated by the ballast, that is not only much bigger but also much lower, and that makes the Solaris  a more powerful boat. The bigger difference in performance will be in stronger winds, demanding conditions and upwind.

The difference in boat power and stability is expressed on the relation between the sail area and displacement (SA/D) that is higher on the Solaris (26.0-23.9). Curiously the Solaris, even if considerably heavier, due to its  bigger LWL, is proportionally lighter, having a smaller D/L (133.6 - 137.8).

Above the new one, below the old one

In what regards hull building, Jeanneau uses its industrial method of a "contre moule" that is bonded to the monolithic hull while the Solaris uses vacuum infusion on a sandwich hull with airex core and E-glass fibers, with bow and main bulkhead also in sandwich composite (the others bulkheads are in plywood) and the floors and keel structure in a laminate structure with reinforcements in carbon, all strongly laminated to the hull while the bulkheads are laminated to the deck.

Contrary to Solaris little is said about the Jeanneau building methods that are similar to the ones used on Oceanis making vast use of bonding agents, little, if any, lamination in what regards fixing the boat structure or the bulkheads, that are normally  made of plywood. The boat structure is a "contre moule" in the form of a structural grid.

The Solaris, much more expensive to build is also a stronger boat, not only due to the sandwich hull but to the effect of a  structural cage formed by the bulkheads laminated to the hull and deck.

Above the new one, below the old one

I never liked too much  the interior of the previous Solaris 44 version, with all the cabinets in white and with some odd angles. The new one is more traditional, very well finished even if I don't like the standard white oak finish that I saw in Dusseldorf. Finished in teak (option) it would be much nicer.

Nothing fancy, just comfortable, cozy and practical and well designed, I am relatively tall, 1.88m and the ones taller than me may find the interior height a bit on the short side but on Solaris they have chosen to maintain a low windage and a low profile...and there are no miracles. For once they thought first about sailing  and instead of making a huge volume interior that demands a huge freeboard, they made a reasonable dimensioned one, a sailboat's one, not really an apartment like.

It has good storage on the interior and exterior with a considerably sized sail locker, a big stern locker and a cockpit side locker for the liferaft. It has standard 4 winches nicely positioned near the wheels and a self taking jib rail.

The Solaris 44 price seems very nice but it is good to remember that it comes without sails, genoa track, without main traveler, only with 4 winches, none electric, without electronics, without folding propeller, without mounted mast and without transport. The basic price without VAT is 318 900 euros.

The price of extras is expensive and quite probably they will make a substantial discount over them but I took the trouble to have a look at how much would cost a boat equipped for performance cruising, without teak on the deck or cabin ( 22 600 euros), equipped a bit like my own boat, without solar panels but with a bow thruster (that is already justified for this size of boat) and the price is not so nice anymore: 463 413 euros, ready to sail, in the water in Italy but without sails that will cost at least 15 000 euros and much more if they are high quality.

If we add 20% VAT, a Solaris well equipped for performance cruising, but without teak decks, air conditioning or generator, will cost ready to sail and delivered in Italy about 570 000 euros although far less than an Hallberg Rassy, that with more equipment than the standard Solaris 44, but much less than the one optional I am considering for the Solaris, with the same VAT, costs around 624 000 euros. The difference will be considerably bigger if we consider the same equipment.

A Jeanneau SO Odyssey 440 is much less expensive but if we go for the same sail hardware and extras the price will go for 400 000 euros or more. Yes, I had that experience, start to put similar sailing hardware on mass production boat and they still will be less expensive than a quality boat with the same equipment but they will be much more expensive than the standard version, equipped as it was thought, to offer cruising at the lower possible price. And in you sell the boat nobody is giving more money for all that extra equipment.

And of course, the rest you cannot add: the extra power, the extra overall stability, including reserve stability and AVS, the superior seaworthiness, the the much better performance in demanding conditions and better overall performance will always be different, no matter the equipment you put on the Jeanneau as well as the superior built, strength, and finish.

DUSSELDORF 2019

There are many followers asking for my impressions about the boat show and it is more than time to make some comments about it. Let me say that for the ones that really like sailboats Dusseldorf boat show is a bit like Christmas, a yacht Christmas, where one is able to see many new boats, revisit some favorite ones and take the pulse on yacht industry.

Swan 65

The relative importance of bigger cruising yachts has become dominant. Brands chose to expose mainly boats 44 feet and over and the number of exposed cruising boats with 40ft or less is shrinking every year and the few that are there almost pass unnoticed among the bigger ones.

Swan 65, above and below.

What is the explanation? I believe we have to look at the global sailing picture and regarding that it is also true that weekenders and daysailers, some of them quite luxurious, are presented in large number. This probably means that more and more sailors only buy cruising yachts when they retire and before, besides doing charter, they buy much smaller boats to enjoy sailing or week end cruising.

Like on cars and houses, Europeans have become used to travel and live in increasingly bigger spaces and since cruising boats are bought mostly at retirement age (or close) to live considerable time aboard, most cruising boats that are now bought  are 44ft or more. The increase in yacht size has a parallel in the increasing living space in houses.

Nice hull, well finished gelcoat

Of course, not all have the money for a new boat but the ones that can't buy a new 45ft boat prefer to buy one with that size on the used market, than buying a new 37 or 40 ft boat. People become used to living with more space and small cruising boats that were once considered more than enough to live aboard are today considered, by most, cramped and uncomfortable.

V35 Boom traveller and nice wheel

A more unfortunate tendency regards the diminution of the sailing market and the increasing of the motorboat market. In what regards that Dusseldorf boat show is by far the one where that disproportion is smaller but even so, talking with people from brands that produce sailing boats and motorboats, they all say that they are making much more motorboats than sailboats and in many cases they were brands that started doing exclusively sailboats.

Viko 35, agreeable interior

And cruising sailboats are becoming less and less sailboats and more and more 2nd houses that can be moved around and that can also sail.

 They are used for sailing almost exclusively coastally, downwind or on a beam reach and never on demanding conditions and therefore sailboat design follows the trend: the engines have become bigger, money is saved on sailing hardware and on designing boats with low B/D, because that will only be needed to sail upwind or to sail in demanding conditions.

In what concerns saving money in sailing hardware the new Dufour 390 beats some kind of record being equipped standard only with two small winches over the cabin and, as almost all boats now, with a auto-tacking jib, without genoa traveller. On the Dufour, more than in others, they spent all the money on the interior, that is a very nice one.

Solaris 44, above and below

The Dufour 390, as many, comes standard with an auto-tacking jib, a fashion started by Hanse that is now dominant on the market, being standard even on some more expensive boats and sold as the easier way to sail. Yes, maybe it is slightly easier but it is not on that account that they have all changed from a small or medium genoa to a autotacking but because it is cheaper.

Solaris 44, above and below

A genoa is the better overall cruising set up regarding a single frontal sail and the real reason they have changed is because the setup with a jib allows them to save a considerable amount of money.

 A traveller for the auto-tacking jib is less expensive than a bigger genoa track and it allows them to save on two winches and on a standard smaller sail. All put together we are talking about a considerable amount of money.

They will try to sell it to you saying that the jib works very well together with a geenaker for weak winds. 

Arcona 435

But a geenaker to work well needs also two dedicated winches and besides the geenaker does not sail well upwind so in fact you will need a code 0 for that and no way you will have space for those sails on boats that have almost all space turned into interior space, leaving a small storage space. Besides it is way more complicated and way more dificult than working with a big genoa.

Arcona 435

Another thing that has become almost universal is the use of low quality plastic blocks on the mast foot and everywhere, even on 45ft boats, blocks that are rated for 2000kg but that have a lower working load, not to mention the tiny winches.

I am not saying, by any means, that these boats are not well designed, quite the contrary, the hulls are normally very good as well as the interior design and all the rest is aimed at bringing the price as low as possible and that is a correct philosophy because it gives at the best price a boat adapted to the use most users are going to give it. Why should one pay for what one does not use? not to mention the commercial advantage of a lower price.

Sunbeam 46.1

If you belong to the minority that are going to sail more than motoring, that will sail upwind and not only with nice weather, that will sail offshore or cross oceans, then even if you don't know much about boats there is an easy way to see what are the boats that are suited for you: the ones that have a genoa track, six winches ( bigger than the ones of mass market yachts ) and metal or carbon blocks.

Of course it is not enough to make a more seaworthy or better sailing boat but if the boat has all that the chances are it will have a decent B/D, a good hull, a good stability, including the final one and a good AVS. Today almost all the boats are designed by good naval architects so practically all the boats are well designed and what becomes important is to know for what they were designed for, the boat program.

Sunbeam 46.1, above and right

And regarding this new trend of boats where sailing performance is not the main drive it becomes more and more evident the need for one more  RCD class, with stability and safety requirements above class A, to distinguish cruising boats that were designed having sailing as first concern from the others and this because those differences regard not only sail performance upwind and in bad weather but the degree of boat safety and seaworthiness. I will make a post about this soon.

Maxus 24

Maxus 24, below and above

These are the new boats I found more interesting: the Swan 65, certainly costs a fortune but if you have a fortune to spend, what a boat! Absolutely beautiful, being also practical, fast and with a cozy interior, nothing fancy or fashionable like on the Oysters of the same size, just very adapted to be used while sailing, well designed and impeccably finished with good taste all around.

The Viko 35 surprised me with a very agreeable interior with a nice design and reasonable finish I was not expecting so much, taking into consideration the price. Sure, the sail hardware and the boom are not properly top of the shelf and I certainly would not consider it (as standard) for nothing more than coastal cruising but that is what 90% of the sailors do.

Hallberg Rassy 340

The Solaris 44 is a gorgeous boat, well finished, with a good layout and at an interesting price, for the quality. They said to me that they are making an effort to keep the price on this boat specially low, expecting to sell a lot of them. Of course I would change things that would increase the price, like the horrible color of the wood, a genoa track and two more winches, but even so if we compare with an Halberg Rassy 44, a lower price and a faster boat, with more storage even if not with so much interior space.

HR 340, above and right

The Arcona 435, also beautiful in a different way, maybe more cozy and just a bit more classical on the interior design (and I don't say this in a negative way). This one comes already with 6 winches and a genoa track but with a chain locker not very adapted to cruising, one that takes little chain. But it is easily modifiable and they say that it would not be a problem to do it. This one comes with plastic blocks on the mast, so it would cost a bit to better the sail hardware.

The Sunbeam 46.1 is also very nice but again in a different way, not as fast, with a big keel whose design I did not like so much, but besides that an almost perfect boat with a very good cruising interior, very well finished, lots of storage and a very interesting integrated spraywood with multiple possibilities in what regards protection and ventilation. It comes with 6 winches and a genoa track but with plastic blocks on the mast, the only thing that needs to be changed. An interesting price too.

Hallberg Rassy 57

The Maxus Evo 24 was a surprise, with a much better hull design than previous models, very good interior with possibility of having a marine bowl (standard a chemical one).

It can have an interior engine but I would not do it because it would ruin the interior. They have a version with a swing keel that is a class C boat but two more interesting versions that make class B, one with a fixed keel another with a bi-keel. Nice little boat, certainly not very fast but offering a great cruising potential in a very agreeable space, being easily trailerable, all at a very good price.

Hallberg Rassy 57

The Hallberg Rassy 340 is a lovely boat with everything to please those that don't need a lot of space to live. The interior is cozy, with a classical flavour, very well finished except on the sliding cabinet doors, that could be nicer. Lots of storage for a 34 ft boat and the potential and seaworthiness to sail offshore without problems or fears.

The Hallberg Rassy 57 is also a great yacht but has proportionally less storage when a dinghy is in the garage. Apart from it and a small imperfection on the finish of one of the hatches, a very beautiful boat with a great hull and a great stability. The interior is very comfortable, in the traditional modern/classical taste, the galley is perfect to work while sailing and the technical compartiment of the boat is huge.

Continuing with big yachts the XP 55, the Solaris 55  the Grand Soleil 52 and the Euphoria 54 are all very beautiful yachts. The XP 55, offering cruiser-racer performance, has an interior that is simply unbelievable in such a fast boat, first rate finish, great design and a cruising comfort of the highest level.

The Solaris 55, only slightly bigger than the 50, offers a much better interior, with a touch of Italian luxury design that makes it easily distinguishable. Lovely boat.

The Grand Soleil 52 offers also a very good finish, a very well designed interior but not so outrageously chic even if as comfortable. Very well thought in what regards cruising, slightly less fast but offering a proportionally bigger interior, specially in what regards standing height.

The Euphoria 54 seems narrower and longer when in fact it is not, maybe due to its more classical hull shape with a narrower transom. It has the feeling of a mini maxi yacht, with a very beautiful well designed interior.

Xp 55, Solaris 55, GS 52LS and Euphoria 54

 The choice will be dificult except if one likes to sail a bit faster and in a more sportive way, than the choice will be between the XP and the Solaris, but the two others are far from being slow yachts. Off course price will be an important factor even if we are talking here about boats that cost a million or more.

X 4-3

As you can see the choice between yachts between 50 and 60ft has become huge and difficult for the ones that have the means for such an option.

 These boats come fully equipped with electric systems that will power everything and are commanded from the steering wheel. That allows them to be sailed by a couple with sailing experience but in reality all of them come with a huge sail locker that is also a cabin crew with wc and all and I bet that very few of these boats will be sailed without one or two paid crew men.

X 4-6

X 4-3 above, below X 4-6

Back to more reasonable sizes to be sailed exclusively by a couple, the X 4-3, the X 4-6 and the X 4-9 are all very well designed boats with a well finished and well designed cruising interior.

Maybe the one that I found more balanced was the 4-6 that has a very good storage space and seems just the right size to sail comfortably solo. Unfortunately if you want to have 6 winches you have to pay for two of them as well as for a genoa track.

Of course, it is all thought and prepared to have those equipments mounted and the boat does not come with all that to be cheaper on its standard version. Curiously the smaller boat, the X 4-3 still comes standard with all that...but it seems that they are going to change it, for obvious reasons.

X 4-6

Regarding interesting boats that left me a bit disappointed, let's start with the Bente 39. Certainly a very nice hull with a low displacement, but with an interior made of painted plywood, I would say much nicer on the photos than in reality. 

Another thing I did not like were all the doors banging without any way to fix them or the very uncomfortable raised seat. They say that they will take care of that later. But what left me more disappointed was the price. The version I saw, with carbon mast and rig but apart from that nothing special except good sail hardware costs (with VAT) 380 000 euros. So much for an inexpensive fast boat!

Bente 39

The Oceanis 46.1, boat of the year and all, has an average interior and although with a good galley, had not a great finish neither looked very agreeable or comfortable. The Sun Odyssey 440 seemed better finished all around and gives a better feeling, although I prefer the Oceanis galley. 

Bente 39, below and above

Both boats have very nice hulls, being the one of the Sun Odyssey narrower and both have a relatively low B/D, even if the one of the Sun Odyssey is considerably better. 

Jeanneau SO 410

Certainly boats with a relatively low AVS and a not very good reserve stability, especially in what regards the Oceanis.

Finally the Faurby 460, that I was expecting with a lot of interest, was a bit of a deception due to a well done and very well finished interior but not a very well designed one. Not that it was that bad but the smaller Faurby are among the boats with a more beautiful interior, in a classic way.

 I cannot say the same about the big brother. Did not like also the huge transom, not in beam but in height. A pity because I do love the smaller Faurby and I was expecting this one to be as beautiful as them. I am sure it is a very well built boat and fine sailing yacht for the ones that like narrow boats.