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We can see that even if the previous hull cannot be considered an outdated one and the boat still looks very well, the new hull is much more contemporary,  inspired on offshore racers' hulls like the ones on the Volvos and not as on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

NEW FIRST 53: KIND OF A DISAPPOINTMENT

First 53

The First 53 does not look ugly, the technical characteristics are not bad, it just isn't innovative or particularly nice and there is nothing special about the design. It seems that I had already seen that design somewhere, some years ago. I was hoping for more.

Maybe my expectations, after Beneteau acquisition of Sam Manuard designed line of Seascape yachts (to rename them First)  have become too high. I thought that First was back to the glory days when their boats were cruiser-racers, cutting edge designs, very fast boats, able to win major races, designed by some of the best racing yacht naval architects.

Ice 52

And that is the case with Sam Manuard (Seascape designer) that after having designed winning boats on the minis and class 40 is now designing an IMOCA or Pascal Conq, Guillaume Verdier, Nivelt-Muratet or Marc Lombard, all with a big experience designing very fast and winning sailing boats.

But instead they have chosen Roberto Biscontini and Lorenzo Argento, that certainly have done some interesting work but are not specialists with a proven record in cruiser-racing or racing yachts (no matter the very specific team work of Biscontini on America's cup yachts) and are minor designers if compared with the ones that I have mentioned above. Strange choice, maybe because Gianguido Girotti, managing director of the brand, in charge of product strategy is Italian.

Ice 52

I suspect that they were chosen mostly due to the previous experience of Lorenzo Argento with Wally luxury yachts and that gives a hint about what this boat is aimed at: not the cruiser-racer market but the luxury performance cruiser market that is dominated by boats like Grand-Soleil or Solaris.

The dimensions are average for this type of boat with the exception of the B/D, that is smaller and the beam, that is bigger.

Xp 55

Contrary to what is usual the ballast will be the same on the standard version, with a 2.5m draft and on the optional long keel version, with 3.0. If the 29% B/D is slightly below average with the optional long keel (3.0m) it is on the low side on the standard version, in comparison to the one on other yachts on this segment.

Contrary to what happens on the Oceanis 46.1 on this boat you will have two versions, not only with more sail or a bigger mast, but with that and different RM and sail power. For giving you a better idea of this yacht's characteristics let's compare the dimensions of the First 53 with three different yachts on the same market segment, the Ice 52, the Xp 55 and the Solaris 55.

Xp 55

The First 53 has a 15.97m hull length, the Ice 52 15,80, the Xp 55 16.76 and the Solaris 55 16.70. The First 53 has 4.99m beam, the Ice 42 4.65, the Xp 55 4.77, and the Solaris 55 4.85m .

The First 53 light displacement is 15 500kg, the Ice 52 12 500, the Xp 55 16 800 and the Solaris 55 17.600kg.

The First keel will be almost for sure a high performance T keel like the ones of the Ice and Xp and its B/D is 29% for a 2.5 draft (3.0 optional) while the Ice 52 has a 37% B/D for a 2.45m draft (2.85 optional) the Xp 55 has a 2.85m draft (2.50 and 3.20m optional) for a 39% B/D and the Solaris 55 has 37%

Solaris 55

As we can see nothing very exciting about the First that is the beamier yacht and the one with less B/D. It is also the one with more hull form stability but due to the difference in B/D certainly not the more powerful one, quite probably the opposite even if on the optional version with 3.0m it should be a fine sailing yacht.

Bottom point, unlike on the past when the First compared to the Oceanis were lighter boats with a narrower and very different type of hull, with a considerably bigger B/D, the First 53 seems to have the same type of beamy hull, similar to the ones of the best Oceanis series (like the 46.1), probably with slighter finer entries, with a very slight diminution in displacement and with a slightly bigger B/D.

Solaris 55

The First 53, compared to the Oceanis, will probably have a higher quality cruising interior and will be an overall high specs and more expensive yacht, a better sailing boat and that includes being slightly faster too but also having a better stability, including a better safety stability.

Beneteau, on the information note about the First 53 gives some hints that corroborate what I say: "Beneteau intends to restore the sailing prestige on which the brand's reputation was built... Beneteau is reinventing the legendary First range with a beautiful yacht, matching the desires of new customers who enjoy luxury high-performance yachting".