The collaboration between FelciYacht Design and Cantiere delPardo has a long history. It is now15 years since Umberto Felcidesigned the GS70, the Italianyard’s custom flagship produced fora German customer. In 2002, incollaboration with Rolf Vrolijk, wealso designed both the GS45Cruiser and the successful GS44Performance Cruiser, which kick-started a string of similar designsthat for many years dominated IMSracing, winning several Europeantitles. After the GS45, in 2003 wedesigned the GS50, working withFrench designer Patrick Roseò.

So after so many years we werepleased to return to work withCantiere del Pardo, this time withanother great studio, Nauta Design.Our task involved the navalarchitecture of the new Grand Soleil58 Performance, a fast-cruiserdesigned and built to the highestproduction standards.

We tried to create an efficienthull that was able to accomplish thedifficult task of sailing fast but thatwas also easy, safe, comfortable tohandle and, last but not least, withgenerous internal volume.

When we approach a project for aso-called fast-cruiser yacht we haveto first look at the compromisesthat will always be necessary in amulti-purpose boat of this type. Thisis a matter of sensitivity, balanceand a good feel for the client’sobjectives more than just a matterof numbers and science.

In the intervening years since welast worked with this yard we havedesigned several yachts of a similarconcept from 45 to 80ft. I think wehave sharpened our abilities in thissector but you must still remainflexible as each client has his ownpriorities. I like to imagine that the‘race’ or ‘speed’ factors sit on oneside of the equation and ‘cruising’or ‘comfort’ factors on the other. In

fact, the understanding of what aclient really wants is sometimesthe hardest part of the process.

If the race capabilities are centralto a project, then more effort will beput into hull and appendagerefinement. If an elegant,comfortable cruiser is the goal thenother factors take on at least equalimportance. But you also know thatmost customers want the samedream in every area; we are oftenasked to deliver maximum speedtogether with maximum comfort!And this was rather the case withthe GS58... our brief was for thefastest and most stylish and mostcomfortable yacht of its type…

To define the hull shape webegan with a study of our CFDdatabase looking at the potentialdifferences in performancesbetween chined and rounded hulls,analysed by equalising the main hullparameters including volume, LCBposition and especially equalising

Sleek as ever

46 SEAHORSE

Umberto Felci’s new Grand Soleil 58 design does a nice job deliveringperformance plus contemporary styling typical of a much larger yacht

Clearly working verywell together,UmbertoFelci, NautaDesign andthe Cantieredel Pardo shipyard havecome up witha stylish new58-footer thatdoes a prettypassableimpression ofa much largercontemporaryyacht… thosefamous wordsWally-Styleeven spring tomind. Nobodyis calling€860,000cheap, buttake a look at the cost ofsome similarsized rivals…

the righting moment at 20°.Due to the small performance

differences between thecandidates analysed, the yard’sdecision was to stay with aconventional round-bilge hull in theclassic Grand Soleil style. Thatsaid, we had to accommodate awide range of boat and keelweights due to the options thatwould be on offer. To allow thisflexibility without hurtingperformance a traditional hull wasmade a bit narrower at thewaterline and deeper in profile. Thefinal hull has generous volumesproviding plenty of space inside.

The balance between the widthof the canoe body and its depth isfundamental to a project like thisone. We needed the saloon floor tobe high for good visibility and lightand of generous area. But we alsoneeded to control beam waterlinein order not to overly increaseresistance. I consider this ratio thereal key factor with this kind of hull,so we undertook a specific analysisto identify the correlation betweenhull resistance and internal volume.

Three keel configurations areavailable: a shallow draft keel(2.45m), a deep draft keel (2.90m)and a ‘race keel’ with a draft of3.15m, manufactured in high-modulus stainless steel with aCNC-machined bulb.Umberto Felci, Garda

SEAHORSE 47

Above: bendyour knees alittle and it’seasy to convinceyourself thatyou are at thehelm of thelatest dualpurpose MiniMaxi… Godown belowand the illusion mightcontinue. The GS58 is avery long wayfrom a typicalproductionyacht of thissize with theemphasisvery much on creating amid-sized ‘bigboat’ ratherthan a smallerdesign thathas beenover-fertilisedin order tocram in asmany beds as possible. Most certainly‘a looker…’

Sleek by natureWith the new Grand Soleil 58Performance Cantiere del Pardo istrying to increase its grip on asector of the market in which theItalian brand has been strong fordecades: racing in style.

The first public display of theboat was a true grandezza, centre-stage at the 2016 Cannes YachtingFestival on Quai Saint-Pierre, where,painted in the deepest, hottest andmost lustrous black imaginable,she drew an impressive crowd.

Just a year ago the yard hadbroadened its range with the 46 LC(‘Long Cruise’), aimed at the comfyend of the mid-sized luxury market.She won European Yacht of theYear, boosting sales as well asconfidence at Cantiere del Pardo –which had changed ownership andmanagement a couple of timessince 2010 but now seems to beback in calmer waters.

The Grand Soleil 58 Performanceis intended to sharpen the brand’sprofile in its core market of fastcruiser-racers. Before the first boatwas completed four owners hadpaid their deposit; a further sevenboats have been sold since withplenty more serious enquiries. As aresult the yard is now restructuringits build process just to keep upwith demand. ‘We were prettystunned by the initial popularity ofsuch a big boat,’ acknowledgedgeneral manager Fabio Planamente.

Cantiere del Pardo left nothing tochance. They put together a strongall-Italian team of designers. Alongwith Umbert Felci and Nauta Designthey brought back Marco Lostuzzi,who had previously helped createthe popular GS46 LC.

‘We have produced more than200 boats of around 50ft in thepast 20 years,’ says Planamente.‘We have a big database and so wetalked to many of our customersabout their expectations of a

modern performance cruiser.’ Not surprisingly, the feedback

highlighted a somewhatcontradictory wish for beauty, powerand sailing performance… as wellas generous cruising amenities.‘Owners have grown older,’ saysPlanamente. ‘They still want to sailfast but they are no longer willing togive up their comforts… In fact,they want more of them.’

So when you step onboard thenew GS58 you will certainly not feelas if you are on a raceboat. Butdon’t be mistaken – more than 80 per cent of the modern interioris veneered foam sandwich, themain bulkheads are composite andthe structural hull grid is alsopredominantly carbon.

Deck layout is split into twoparts. There is a guest section aftof the companionway, behind whichis the control centre of the boatwith winches plus a piano ofstoppers. Aft again are twopedestals. The set-up keeps thecompanionway clear of all ropesand hardware, also maximising theclean visuals of this new yacht.

Grand Soleil offers the GS58 in avariety of flavours. The base boat isan all-rounder. But with a generousoptions list you can customise it totaste – from ORC or IRC-optimisedracer with tall carbon rig and deeperkeel to a full-on luxury toy with air-conditioning, generator, dishwasherand multiple fridges…

We sailed a model a notch or twoup from the standard boat in termsof power, but not with the maximumperformance possible. It came withcarbon rig and membrane sails,with a big Code 0. Sailing any luxury58-footer at 8.5kt in 8-10kt of windat 90° TWA is still something of anovelty to this sailor. With 11-12ktTWS you are quickly up to 9.5kt. Ifyou are looking for a boat perfectlysuited for Mediterranean conditionsthis may be it.

With the 58 Performance you donot just get Grand Soleil’s latestracer-cruiser, you also get a ticketto a GS58 circuit to be launched in2017, hooking the class into five of the most iconic Mediterraneanregattas including the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

My friends at Seahorse tell methat Cantiere del Pardo is alreadyworking on a scaled-down andsouped-up 48ft version of the 58,due to launch in 2018. Who calledthe performance cruiser marketdown and out?www.grandsoleil.net �

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