|
The 42-foot offering in Chris
White’s Atlantic series of cruising catamarans, skillfully
brought to fruition by builder John Lombardi, earned high praise
from the judges for its outstanding execution. “I consider it
a real sailor’s boat,” said Bill Lee. “They did a superb
job on the (epoxy/glass) construction. When you go to the
trouble to achieve that level of finish in every aspect of the
interior- sanding, fairing, and painting behind lockers, in the
amas, every footage ratio. But it’s absolutely beautiful.”
“She sails well, and
they’ve done a good job with the interior layout," said Peter Hogg.
“The port hull is extremely well done as a master starteroom,
with great separation between it and the guest quarters. In the
starboard hull the U-shaped galley works very well. Access to
the bridgedeck is good, with a dedicated dining/ lounging table
and chart table/ nav station. With the autopilot controls, it
doubles as an inside steering station. Before we sailed this
boat, I wasn’t sure about the concept of the forward cockpit
(with the steering station forward of the cabin house)< but
it works.”
The boat was a solid
winner by a margin of 3-to-1, with Tom Neale casting the
dissenting vote’ he felt the forward cockpit and the
corresponding forward-facing plexiglass windows and door were
potential safety liabilities. “That arrangement really scares
me,” he said. “Boarding seas could present a real
problem.” Hogg, the most experienced multihull sailor on the
panel, replied that there was enough buoyancy in the bows to
make that an unlikely occurrence. He also said that in extreme
weather, a likely tactic would be to turn and run with the
weather, in which case the forward cockpit could be a definite
advantage. For another viewpoint, we contacted one of the crew
who sailed the boat to the Caribbean following the Annapolis
show. He reported no problems in the generally moderate
conditions they faced off shore and said that in heavier airs
the crew did retire to the shelter of the cabin while the boat
carried on under electronic self-steering. Mark Schrader summed
up the views of the majority: “If I had to sail to Venezuela
tomorrow on any of the multihulls in this year’s contest,
I’d take the Atlantic 42.”
Runners-up: Prout
45—Mark Schrader said, “An excellent layout and nicely done
woodwork throughout. I really liked the interior of the boat and
the living areas.” A mast-mounted box for hardware and running
rigging, positioned alongside the helmsman at eye level,
drastically reduced forward visibility and hurt the boat’s
overall chances. IT will e addressed on future boats.
Contour 34 SC- AA
nifty, fast, and fun little trimaran with a real yacht interior,
including an enclosed head. “She’s got a good anchoring
system and struts on the boom that double as hand-holds,” said
Tom Neale. “She’s a neat boat, a real cruiser.”
|
