Italian Style Yachts
We here in the United States tend to think of European boatbuilding in terms of the big series production builders who export their boats here: Dufour, Hanse, Bavaria, Lagoon and Fountaine-Pajot come to mind, as do Jeanneau and Beneteau, though the latter two produce many boats in Marion, South Carolina. But there are many more builders whose boats have never been seriously marketed on this side of the Atlantic, among them Italy’s Sly Yachts. With a new importer in Florida’s CrossCurrent Marine and the first Sly scheduled to arrive here this summer, that’s about to change.
Sly produces four models from 42 to 61 feet, with two more in the works. The boats are heavily performance-oriented, both in looks and in construction: styling is ultra-modern and ultra-sleek, and the hulls are a high-tech confection of carbon-fiber and e-glass laminates sandwiching a PVC foam core and infused with epoxy resin via a sophisticated vacuumbagging process. An internal grid structure is molded to the hull at the same time, making for an extremely light, tough structure. The Sly 48C (“C” for cruising) that’s making its North American debut this year displaces just under 10 tons, while the R, or racing, version weighs nearly a ton less, thanks to its composite bulkheads and furniture and rigorous flabparing all round.
Both versions share a lofty doublespreader carbon spar that, in the case of the 48R, carries an eye-popping 3,600 feet of downwind sail area. Its deck layout is optimized for a racing crew, while the C version has a super-clean deck plan with all lines concealed in underdeck galleries. Both variants have deep torpedo keels.
Not everyone will like the modern look of the interior, with its Herreshoff-style expanses of teak-trimmed white paneling, but it is certainly striking, and the three-cabin/two-heads layout is sensible and comfortable. On deck, one of the most original features of the C version is a clever integral bimini that can be used underway and disappears into the coachroof and coamings when not needed.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a new boat from C&C, but now that the yard has settled into its new ownership the wheels are turning again. One of the most anticipated performance cruisers this year is the C&C 101, which supplants the 32-foot C&C 99. This new 33-footer has more sail, greater beam, more draft, and displaces less than the 99. Designer Tom McNeill says the fractional sailplan is set up to be easy for a small crew to handle, while the 12-foot-long cockpit has plenty of room for a full racing crew or a day out with family and friends.
Epoxy-resin infused sandwich construction and extensive use of composites in the six-berth interior keep weight down to a lean 8,100 pounds. Flying a masthead A-sail on a retracting carbon sprit, this new C&C should really get up and go. “This boat marks a return to C&C’s roots,” says McNeill. “We’ve placed a greater emphasis on speed yet the boat will still be comfortable for coastal cruising.”
The Hanse 415 is the latest addition to the German builder’s revamped lineup. Another design from the respected Judel/Vrolijk office, this 41-footer is a fast cruiser that combines powerful hull lines with a large but easily handled sailplan—in other words, a typical Hanse.
A new design from the keel up, the 415 is longer, beamier, lighter and faster than the popular 400 it replaces. One significant change is greater hull volume, while Hanse’s “individual cabin concept”—mix-and-match layout options—divides the hull into three zones with two or three permutations in each zone, offering enough possibilities to suit anyone’s sailing plans.
We can expect to see the first example at the fall boat shows on the U.S. East Coast.
Photos courtesy of Sly Yachts and C&C Yachts
