05/05/08

I have discovered that Canasta featured in Yachting Monthly’s 1993 review of the Grand Soleil 42

I was fortunate yesterday to have the opportunity to meet with Canasta’s previous owner who, besides showing me around the boat, brought to my attention an article by Peter Nielsen in Yachting Monthly dated March ’93 in which Canasta (then named Caro Nome from Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’) was reviewed. It was a three-page article studded with pictures and concludes… “The Grand Soleil 42 is by no stretch of the imagination a pure cruising boat. The decks are a little too open and the cockpit too exposed for most blue-water sailors. She is a fine performance cruising yacht though with a heavy-duty rig and a high standard of build, which should inspire confidence in all kinds of weather. She is stylishly yet sensibly fitted out down below and has the speed to match her good looks.”

I’m not sure I agree entirely with the conclusion. I mean, how can a deck be “too open”? It’s like saying “ too uncluttered” or “not quite cramped enough” The cockpit might have been a little exposed at the time of the article but the over-sized sprayhood in the pictures above is a recent, and thoughtful, addition by the previous owner.

So, with kind permission of Yachting Monthly magazine, I have copied the complete text of the review here…

Italy’s boatbuilding industry has suffered even more than Britain’s over the last two years, with punitive new taxes consolidating the harm done by recession. The only major production yacht builder still active is Cantiere del Pardo, which makes the Grand Soleil range of cruiser-racers. A sizable proportion of its annual production of seventy-five to eighty boats is exported, and the latest to arrive in the UK is the Grand Soleil 42, a sporty German Frers design which aspires to satisfy both the desire for speed and the need for comfort

Design

Fast cruisers appear to be German Frers’ bread and butter these days, his prolific pen producing designs for such illustrious yards as Nautor and Hallberg Rassy. The Grand Soleil 42 bears his imprint as surely as the Swans he designed.

With a displacement of 9tonnes and a ballast ratio of 37%, the hull carries the moderate lines of a fast cruising yacht with just enough overhang for good looks.

Underwater lines are clean and undistorted, U-shaped sections forward giving way to a flat run. The deep fin keel is slightly swept back and is elliptical on both leading and trailing edges, while the high aspect-ratio spade rudder, carried right aft, also has an elliptical trailing edge.

Construction

Cantier del Pardo’s hulls are laid up by hand, with sixteen layers of woven rovings bound by orthophalic resins. To improve resistance to osmosis, Neogel NPG isophalic resin is used for the gelcoat. The moulding is well finished and solid, and extra stiffening is provided by moulded-in ribs and frames. An inner moulding carries the furniture bases. The deck is a sandwich of GRP and end-grain balsa, glued and through-bolted to the hull edges.

An impression of strength is conveyed by the massive chainplates and their tie rods. These are bolted down to the grid structure which also dissipates the mast and keel loadings. The stainless steel rudder shaft looks extremely solid too at almost 4” in diameter.

Below decks

Letting an interior stylist loose on a yacht can result in some real atrocities when function is subordinated to form. This is not the case with the Grand Soleil, which has an open, nicely worked interior that looks good and has most of the attributes desirable in a cruising yacht – sea berths with leacloths, comfortable seating on both sides, plenty of stowage and a good galley and navigation area.

With the companionway set forward of a high bridgedeck, one descends into the boat via a tall, steep set of steps, which fortunately are equipped with good handholds. Liferaft stowage is behind the upper steps, and the box for the Volvo saildrive makes up the lower portion. The layout is conventional – galley to port, chart table to starboard, dinette and settee forward. The boat we sailed was the owner’s stateroom version; another option has twin aftercabins.

The aftercabin worked well. There is standing headroom (6ft 1in) around the large (6ft 6in x 4ft 7in) double berth, which fits neatly under the cockpit moulding. Its mattress is split down the centre so leacloths can be used, making it tenable at sea. There are seats on either side and plenty of stowage, under the berth and in the form of shelves, drawers and hanging lockers. Three opening ports provide light and air to a cabin which would otherwise be quite dark, though in common with the rest of the boat electric lighting is well positioned.

Access to the aftercabin is through the galley, or through the aft heads which also opens out to the navigation area. Aft and forward heads are both equipped with showers and are ventilated by dorades and opening ports. Locker space is generous, there is an abundance of mirrors and both compartments are well lit.

The forecabin has a generously sized berth, enough standing room and is well supplied with stowage.

The nav area comprises a forward-facing chart table big enough to accommodate an unfolded Admiralty chart, plenty of general stowage in the form of shelves, bookshelf and pencil trays, and more than enough bulkhead space for navigation instruments. Examples of the attention to details throughout are the cup holders recessed into the table. The switch panel is first-class, with circuit breakers for both 12v DC and AC systems, and battery monitoring gauges. The batteries themselves are under the navigator’s seat. Wiring is to a high standard, as is the remainder of the boat’s service equipment. Water piping is copper rather than the ubiquitous plastic hose and all connections can easily be reached. Hoses are all double-clipped and there are no hard-to-reach seacocks.

A predominance of teak panelling could make the saloon a little gloomy were it not for an overhead hatch and two ports per side, and the light-coloured upholstery and headlining. The upholstery was Alcantara, an imitation suede leather; other fabrics are available for those of more conventional taste.

The large drop-leaf table can accommodate six adults for a meal and a few more for drinks; an infill converts the dinette into a 6ft 8in x 3ft 5in double berth. The settee opposite is long and wide enough to make a good sea berth. Two long overhead lockers on either side of the saloon offer good stowage. Plastic water tanks giving a total capacity of 340 litres occupy part of the space under each settee and the stainless steel diesel tank is located on the centreline. The engine installation is very compact and access to the filters and service points of the Volvo 2003 turbo saildrive is good. It should be easy to maintain.

While the interior is hardly avant-garde, it is attractive and would be easy to live with. A mixture of bright halogen spots, concealed lighting and reading lights contribute to the ambience, and at the same time the ergonomics of the seating and the well-positioned hand holds indicate that the interior has been planned by someone who actually goes to sea. Joinery is on the whole well put together, with plugs over most screws and cup washers on those which of necessity are exposed. It was a shame then to find evidence of hasty or incomplete finishing inside some of the lockers and the odd rough edge to the trim.

One thing we were not sure about was the teak worktop on either side of the three-burner cooker. It might look elegant, but how long it will remain that way under the onslaught of food preparation in anyone’s guess. That aside, there is a good amount of stowage in and around the galley including a big pull-out set of wire shelves. The twin stainless basin is almost on the centreline and is served by a single mixer tap from the pressurised system. With the addition of manual fresh and saltwater pumps it would be a serviceable cruising galley. There is a hige top-opening refrigerator with lift-out racks. A draining wet locker is located at the after end of the galley.

On deck

Aside from the (non-standard) teak decks, the Grand Soleil’s upperworks appear at first sight to have a distinct racing orientation. A clean silhouette, a big wheel, a long cockpit surrounded by Lewmar winches and the array of lines exiting the mast all add to the performance image. In fact, the rig is simpler than it looks. The double-spreader Sparcraft mast is, if anything, over sectioned, and standing rigging and deck fittings are similarly sturdy. Roller furling is not standard up front but the boat we sailed was fitted with a Harken gear, set just high enough above the double bow roller to allow the anchor to be handled.

Thought he sail-handling system can be varied according to the owner’s preferences, the combination of fully-battened main with lazyjacks and roller-reefing headsail on the test yacht worked well. There is single-line reefing on the first two reefs and a storm jib can be carried on the removable inner forestay. Running backstays are optional and the need for them on a rig like this is debatable.

The deck layout is clean and open with low sidedecks, low coachroof and recessed grabrails contributing to an uncluttered look. There are stainless steel cages over the four dorade ventilators, the after pair f which double as hand-holds for the companionway. The mainsail control lines are led back to the cockpit via the hatch garage, from where they are led through banks of Spinloc k c lutches and dealt with by four Lewmar 30 winches. The clutches are mounted on plinths to give a fair lead to the lines, thereby allowing them to be taken back to one of the bigger sheet winches if extra cranking power is needed.

Good, commonsense features prevail throughout the cockpit. The mainsheet track bisects the forward part of the cockpit just abaft the bridgedeck, out of the way of sheet trimmers and helmsman. The boom is just under 6ft above the cockpit sole. And the powerful sheet winches – Lewmar 52ST primaries and 46ST secondaries – are mounted at the same height with the big Lewmar turning blocks ensuring a fair lead.

The T-shaped cockpit is dominated by the leather-bound wheel, 55in across, which effectively separates the helmsman from the grinders. Deep and not too wide, it is a good dual-purpose cockpit. Deck gear, hatches and blocks are all high quality equipment; Goiot, Lewmar and Fredricksen.

Under sail

On a day which promised much in the way of sunshine and little in the way of wind, we were not expecting to record high speeds. But the hull is very easily driven and we found her willing and able to respond to every puff.

She has a beautifully balanced feel to her, the huge wheel needing only fingertip pressure to keep her on course. For quite long periods, in flat water and in a breeze which never topped 12 knots true and was often half that, she happily steered herself to windward. In that 12 knots she made 7½ knots close-reaching and in 7 knots true wind she still sizzled along at almost 6 knots. Pinching her up, she stalled at 25 degrees to the wind and was happy at 30 degrees apparent. Over-helming was what slowed her down; left to her own devices the oat found the groove and tracked very well, with no weather-helm to speak of.

In the light airs, she came about quite briskly and tacked repeatedly through 80 – 90 degrees, accelerating quickly out of the tacks. Under spinnaker she was well mannered and responded instantly to the helm.

Visibility from the helm, with no sprayhood in the way, was very good, whether seated or standing. The cockpit worked well, wide enough for three people to keep out of each other’s way but narrow enough to provide good footholds and move around safely.

We would have liked to try her in stronger winds and in waters that weren’t reminiscent of a millpond, but in the conditions we had, she was difficult to fault. If light-airs performance is any indication, she will be a very fast boat in a proper breeze.

Under power

The Volvo saildrive ran quietly and smoothly except when approaching maximum power, and pushed the boat along at 8.2 knots at 3,000rpm. Handling under engine is predictable, aided by the good visibility forward. She turned in her own length in both directions, and the bite provided by the big spade rudder made going astern a fuss-free proposition.

Conclusions

The Grand Soleil 42 is by no stretch of the imagination a pure cruising boat. The decks are a little too open and the cockpit too exposed for most blue-water sailors. She is a fine performance cruising yacht though with a heavy-duty rig and a high standard of build, which should inspire confidence in all kinds of weather. She is stylishly yet sensibly fitted out down below and has the speed to match her good looks.

Specifications

LOA 12.65m (41ft 6in)

LWL 10.10m (33ft 2in)

Beam 4.05m (13ft 3in)

Draught 2.48m (8ft 2in)

Displacement 9,000kg (19,841lb)

Ballast 3,400kg (7,495lb)

Sail Area 91m² (979 sq ft)

Engine Volvo 2003 Turbo 43hp Diesel Saildrive

Fuel 180ltrs (40 Gallons)

Water 340ltrs (75 Gallons)

Design German Frers

Builder Cantiere del Pardo, Bologna , Italy

Price (New) £152,750

Review courtesy of Peter Nielsen, Yachting Monthly Magazine March 1993