Igor Kluin's project has taken longer than intended, much longer. The Vaan R4 had already been announced for 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic and other imponderables have repeatedly postponed the premiere until this season. You don't reinvent the cruising catamaran with a twelve-metre hull length just like that.
The boat is undoubtedly new and bold. And not just in terms of recyclability. Unlike the majority of catamarans, the Vaan R4 doesn't just want to be a floating holiday home on the water, but to provide a lot of fun and emotion under sail.
Its interior is not cluttered with all kinds of furniture and comfort bells and whistles, including the three or even four bathrooms that are common today (as if anyone would have more than two bathrooms in a three-room flat on land!) Instead, the interior design is pure and stylish, but almost sparse. If you would like something different, you can at least order variants in the saloon for an extra charge.
And the equipment is different in almost every respect. This starts with the two V-shaped winch platforms mounted at the aft end of the cockpit, continues with the cork deck, includes the electric drive (with a choice of two Oceanvolt or Torqeedo motors) and also includes the materials used.
The most striking feature is undoubtedly the hull, which consists of 60 percent recycled aluminium. Traffic signs and window frames from house construction are melted down on a large scale to produce the panels. Extruded parts even consist of three quarters recycled aluminium.
You will soon find out how the whole thing sails in YACHT. This much in advance: the Vaan R4 doesn't conform to the usual standards on the market. It doesn't want to be a racer; it's too robustly constructed for that anyway. But due to the lack of a built-in diesel engine and long range, it has to demonstrate a certain liveliness and manoeuvrability under wind power. And that's what it did in the test.
