A little too much rudder pressure for such a design, the tester secretly thinks to himself on board the Agile 42 - such boats like to sail quite neutrally, because too much angle of attack on the rudder simply slows you down. The solution also immediately springs to mind: perhaps the main a little flatter, the jib with more belly, which should lift the sail pressure point a little forwards. The boat should be so sensitive to trim that only small adjustments are enough to reduce the deflection of the wheel.
Professionals are at work on board the cruising yacht
But it's better not to say anything, as the professional boatman, the shipyard's project manager and none other than Nicholas Heiner, the Laser and Finn world champion, are still on board. It would be presumptuous to give the professionals tips on how to make the boat faster.
When the aforementioned Nicholas Heiner takes over the helm - he does so with two fingers on the wheel - he realises that the rudder pressure is too high. His instructions are to outhaul, i.e. flatten the main and move the genoa's centre of gravity forwards. This creates more profile at the front. The almost two-metre tall athlete with the impressive upper arms grins with satisfaction. "It's better like this," he says and adds: "She's now much more neutral on the rudder."
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The YACHT tester is also satisfied: in the certainty of being able to trim yacht sails to at least world champion standard, he leans back and enjoys the ride. Time to let his gaze wander over the modern sailing equipment.
There is a lot to discover. Tim van Daal, head of the VMG Yachtbuilders shipyard in Enkhuizen, has something to say about every detail. "We moved the companionway to port. This allowed us to install the galley with a central island below and create a seating and sunbathing area above," he explains. Galley, seat and sunbathing area on a carbon racer? To understand this contradiction, it is important to shed light on the genesis of the project. "The Agile concept is actually based on an idea by Marten Voogd, the Dutch-based half of the Simonis Voogd office. He was looking for the next logical boat for himself after his current Max Fun 35. As a designer, he naturally drew it himself," says van Daal.
The plans for the carbon cruising yacht are taking shape
The idea for a rather radical carbon yacht with water ballast and a minimal interior already existed. As did the shipyard that could build such a cruising yacht, because VMG, although still quite new on the market, has a lot of expertise in the composite sector thanks to its experienced employees. Now van Daal and Voogd both come from Enkhuizen on the IJsselmeer. They know each other and find each other quickly. What was still missing was a customer for the project.
A third member of the Enkhuizen connection helps: Gerd Schootstra, skipper of the legendary ex-Whitbread yacht "Flyer", based in Enkhuizen (see YACHT 21/2014). On a sailing trip, a childhood friend tells him about his arduous search for a shipyard to build him a very fast carbon fibre tourer. Schootstra switches gears immediately and makes contact with van Daal and Voogd. The Enkhuizen connection works.
The owner, a Dutchman, is immediately enthusiastic and tears up the ready-to-sign contracts with an Italian shipyard. Instead, he places an order in his home country. The IT entrepreneur, who had previously only sailed Lasers, wanted an easy-to-operate and, above all, fast cruising yacht. It should also glide like a Laser.
The cruising yacht should be fast and light
This in turn fits in perfectly with Marten Voogd's ideas: fast and light. As it turns out later in the construction process, the owner and designer have quite different ideas when it comes to the word "light". However, the shipyard will masterfully resolve this contradiction.
Either way, the requirement to be fast and light makes for a lot of fun on the water. The fairway on the Eastern Scheldt bends slightly to leeward, the cross is over. Now the Agile is deep enough for the Code Zero. On the wind, the black and white yacht is speeding through the water at a good nine knots in eight knots of true wind. The tide stagnates at high tide, so it doesn't help - the Agile is actually faster than the wind. That alone is impressive, but even more so is the ease with which the performance can be called up. Van Daal: "I regularly receive photos from the owner showing him gliding along at 12 or 13 knots while his children are asleep on the sunbathing area in the cockpit. He then sails the large cruising yacht almost alone."
You want to believe it. Of course, all the fittings are of the finest quality, nothing snags, everything runs very smoothly, and the electric winch in the centre of the superstructure helps with the last few centimetres, which can be operated perfectly when standing in the companionway, including the best view of the sails. It's no surprise that the sails are also made of carbon fibre, are strong and weigh hardly anything. The perfectly tuned autopilot also helps when operating with a small crew.
The "Karma" is characterised by its sophisticated design
But the real highlight lies in the lightweight construction. Because if you have to move less weight, you can get by with a smaller fabric. The Agile has 100 square metres on the wind. By comparison, an XP-44 carries a good 10 square metres more. At 4.8 tonnes, the Agile cruising yacht weighs just under four tonnes less than the yacht from Denmark, which is also not suspected of being particularly slow on the water. These four tonnes make the difference, they make it easier for the cruising yacht to convert the pressure from the rig into propulsion. As a result, the forces on the fittings, halyards and sheets are reduced. And this, in turn, is clearly noticeable to the user.
Now four tonnes, which is pretty much exactly the ballast content of the Xp-44, is not just found anywhere in the ship, it is only achieved through consistent lightweight construction everywhere.
A few examples: The carbon fibre laminate of the outer and inner sandwich layers is just under one millimetre thick. It is laminated over a foam core that lies on CNC-milled moulds. This is initially done by hand lay-up and is then compacted in a vacuum. An insulated tent is then built over the hull in the hall and a temperature profile precisely specified by the manufacturer is run through with heaters. This takes several days, goes up to around 60 degrees Celsius and back down to room temperature. This process is closely monitored and ensures a homogeneous and firm structure.
The whole thing is then turned and the carbon fibre is applied from the inside using a vacuum injection process. The deck is also injected under vacuum. There is no inner shell. You can see the inside of the deck and hull in all its carbon fibre beauty and also the screws of the deck fittings in the sky.
On the Agile, this looks more like a stylistic element and less like careless boatbuilding. At best, a little varnish, as in the aft compartments, covers the laminate here and there. It is then grey to conceal the black of the carbon. Only the wet room is panelled on the inside and is a pretty light colour.
Carbon fibre is used everywhere on board the "Karma"
The furniture and other structural components are also made of foam and covered with a teak veneer. Of course, the mast and boom are also made of carbon. All halyards are only sheathed where absolutely necessary - for example in the area of the clamps and winches. The bosun pulls them into the mast after each use of the boat, fitted with care lines to protect the pure Dyneema core from UV light.
The keel fin, on which the 2.2 tonne lead bomb hangs, is made of duplex stainless steel. This is light and strong at the same time and does not break as quickly if it touches the ground as would be the case with carbon fibre. In addition, the fin is inserted into the hull about 25 centimetres inwards in a conical recess, for which the shipyard has specially removed a laminating mould from the fin. This ensures that the forces of the keel are optimally transferred to the hull structure, creating a very strong connection.
The drive is purely electric. The lithium batteries in combination with the electric motor weigh less than a diesel unit, which would then have to have additional service batteries and a tank. In addition, the eight-kilowatt battery bank provides sufficient power for the systems when sailing.
When the wind cracks ten knots, it's time for the 200 square metre gennaker. Drop it, raise the sheet, tighten the backstay and hoist it up again. Oh yes: and extend the gennaker pole. On the retractable half, the owner tells us in English that he thinks fate is a fickle mistress: "Karma" - as he has named his racy beauty - is a "bitch". Perhaps a hint to fellow travellers on one regatta or another.
The cruising yacht is very efficient- even under difficult conditions
A few gentle gusts build up to 12 to 13 knots. The wave immediately breaks off at the stern, the large Sailmon clock on the rear wall of the cabin shows a 10. This happens very casually, very calmly, almost provocatively equanimously; the ship radiates with every one of its carbon fibres that it is only at the very beginning of its possibilities.
The 21 knots achieved so far by the shipyard on the IJsselmeer in around 28 knots of wind are easy to believe. "And we didn't feel like we were riding on a razor's edge. Everything was still cool, even if it took a few more people," grins van Daal. Control is the key word. Steering without play, a large rudder blade that, thanks to the flat profile, is not overwhelmed when the water flows past a little faster and a deck layout that really works.
The owner also needs control. After all, his sailing experience comes from a Laser. "He puts it like this: it's like learning to drive a car in a Bugatti," says van Daal. The Agile does this without complaint. And when it's not in regatta mode with lots of people on or downwind, water ballast tanks help to find the right balance. Two are installed amidships on the outside for upwind courses, each with a capacity of 750 litres, and two aft on the outside for better planing, each with 250 litres.
Clever: Thanks to a pumping system, the tanks can be pumped over in a short time when tacking or jibing so that the new bow is immediately fully stable. The whole process takes about two minutes.
In the light conditions on the test day, the ballast remains neutral. Secretly, 10 knots more wind would be the tester's wish list, then the 17 to 18 knot speed in 22 knots of wind promised by both the shipyard manager and Polare could be tried out. If you're already driving a Bugatti on an empty motorway, then the foot wants to go down too. Never mind, maybe next time.
Despite its light weight, the interior is sophisticated
This leaves time to take care of the interior. You might not expect much from this on a carbon racer - but as I said, things turned out differently. Whilst the designer's mind was buzzing with tubular bunks and spirit cookers, the owner asked for a handsome interior from his own interior designer and some comfort. Lightweight? Sure. Do without? No, thank you. Successful entrepreneurs are a little more demanding, after all, they have squared the circle professionally themselves. So why not a shipyard and its designer?
And so suddenly things like a cooker with oven, an electric and therefore heavy toilet, teak surfaces and a heating system came into play. The latter is fuelled by diesel, which requires the installation of a tank on a cruising yacht with electric propulsion. And that, you guessed it, also weighs a few kilos. But the effort is worth it.
Below deck, the cruising yacht is downright cosy. If it were a flat, it would have exposed concrete, cable ducts and wooden floors. The interior is not cool or aloof, but invitingly practical. In addition to the open carbon fibre, there is fine leather in the best finish, two aft compartments with real beds, a foredeck that can be cleverly separated with a vertical roller blind and a wet room where you can even take a shower. The owner's family may also like to come on board.
The shipyard has worked its magic. The worktops in the kitchen are, no wonder, made of carbon fibre. The cooker is the lightest on the market and the batteries for the drive are positioned in the centre of gravity of the boat. It is this consistency down to the last detail that ensures the boat remains what the type designation promises: agile.
Technical data cruising yacht Agile 42 "Karma":
- Designer: Simonis Voogd
- Hull length: 12.70 m
- LWL: 12.55 m
- Width: 4.10 m
- Draught: 2.40 m
- Water ballast: 2x 750/2x 250 litres
- Sail area downwind: 101 m²
- Weight/ballast: 4.8/2.2 tonnes
