Visible carbon fibre meets angular design language - the Spanish Sarch 7 looks rather boxy, but that is precisely why it attracts attention, precisely because its appearance is so little elegant. The priorities that Axel Sarch set for his design are immediately obvious: The wave piercer bow, the large cockpit with a traveller across the entire width of the boat and a carbon rig are evidence of the small cruiser's sporting ambitions. Otherwise often essential criteria such as living space below deck were not the main focus. Nevertheless, there is a cosy interior on the seven-metre-long boat. We took the Sarch 7 out on the water twice for a test sail.
Axel Sarch explained his design during the 2019 YACHT test: the idea was to build a simple, small boat that sails fast and can be trailered while still offering living comfort. He calls it a "fast cruiser for trailering". The Mini also served as a model: small, fast, seaworthy and with everything on board that is needed for longer journeys.
Carbon, plywood, composite and GRP
These premises are reflected in the design. The hull is a buckling frame made of plywood, coated with carbon fibre on the outside and glass on the inside. The fittings such as the saloon benches, galley and berths are made of composite and all have a load-bearing function. The deck is manufactured in a mould made of GRP with a foam core using vacuum infusion.
The shallow underwater hull is designed to enable fast planing, especially in room winds, while the double rudders ensure full control even when the boat is in the water. An optional lead keel with aluminium tiller provides even greater stability than the standard version, which can be raised for slipping or anchoring in shallow coastal areas.
Sarch reacts sensitively to loading
With the optional genoa and the fathead mainsail, the Sarch has a sail area of 32.5 square metres; with a weight of 1.1 tonnes, this results in a sail load factor of 5.4, indicating a boat that is clearly designed for performance. The payload of 400 kilograms, which corresponds to the outboard motor with battery, three sailors and their equipment, reduces the calculated sail carrying capacity to 5.0. This value still identifies the Sarch as a performance cruiser, but the calculation illustrates how sensitively small cruisers react to loading. You should therefore think very carefully about what you actually take on board.
The companionway, which is slightly offset to starboard, leads below deck. This arrangement leaves enough space on the port side for a wet room separated from the living area. To starboard is a small galley with a single-burner spirit cooker, sink, cool box and storage space, and to port is a dinette. A bench seat is installed in front of the wet room, where the lifting keel is housed, while the forward berth on the saloon table is opposite. It seats four people comfortably. If the table is lowered, an additional berth is created, but this is only sufficient for one child at best. On the other hand, the forward berth is 2.30 metres long and 1.60 metres at shoulder height, offering plenty of space. The aft berth under the cockpit is also sufficient for two adults.
Only branded fittings such as winches from Harken can be found on deck. All halyards and spreaders can be operated from the cockpit. A backstay has been dispensed with in favour of the heavily flared mainsail. Tension on the mainsheet helps to prevent the forestay from sagging. The only negative point in the YACHT test was the rotating carbon fibre mast from Heol Composites: The deflection of the main halyard aft pulled the mast to one side as soon as the halyard was set. This meant that the mast could no longer be adjusted to the angle of incidence of the wind.
Expensive, but smart and robust
The basic price of 46,100 euros for the cruise version, for example, does not include sails. This means that the price for a fully equipped Sarch 7 adds up to 58,575 euros. If laminate sails with aramid fibres, the performance keel, Code Zero, gennaker, more comfortable equipment below deck and a road trailer are ordered, the purchase price rises to an impressive 83,865 euros. Even then, however, there is still no navigation electronics on board, and one or two extras could be ordered.
Compared to other small cruisers such as the only slightly longer Antila 24.4 (price ready to sail 33,975 euros) or the almost one metre longer Storm 26 (58,029 euros), the price of the Sarch 7 is high. In return, you get a very robustly built boat with many clever details and a comfortable interior for a boat that is only seven metres long.
Technical data Sarch 7
- Designer:Axel Sarch
- CE design category: B
- Total length:7,00 m
- Waterline length:6,73 m
- Width:2,49 m
- Draught/catch-up: 1,70/0,30 m
- Weight: 1,1 t
- Ballast/proportion:0,3 t/27 %
- Mainsail (Squarehead): 17,5 m2
- Fock/Genua: 10,5/15,0 m2
- Gennaker: 55,0 m2
- Hull: Plywood with carbon fibre (outside) and glass inside
- Deck:GRP sandwich with foam core
