CNB 66: "Althane II" combines comfort, sailing fun and practicality

Martin Hager

· 21.05.2023

Power house: The owner of this CNB 66 opted for an optional bowsprit, on which the gennaker is set and which provides a sporty look. With a genoa and mainsail, 215 square metres of DFi laminate from Incidence Sails make sailing fun

Familiar look: Philippe Briand deliberately designed the 20.61 metre long CNB 66 as the little sister of the successful CNB 76 model, of which 21 have been sold in the last three years

Fun zone: The 31.1 tonne displacement CNB 66 in its element. Even in strong winds, the rudder pressure remains pleasantly low and the steering feel direct

Bright and open: The kitchen counter also serves as a chart table and bar. Large hull windows provide a good view

Flexible saloon layout: the lounge area on the starboard side ...

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Photo: Nicolas Claris

With its CNB 66, the French shipyard is hitting the sweet spot of the growing upwind class. We sailed the Briand design off Saint-Tropez

Not quite a superyacht, but not really small either. Plenty of volume, but still comfortable to handle without - or at least with a very small - crew. A sporty look, coupled with convincing regatta qualities and yet good-natured and practical in everyday sailing life. This is how the upmarket class, which mainly includes sailing yachts with lengths of 60 to 70 feet, can be described with just a few attributes. The demand for yachts in this size segment is growing steadily, as Arno Kronenberg knows. As a CNB representative, the passionate sailor looks after German-speaking countries and maintains close and often even friendly contact with his customers. "For many owners, this yacht size offers the ultimate combination of comfort, sailing fun and practicality," says Kronenberg. "Many of the owners I deal with prefer to sail with their family and friends without having to rely on the helping hands of a captain or deckhand," says the sailing yacht specialist.

For the La Rochelle shipyard, which is part of the Beneteau Group, the CNB 66 closes the gap between the 18.60 metre Bordeaux 60 and the CNB 76, which was only launched in 2015 and is almost five metres longer and has sold 21 units to date at a price of around three million euros. The figures show that the development and world premiere of the 20.61 metre-long CNB 66 came at the right time. "We have already sold ten CNB 66 units, four of them from plans," says CNB founder Olivier Lafourcade enthusiastically.

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CNB 66 christened "Althane II

A French owner, who cruised the Mediterranean for many years on a Bordeaux 60, ordered build number one of the new boat, which costs almost two million euros ready to sail. "My children are now teenagers and no longer want to share a cabin while we're travelling," says the experienced sailor in the cockpit of his new CNB 66, which he christened "Althane II". "As the Bordeaux 60 is only available with a three-cabin layout, I asked CNB for alternatives. Although the CNB 76 offers four cabins and a good layout, it was a little too big for my family and me. The four-cabin layout and concept of the CNB 66 immediately matched my wishes." Statements like this make Olivier Lafourcade beam. A shrunken version of the CNB 76 was the idea behind the development of the new gap-filler from the very beginning.

BOOTE EXCLUSIV was able to see for itself whether the CNB 66 can match the outstanding sailing characteristics of its big sister during the prestigious sailing spectacle Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. This is a regatta that promotes the values of tradition, camaraderie, teamwork and fair play like no other sailing event. The atmosphere is incomparable when the 300 or so participating yachts of various classes enter the picturesque harbour of Saint-Tropez after the races. The jetties of the jet-set village, filled with hundreds of large sailing bags, are populated by thousands of tourists who watch as state-of-the-art Wally Cento racers, almost 100-year-old classic beauties and historic America's Cup yachts moor one after the other.

It's the purest mooring party. Bands play on the yachts, rosé is drunk from plastic cups in the cockpit, and sailors exhausted from the regattas recharge their batteries for the evening's celebrations, lying on sail bags and enjoying a cool Kronenbourg.

When friendships develop at events

The CNB shipyard, which is part of the Beneteau Group, has been attracting its customers to the rendezvous for years, where various fun regattas are sailed in a small group of owners in a friendly atmosphere and a varied supporting programme provides plenty of entertainment and interaction among the owners. "Many friendships have already been forged at these events," says Arno Kronenberg, who often sails with his customers, lends a hand or gives advice as a tactician. For the CNB meeting in Saint-Tropez, the French organised a race on the official regatta course on the layday of the Les Voiles event. Seven CNB formats travelled to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez for this meeting. Particularly eyed: the brand new CNB 66 "Althane II", which is celebrating its regatta debut and will be delivered to its owner a few days later. Naturally, the owner is on board when we leave the harbour and set the mainsail and genoa for the first time at ten o'clock in the morning. The late summer thermals have not yet set in and the black DFi sail laminate from Incidence Sails can barely generate any propulsion in a light six knots of wind.

The interior of the CNB 66

This leaves time to take a closer look at the interior designed by Jean-Marc Piaton and Rafaël Bonet. "We developed the layout around a living area in the centre of the yacht that extends across the entire width," explains designer Piaton. This elevated saloon is divided into a comfortable lounge area on the starboard side, which can be converted into a continuous sunbathing area with flexible sofa units. Large rectangular hull windows allow plenty of natural light into the living area, which is dominated by light-coloured upholstery and whitewashed wood, and also guarantee a magnificent view of the sea from the dining table opposite. When the boat is heeled over, as will become apparent later in the day and in gusts of up to 32 knots, the windows are partially submerged, allowing fellow travellers to take part in the sporty sailing action even below deck. The benches smartly integrated into the lounge area can be used as stools on the opposite side of the saloon if required, providing seating for up to eight people at the electrically height-adjustable dining table. Piaton and Bonet's design team placed the chart table at a counter that also serves as a bar, owner's office and breakfast bar. If you want to follow the current course over your morning cappuccino, you can switch on the electronic Raymarine chart plotter integrated into the wall.

For a better quality of life below deck

The galley area with a large worktop and plenty of storage space is right next door and houses a spacious refrigerator, a deep-freeze unit, the control panels for the Webasto air conditioning system and the entire energy management system of the CNB 66. Large hull windows also ensure a better quality of life below deck and, above all, more enjoyment when cooking under sail.

Opposite the galley is one of the two guest cabins with a double bed, which is quite spacious for this size of yacht. The bed is placed on a platform and consists of two height-adjustable mattresses. "This creates some space if two guests who are not so familiar with each other sleep next to each other," explains Arno Kronenberg. "Due to its proximity to the galley, engine room and working cockpit, the aft cabin is best suited to accommodating a captain, should this position be assigned."

Two guest cabins are located in front of the saloon, with a double bed on the port side and the more compact bunk bed version opposite. At the very front of the bow is the owner's suite with a queen-size bed, vanity desk combination and the bathroom in front. From there, a hatch in the transverse bulkhead leads into the spacious sail hold at the very front of the bow. At the stern, the design team accommodated a garage for a tender up to 3.30 metres long, which is lowered into the water on rollers. Two hatches in the working cockpit allow access to the lazarette even while underway, and the transom opens hydraulically when at anchor.

The deck layout of the CNB 66

The deck layout with asymmetrically arranged guest cockpit is a copy of the CNB 76. This layout has proven its worth, so the way to the companionway is always clear. At anchor, the dining table can be enlarged to comfortably seat up to eight people at the table. The aft working cockpit is also clearly organised. An electric Harken deck winch installed centrally on a platform holds the mainsheet, behind which the shipyard installed a removable stainless steel cockpit railing, which is ideal for holding on to or supporting the boat, especially when heeling. "Like many of the extras on board, this detail is of course an optional solution based on the owner's ideas and wishes," comments Arno Kronenberg. The special solutions also include large-format Sailmon instruments on the mast, which can be individually programmed and show a variety of useful sailing and routing information on their high-resolution colour displays.

The thermals are in favour of the regatta organisers, and at the start of the CNB race, the seven participating yachts are enjoying 15 to 20 knots from the southwest, inviting them to use the gennaker right up to the turning mark. The pink space sheet sail measures 330 square metres and accelerates the empty "Althane II", which only displaces 31 tonnes, to 13 knots. As with the CNB 76, the CNB 66 with CE category "A" benefits from the sporty Philippe Briand lines with double rudder configuration and smooth, wide stern section. At Cap de Saint-Tropez, the wind suddenly picks up noticeably, the Sailmon displays show 32 knots at peak times - despite a fun, breezy ride with the occasional surfing interlude, it's time to change sails: We have to round the turning mark. The recovery hose and four men on the foredeck are needed to move the gennaker back into the sail bag.

The 103 square metre genoa is used for tacking, fortunately again with slightly less wind, but due to the very tight staysail, it has to be completely furled at every tack, only to be unfurled and trimmed again immediately afterwards. This is not a big deal at first, as an electric Profurl system does most of the work, but with 20 to 30 tacks per day, these manoeuvres are hardly conducive to the quality of the sail laminate. "Of course, we also offer the staysail as a removable version with an electric furler," explains Olivier Lafourcade. "Althane II" finished the sporty 15-nautical mile race in third place, a result that is of little interest, however. At CNB events, even if the tactics and sailing are ambitious, at the end of the day all that counts is the friendly test of strength and the fun of being on the water with like-minded people.

With the new CNB 66, the French have brought a yacht onto the market that makes it easy for owners to enjoy this kind of sailing laissez-faire to perfection.