In November 2015, the catamaran builders in the USA were forced to announce their insolvency. The main reasons given at the time were problems with the production of the Gunboat 60 in China and the sensational failure of the G4, the first fully foiling cruising catamaran. We reported on its spectacular capsize in the Caribbean. This summer, Gunboat was taken over by the Grand Large Yachting group. The French shipyard merger already included the brands Allures Yachting and Garcia Yachting as well as the catamaran manufacturer Outremer.
The Gunboat brand should be able to consolidate its position on the market again with a completely new model. The first plans and drawings have now been announced. The Gunboat 68, a design from the VPLP (Van Peteghem/Loriot Prévost) office, comes in an exciting performance-orientated design with long and extremely slim hulls and wave piercer-shaped bows. In addition, the catamaran is built entirely in carbon fibre - as is usual for Gunboat. The almost 21 metre long carbon projectile is said to weigh just 16 tonnes when ready to sail. The entire rig is also made of carbon fibre. The Gunboat 68 will have an impressive 218 square metres of sail area on the wind, with a self-tacking jib. This corresponds to a sail load factor of 5.9, which is well above average for catamarans.
To this end, the gunboat is equipped with two sickled and asymmetrically profiled centreboards as well as retractable rudder blades with T-foils. The resulting buoyancy should improve the sailing characteristics and significantly increase performance. Unlike the G4, however, the new Gunboat is not designed to be fully foiled, i.e. to "fly".
The layout of the Gunboat 68 is exciting: a recessed cockpit is installed in front of the actual cabin superstructure, directly at the foot of the mast, for setting and trimming the sails. A total of four electrically operated winches are available there for manoeuvring. The cat is steered from a steering position in the saloon. Four extremely spacious double cabins, each with its own bathroom, are planned for the interior. However, the customer is free to choose how they would like the interior of their boat to be arranged. For example, two cabins for the crew can be installed in the front of the hulls, also with separate bathrooms.
It is apparently still unclear where the Gunboat 68 will be built, in the USA or in France. The shipyard has also not yet been able to give an initial price estimate.
