Reviews of the Kraken 66 and the Gunfleet 43
A solid, conservative bluewater cruiser
A9,000-mile cruise from Hong Kong to Cape Town isn’t a typical shakedown for a new boat, but it convinced Kraken Yachts founder Dick Beaumont that White Dragon, his new Kraken 66, was the boat he hoped it would be. Based in Hong Kong, Beaumont and co-founder Roger Goldsmith started the company two years ago with the intention of building a line of luxury bluewater cruisers to take on the likes of Oyster and Discovery Yachts. I joined them in Cape Town to put the boat through its paces.
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
Although the 66’s styling is contemporary, its hull design, build and systems are conservative. With more than 100,000 miles in his wake, Beaumont knows exactly what he wants in a boat and the three Kraken models reflect his uncompromising philosophy. Kiwi naval architect Kevin Dibley put the flesh on the bones of Beaumont’s vision, Chinese yard Hansheng (builders of Passport Yachts, among others) built the boat, and the result is a high-quality turnkey ocean crosser at a remarkably competitive price.
Rather than being optimized for offwind work as are so many modern designs, the 66’s hull form has been shaped for good all-round performance and seakeeping, with U-shaped sections forward, plenty of rocker and an easy run aft. Beaumont sees the skeg-hung rudder and long fin keel with its encapsulated lead ballast as essential attributes of a bluewater cruising boat. Indeed, the “Zero Keel,” as Kraken calls it (for zero keel bolts), has become a valuable marketing tool in the wake of several well-publicized keel failures.
The hull is a fiberglass laminate, cored above the waterline and stiffened by a substantial interior grid that takes the rig loads and forms the basis for interior furniture, while the deck is a conventional balsa-cored layup. Kevlar is used to strengthen areas like the leading edge of the keel and the stem, and there is a double crash bulkhead forward.
On boats of this type there are several possible approaches to the vital electrical and mechanical systems. Thanks to some bitter experiences with electric motors in Beaumont’s past, the Kraken 66 again deviates from the mainstream by using hydraulics almost exclusively for sailhandling and other systems. The twin headsail furlers, the furling boom, the boomvang and backstay tensioner, the Harken sheet winches, the anchor windlass, bow thruster, watermaker and dive compressor are all driven by a clever hydraulic system that has two backup pumps. In the interests of redundancy, White Dragon was equipped with two generators (one is standard). Engine-driven 12V and 24V alternators service the house and engine battery banks.
All this equipment is accessed and serviced via an enviably large walk-in workspace tucked away to starboard between the saloon and the owner’s suite aft.
ON DECK
Clad in rainforest-friendly, grippy and low-maintenance faux teak that also saves lots of weight over the real thing, the deck and cabintop flow pleasingly together from the helmsman’s point of view. Side decks are wide and safety is addressed by a molded bulwark and 30in-high stanchions that come to mid-thigh rather than the usual knee height. Forward, a sturdy anchoring setup includes a hefty double bow roller, a powerful hydraulic windlass and a deep chain locker. Cleats are well sized and sensibly located.
Set up for shorthanded sailing, the boat can be operated by one person who won’t break much of a sweat doing so. Except for the sheets, all sail control lines are led aft under the deck to a half-dozen Harken winches controlled by buttons on a panel at the binnacle. With the traveler set between
the two banks of winches and assorted clutches and turning blocks, it looks a little crowded around the cockpit; the price of functionality.
The cockpit is divided into working and lounging areas, shaded by a fixed soft-top bimini. Its occupants are protected by a small windscreen and a stowaway dodger can be deployed when needed. There’s room for eight around the solid cockpit table. The relatively narrow stern means there’s no room for a built-in dinghy garage so the tender is hoisted (hydraulically, of course) on a pair of sturdy davits. Access to the water is via a molded-in swim platform on the scoop transom.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Stepping down into the Kraken 66’s capacious interior, with its rich wood paneling, gives you an immediate impression of comfort and understated quality. You can’t be judgmental about layouts on these high-end semi-custom boats because they are tweaked to suit the owner’s requirements, but I would find little reason to deviate from White Dragon’s accommodation plan, with its large owner’s suite aft and three double cabins forward. You can also specify a five-cabin layout.
The galley is down to port and lacks nothing in terms of amenities, with ample fridge and freezer space, excellent worktop area and plenty of stowage. Beaumont has a distrust of propane, so the stove is electric; being British he needs a constant supply of tea, so installed a mini water heater that delivers boiling water on demand.
A watchkeeper’s station-cum-chart table to port allows the boat to be controlled in comfort, with good visibility to three sides. To starboard, a comfortable dinette offers a great view of your surroundings through the wrap-around windows. Despite the preponderance of wood, the interior is brightly lit and cheerful. Fit and finish is exemplary.
Two of the forward cabins were equipped with bunks, the third with a double berth, but the configurations can be swapped around; one cabin could be turned into an office, for instance, or a workshop, or you could sacrifice one cabin in favor of a bigger suite. The owner’s suite aft is, as you’d expect, extremely comfortable, with a queen-sized berth that can be divided off into seaberths. UNDER SAIL White Dragon carries a beautiful carbon fiber mast and furling boom, both by Southern Spars. The 66 will come with an aluminum spar and a Solent rig as standard, with an overlapping genoa set ahead of a working jib. A furling Code 0 is tacked to a short removable sprit. This type of rig permits a number of sail combinations to suit most points of sail and all but the most extreme wind conditions.
The 50-knot squalls that whipped up whitecaps in Cape Town’s sheltered harbor faded into the thirties and then the twenties as we set sail, an easy task with the optional captive-reel main halyard winch and the twin hydraulic Reckmann headsail furlers. (Harkens are standard.)
With the wind on the beam the boat settled into an easy, loping motion, ready to eat up some miles. Speeds in the double digits are nothing out of the ordinary, and 200-mile days should be routine for this boat once she starts to stretch out. Hydraulic steering is not famed for good helm feedback and Beaumont had been dealing with some teething problems, but after some tweaking the system felt much better and we were able to enjoy the boat’s excellent tracking. She felt stiff in the gusts, never once wanting to round up, and proved better to windward than I’d expected, pointing well and going fast even at 35 degrees to the apparent wind.
UNDER POWER
With a 200hp Yanmar diesel swinging a folding Variprop, the boat has power to burn; a relaxing cruising speed is 8 knots. She is a big beast and will not spin on a dime, but close-quarters maneuvering is assisted by the hydraulic bow thruster, which, unlike its electric counterparts, will not overheat when you least want it to. This makes marinas a lot less intimidating.
The engine bay is large and well laid out with all service points clearly labelled and easy to access. Soundproofing is very good.
CONCLUSION
On the evidence of this boat, Kraken Yachts is a worthy addition to the slender ranks of dedicated bluewater cruisers. Solidly built, nicely detailed and boasting a generous standard inventory at a highly competitive price point, the Kraken 66 deserves a long, hard look from anyone lucky enough to be shopping for a luxury cruiser in this size range. s