GRAND SOLEIL 43
PRICE £100,000-£150,000 YEAR 2001-2008
There’s cruising and there’s cruising. Just mooching around coastlines with the occasional long passage to another country can be done in almost any well-built yacht – just add kit and an experienced crew.
But then there’s cruising with a purpose; having a goal in mind and wanting to get there as efficiently as possible, for which performance under sail is much closer to the top of the list. Some sailors are competitive while others simply want the long passages between countries over with so they can get on with exploring new cruising areas. Terry and his wife Donna are from the latter group. Both avid dinghy racers in their youth, they continued racing in various regattas after moving up to a J-105 in their thirties. Now they can both work remotely and their two kids, Oscar, 6, and Freddie, 4, are fast becoming competent with boaty things, they’ve decided to venture into the world of bluewater cruising by shopping in their beloved J-boat for a performance cruiser.
They’d like a tweakable rig that’ll have the power to speed them around any local storm cells if possible, plus a deeper forefoot and narrower shoulders in order to provide a comfortable living platform and good performance.
With a budget between £150,000£175,000, they’re not looking for loads of cabins, nor do they want wide open spaces below. Two cabins, two heads and good stowage in easily accessible lockers and drawers are their priorities – after sailing performance of course.
The Italian-built Grand Soleil 43 is the archetypal combination of style and performance. She is deep-drafted and comparatively narrow, so upwind performance was definitely top of the list from the moment she was first conceived.
However, she’s not lightly built either – incorporating, as she does, an immensely strong galvanised steel floor frame, designed to dissipate the keel and rig loads evenly throughout the hull.
The earlier J&j-designed model had a large single wheel, deep cockpit and a nipped-in stern and was dropdead gorgeous thanks to her sleek superstructure, retroussé transom and traditional sheer.
The newer B & C 43 (2007+) offered either a single helm or twin wheels and an open transom (43OT) and is equally attractive but wider and longer internally thanks to more vertical ends. She also has a longer waterline, shallower underwater sections, deeper keel and a sportier rig, improving her performance without sacrificing her looks.
Below were two alternative layouts
– a linear galley, dinette and forward-facing chart table or an L-shaped galley, dinette, settee and nav station.
The saloon headroom is 1.97m/6ft 2in.
Both feature three spacious, light and airy double cabins with numerous hatches and portlights. Stowage is plentiful, although the water tanks and batteries are beneath the bunks. Both models also have a large owner’s suite forward with a double centreline berth and there’s a second heads aft.
On deck she is laid out for easy handling by minimal crew. Personally, I wouldn’t opt for the open transom (OT) version for cruising as there’s too much chance of losing things (including crew) over the stern, even though the twin wheels make for easy access to the water when at anchor.
Moving forward from the helm requires climbing over the seats to get past the huge wheel, although it facilitates helming whilst sitting outboard with the primary winches and mainsheet within easy reach.
Deck gear stowage is good, especially in the closed transom model, and side deck access is clear thanks to inboard-mounted genoa tracks and shrouds. The foredeck has acres of space for deploying the ground tackle as the furling drum is below decks, along with the windlass.
Her fractional rig boasts rod rigging and is eminently tweakable thanks to the hydraulic backstay tensioner, but despite her racy breeding the GS43 is a true cruiser-racer. She’s fast and responsive, but nicely balanced. Her deep keel and high aspect spade rudder allow her to point closer than 30° to the apparent wind close-hauled, her helm remaining light even in heavy gusts. On a reach in a fresh breeze, 9 knots is not uncommon, while downwind you can expect to see 12-14 knots with the spinnaker hoisted.
Though the GS43 can comfortably power you through a big sea, she is also huge fun to sail and offers luxurious and practical living quarters that are ideal for the longer passages.