Grand Soleil 40 Performance
In recent years there’s been a dearth of new performance cruisers of this size, so this model is a welcome addition to the market. It’s intended to capitalise on the success of the Grand Soleil 44, which won last year’s ORC World Championship, yet has a comfortable and spacious interior. Like the larger boat it’s offered in both Performance and Race versions.
Designer Matteo Polli says the hull lines are “an evolution of the concepts studied for the Grand Soleil 44, giving maximum attention to the balance of volume as heel increases.” Nevertheless, the bow profile has been kept fine by today’s standards to reduce wetted surface area and minimise motion and slamming in a seaway.
The Performance version has a selftacking jib as standard, while the Race model adds transverse jib sheet tracks, an extra pair of winches and a recessed mainsheet traveller. It also comes with a bowsprit and hydraulic backstay. Both have a single rudder positioned well forward of the disturbed water near the transom.
Three keels are offered – a 2.4m draught with cast iron blade and lead torpedo optimised for IRC racing, a 2.1m version aimed at ORC competition and a 1.85m shoal keel for cruisers who need the flexibility to enter shallow harbours and anchorages.
Interior design and external styling is by Nauta, which has created a spacious three cabin layout, including a large owner’s suite forward with a peninsula bed and plenty of floor space. The port side of the saloon is given over to a 2.6m long linear galley, which has much more stowage and worktop space than is generally associated with performance cruisers of this size. The first example is scheduled to be unveiled at the Cannes boat show in September 2022.
Shaun Carkeek’s recent raceboats – including Niklas Zennström’s Fast 40 Ran, Richard Matthews’ CF520 Oystercatcher XXXV and the fully foiling Carkeek Persico F70 – are some of the stand-out designs of their generation. So when Carkeek turned his hand to a very high performance cruising design it was inevitable he’d produce a yacht unlike any other. Add in the already proven pedigree of the Italian Mylius yard and you get an absolutely stunning design.
The powerful hull shape, with its reverse bow and chamfered topsides forward, together with an exceptionally clean deck layout with an almost vestigial coachroof, shout about its performance credentials. Maximum beam is carried right aft at deck level, but the aft sections have a lot of flare above the waterline, with chines high up on the topsides and twin rudders.
Yet the deeply upholstered guest cockpit suggests a very high-end daysailer. And below decks there’s a fully-fitted luxury interior, with four cabins, a full-width saloon and a generous galley area.
With a boat like this the aspects that lie below the surface are as important as the external styling. As well as their aero and hydrodynamically efficient shapes, structures are optimised using finite element analysis (FEA). While this is a tool that has been around for decades, it’s time consuming and expensive when applied throughout a large structure, so
Another model to launch from the Italian yard this year, the LC (Long Cruise) variant of its 72 has a pronounced coachroof, with continuous wraparound glazing on the sides and front. This will give a 270º view from the raised saloon, yet the external profile is considerably sleeker than that generally associated with deck saloon yachts. The raised saloon floor also gives more space for tankage, machinery and systems underneath, and frees space for larger aft cabins.
The forward part of the cockpit is particularly spacious, even compared to the superlative standards in this part of the market. Positioning the companionway slightly off centre to