Lombard’s aluminium blue water cruiser
BY ADMIN • MAY 29, 2017 • BREAKING NEWS, HOMEMOSAIC, YACHTS • COMMENTS OFF • 212
The Gulliver 57 is from the board of legendary French designer Marc Lombard and is finished to a very high standard. The concept arose when Carlo Gullotta was looking for a new boat but couldn’t find what he wanted from the established builders.
“I wanted an aluminium boat that would be safe, lightweight, recyclable and yet have a long life,” says Gullotta. “I asked some of the French builders, but they couldn’t incorporate all the ideas I wanted. So instead I went to Marc Lombard and asked him to design the boat I wanted.”
The result is a very appealing blend of French offshore design knowledge and Italian style, with impressive attention to detail and a high standard of finish. The first two examples are already afloat, having been built near Milan. The prototype, built for a friend who was looking for a yacht on which his young family could live, hit the water in summer 2016. This was followed by a second boat in April 2017.
The chined hull has twin rudders and a hydraulic lifting keel reduces draught from 3.5m to just 1.17m. The carbon spars are by Lorima (same supplier as IMOCA 60s). Forward and aft watertight bulkheads hint at the kind of serious sailing Gullotta had in mind when commissioning the design.
Future boats will be completely customisable in terms of layout and equipment, although the first two follow broadly similar principles. The accommodation layout is unusual, yet maximises the use of space. The saloon is right at the back of the boat, under the cockpit. Forward of this is a huge galley to starboard, while the large navigation station, with provision for office space, is to port. The overall effect is one of plenty of space, along with masses of storage. Fit out is in white painted composite sandwich panels offset with wood trim. It looks great yet is also practical and will clearly work well at sea, where the deep fiddles and numerous handholds will be of great value.
Forward of these areas are four double/twin cabins, plus two head/shower compartments. There are two pilot berths outboard of the saloon, plus lee cloths on saloon settees so there are ample good sea berths. The galley, plus saloon and cockpit tables are designed around the use of catering industry standard Gastronorm containers, which is hugely efficient and makes great use of space.
LOA 18.6m
Hull length 17.5m
Waterline length 17.41m
Beam 5.18m
Displacement 19.054kg
Ballast 4,254kg
Draught 1.7 to 3.5m
Mainsail 105sq m
Solent jib 90 sq m
Spinnaker 287sq m
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