Why Choose Gunboat 60 Over Outremer 5X?

[Surfer Girl]

Personally, I like twin helms aft (also Catana do this). This is the best place to be if you want to SAIL. One of the things I don't like about modern cats is the token single helm station that is often situated in a cramped position with poor visibilty all round. I am a sailor and I like to helm where I can see the sea, the sails and get the best perspective and the big picture, whether that be sitting/standing at the leeward helm or windward helm. I like twin helm monos for the same reason. Let's face it, when you're in cruising mode and at sea for days (or weeks) on end, the auto pilot (or windvane) will be steering most of the time so sitting in the shade on watch is easy.
For those that say you are too exposed in a blow - I say, that's sailing mate. Put your oilies on and clip in your harness and revel in the elements just like sailors have done for centuries....

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Surfer Girl

Personally, I like twin helms aft (also Catana do this). This is the best place to be if you want to SAIL.

But not the best place to helm if you want to live.
Many long term cruisers dislike the exposed outer helm position as you get cooked in the tropics.

Try just a few hours out there on a windless cloudless day in 40degree temps and report back with your thoughts.

Let's face it, when you're in cruising mode and at sea for days (or weeks) on end, the auto pilot (or windvane) will be steering most of the time so sitting in the shade on watch is easy.

Lets face it, the 2 boats as described ARE a cruising boat, not a day sailer, so you are right, most of the time you will be on Auto and chasing shade.

[Surfer Girl]

Cat Man Do, you quoted 2 parts of my post and the 2nd part answered your "windless, cloudless, 40 degree" comment.
I have been a long term cruiser - I have crossed the Pacific, lived aboard in the Med and the Caribbean. I've also copped my fair share of gales & storms. In the conditions you mention, especially windless - you will be either motoring (so auto pilot and shade) or rolling around, yawing & pitching with slatting sails driving you mad and again, sitting in shade.

If you have to (or choose to) hand steer for hours or days on end then for sure, exposed helms mean cooking in the sun. But in all my years cruising I have never found it an issue. And none of the other cruisers I met did either. In sun you wear white T-shirt, hat & sunscreen; you rotate crew at the helm but mostly, you let 'Otto the auto pilot' steer and snooze in the shade (while another crew member is on watch, of course).

Yachts are always a compromise and no designer can 'please all of the people all of the time'. Many design features come down to personal choice. Even though I like cruising, when I'm at the helm I like to get the best out of the boat and for that, aft helm positions are great. Each to their own....

[MehmetCan]

I have to agree with cat_man_do here. Yes, I love to get wet and be close to the sea, that's given. However, in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm, I'd want to be at the safest position possible. Seeing your surroundings is essential, I agree, but then again, let's say you're situated at the windward helm and need to do something with the genoa sheet -at the lee side winch! That would be a long long walk!!!

Gunboats are fast, comfortable, sexy etc. etc., but on practical level, the best thing about them is the centralized controls and interior/exterior helm station. Just my humble opinion...

[Zonker]

Ah ... you gotta have 2 slaves, one for shade, one for trimming the sails !

[Surfer Girl]

Mehmet, you raise a valid point. All sail controls to a central helm position is an ergonomic & safety plus. I would suggest however, as Zonker mentioned, that on a 60 foot cat there should be more than 1 crew member on watch when on passage for exactly the reason you mentioned...
I love the Gunboat design for the most part and like Chris White designs, a forward central helm seems very user/safety friendly. I just don't like the design of a single port or starboard helm on smaller cats - it seems to be designed more as a power cat helm than a sailing helm.
But this thread is about 'Gunboat 60 over Outremer 5X', so I'll shut up now.....

[MehmetCan]

Surfer_Girl, I guess the answer for my question is quite obvious. If you can afford to pay 1.5M$'s to a boat, then you can strech your budget and buy a Gunboat as well. And if we had couple of millions burning our pockets and don't care about the amount, I bet 9 out of 10 would go for the GB too...

[Zonker]

Sry ... there are def. more luxury cats :

Nautitech 541/2
Lagoon 560/620

so if you ever stayed for more then a few weeks on a boat - I bet you would go for the mentioned above.

You gotta place your azz on king-size bowl and not a tiny carbon fibre thing !

[MehmetCan]

Zonker, been on the L620 and you're right, it's a floating apartment. But then again, it's way too big to shorthanded use and almost impossible to sail. 560 seems better, yet, high boom really makes me think.

As for the nautitechs, I used to love them but that was more than 10 years ago. There are many better alternates today.

If I was to moor at one place or marina 9 months a year and sail near places at the rest, L560 would be the only option. However, I want to be on the boat 12 months a year with non-stop sailing, so GB sounds better. In addition, you can go upwind!

Last but not least, I'd probably order with a big carbon fibre bowl, way ahead of you!

[MehmetCan]

O.k., now this is just porn!!!

MOONWAVE - Gunboat60 Sailing Catamaran - Available for charter on Vimeo

[caradow]

Wow where are all the Chris White fans?
Oh I know, they are out sailing my next boat!
I would encourage anyone interested in these high end boats to read the owners comments on Chris's web site.
What am I missing?

[Le Doume]

Originally Posted by Surfer Girl

Mehmet, you raise a valid point. All sail controls to a central helm position is an ergonomic & safety plus. I would suggest however, as Zonker mentioned, that on a 60 foot cat there should be more than 1 crew member on watch when on passage for exactly the reason you mentioned...
I love the Gunboat design for the most part and like Chris White designs, a forward central helm seems very user/safety friendly. I just don't like the design of a single port or starboard helm on smaller cats - it seems to be designed more as a power cat helm than a sailing helm.
But this thread is about 'Gunboat 60 over Outremer 5X', so I'll shut up now.....

Yes the gunboat design is great , but personally , the reason why I went for the 5X was the shear pleasure on a nice day to sit to windward in the bucket seat and have that carbon tiller in my hands having lots of fun .
When the weather is not so nice , then the carbon wheel mounted on the bulkhead gives me great protection with a superb view of the boat , so for me , in Gunboat vs 5X , I went 5X
Cheers and happy sailing

[dan360]

GB60-01 is for sale in SG. PRO SAIL Asia - Gunboat 60

[muskoka]

MC²60 High Performance Catamaran - Sailing Luxury Catamaran

McConnaghy has just made their first mc2 60, soon to be followed by a 53 and 78. I saw the very first 60 here at the club and she displaces 9.3T. The 53 will have a displacement of 7.5T.

I have no idea how much these bad boys cost but they look stunning. And they be quick. I want one.

Must. Work. Much. Harder...

[hefestus]

What about TAG60. Only few built but looks very cool from the advert and vids on YouTube.