Sig 45 Catamaran

[Ram]

Very nice - but as was said before needs steps

[hugoleb]

Hi Ram. Thanks for the feedback. The steps hidden by the opening transom. Some of my clients do not like to see the steps all the time. If the client wishes, the transom can be set up to open from the water. And if someone wanted to have permanent steps, this would be possible too (though one would lose storage space in the transom compartment).

[sandy daugherty]

I'll feel diferently in the summer, but today that helm position looks COLD!

[hugoleb]

I guess it depends a bit on one's expectations. Many of our customers come from a performance monohull background, and the SIG45 actually gives them much more protection than they are used to. The pilothouses and coamings do actually give good protection, and the boat is very dry. However, a full bridgedeck does of course give more protection. The trade off for speed and visibility has to be made somewhere!

[Ram]

Great Idea,with the steps - WOW- the video-it takes (balls
) to fly the hull like that !
I hope to see the Yacht wile in your area(italy)

[fastcat435]

Nice Site Hugo

My compliments

Greetings

Gideon

[hugoleb]

Thanks Gideon! Quite a bit of work, but worth it, I think.
The boat is amazingly controlable. One can fly a hull if one wants to, and it does not feel scary at all. The flat top main means that easing the mainsheet 30-40cm opens the leach and drops the hull straight back down again, and the oversized rudders mean that heading up or bearing away involves no fuss at all.
Hugo

[C--man]

would a bridgedeck really affect performance that much?

[hugoleb]

The bridgedeck does seem to affect performance considerably, though both added weight and added windage. Windage is particularly important above about 12 knots. I do not have the figures to hand, but I would anticipate at least 10-20% performance advantage without the bridgedeck. Removing the bridgedeck also allows us to have 1.4m beam clearance, which means no slamming and less parasitic drag. The removal of the bridgedeck has less impact on living space than we had initially expected. The saloon and nav station create space that would not be so available on a conventional bridgedeck cat - it is normally used for steps into the hulls, and for corridors between cabins in the hulls. The result is that the SIG45 actually has a surprisingly spacious interior. The disadvantage is that storage space is rather less than in a more conventional bridgedeck catamaran.
Regarding the price - the boat, in full pre-preg carbon with a fully fitted interior, but ex sails and electronics, is about 700,000 euros.

[tomlinson4]

hi hugo, i love the look and obvious performance of the sig 45, a similiar concept to my current boat a one off 46 ft cat built in nz in the 80s. It is also open bridgedeck with cabins cantilevered in towards the centre to give good accomadation and performance, it can cover a lot of ground even when cruising and is a lot of fun to sail,being timber it will be heavier than your boat , I have not had it lift a hull altho the 26ft beam will be part of that. I think the photos are still up on Marine Scene Limited from when i bought it under the name tl systems. you should put up some info on the forum multihulls4us also. Dave NZ

[hugoleb]

Hi Dave, Many thanks for the email! How interesting to see the pictures of your boat - she is really quite similar in concept. I will check out multihulls4us as well - I appreciate the tip. Enjoy sailing your boat - we are so happy with the concept - I am sure you are too! Hugo

[boatpad]

very nice boat, waiting the next version SIG60.

[Skip JayR]

Originally Posted by hugoleb

The bridgedeck does seem to affect performance considerably, though both added weight and added windage. Windage is particularly important above about 12 knots. I do not have the figures to hand, but I would anticipate at least 10-20% performance advantage without the bridgedeck. Removing the bridgedeck also allows us to have 1.4m beam clearance, which means no slamming and less parasitic drag. The removal of the bridgedeck has less impact on living space than we had initially expected. The saloon and nav station create space that would not be so available on a conventional bridgedeck cat - it is normally used for steps into the hulls, and for corridors between cabins in the hulls. The result is that the SIG45 actually has a surprisingly spacious interior. The disadvantage is that storage space is rather less than in a more conventional bridgedeck catamaran.
Regarding the price - the boat, in full pre-preg carbon with a fully fitted interior, but ex sails and electronics, is about 700,000 euros.

I would say, good news for SIG45 and all the other speedy Cats, eg. Outrember 45... reading the news today about the bankrupcy of Gunboat:

In a period of non-stop accolades and introduction of several terrific new models, Gunboat has been quietly struggling behind the scenes for nearly two years. It has been a perfect storm of adverse business circumstances, mistakes, and disputes. A brief summary from my viewpoint/opinion:

• The Chinese built Gunboat 60 series cost Gunboat a fortune to sort out. The Chinese builder has fought its contractual obligations to manage, support, pay and reimburse for the completion, rework and warranty costs. Gunboat felt an obligation to its customers and spent millions out of pocket, which proved to be a huge strain on our resources, focus and productivity.

• The G4 capsize in April, and the recent photo boat collision on a magazine boat test in Annapolis have thwarted sales of this series to date. The investment was made. The return is in the future.

• The abandonment of RAINMAKER by her owner and crew certainly was not helpful to a new series. The Gunboat 55 is a great boat, and it will take time for that word to get out.

• The ramp up of production in North Carolina took longer and cost more.

I am sure our situation will be dissected. As sole owner of the company, these issues are all mine…..I could have overcome maybe 1-2 of these challenges, but certainly not all of these in one short period of time. Today, Gunboat will file for Chapter 11 protection under the Federal Bankruptcy Code.

With the challenges above, there are also positive notes moving forward. The operations have shown a nice turn-around in the past few months. Boats are being built, and we are meeting our plan for operating the business and recovering through the Chapter 11 process.

Business has ups and downs. Success and failure. I have enjoyed 30 years of both results. While the past two years been the most stressful and difficult period of my life and business career, this period has also been one of enormous assessment and growth personally and professionally. I have learned far more from the failures than the accolades. We have a lot of good people, and we will see our way out of this period in the next two years.

To everyone who has been so supportive, I am forever grateful. To anyone adversely affected by Gunboat’s situation, I am deeply sorry.

(Source: Scuttlebut News on 18th November 2015 - Gunboat Files for Bankruptcy >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News )

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I see it following: It is the logically consequence. The boat doesnt have the substance... a big marketing gimmick.

Let us remember: Already in 2004 an Outremer 45 Cat sailed with 22-23 knots (see vid: http://bit.ly/1Yh5YcY ).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDLX6Be4CVQ

Give such "an old boat" some foils, high tech sails on a modern profiled rotation wing mast and T-rudder... and you see the same in the range of 30 knots what we have seen with some spectacularly images with drones of the Orange G4. Nothing new, nothing special. Big show making...

One (as owner/founder/enterpreneur) should know the market and understand customers... and not just selling 100% Carbon at an insane prize in the range of 3-3.5 million US dollars / boat (produced cheaply in China).

The list with critics could go on, e.g. looking at another concurrence. Let's take the SIG45 High Performance Cat going 20 knots easily (without foils) in 18 knots wind. Already sailed in 2008 in the range of up to 25-26 knots ( see vid: http://bit.ly/1WZCwuV ).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDLX6Be4CVQ

Later in 2012 the SIG45 was sailing in Frisco Bay the Big Boat Series... but still missing some cool Drone footages as we have seen with G4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnpxcrrWsXg

A Le Breton Yachts SIG60 (with foils) by sure would be same competitive as the Gunboat.

In other words: there is competitively concurrence... but all the hype around the G4 over last months pretended that this US boat would be something very special and new. So is not the reality.

Saillors with experiences having enough money and knowledge of the market (observing it over last 20-30 years) know all this and cant be made blind by some cool images.

If I'd be interested in cat racing I'd take a SIG45, call the guys of HP (Holland Composite) who built the foils for the Gunboat and order a set of powerfully daggerboard foils + foiling rudders and pace around like mad around the globe presenting cool video clips on youtube. Nobody then would be impressed anymore by this Orange G4 thing. A SIG45 is in the prize range of 1.1 million US dollars, plus a foil/T-Rudder kit... then we have 50"% of the costs for a Gunboat, if Holland composites wanted 3-400,000 alone for the foil set. - So why a G4 ? (Rec.: Probably its less costly, as Hugo Le Breton the founder himself talked in the Cruiser's Forum in 2009 about a prize for the boat without sails in the size of 700,000 Euros with fully interior, exclusively sails and electronics.)

Its always risky to misunderstand "PR" effects (and "hot air") with the substance of the product. Happened very often (and still will happen in the future) top managers became blind because of the big applause they received. Its good for their own ego, but has nothing to do with the "customer's need".