test Under sails, the great trimaran soon shows all her power It’s enough to press a button to reduce the beam from 11.25 meters to 6 meters This trimaran is impressive but,at the end of the day, she’s easy to handle... Upwind,with speed,the first spray appeared quickly... Box: Hydraulic folding arms THERE IS A REAL PROBLEM: BIG TRIMARANS DON’T HAVE ADVANTAGES ONLY. IT ISN’T ALWAYS EASY TO FIND A BERTH AT ANCHORAGE, OR TO TAKE A Woestenburg 49 The operation is very simple. First, you have to empty the hydraulic rigging screws, to reduce tension on the hulls. The mast is then held by a pair of LOCK. THE WOESTENBURG 49 HAS SOLVED THE PROBLEM IN PART: SHE HAS lowers which are useless when the boat is sailing: FOLDING BEAMS. THIS CRUISING BOAT IS BOTH FAST AND COMFORTABLE. they are released. The big pins (50 mm!) are then removed; each one blocks a beam. With the motor PORTRAIT OF A 3-LEGGED SHEEP! running, the pump can activate the lifting system (computer-assisted hydraulics), and slowly both hulls T E XT A N D P H OTO G R A P HY : G I L L E S R U FF E T are lifted together and come into position, with the beams nearly vertical, along the central hull. The P A line reminiscent of that of 60-footers... or how Everything in this trimaran was designed for a couple to go on a very faraway cruise... to combine comfort and pleasure on 3 hulls... What you’re likely to see when you approach this boat:her rear transom! beam of the boat is reduced to 6 meters. Unfolding is ort de Dahouët, Pléneuf-Val- know - and be initiated to the secrets of sea- A n d r é . Once year, a t going. The bubble is very beautiful, perfectly Christmastime, this little port designed. We would be testing it later at sea, in Brittany, nestled in the Bay but it should offer good protection from the rudder is also hydraulic, like the centerboard. But the a performed in the same way. For safety purposes, the rigging screws are activated by a manual pump. The of Saint-Brieuc, hosts the s p ra y. (Today, as is often the case, the wind propeller shaft prevent the boat from resting. Even local shipowner’s 7 big trawlers. But, on my was blowing from where we wanted to go, when the fins are lifted, she can be maneuvered word as a man from Dahouëtin, we had from Bréhat. The legend of Aeolus claims thanks to the stem propeller, which is hydraulic too. never seen a boat like this. A 50-foot trima- that there are three kinds of wind: t o o ran with folding beams! The entrance to the strong, not strong enough, or in the wrong port (one of the most beautiful!) is not very direction.) wide, but when in her sailing configuration, the Woestenburg is very wide indeed, with a At sea Construction Composite on every level. The beam fastening system is made of aluminum. It is completely integrated in the central hull structure, the centerboard casing, beam of over 11 meters. Once inside, despi- We were ready to cast off. A convoy of more te the lack of space, she turns on herself than 150 nautical miles that was to take us and mast cradle. The beams are also of aluminum, thanks in particular to the stem propeller, to Brest. All the running rigging goes to the the hulls of epoxy sandwich and the mast of carbon, and can be moored along this pier that is dry cockpit. But, to hoist the mainsail, it’s faster but, strangely enough, the staying is stainless steel at low tide. - and easier - to have one crewmember at (rod and stranded). The boom is carbon and there Erquy. Like Dahouët, a few nautical miles the mastfoot, to help the other at the winch, are carbon inserts. Despite all that, the displacement away, Erquy is a shellfish port, with relative- under cap. Otherwise, as is the case more is nearly 10 metric tons. ly few sailboats. Volume and power, such are and more often on large boats, there is the the obvious epithets, when you first see this easy way out: hydraulics. The big Lewmar 54 fine craft, made both for cruising and for starts with a button. There are three of speed. She gives a definite feeling of infinite them, with the two big 58s, the genoa sheet s t u rd i n e s s. The crossbeams are convex winches. And there an even bigger one, a 66 (entirely covered with solar panels), and the manual, for the mainsail sheet. With the gea- 14 knots 11 knots close reach hulls, tilted slightly outward, give her a racy ring down system it seems a little too much, 15 knots 8.5 knots upwind look. Nothing indicates this bird can re t ra c t but it must be remembered that the mainsail 18 knots 8.8 knots upwind her wings. That’s something you have to area is 91 m2! That’s pretty big. 10 knots 8 knots upwind SPEEDS OBSERVED Wind Boat Allure 12 knots 10 knots broad reach The cockpit and helm station are perfectly sheltered behind the bubble ■ MultihullsWorld + pros ■The cap:maximum comfort (this test was conducted mainly upwind) ■The folding beams ■The trimaran’s unique thrills ■The Stirling generator The WhisperGen generator, with a Stirling motor, gives the trimaran all its energy - cons ■The The WhisperGen generator, with a Stirling motor Great comfort for this trimaran designed for cruising on the high seas boat’s displacement;it feels heavy the lack of storage space in the central hull ■Too much electronics; not for everyone (comfort at all cost) ■The price... ■Paradoxically, W o e s t e n b u r g 4 9 The mainsheet track is fastened on the cap, Electronics are everywhere at the chart table... exercise our arms. But we didn’t list. Four The companionway is a little steep, but perfectly practicable Inside you eat. Across from the saloon is the gal- which clears room. The cockpit is very ergo- knots of adverse current complicated things The companionway is pra c t i c a l , with 5 steps ley... Upwind at 8 knots, you have to hang nomic, no doubt about that. It isn’t very easy, somewhat. We decided to sail inside Bréhat. leading to the living are a . To port, t h e re is on a little. It may move a little more than a however, to have access behind the helm, It must be remembered that, in places, the the chart table. It is very impre s s i v e, with an c a t a m a ra n , but just bare l y. And there ’s no which is very broad. There is a lack of com- width of the channel does not exceed 200 endless row of switches, worthy of the lack of room for preparing meals. L e t ’s have a closer look in front. The (very partments. And what about the visibility? m e t e r s. bre e z e control post in an industrial site. It is domi- Don’t count on it too much, except for taking enabled us to tack, among the stones, with a The contrary 10-knot nated by large video scre e n . It must be big) centerboard casing is just below the position on one of the small steps around 50-foot trimaran! As if we were on a little admitted that the chart plotter, with the mast and also serves as the cradle for the the cockpit. And being at least 1.75 m (5’9”) dinghy (for our safety, we did start the b o a t ’s integrated position, is very pleasant s p a r s. Unlike many boats (cats in particu- tall. motor, without engaging the clutch...). The and pra c t i c a l . Th e re is also a sonar (to pre- l a r ) , Sounds of Silence has only one head. Characteristics With the wind at 10 knots, we were sailing trimaran offered that unique thrill when you vent meetings with Unidentified Floating But it is vast, and really comfortable, w i t h Designer: Peter Bosgraff upwind at 8 knots. A first tack, after Les go fast, while preserving that pleasure of O b j e c t s , this device has a visibility in front good ventilation. The toilet faces forward , Overall length: 14.95 m Landas, and the breeze freshened slightly. It being - the idea may seem old-fashioned - on of the boat, u n d e r w a t e r, up to 300 meters). the evacuation is electric, of course. . . Th e Beam: 11.25 m / 6.00 m took some 95° between two tacks, with lots a boat that does list slightly, with one tack or Not to mention the BLU, the Mini M, washbasin is fairly large (no need to watch the other. We left this maze of pink rocks. Inmarsat C, e t c. On either side of the com- your water consumption, since the desalinator can make as much as you need). Th e Draft: 2.2 m/ 0.7 m of help from the deep (2.20 meters) center- Displacement: 9,500 kg board. The cap’s qualities were confirmed: it Seated on the windward hull, it planed, I savo- p a n i o n w a y, under the cockpit, t h e re are two Mainsail: 90.9 m2 provides perfect shelter underneath. By day, red the present moment. The great seagull c a b i n s , symmetric in shape, but with slight- shower is a true compartment, r o u n d , s p ac i o u s , with a mixer faucet. Genoa jib: 50 m2 Light genoa: 95 m2 Gennaker: 100 m2 Sleeping capacity: 6/8 Motor: Yanmar 50HP the chart plotter repeater is almost impos- was speeding on at nearly 9 knots, upwind. ly different feature s. They are lined with sible to read, and blocks the view in front. The sea was flat, to port, the Heaux de Bréhat some storage are a s , just enough for perso- Th e n , t h e re ’s the fore cabin, which has a You have to stick your head out from under were shining with countless sunlit rays, filte- nal effects, and a semblance of a library or, little more storage space than the aft red through the clouds. The pleasure of sailing at least, a place for books. Every counter- c a b i n s , w h e re your stuff piles up. W e l l , y o u have to admit it. Th e re ’s plenty of room in the cap to realize that, at 10 knots, there is There’s no such thing as energy problems onboard Sounds of Silence. Yet, in the course of these 30 hours of sailing,we never checked our consumption (shower, light, radar, freezer, electric burners...). The generator operates on the principle of the Stirling external combustion engine: the burners heat the cylinder heads from the outside. The gas (nitrogen) is dilated,and activates the cylinders. The motor turns at 1,500 rpm and provide heat and electricity. Revolutionary? Not really, since the idea goes back to the early 19th century. Combustion is piloted by a microprocessor, according to the oxygen level, and the exhaust, after cooling - it helps heat the boat! - is released directly into the atmosphere, above the waterline, through a simple thru-hull. Looking back. After nightfall, the WhisperGen has just started running.It is programmed to start as soon as the batteries fall under 30% of their maximum charge. But it can also be specially programmed for hot water. Today, the batteries are kept charged by the solar panels. Seated on the fore berth under which the device is located,we were able to realize it is no noisier than an electric pump (it is listed at 44 dB at 7 meters).Of course, at night at anchorage, it is preferable to stay in an aft cabin.It is quite possible, however, to sleep here when it is running, despite the heat it releases (no insulation in its protection block!). The device is designed to operate in complete autonomy for weeks at a time, and various sensors serve to interrupt its operation in case of incident:flame, internal or external temperature... Onboard Sounds of Silence, the generator supplies the four ancillary batteries, 95 Ah each, mounted serially (most apparatus are 24 V). The motor battery is 65 Ah. The converter has continuous power of 2 kW, but can peak at 6 kW, thereby supplying electricity to the compressor, as well as the induction stove, freezer and fridge (water-cooled condenser),microwave and standard oven,desalinator, and all the electronics worthy of a jet liner: Inmarsat,chart reader, BLU, Mini M,etc). There is virtually no upkeep. The device works on its own and provide virtually complete autonomy, as long as there’s enough fuel. s p ra y. The sea became a little rougher, near- on the sea. Unequalled , exquisite joy. molding is nicely enhanced by solid wood ly 15 knots of wind pushing the foam on the Reinout was responsible for the first watch. angle bars. The finishing is exemplary. Th e the hulls, no lack of space, even though it’s crest of the waves. We pitched slightly; we At 2 a.m., I woke up to take over, and prepa- cabins do have a weak point: v e n t i l a t i o n . best to avoid overloading them. felt the boat’s displacement. The price to red a cup of coffee. All in the greatest com- Th e re are only two little panels. They may pay for all the equipment onboard... With fort: a cup of water in the microwave, I pres- be sufficient in the North Sea in winter, b u t Conclusion Cockpit, overall length: 2.70 m such a load, you can have doubts as to the sed on a button, the water was already sim- they may not be enough in Mediterra n e a n This boat was designed for a couple to sail Bathtub width: 70 cm need for a carbon mast (but don’t forget: on mering. I entrusted the watch to my crew- w a t e r s , let alone in the Tr o p i c s , w h e re such around the world, fast and comfortably. S o, Headroom under cap: 1.56 m a multihull, pitching is linked to the displace- member and went to take a shower, to wake a boat will inevitably end up at some time nothing has been neglected. I tried my best, Aft cabin, berth, max dimensions: 2 m x 1.40 m ment in the upper works; decreasing the up. Luxury sailing. We approached the Pointe or other. The windward hull can be seen but I found no major defects. The price, p e r- Specifications Headroom over the berth: 98 cm weight of the rigging, reduces pitching Stirling motor Eau: 420 liters Fuel: 600 liters Generator: Whispergen Victron (see box) Somes figures de Bretagne at dawn. When we finally passed through the hatches and it is funny to re a l i- h a p s , or her displacement. It is a seaw o r t h y b o a t . What a trimaran? Because we like fast Power produced: 5 kW heat, 0.75 kW electricity Headroom: 1.75 m,but just 30 cm width at the accordinlgy). We passed the striated tower Pointe Saint-Mathieu, we hoisted the light ze that is just a catamaran : the windward foot! of Grand Léjon to starboard. Approaching genoa, 95 m2 to secure the tack on the hull never really touches the water surface. boats with chara c t e r, f i e r y. This spirit also Galley, headroom: 1.85 m min; over 3 meters the cliffs of Plouha, we saw many monohulls boom. Most of all, we had to be careful to To port, a little higher (the desalinator is means less habitability. Th a t ’s the price for p l e a s u re. Sounds of Silence, as you have sure l y Displacement: 90 kg Battery charging capacity: 200 Ah/12V, or 100 Ah/24V Fuel: Diesel Consumption: 0.7 l/h wide. tacking. Our course was pretty equivalent to position the spars correctly, to be able to ins- u n d e r n e a t h ) , t h e re is the saloon. It is very Head: Headroom: 1.85 m min theirs, to our disadvantage, but our speed tall a pin to hold it. We easily hoisted the sail, p l e a s a n t , with a seagull inlaid in the re d- Forecabin, berth: triangle of 2.15 m x 1.80 m was twice theirs! We were, obviously, bigger. on furler, boosting our speed with that of the wood tabletop (Gaviota, the boat’s first u n d e r s t o o d , is a fine boat. Very comfor- Information: Victron Énergie wind: 10 knots for 11 knots. Sheer bliss! n a m e, means seagull), to watch you while t a b l e, with a good aptitude for speed. www.victronenergy.com Headroom: 1.85 m ■ MultihullsWorld We tacked effortlessly, with . Just enough to Bulk: 650 mm x 450 mm x 500 mm ■ MultihullsWorld
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