Forsaking its lengthy partnership with Farr Yacht Design for its new flagship, Bavaria Yachts has turned to Italy’s Cossutti Yacht Design. The C57 sports a high-volume hull that nevertheless looks elegant and should, given Cossutti’s pedigree, perform well under its lofty triple-spreader rig.
An optional in-mast furling mainsail and a standard self-tacking jib, coupled with standard bow and stern thrusters, will allow the boat to be easily handled by a couple. Lines are led aft to a quartet of winches clustered around a large working cockpit that has its own wet bar and grill. Bavaria points proudly to three distinct sunbathing areas—the roomy lounging cockpit ahead of the working area, the cabintop and the expansive foredeck.
Belowdecks, there is a choice of three-, four- or five-cabin layouts. The owner’s stateroom forward is insulated against noise, and the two aft cabins in the standard layout have bunks that can be converted from doubles to twin singles. Overall, there is plenty of storage for long-haul sailing, and the dinghy garage is another practical touch—nothing spoils the lines of a boat like a RIB dangling from davits.
Speaking of flagships, Lagoon’s new Seventy 7 really raises the bar for production catamarans. There have been bigger ones—Catana’s 90-footer is a case in point—but none have been more inventive. Take the owner’s suite. Not only is it bigger than the master bedroom in many houses, right down to walk-in closets and his and hers washbasins in the heads, but it has its own private beach. That’s right —a large hull door drops down and outward to form a sizeable swimming and sunbathing area. It looks to be really well waterproofed when it’s raised, in case you were wondering…
As for the rest of the boat, it has the accommodation of a 100-plus-foot monohull—including up to five cabins with an interior layout offering a host of options, and the ability to carry a hefty cruising payload that’ll see its owners around the world in style and comfort.
The big cat was designed by multihull specialists VPLP and Patrick le Quement, with interior styling by Nauta Design. The triple-spreader spar is white-painted aluminum, and standing rigging is Kevlar.
Continuing the theme of big production boats, the Hanse 588 made its debut at the Cannes show in September. Longtime design partners judel/vrolijk drew the lines for this powerful-looking cruiser, and Hanse is responding to owners who increasingly cruise long distances by offering inmast furling as an option along with a double headsail configuration in which an overlapping genoa is set outside the trademark self-tacking jib.
The latest big-boat design trend is an optional fixed hardtop, catamaran-style, which aside from shading the crew provides a platform for a large solar panel array. A dinghy garage concealed by the large drop-down transom gate is another welcome feature.
The company also offers unequalled scope for personalizing its boats, with dozens of options for the interior layout and trim.
CONTACTS
Bavaria C57, bavaria-yachtbau.com
Hanse 588, hanseyachts.com
Lagoon Seventy 7, cata-lagoon.com
February 2017
