rm yachts reviews

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

First look: RM 1380 – largest new yacht from the French marque

• Toby Hodges
• December 28, 2022

The RM 1380 is set to be the biggest boat this popular French brand has produced and could well suit bluewater cruisers

Product Overview

I like RM 1380 and I’m clearly not alone in appreciating these (typically) brightly coloured plywood epoxy fast cruisers – with over 500 hulls launched during the La Rochelle yard’s 30 or more years in production. It describes this latest (now its largest) 45-footer as ‘the perfect balance of style, velocity and bluewater cruising.’

The RM 1380 includes many of the features that have made the RM name what it is, including the combination of plywood hulls and foam sandwich glassfibre decks, deep cockpit coamings and inboard winches sited forward in the protection of the coachroof. Then there are the light, open interiors, and the versatile draught options for lift or twin keels. The latter are bolted to a galvanised steel structure.

The Marc Lombard hull shape features his characteristic reverse sheerline, together with a sizable coachroof that blends well with these lines. The powerful shape, which is angular and chined to suit its plywood construction, creates a stiff result on the water. A light displacement of under 10 tonnes for this model, combined with beamy aft sections and twin rudder control, should prove fun off the breeze.

RM 1380 will feature a bright interior with plenty of natural light

Piaton Design has styled the bright interior, which looks like it has bountiful natural light. It is offered as a three cabin version with forward master, or alternatively this can be split in half to create a fourth cabin.

The 1380 is billed as a bluewater cruiser , but for those considering long voyages, the tankage may be a limiting factor at just 150lt for fuel and 270lt for water. However, there are options to upgrade these to 300lt and 400lt respectively – a watermaker will top the ‘to add’ list for many.

Each RM looks unique because each comes with the owner’s choice of paint finish. This new flagship model is due to make its debut at the Paris and Düsseldorf boat shows in December and January.

RM 1380 specifications

LOA: 14.40m 47ft 3in Hull length: 13.30m 43ft 8in Beam: 4.50m 14ft 9in Twin keel draught: 1.95m 6ft 5in Lift keel draught: 1.45m-3.35m 4ft 9in-11ft 0in Price: €393,600 ex VAT Builder: rm-yachts.com

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At RM Yachts of La Rochelle

• April 16th, 2017
• On Location

It has been the naval architect Marc Lombard himself who awoke my interest in RM Yachts: When I got the chance to meet him during the Boot boatshow in Dusseldorf this year to talk about the very process of designing a sailing yacht and his personal approach (read the article here ). He directed me to the stand of Fora Marine – RM Yachts where we sat down to discuss the topic. It was here when I first heard about the fact that a yacht builder is making big and yet fast sailing cruisers from plywood.

Last week I happened to be in La Rochelle at the Atlantic Ocean Coast and it suddenly struck me as I was driving through a large commercial area when I saw the big RM-Yachts logo and I suddenly remembered. I took the chance and called the company and I was very excited to have Justine at the other end of the line – the very lady who was so kind to arrange the meeting with Marc during the boatshow in the first place: “Sure, of course you can come and have a visit at our yard. We would be delighted!”, she said and offered me her company to show me around. That was my lucky day.

Plywood as an ideal material for building boats

Why is it such a news that there is a company making sailing yachts from plywood? Boats and ships have been made from timber for many hundred years before: Mankind´s first boats have been hollow dug out canoes, Egyptians have set out on the Mediterranean in rafts made of reed, Polynesians have conquered much of the Pacific Ocean in cleverly rigged, very fast tiny outrigger boats and finally had the Europeans roamed the Oceans in huge sturdy yet fast and reliable timber made sailing vessels. But I admit: In a world made of plastic it sounds a bit awkward to have a yacht made from plywood considered to be “modern” or state-of-the-art.

When we entered the large production facility, not after the owner of the company greeted me and was wishing me a nice stay, I was surprised to hear from Justine than RM Yachts is selling some 40 units annually. That is much, much more than very renown Scandinavian boat yards such as admired Luffe for example. “We want to make some 48 boats this year”, she says, “The maximum limit for these facilities as you may see would be some 80 boats anually.” You know what struck me most as I stand in the hall? The smell. No biting GRP polystyrene-odors but the fine smell of wood. Very nice.

“This is how it all starts”, she says pointing to a storing area: Large piles of plywood of all sizes and thicknesses are stored here, some piles made of pre-cut parts for the boats. “The parts are laser cut”, Justine explains. I can see what will be future portholes, stringers, parts which will form a bulkhead of a yacht. Where do these raw plywood sheets come from? “They are made especially for us nearby. Also the laser cutting service is performed by a local company in the area around us. We try to have most of the boat done by ourselves of course. If this can´t be done, we are always seeking the help of local companies first.”, Justine explains.

Making a plywood sailing yacht is – not unlike the building of a GRP boat – a lot of hand labor. When I was visiting the yard it was bristling with people. What I liked a lot was the fact that I equally saw young people working here as well as elder craftsmen which is a sign of a good healthy workforce and the ensuring of knowledge transition between the generations. There appeared to be no pressure here – people did their work thoroughly, I often saw them putting away the tools to intensively check on the outcome. All of the male workers of course found their time to greet Justine with French bisous as well.

Making the structural skeleton of the sailing yacht

“We have no molds to make a yacht´s hull”, Justine explains as we stand in front of a huge construction made of thick plywood: “That´s the negative model of the hull and the equivalent to the GRP-mold if you want. The craftsmen will put the pre-cut parts in a certain manner to a certain place and thus form the skeleton of the hull.” I get closer to watch: First they will put in the bulkheads. Then stringers and ribs will be complemented. The longitudinal parts such as stringers will be put in place as well. “It´s a giant puzzle!”, I said and she nods, smiling.

The parts are then glued together by means of Epoxy. “We are using a lot of Epoxy in our yachts of course.”, Justine says pointing to the thick joints of the plywood plates: “Epoxy is the best glue in this matter as it will be virtually sucked into the plywood material. It will form a very, very strong bond with the wooden parts no other glue will achieve.” They use different forms of Epoxy here, I will learn later. Looking at the joints I notice the sheer thickness of them: Not as thick a thumb, but as thick as two thumbs!

It´s funny to see that there are no nails, no screws no bolts and nuts whatsoever needed to form the structural skeleton of this yacht. Looking at the huge strains which will go into a yacht´s hull when sailing, when the shrouds are under immense loads, when waves pound the hull, it´s just amazing to see that there is not a single bolt needed to support the wooden mainframe of an RM Yacht.

I crawl deeper into the huge 3D-puzzle to look thoroughly. All joints are glued from either sides to the adjoining parts, the quality of the joints is as high as expected – no seams visible. Even the Epoxy glued areas – though made by hand – seem to have been done by a robot as perfect and even as they appear. Thanks to a precise laser-cutting technology this boat will be as symmetrically perfect as one could think of.

I wonder how long it would take to fabricate a plywood yacht hull. Justine is asking a worker how looks at the construction and estimates: The large boats, 10 to 12 meters, will take a good week to be made, the smaller, 8 to 9 meter yachts are faster: “The hull of an RM 890 will take three to four days in this production step.”, Justine translates. Wow, that´s fast for sure, faster than molding (and drying) a GRP-hull.

Achieving structural strength of a plywood yacht hull

Plywood – this word may for some people sound odd in connection with making a proper oceangoing yacht. You could use plywood for furniture or panels, but could you use it to make a ship that is sailing on the Oceans and withstand the sheer forces of nature? These boats all have Cat A CE-rating and are thus made for sailing in all conditions in all areas of our planet. The boats needs to be strong. How do they achieve it?

Before I enter the large workshop-hall I take a look at a steel frame unit ready for assembly outside. That´s a thick piece of stainless steel, not dissimilar to those massive main frames for example X-Yachts is utilizing in their respective yachts. “This cage is also done by a partner company in this area.”, Justine explains: “Every RM yacht has one of these built in.” The steel has a thickness of some 10 millimeters.

The frame will be partially jacket with plywood which is glued to the steel and be put into the caliber right from the beginning. This it will be obstructed into the hull to form solid bonds. “The steel main frame serves many purposes”, Justine tells me: “It will first of all take on the keel. We offer three kinds of keels with our yachts: The solid T-keel, a twin-keel with which the yacht can fall dry and the lifting keel. Especially for the very long lifting keels you need to have a very strong frame to take on the loads.”

I take a look under one of the hulls and can clearly see how the steel cage is built in. Most of the steel-parts have been covered with plywood, others had been bolted to thick plywood stringers of the hull. The cage is securely attached to the wooden structure: “The second purpose of the steel cage is to take on the loads from the shrouds which will be diverted directly to the steel.”, Justine tells me.

All in all the hull makes a deep impression on me. On the one hand I am fascinated by the plywood construction, the thick joints and the perfect seamless assembly, the effort that goes into each and every part of the structure. When I touch the structure or knock on it, it feels solid and the “Clang” of my knocking reassures me of the solidity of the hull. On the other hand … it´s still plywood, isn´t it?

What about collision damage on a plywood yacht?

As we roam the workshop, I do ask Justine some further questions on stability of the boat. What about collisions? Hitting floating object is a nightmare for every skipper and whilst the sea gets more and more polluted, yards need to find answers. Of course, she says, that´s a problem for every yacht maker and RM Yachts has an answer to this one too.

“Look at the bow section here”, she shows me a half-ready hull. The very bow has been laminated with multiple layers of glass reinforced fibre-matts and Epoxy. “This is just the outside. From the inside you will notice that in the collision compartment of the yacht we have built in no less than 4 layers of thick plywood – each one glued to the hull, laminated to the hull and soaked with Epoxy. This is really a very, very strong construction and makes a firm bond in case some collision takes place.”

I go down to my knees and look right into the collision compartment (which will house the anchor-chain and gas-bootle) later. There I can see what she meant. I can further see some solgitudinal stringers which will add further strength in this area. Seems appropriate and to be honest, it looks a lot more assuring that some GRP-made hulls I had to inspect where there isn´t any of these elements but just 0.8 centimetres of GRP.

“There is an option we offer,” Justine tells me as we stand next to a half-ready hull: “See this yellow layer? This is Kevlar.” I touch the garment which feels like any other laminated denim: Solid. “The whole hull is covered with one layer of Kevlar and some spots of the boat, especially the bow section, with two layers. That´s an option we offer for clients who want to be 110 per cent safe against collisions.” They don´t like this option at RM Yachts, Justine tells me, just because it´s not necessary as they judge: The boat is safe and strong even without Kevlar. It will only add weight to the hull. “But many clients want this reassurance so we do it.”

Epoxy resin & plywood: An ideal team

Marc Lombard told me during our interview that plywood is the ideal material to make a ship because of a certain feature of it: It is soaking itself automatically with Epoxy if done right. Justine gets me deeper into this: “When the hull is completed on the stand, it will be completely painted with Epoxy resin. As plywood is naturally made of a more softer timber, the material will literally soak itself full of resin instantly. When drying out, the once soft plywood will then be a rock solid new material. And this is what we want to achieve.” Again under one new hull I watch a worker doing exactly this job. Very tedious, on your knees for hours and re-doing the joints, painting the inner hull with Epoxy. The nice smell of wooden material in this area of the workshop is of course instantly replaced by the familiar odour of resin and chemical agents helping to stick to the material and dry fast.

Of course, plywood-made hulls cannot bear round shapes like it is achieved with a GRP mold. RM Yachts are therefore hard chined hulls. Naval architect Marc Lombard sees no problems in that especially in view to most of the contemporary GRP-hull concepts which themselves feature more or less extreme developed chines to gain more volume. For performance-oriented hull designs like this of a Pogo for example a chine will add sufficiently to the stability of the yacht when sailing heeled.

When the inside of the hull is completely painted with Epoxy, all adjoining areas of all bulkheads, stringers and other parts will be laminated at least twice. In the end, no wooden surface of the original plywood hull will be touchable anymore: An owner will have the impression of being on an ordinary GRP-made boat. From the outside, the same treatment is applied: The plywood is soaked with Epoxy, then the adjoining seams will be laminated twice. As I stand there to admire a raw 890 hull, they are pulling a white painted hull out of another workshop: “That´s the latest of our boats, the 1370.”, Justine explains: “Please don´t take pictures: She is brand new …”

Filling and smoothing the yacht´s hull

We enter another section of the complex. Huge fans are constantly taking out and filtering the air from dust particles. Air condition keeps the hall inside a certain small range of temperatures so that an optimum surrounding for the very working steps is created which are performed here.

“When the raw hull is dried thoroughly”, Justine explains, “it will be brought here. One layer of Epoxy is brought to the outside of the hull as you may see at this boat. This layer is for example white.” It will then sanded down to create a smooth surface. “After the first there comes a second layer with the same, more thicker Epoxy, and this will have a different color just to check. This will also be sanded down. After these steps the hull has perfect shape without any scratched. No seam will be visible anymore.”

Looking at the hull very closely, I notice the thickness of the Epoxy layers which is in some areas well more than 3 millimetres. The sanding process – which is a very, very nasty work, hazardous for the workers (that’s why they have to wear dust masks and the air is immediately filtered through the large machines, a loud work and a nasty work as I know from my own experiences with sanding GRP surfaces on my own yacht (read it here ).

Looking at the stern of this hull I notice the different strengths of the thickness of the plywood sheets forming the hull itself: The bottom sheet clearly is thicker than 2 centimetres, going to the outside and up the hull to the ship´s sides the sheets get thinner, but no thinner than one centimetre. Sanding work has been done just fine on this hull: The once “hard” chines are now rounded to a nice and soft shape.

Here it is where I can finally take a look at the finished raw-inside of the hull with all of the plywood soaked with Epoxy, the adjoining areas laminated twice for additional strength and everything covered with another single layer of GRP-garment. Looks rock-solid and walking on the hull is no problem: No squeeking nor any other sound coming from the surface when walking on it.

It doesn´t work completely without GRP

Of course, RM Yachts are no complete plywood boat. This is what I understand now. The basic material may be plywood, but the construction bears nevertheless a significant portion of modern-day materials just like Epoxy resin and different types of GRP-garments. As Marc Lombard told me during Boot boatshow Dusseldorf, the one and only part of the boat that is made the “traditional-modern” way in a mold is the deck.

“You cannot achieve nice round surfaces and forms with plywood”, he said: “We just want to offer not solely a fast sailing hull but also sailing pleasure which derives from a large portion of the comfort a cabin offers.” Marc explained that the deck will be done traditionally by hand-laminating a GRP mold. And this is what I see at the next station. “These decks are done at a nearby shop by another local partner”, Justine tells me as we walk by.

“Salut!”, we greet loud and clear as we enter another part of the hall, the joiner´s workshop. Now that´s the smell I love indeed! Wooden parts are sawn, sanded and worked with so that it scents like being in a forest here. “Now the GRP molded deck will be outfitted with wooden parts as you may see here.” This could be interesting, I am thinking for myself, since I am right now working on my own yacht on the roofing .

Just as I did it on my own King´s Cruiser 33, the workers are glueing wooden parts to the ceiling which will later be the substruction to take on the roofing panels. Wiring for lighting and other electric installations are already attached to the roof. And there it is: My inspiration! Velcro-tape is used to hold the roofing panels, at least as a secondary joining point. I am taking this idea for my own project since my roofing panels are somewhat heavy and very long – utilizing Velcro will make working with it a lot more easier.

At the same time, the hull – readily painted in the inside – is brought to the assembly line. “Now you can see we have painted the internal hull completely white.”, Justine shows me a 970-hull. “It´s no different in her appearance from a GRP-molded hull anymore and you won´t see any plywood.” Which is perfectly true. The white paint has been applied flawlessly and workers are busy installing machinery, wires and tubes.

“Finally, after the marriage – when the deck joins the hull – the yachts will be brought here and all connecting areas between hull and deck will be closed with multiple layers of this thick Epoxy.” The deck will be attached in two ways at the same time: The deck will be glued with Epoxy to the hull. That’s why they had built a wide strip at the edge of the ship´s side so that a large area is formed to glue the deck onto. Second, thick nuts and bolts will be drilled through deck and hull every 20 centimetres to form a solid mechanical bond.

Interior design and final fitting of the yacht

With this step the boat has been finished to a raw state. All major pats like engine, additional machinery, all electric wires and parts had been already installed. Most of the joinery is of course assembled and put into the boat before the marriage of hull and deck – just as it is the case with all yachts. “Now the boats will be brought into our paint shop”, Justine adds, pointing to a now empty area at the end of the workshop. Where the secret RM 1370 just left.

We leave the large workshop. Two RM Yachts are on the outside to be fitted and rigged. An RM 1270 is the first we inspect. “All colours from the RAL-palette are possible”, Justine says: “We can even create tones if a client won´t find his favourite colour among the thousands of variants.” She smiles. “There´s always the one favourite colour not supplied by RAL, I can assure you …” We enter the 1270 and go down the entryway.

“With every RM Yacht you will only have to make three steps to enter the saloon”, Justine insists. What impressed me (again) was the sheer light suffused saloon. Wow, that´s almost as spacious as on a deck saloon yacht, I tell her. She agrees: “Yet it isn´t a DS. We achieved to offer almost a 360 degree view of the surrounding which is fantastic when sailing.” I can only imagine.

Partially this fantastic situation is due to the huge skylights in the fore part of the saloon: These large windows allow huge amounts of light entering the saloon for sure. “It´s wonderful to see the sails in full bloom. Even when sailing with autohelm, you´ll have a perfect view to what´s happening around and in front of you from down below here”, Justine adds.

Just like windshields of modern sportive cars the RM Yachts bear this feature: As I stand outside on the fore deck of the 1270 I can compare this 34 feet boat to the nearby RM 890, the smallest in the RM range, that also have these large skylights. Light is even more important the smaller a yacht will be, so that is well done, Marc!

But what I loved most about the RM: The navigation station. “We take pride in the fact that every RM Yacht features a proper chart table”, Justine tells me. I dislike current trends in “modern” cruisers to further miniaturizing the chat table, to make it disposable of because most sailors don´t do proper chart work but rely solely on their chart plotters. The RM1270 has a huge nav station – compared with her boat´s size – which I so much adore. (Read about the chart table of my own yacht here )

The price of an RM Yacht

I conclude the tour oft he RM Yachts facilities with a chat about the efforts which go into these boats. RM Yachts is making around 40 yachts per year, which is more than I thought. “We like to produce more and this year there will be a slight increase in the amount of units sold, but growth is not our primary goal”, Justine assures me. “We want to keep our high standards of quality both in the building of the boats as well as in their sailing abilities.” She is proud to tell me that when they´ve tested the RM 890 against the all new Pogo 36 (read it here ), at this very day, the RM was faster.

All this comes with a price tag of course. Making a yacht is always almost solely paying for handmade craftmanship. That´s no different between a GRP-made boat to these plywood yachts. Nevertheless, as Marc Lombard told me, the price for a plywood-epoxy-hull is around 20 per cent higher than compared with a similar hull made of GRP alone. RM Yachts is definitely an exclusive brand and therefore these boats do cost. In sheer numbers: One meter of the RM 970 does come in at some 14.900 Euros. A Pogo 36 will be slightly cheaper, 14.700 Euros. The Dehler 34 will come in at 12.000 Euros per meter, the Oceanis 35.1 at 10.800 Euros. So there´s the difference, some 25 to 30 per cent to the production boats.

In the end I did have some very, very interesting two hours at RM Yachts workshop in La Rochelle with my wonderful host Justine who allowed me to take a free look at everything that was of interest. I was offered to look behind every corner, to turn things upside down (but to avid making pictures of the brand new RM 1370 – which I however did and will publish another article on this yacht when RM has officially launched the boat in the coming weeks. Thank you so much, Justine, thanks RM for having me as your guest. All that remains is the longing for an … at least small … RM Yacht (I´d take the green one) and maybe I will get the chance to sail one of these at the German RM-dealer not far from where I live.

More information on RM Yachts on their website

Other interesting articles on that topic:

Talking RM Yachts and plywood boats with Marc Lombard

Alex on his plywood-build: A Mini 650

Roofing panels made from plywood

RM Yachts are “composite”, as much as the best materials are carefully selected for each part of the boat.

Price not available

RM reviews and tests

First look: RM 1380 - largest new yacht from the French marque - Yachting World

RM 1380, a cruising sailboat to exceed 200 daily miles

RM 11.80 - Nominated as European Yacht of the Year 2020

Latest boat videos.

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RM Yachts: French plywood sailboat manufacturer

Over 30 years of plywood yacht building expertise.

Welcome to RM Yachts!

French sailboat manufacturer since 1989, our shipyard based in La Rochelle is specialised in the construction of fast cruising yachts of 30ft to 45ft in plywood and epoxy – approximately 9 to 14 meters.

Whether you are looking for a coastal cruising sailboat, or planning longer open sea trips, such as Atlantic, Pacific crossing, or round-the-world sailing, there will always be an RM yacht fitting your project.

We are actually the sole shipyard and manufacturer having built over 500 monohull sailboats using this material and this sailing yacht building technique. Needless to say, we know plywood-epoxy in-and-out.

This material’s benefits are numerous: lightness and stiffness, for increased performance under sail, and a dry and sane interior atmosphere, thanks to its thermal and phonic specifications.

Not to mention its reduced impact on the environment, compared to other materials usually found in naval construction (GRP, polyester, etc.).

Designed by award-winning architect Marc Lombard, RM yachts are 100% made in France, and then sail around the world. Our clients frequently share their anecdotes and logbooks from their solo or family adventures on our modern sailing boats.

Available in different appendage versions (single-keel, twin-keel, lifting-keel, single or twin rudder), RM Yachts are customisable, starting with their hull colour and interior design.

Advising you to choose the best cruising sailboat

Thanks to our many years of experience as a sailing yacht manufacturer, we have designed our website to provide you with all the information you need to select your next cruising yacht :

• What is important when choosing a cruising sailboat?
• What is the best size for a coastal or bluewater cruising yacht?
• How to choose the best sailboat to live on?
• What options are to be considered when preparing an ocean crossing or a circumnavigation?

Our F.A.Q. section is also a great source of information to help you find the ideal sailing boat according to your needs and sailing plans.

You are more than welcome to visit our premises, and we can also set up a sea trial! Our team will be more than happy to help you configure your brand-new sailing yacht

Alternatively, you can also have a look at our previous models and see how high our used monohull sailboats are on the market. Our expert brokers remain available for additional information.

Finally, acquiring an RM also means you have access to a panel of services, provided by Grand Large Yachting group’s dedicated subsidiary: Grand Large Services. Whether it’s about training lessons, spare parts, maintenance, or refit before slipping lines, our specialists are here to help!

Bring your own dreams, we’ll take care of everything else.

Looking forward to meeting you soon,

The RM Yachts team.

Keep in Touch' Restons en contact

We will send you RM Yachts News (Only) to make sure you are up to date. Recevez (seulement) nos infos, pour être sûrs de ne rien rater !

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• EN - English

Interesting Sailboats

Wednesday, march 4, 2020, rm yachts, bankruptcy and a shameful recovery.

9 comments:

They are here " https://www.bateaux.com/article/33179/reprise-de-fora-marine-la-difficile-question-des-acomptes-sur-les-voiliers-en-commande " commenting the case. And they say the customers they first talked to were offered to recover only 22% of the amount first delivered for commissioning the boat whilst Stéphan Constance, a Grand Large representative, stated afterwards that 50% of the deposit could be recovered. To get back the 22% or 50% (whatever the % would finally be) of the money they had already paid they are due to purchase "again" the boat to a much more expensive price so they would be paying at the end 1.5 times the original price of the boat. In case they don´t reorder the boat they won´t get any money back.

This story will have repercussions well above RM (and Bente too that is going through similar ordeal). I have to admit I myself got scared and may reconsider buying a new boat especially from smaller shipyards the likes of Pog, JPK and insteadd have an harder look at the used market. Apparently having a huge wait list is not guarantee of financial soundness. For most of us a boat is the ultimate expense and we attach to it a lot of our future be it retirement or a new family life and having this on the line and at risk for many months or years while we wait on the list and during the construction it is may be not the safer financial move. Buying a new boat is notoriously "unwise" financially speaking as opposed to buying used which is also bad per se (did I mention money pit?). However we all choose not to look and succumb to emotions as a boat is the ultimate emotional purchase (hey we got one life let's live it at the fullest!). Years ago I was invited by my bank to discuss my retirement investments and they were very surprised I had a robust and safe plan but then I ended the meeting with "having said all of that I just made the worst retirement financial move I could do, i.e. I got a boat !" we all grinned...hahaha

Yes, buying a boat is a tricky business but if you have read my review about the RM 11.80 you could understand that I was not enthusiastic at all with that crazy idea to have half the hull in fiberglass and half in plywood and personally I would never buy such a boat but if I anticipated some future problems regarding that I would never thought the company would become bankrupt so quickly due to that particular feature. Regarding risks I would say that an understanding of the shipyard situation is paramount and the case of a small shipyard that is growing too fast having problems or one that proposes boats to a very low price for the quality, are not unheard and those shipyards should be looked with some care. But there are other small shipyards that have been making boats for many years, always with a comfortable number of orders and a stable situation were I think the risks are very small. Anyway the contract should be made in a way that the payments correspond to what is actually made on the boat (if possible a bit less) and if possible having a safeguard that will make the boat property of the client if the shipyard goes bankrupt.

i agree that it didnt make sense with composite sides. What puzzles me, that the company didnt revert back to original design 100% plywood. I dont think the customers would mind the change. How embarassing it is .

What puzzle me is people ordering rather pricey objects from very small companies (less than 40 people) without checking the financial side. It seems that 2017 legal accounts were not published on legal time. Which should ring a serious bell. And when they were later published, they showed huge negative equity.

Paulo, thank you very much for sharing this important piece of information. Needless to say that the attitude of Grand Large is unacceptable. am sure they will pay a price for this in the future due to destroyed customer confidence. Interestingly the slogan that RM chose to promote the 1180 is 'Né pour séduire...' (born to seduce). It seems to me that there is a deeper and certainly unindented truth to this statement. With its sleek lines and tasteful interior the 1180 indeed is a seductive boat. However, as it turns out, it a deceiving kind of beauty. At least for those customers who did a downpayment in good faith and now see RM walk away form their contract. I sincerely hope they will get an acceptable deal and don't have to go through litigation to protect their interests. Greetings from São Paulo ...

Just to let you know that this post was edited to provide more information or a more correct one.

I run a rather successful software company and my goal is to live on and run the business from a performance catamaran in a few years. My shortlist is Outremer 55 or Balance 526. If I go smaller, then the Outremer 45 (hopefully updated soon) or Balance 442. Currently am still in London working hard so was looking at buying a monohull for in between now and the ultimate dream. JPK 38FC and RM 1180 being the shortlist here. This RM take-over story shocks me. It is not how I do business and I don't condone it in people I do business with. It is crazy to me that customer deposits are considered "capital" of the same lien as real corporate debt, the holders of which have a reasonable expectation of financial ruin in bad scenarios. In fact, while the French law aims to "protect" workers, it is actually giving away profitable assets from one group of capitalists to another. It's a very weird dynamic that is being created here. This story breaks the spell Outremer / Grand Large Yachting had on me, with all their fancy marketing sponsoring La Vagabonde and the Youtube channels detailing their Outremer purchases like Outremer 51 Archer and the Dutch couple buying Outremer 55 hull 4. Maybe dealing with a USA culture company like Balance will be better. They may be more open to legally sound contracts with escrow and legal protections. It's not a fun idea to think that when I am finally ready to buy a 1-2 million EUR dream yacht, I need to worry about basic consumer protections not being in place.

You cannot go wrong with the new JPK39C...except in what regards the waiting list, that I bet already exists. Boat building as a business is a very risky one with small margins and if something goes wrong things like this can happen. The only sure way is to have a local bank covering the deal. That's the only way you will receive your money back if there is a problem and also a good way for you to know how risky it is the deal: if there is little risk they will charge you 3 to 4%, if it is risky or they will not cover it or they will ask you a lot more.

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Ferrari’s "Big Five" Surfaces at Auction: Estimated To Fetch As Much as $20M USD

Including the 288 gto, f40, f50, enzo and laferrari..

In a tribute to innovation and design, RM Sotheby’s has curated a stunning set of the Ferrari “Big Five” as part of its upcoming DARE TO DREAM COLLECTION sale.

The Big Five is a collection that showcases the pinnacle of automotive engineering for Ferrari, starting in 1984 with the 288 GTO . This inaugural supercar, equipped with a potent twin-turbo V8, marked the beginning of a new era for Ferrari, reestablishing its dominance in the high-performance automotive sphere.

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Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

GT325 review: a little different

• Theo Stocker
• September 5, 2023

A boat that dares to do things differently, the GT325 blends elements of the old and the new to remarkable effect. David Harding reports

Product Overview

• Fast, stiff and well-balanced | Exceptionally roomy layout | Deep sheltered cockpit
• No chart table as standard | Narrow door to aft cabin

Price as reviewed:

There seems to be a consensus that all new cruising yachts look the same, but I would defy anyone to say that about the GT325. That’s because she is different – very different, in all sorts of ways.

Like most modern cruisers, the GT325 has a broad stern. If you only saw her stern-on, you might imagine she was at least 36ft (11m) long. In fact she’s just 31ft 3in (9.53m) on deck, making her one of the few tough, sporty cruisers in this size range.

The broad stern is balanced – properly balanced, in hydrodynamic terms – by an unusually broad bow for a cruising yacht. Stopping short of being even a semi-scow shape, it nonetheless incorporates scow-bow thinking, being a fuller version of the flying bow seen on many of Stephen Jones’ earlier designs, going back to his half-tonners.

For all her performance pedigree, the GT325 is very much a cruising yacht. She just happens to incorporate up-to-the-minute thinking that makes her unusually fast for a cruiser of her length – and especially of her weight – and unusually roomy too. Combining space with pace has always been a challenge when designing cruising yachts, and the GT325 was conceived and designed to offer both in abundance.

A sensible width in the cockpit means you can brace your legs across to the opposite seat. Photo: David Harding

Somehow she also manages to combine a high-volume hull with surprisingly attractive lines. That’s no easy trick to pull off. She looks modern without being remotely trendy.

So what exactly is the GT325, and where does she come from? Well, regular readers will recall that we introduced her in YM last year when hull No.1 was being built. She’s the first new boat from the re-born GT Yachts, whose GT 35 I tested back in 2014.

Her pedigree dates back to the Starlight 35 and 39, which I knew from their birth having been working in the sales office at Sadler International when Stephen Jones produced the drawings for what was initially known as the Starlight 38.

Article continues below…

GT 35 – Yachting Monthly review

Can British upstart GT Yachts take on Europe's established luxury cruisers? Graham Snook sails the new GT 35 to find

Sadler Starlight 35: a solid 35-footer

Duncan Kent examines the enduring appeal of the Sadler Starlight 35 and discovers a yacht that is a delight to…

Fast-forward 14 years to the launch of the Sadler 290 in 2003, and we find a new, smaller boat that embodied the Starlight philosophy: a fast, capable cruiser with a lead keel – or keels in this case because most 290s were twin-keelers. Mounted on moulded stubs to ensure an exceptionally low centre of gravity, they allowed the 290 to carry plenty of sail for good performance in light airs, and they also made sure that she had the power to perform in a blow.

The next reincarnation of the Starlights, again designed by Stephen Jones, was the GT 35 in 2014. GT Yachts was formed by Conrad Cockburn, a naval architect and chartered engineer who fully appreciated the potential of the Sadler/Starlight approach and, with Jones, brought it right up to date. A superb finish and a large splash of luxury were added to the 35 for good measure. I was not surprised to find that she performed exactly as her pedigree suggested.

A short moulded bowsprit houses the anchor roller and projects the tack of the cruising chute. Photo: David Harding

Evolution in action

So obvious were the attributes of the GT 35 that plans were drawn up for more boats in the range, including a smaller version that would be an evolution of the Sadler 290. Sadly, the logistics involved in out-sourcing production didn’t stack up and GT Yachts had to put everything on hold. Then, last year, the company found a new investor and set up its own production facility at Mercury Yacht Harbour. A new yacht was announced too, in the form of the GT325. The moulds for the 35 still exist, but a smaller model was chosen to re-launch the GT brand because it’s almost as big down below within a significantly shorter hull.

Essential requirements of the GT325 – apart from speed, power, stiffness, space and easy handling – were that it would have a deep, sheltered and fully enclosed cockpit, a choice of fin or twin keels, a choice of wheel or tiller steering (because people who appreciate a boat like this might appreciate the benefits of a tiller), plenty of deck-stowage and a master forward cabin that few, if any, sailing yachts of similar length could match.

The overlapping headsail is an alternative to the self-tacker, sheeted to tracks on deck. Photo: David Harding

It also had to be tough and properly engineered. For example, bulkheads are located with structural bonding and then glassed directly to the deck and to the vacuum-infused hull. Vinylester resin is used throughout the hull laminate. The keel stub (or stubs) are integral to the hull moulding and incorporate fibres that run as continuous laminates from one side of the hull to the other. Substantial frames and carbon-reinforced stringers are also laminated into the hull and through the stubs, which incorporate sufficient radius where they join the hull to avoid structural compromises caused by sharp angles.

You can feel the solidity of the GT325 when you step aboard. Her rock-like steadiness is partly because of her 12,500lb (5,650kg) displacement. If that sounds heavy for a 31-footer – and she’s no lightweight – bear in mind that she has a waterline of nearly 30ft (9.50m) and 570 sq ft (53m2) of sail with the standard mainsail and self-tacking headsail. In-mast reefing on the test boat inevitably reduced both the area and efficiency of the mainsail, but was chosen on the basis that it will be a popular option. Sails are by Sanders in Lymington.

A double bow roller is a practical feature all too rarely seen on coastal cruisers. Photo: David Harding

Balancing the smaller main was the overlapping headsail, which gives 43ft (4m2) more area than the self-tacker at the expense of a wider sheeting angle – the tracks are on the inboard side of the decks because the design and shape of the coachroof doesn’t allow them to be mounted on the top. This hardly seemed to hold her back upwind in brisk conditions. You could always rig up inhaulers if you wanted to.

As with the Sadler 290, twin keels are expected to be the most popular option on the GT. Weighing 1.2 tonnes each and bolted to the bottom of the moulded stubs, they give a ballast ratio of over 42% and keep the weight as low as possible. You simply couldn’t make a boat like this work in the same way with iron keels. You also have the reassurance of knowing that, if you hit something hard, lead has that little bit of give.

Paper and practice

It was hard not to approach the test of the GT325 with high expectations. Given that we wanted to let the boat show what she could do in a decent breeze, we waited until we were reasonably confident of getting one. Fortunately we did: it started at around 12 knots gusting to 18, picked up to 18 gusting 24 and later died to 9 gusting 12, so we had a good range of conditions. A north-easterly in the central Solent meant mostly flat water and very shifty winds.

Comfortably carrying full sail with well over 20 knots of wind across the deck, the GT showed that she’s a powerful performer, though of course de-powering is easier in flat water. We suspected that most cruising sailors might not push quite so hard and, in any event, Stephen (Jones, who joined us), suggested we would be quicker with a couple of rolls in the main as the wind continued to build.

The full-sectioned flying bow offers internal volume and balances the broad stern sections. Photo: David Harding

While the helm remained light, and keeping the boat on her feet was no great challenge, we were inevitably sailing along an increasingly fine line. Life became easier with less area in the main and we were faster too: our speed picked up from mid-5s to high-5s. When the breeze dropped later on, we still maintained 4.7 knots upwind with just 10-12 knots over the deck.

With a twin-keeler, it’s worth bearing in mind that the grip from the keels increases as the boat heels. The rudder’s grip diminishes at the same time, moving the centre of lateral resistance (CLR) forward and leading to more weather helm. The relative positions of the CLR and centre of effort (CE) will have been taken into account at the design stage, so all you need to do is to remember that, with twin keels, reefing the mainsail before the headsail is often the best solution.

Balancing act

We had to push the boat hard to provoke her into rounding up. That’s largely because of the balanced hull form, the full bow sections countering the effects of the broad stern. This is where the balance of the hull, rig and foils all come together, in this case creating a boat that’s crisp, light and responsive to sail. And she’s no slouch: cracking off a few degrees took our speed up to 7.5 knots. Upwind, despite the wide headsail sheeting angle, we consistently tacked through around 85° on the compass.

Unlike the Starlights and the Sadler 290, but in common with the GT 35, the GT325 has a rudder blade from Jefa. It was nicely balanced and loaded up gently yet progressively as we neared the limits, giving plenty of warning before letting go. By contrast, the blade on the 290 is firmer, with a limpet-like grip. The rudder was working in undisturbed water, thanks to the feathering propeller. It would be sacrilege to have a fixed prop on a boat like this.

A broad stern and high-volume hull reflect modern thinking, but the GT still has attractive lines. Photo: David Harding

Control of the rudder is via a 48in (1,200mm) wheel. Although it’s big enough to allow a comfortable perch outboard and a good view forward, I would choose a tiller. A drag-link, as on the Rustler 33 (another of Stephen’s designs) would move the tiller abaft the rudder-head. That way, the forward end of the tiller would be only just forward of where the pedestal is with the wheel steering.

On a boat that’s designed as a coastal cruiser, where you’re going to be hand-steering much of the time, why not treat yourself to the versatility and direct responsiveness of a tiller? So many boats these days no longer give you the choice.

A low fixed windscreen adds protection to the cockpit. Photo: David Harding

Cockpit comforts

Forward of the helm, there’s a comfortable perch on the outboard side of the cockpit coamings from where you can lean back against the guardwires. Should you prefer to sit inboard, you will find an unusually well-protected cockpit. The seats are fairly low with high backrests that are nicely angled. You also have a low fixed windscreen, à la Hallberg-Rassy.

Plenty of ports and windows make the saloon bright and airy and help show off the nicely finished joinery. Photo: David Harding

It’s unusual in the cockpit of a broad-sterned boat these days to be able to brace your legs across to the opposite seats. You can do that here because the cockpit is a moderate width, making it secure and allowing the side decks to run all the way to the stern.

Primary winches for the overlapping headsail (upgraded on our test boat to Andersen 40s) are on the coamings, next to the Andersen 34s for the German mainsheet system. The traveller, forward of the companionway, is controlled by lines that will be led to cleats at the aft end of the windscreen. The bifurcated backstay is tensioned with a winch handle.

Few, if any, performance cruisers of the GT’s length can boast a forecabin anywhere near as spacious as the one on this boat. Photo: David Harding

Moving along the deck, you find substantial bulwarks and plenty of non-slip on the coachroof. In the bow is an enormous deck locker (or bosun’s locker, as GT like to call it) for fenders, downwind sails and whatever else you choose.

GT325 below decks

As on the GT 35, the light oak finish is impressive. Equally impressive is the amount of space. The galley, to port by the companionway, is out of the way and somewhere you can wedge yourself securely. GT Yachts are particularly proud of the front-opening fridge that’s mounted athwartships so you can open the door on either tack without spilling the contents.

To port, by the companionway, the practical galley is not in a thoroughfare. Photo: David Harding

Also worthy of note is the enormous forecabin with its hull-side ports and space for a second heads if you want. The primary heads is to starboard abaft the saloon and forward of the double cabin (with twin bunks as an option) in the stern. Getting in and out of the aft cabin is a bit of a squeeze due to the narrow door; a compromise in the interests of achieving full-length saloon seating and a roomy heads.

Handholds and detailing are good, though the test boat was still awaiting a few finishing touches such as the odd door and some locker catches.

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The GT325 is a remarkable boat in a number of ways. We haven’t dwelled on the space below decks, but she really is vast given her hull length of just over 31ft. The layout works at sea as well as in harbour and, that apart, it’s a comfortable, bright, airy and welcoming space in which to spend time surrounded by nicely finished joinery and neat detailing. Modern boats sometimes seem to waste much of their substantial volume, so it makes a refreshing change to see the space both above decks and below used as intelligently as it has been in the GT325. Here’s a British-designed and British-built fast cruiser that’s easy and fun to sail and that undoubtedly offers more in her modest length than you will find in many boats a good deal longer.