The droopy boom is the giveaway; that and the big steering wheel on centerline. No matter how you option out the Grand Soleil 40-and the builder offers lots of ways to go-it wants to be a racing boat. How short a leash you keep it on is up to you, according to your preference. You can dress it up with cruising comforts or you can go the other way with the tall rig and deep keel. Either way, you get the potential in the hull design that comes from the up-and-still-coming office of Botin & Carkeek.
Taking the point loads from the maststep, keel bolts, and chainplates and distributing them through the hull, which it also stiffens, is what Ericson Yachts used to call a “tri-radial force grid,” only in this boat it’s a welded and galvanized steel framework. Thus relieved of structural demands, the furniture can be lightly built and self-contained.
In the standard layout, one head serves three cabins. An optional second head can be had in the forward stateroom, but omitting it leaves a big space to store sailbags close to the mast.
Grand Soleil 40 Specs
LOA: 40′ 8″
LWL: 38′ 6″
Beam: 12′ 8″
Draft: 7′ 1″/7′ 10″
Sail Area: 812 sq. ft
Displacement: 16,060 lbs
Water: 100 gal
Fuel: 42 gal
Engines: Volvo 27 hp
Designer: Botin & Carkeek
Cantiere Del Pardo
410-757-9401
www.mareblu.net
