92-93 ESSAI Neel 45_MMHS6-US_essai 21/06/12 10:57 Page92

The revolution on three hulls 45 Two years after having presented a resolutely innovative 50-foot trimaran at La Rochelle's Grand Pavois, the builder Neel is launching a brand new 45-footer, built on the same basic principle as its

NEEL big sister.

area also allows the trade winds, at average speeds which to be positioned further could reach 8 – 9 knots, giving daily dis- aft. tances of over 200 miles! The is square Four months after the test aboard the n°1 headed and has two of the series, we were lucky enough to reefs. Although the first sail on the n°2, in stronger winds, bet- one is situated at around ween 15 and 20 knots. In strong winds, the lower quarter of the the helm is particularly light, and the rud- sail, the second is almost der is reactive and precise. Close-hauled Test carried out in January and April 2012 in the middle, so your (under staysail and full main), it reached By Gilles Ruffet. reefing habits will have to ten knots or so, pointing high enough to Weather conditions: two outings; 8 kn of wind and be revised: on a 'classic' make a potbellied cruising monohull rain first of all, then sunshine and 20 kn. fractional catamaran rig, envious. And when we bore away onto a you start by taking in one reach, the Neel slipped along comfortably reef, then one or two at 12 – 13 knots, still in 18 knots of wind. turns in the , before Not bad! On the Neel, the hulls and floats are no taking in the second reef, etc. Here on longer dedicated to the liveable volume, the Neel, when the wind freshens, the but following the example of more perfor- genoa is rolled up, leaving just the stay- mance-oriented boats, the whole boat is sail. There is therefore a lot of latitude N An interesting sail plan. organised around hulls whose essential before you have to take in a first reef, N The joys of a trimaran, under sail. role is to support the boat's displace- then a second. This innovative division of N A nice view of the sea from the ment. Here there is a living platform, as the sail plan allows you to sail always with cabins. flat as a pancake, on the structure of a tri- a nice foresail... maran. The result is convincing, the N object is beautiful (subjective view), suc- The cockpit could offer a bit more cessful and very modern. THE JOYS OF CRUISING IN comfort. A BOAT N The anchor chain can't be seen from the deck. About ten days passed between the AN INNOVATIVE SAIL PLAN N Access to the coachroof and the boat's launch and its departure on the The sail plan deserves closer attention... delivery trip to the West Indies. Between mastfoot. The foretriangle is organised around a sail a winter storm and work to perfect the which can be described as a hybrid, on a boat, the only free day was a rainy one. roller, flown from the bow; a sail which is Not the best for sailing, even less so for between a genoa and a gennaker (already the photos... Not to mention the wind, the word 'gennaker is a cross between which did as it pleased, and during the TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS genoa and spinnaker, so what should we afternoon finished at 8 knots. Not enough call it? A Geeker?), even though it is to get excited about, yet the boat respon- Builder : Neel Trimarans finally closer to the genoa, through its ded rather well. The helm transmits good Overall length: 13.50 m cloth, it shape and its cut. Just aft of it, 'feel' via its (textile) lines. With such pre- Overall beam: 8.50 m there is the self-tacking staysail on a rol- cision, keeping the genoa pennants paral- Draft: 1.20 m ler, attached to the mast at the same level lel is child's play. And then extraordinary Air draft: 19.15 m as the lower shrouds, which guarantees things happened. With 8 knots of wind, Unladen displacement: 6,500 kg proper support. This splitting of the sail close hauled under the big genoa and full Fully laden displacement: 9,000 kg main, of course, the boat approached the Self-tacking jib: 20 m² wind speed; it sailed easily at over 6 Roller genoa: 46 m² knots, often exceeded 7, and even Fully-battened, square-headed mainsail: approached 8 knots. 60 m² Of course, the Neel 45 has neither the Engines: 55 hp Volvo inboards, capacities nor the pretension to compete saildrives with racing boats, but it sails well; it Fresh water: 600 litres copes well with light weather, and pro- Diesel: 300 litres Scan or click to mises fast passages downwind, in the Price: 440,000 euros exc. VAT. download the full test

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The COCKPIT is very nice, with its central A trimaran for BLUE-WATER CRUISING, THREE INVERTED BOWS… passage and the two little tables. this is the Neel 45's wager. Just like the big racing trimarans yet it really is a cruising multihull!

Welcome aboard the Neel 45, a real apartment One of the two ATHWARTSHIPS CABINS: The SAIL PLAN is innovative, with a on the water... Up forward, we find the chart a real must in a 45-footer. foresail which is always suited to table and a NICE SALOON. the weather conditions.

THE COMPETITORS MODEL FASTCAT 445 NAUTITECH 441 OUTREMER 45 CATANA 47 Builder: FastCat Nautitech Outremer Catana Length (m): 13.60 13.47 13.70 14.03 Sail area (m2): 139 95 106 119 Displacement (t): 6.4 13 7.25 10.9 Price exc. VAT (€): 469 500 407 800 410 480 578 867