ELECTRIC MARINE PROPULSION Testing the Alibi 54
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ELECTRIC MARINE PROPULSION November/December 2010 MULTIHULLSTHE LARGEST AND MOST INFORMATIVE MULTIHULL MAGAZINE READ WORLDWIDE www.MULTIHULLSMag.com Delivering a Leopard 460 to Peru Boat Shows in Review: Las Olas, Annapolis & Multihull Demo Days Exploring Croatia – Chartering in the Adriatic Cover Story: Testing the Alibi 54 A true high-performance masterpiece www.multihullsmag.com | MULTIHULLS Magazine Special Guest Editorial: Gino Morrelli of Morrelli & Melvin Design Boat Test text and photos by Gregor Tarjan First Sail of the Alibi 54 20 MULTIHULLS Magazine | November/December 2010 ow, where do I start? Should Customers have very few choices when knots with a wheel that was as light as my it be the large number of mul- it comes to fast multihulls. They can either Hobie Cat’s tiller. At 16 knots true wind Ntihulls that I am currently spend a fortune (3-4 million dollars) on speed and 110-degree true wind angle, looking at, or the fact that I have just a Gunboat or build a custom boat for the the Alibi effortlessly started picking up stepped off the Alibi 54 – one of the most same amount, which they will have to wait her twin reverse bows and surfing in full astonishing sailing catamarans that I have 3 years for. These two options are really the control. At that point the apparent wind ever sailed on? only way to get a 20-knot-capable cruis- a ng le move d t o 6 0 deg r e e s , c r e at i ng a n ap - Ok, so let me give you the backdrop: Sit- ing cat. The Alibi 54 really fills the gap parent wind of 24 knots. Like a giant bird, ting 23 stories high next to the giant hotel between the sailors that have graduated she plowed through 8-foot-high short seas. windows overlooking the Gulf of Thai- from more conventional cruisers and high- What would have been uncomfortable in land, the brand new, state-of-the-art Ocean end custom multihulls. After the Neel 50 any other boat was a simple joy and walk Marina houses over 100 sailing and motor trimaran, it is the only real alternative. If in the park for the Alibi. After a 2-mile yachts. Amazingly, nearly 25% of them you have 1,2M euro budget you could have speed run we bore off to drop the kite are multihulls. This is a startling number an Alibi 54 ready to go in 9 months. This and went back to the capable self-tacking of cats and tris by any standard. Is seems is extremely competitive indeed. Solent jib. What a sail. Like a blade ahead that Asian countries are less burdened by When I first caught a glimpse of the of the square top main, the Solent cleans traditional yachting concepts (they simply finished Alibi 54, the boat sat in the most up the flow and pre-bends the air over the never had them) and are embracing new exotic location imaginable. Koh Samet is back of the main. With the leeward asym- ideas, such as the multihull, much faster an island in the Gulf of Thailand that is metric board down, we saw speeds up to than us Westerners. In fact, more Thai mainly used as a luxury resort for West- 12 knots and were sailing at 40 degrees to juniors are learning to sail on beach cats erners. With her low silhouette and re- the true wind. My complete amazement than on more conservative monos, such as verse bows, the Alibi looked menacing came after we tacked. As Loic spun the the classic Optis, Lasers or 505s. and ready to run. Circling the cat, she wheel and brought the Alibi onto port tack It is in this exotic, but open-minded appea red smal le r t ha n he r 54’ wou ld sug- we found ourselves pointing directly at world that my friend Loic Goepfert, gest, but once a person appeared on deck Pattaya and could clearly make out the founder of Alibi catamarans, has decid- – she suddenly took on a massive stance. glimmering lights in the distance. What ed to launch his first boat. To build in Nothing about the Alibi 54 is ordinary. would have been a long slog to windward Thailand was his first choice. The sheer Loic spent nearly five years using his and a two-part beat, only took us one tack. amount of craftsman and reasonable extensive racing background as reference The Alibi 54 is a cat that reminds me of access to raw materials streamlined his and translating it into a functional high- my Star boat, one of the most close-winded production to such a level that he was able performance cruiser. From asymmetric sailing boats that I have ever sailed on. to produce a 20-knot-capable Wally-style daggerboards, movable for- and aft-bal- We were hand-steering most of the speed machine for under 1,2M euro. If last systems to the ingenious placement time and had enjoyed pleasant distrac- he were to try this in Italy or the US, he of the dinghy; he really created an exotic tions such as champagne (to celebrate our would have to double this figure. Loic’s dream machine that sails like the devil. first 20-knot run), but also Loic’s family background is in the world of racing on I had the privilege to sail with Loic on on board. This caused us to lose focus experimental ultra high-performance one of the first sails. Although we still had and twice we put the Alibi into a stall. multihulls such as Hydroplaneur. He several craftsmen on the boat installing the We were so close-hauled and sailing so acted as one of the chief designers of galley counter and tuning several systems fast that it took only 3 seconds to find us Yves Parlier’s 60’ biplane-rigged speed the boat had full tanks and was loaded dead close to the wind. The fact that we machine, which I have had the pleasure to with heavy tools. Basically, the Alibi 54 did not have our apparent wind gauge test on many occasions. That was also the carried over three tons of payload and and masthead Windex set up forced us time where I first talked to Loic about his we started into a building breeze which to steer with pure feel of the wind on ambitious project of creating the coolest eventually produced 30 knots of apparent our face – causing us to stall. It was the cruising catamaran the market has ever wind on deck. With asymmetric spinnaker ease of recovery however that I will never seen – The Alibi 54. set, I had no problem of maintaining 20 forget. The 10-ton Alibi behaved like a www.multihullsmag.com | MULTIHULLS Magazine 21 little dinghy – dumping the main traveler, on Fountaine Pajots – and it works. The The decks are flat and all hatches are com- the boat started accelerating back on her protruding roofline provides shade yet pletely flush with the teak deck. Move- old tack faster than she came into the takes the verticality out of the profile by ment forward and aft is unobstructed, stall. It was at another occasion that I allowing steeply angled windows. The although I would want an easier athwart appreciated the sailing qualities of the seating position in the salon is excellent. ship path via a slight extension of the aft Alibi. We simply sailed off the anchorage Weather standing or lounging, you always beam. Also the transom steps could use a and set the main without even touching have a clear view forward or aft, even from bit of rework and more handholds. These our hybrid 35hp electric engines. The the cockpit. However, in Difference, the two improvements are planned for hull 2, boat was able to maintain upwind speed owner’s choice was to select a dark tint which is already under way. The forward and heading while the eased traveler let for the windows, which made it very dif- part of the boat has plenty of areas for the main effortlessly feed up the mast. ficult to see forward through the windows lounging. The ingenious forward mini- At another occasion (when we blew our while standing in the cockpit. loggia is situated just forward of the mast windward traveler control line) we simply The helm position is close to ideal – in and is an ideal spot for getting away from tacked and hove to. The Alibi came to a any situation. The retractable rudders it all. Attention though: When the boat dead stop and we could, in full control, utilize low-friction bearings and the di- starts seeing 17-plus knots (which it did quickly hack another traveler line via rect steering system via Vectran cables on ever outing) that area can get a bit wet. the Gennaker winch. In short, the sail- gives you responsiveness and excellent We encountered most conditions a sailor ing qualities are simply wonderful. I had feedback. The brilliant design of the twin will encounter – from dead calms to close the privilege to sail on many catamarans canting wheel, which has three positions, to 30 knots of wind with accompanying and the Alibi is by far the best one, with lets the helmsman steer seated outboard sea states. Another amazing phenomenon the finest sailing qualities. on deck with an unrivalled view onto I experienced was the super quick recovery Loic has put a lot of thought into the the windward side and telltales.