Twin headsails aft. A large window forward looks out onto high as 35 degrees off the apparent wind. the nav space and the wide world beyond. Bearing away another 7 degrees or so, Specifications This, combined with a long side window the boat was fully powered up, making running the length of the berth, creates 6.5 knots in 10 knots of apparent wind. SAILBOAT REVIEWS an immense sensation of open space. To To sail even deeper angles, we unleashed achieve privacy, all you need do is pull shut our A-sail and still managed to keep the the sliding door and draw the curtains. boat moving at 4 to 5 knots, matching the Twin guest staterooms are located in apparent windspeed. the amas, each with its own companion- way leading out on deck. Side windows UNDER POWER provide oodles of light and fine views, Under power I found the Neel 47 to be and there’s plenty of space under the more of a mixed bag. On the plus side, we SAILBOAT REVIEWS SAILBOAT wide double berths for stashing luggage made good speed, about 6.5 knots, with and kit. Each stateroom comes equipped our 60hp turbocharged Yanmar diesel with its own vanity sink. They can also pushing us at a conservative cruise set- be fitted out with a pair of toilets hidden ting of 2,100 rpm. Flat out, at 3,000 rpm, behind the fold-away companionway we made 8.4 knots. The boat also turned stairs. Otherwise, guests have to trek readily, spinning through a 360-degree over to the spacious head and shower in circle in about 1.5 boatlengths, quite the bow of the main hull. respectable for a multihull with a single As on previous Neels, the 47 boasts a engine. Backing down, however, the boat large “basement” area under the cabin sole was not as maneuverable as a twin-screw in the main hull where the engine and all cat, and we needed to gather some speed systems are stashed. Access for mainte- before gaining control. Even then, the Cabins in amas LOA 47ft nance purposes is outstanding. There’s also boat remained sensitive to conditions, as Fixed sprit a wealth of room for stowing larger, heavier the wind found not one but three bows LWL 44ft 10in items, which helps maintain the boat’s low to push around. For peace of mind when BEAM 27ft 2in center of gravity. handling this boat in close quarters, I’d certainly recommend springing for the DRAFT 5ft 3in concentration of weight low and amid- from either the central social cockpit aft UNDER SAIL optional bow thruster. DISPLACEMENT 23,369lb ships, produces a softer and smoother or the starboard ama deck. The mainsail Our test boat, hull #5, came equipped NEEL 47 motion than found aboard many con- sheets to a large fiber bridle spanning the with an optional carbon-fiber Z Spars rig. CONCLUSION SAIL AREA 1,291ft2 (main and genoa) Feels like a monohull, with ventional catamarans. The goal for Neel aft bridgedeck, so there is no traveler to As on a catamaran, the wide spreader If you want the best of both worlds in FUEL/WATER (GAL) 80/158 the space of a cat—must be a is to create “a living boat” that is more control. All working lines are led to the base obviates the need for a backstay, a cruising platform—the responsive organically responsive and provides more helm and a pair of Antal XT48 winches allowing you to hoist a powerful square- feel and closewinded performance of ENGINE Yanmar 60hp w/saildrive trimaran! By Charles J. Doane feedback than your typical cruising cat. serving a battery of Antal clutches. Line headed main. Up in the foretriangle, you a monohull with the living space of a SA/D 25 hen first introduced nearly Construction consists of a sandwich leads are fair and carefully thought out, can fly either a genoa that sheets to a catamaran—this is the boat for you. The D/L 116 a decade ago, Neel trima- laminate throughout the hulls and deck, making it easy for a solo helmsman or a pair of tracks to either side of the wide unique open layout of the master state- rans seemed little more with a core of Airex PVC foam vacuum- helmsman and one crew. A screecher or coachroof, or a self-tacking staysail with room will be an added plus for cruising DESIGNER Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group than an oddity, an intriguing infused with polyester resin between A-sail can be flown from the fixed bowsprit, single-line sheeting led up the mast. The couples who sail on their own. F W BUILDER Neel Trimarans, La Rochelle, France, variation in an ever-burgeoning menu skins of quadraxial fiberglass. An outer with sheets led to a pair of outboard blocks staysail on our boat, not used during our neel-trimarans.com of cruising multihulls. Since then these layer of vinylester helps stave off osmo- and Antal XT44 winches mounted on the test, was designed to hoist and furl on its PRICE $500,000 (sailaway) unique, fixed-ama tris, with their im- sis. To save weight, the interior bulkheads aft bridgedeck corners. own luff. Conditions for our test on the The Details: Looking forward along the port mense solid bridgedecks reminiscent of and much of the furniture are also foam When it comes to just hanging out, the Chesapeake Bay were light, with the true side of the saloon toward the galley the first plywood tris of the last century, cored. The main hull and amas are built place to be is in the large lounging cockpit wind blowing between 5 and 10 knots, so have proven themselves a worthy alter- as a single piece in a three-part mold, aft under the hard-top. There are plenty of I was happy we had an asymmetric spin- native to their more-common catamaran which makes for a very stiff structure. The comfy bench seats here, as well as a gener- naker to fly from the bowsprit. brethren. The new Neel 47 not only slots deck is bonded to the hulls with tenacious ous dinette table. Slide open the expansive As advertised, helm feel during our neatly in between the original Neel 45 aircraft-quality adhesive. glass door between the cockpit and saloon, sail was superb, enhanced by a gor- and larger Neel 51, filling out what now Directional stability is provided by the and you have an enormous indoor/outdoor geous Goiot wheel that was a joy to lay amounts to a full range of offerings, it toed-out amas and a fixed foam-cored social space that Neel creatively refers to as hands on and silky-smooth fiber steer- also introduces an interesting innovation unballasted keel under the main hull. This the “cockloon.” ing cables. Though not as responsive as in multihull accommodations. keel is not tied into the structure of the hull, a performance monohull, the Neel 47 but bonded in place and designed to break ACCOMMODATIONS certainly compares favorably to many DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION away in the event of a hard collision. This is where Neel trimarans typically cruising monohulls in terms of its seat-of- As with previous Neels, all drawn by shine, and the 47 is no exception. As on the-pants sailability. Unlike a cat, it also designers Michel Joubert and Bernard ON DECK previous boats, the galley, to port, and comes about smartly through the eye of Nivelt, the 47’s main hull carries pro- The center of action is the raised helm sta- the nav station, to starboard, are all the the wind, even in light conditions. Indeed, nounced rocker, which combined with a tion to starboard, which is easily accessed way forward, with an array of forward- at one point during our test I succeeded facing windows offering near-wraparound in tacking the boat under main alone, an views of the outside world. Access to the impossible feat aboard many catamarans. double-berth stateroom is through a very Our speed and sailing angles were As advertised, helm feel during our sail was superb, wide doorway that opens directly onto the equally impressive. With the main and jib enhanced by a gorgeous Goiot wheel walkway between the galley and saloon flying, I found I could pinch the boat as

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