Sailboat : cruiser-racer sailing-yacht (custom-made, Luca Brenta design, carbon)
WALLYGATOR Cantieri Sangermani

- 25.12m

82' 5"ft

She is a 25-meetre Maxi, the first to be built using red cedar, Kevlar and carbon fibre laminates in five loyers. Designed by Luca Brenta to the detailed spécification ofits owner and launched in March 1991, the result is a comfortable yacht with the speed ofa racing Maxi, but easy to sail and demanding the minimum crew to handle her. Her characteristics may be summed up as having a broader beam a more stable shape and a better balanced freeboard, while being beautiful to look at.

Seeking a substantial saving in weight, the designer worked with Sangermani on the technology used in the construction; this used three layers of laminated wood, but alternated with a layer of Kevlar and an exterior longitudinal covering of carbon fibre. This resulted in a hull weighing 12 kg/m2, compared with the 19 of an aluminium racing Maxi and the 30 of a fiberglass hull.

The keel ofa Wallygator is unusual in that it is adjustable: Us draft of'2.80 métrés can be increased to 4.50 métrés by lowering an internai keel, giving the boat better performance close to the wind.

The avant-garde mast is niade of carbon fibre, with swept-back cross trees to obviate the use of flying shrouds.