| Le Breton Yachts Newsletter September 2008 |
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Dear all After an intensely busy summer, SIG45 #1 is close to completion. It has been a pleasure seeing the design become reality – the SIG45 is proving to be as stunning as her design drawings promised, as the pictures below show. We have decided not to bring the SIG45 to the Cannes Boat Show. Though very close to completion, we felt it was more important to take the time finish the boat perfectly, than to rush the show in haste. The SIG45 is a very high end product, and the level of finishing needs to reflect that. It was a tough decision, but we feel the right one. We expect the boat to be completed in just a few short weeks, by the end of September. If you wish to make an appointment to view the boat in October in Italy or the South of France, please get in touch with us, either by phone or email. You can also catch up with us at the Cannes show, at the VPLP stand, RIV061, with many more pictures and plenty of detail about the boat. |
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The Interior One of the most satisfying parts of the last few months for the team has been to see the progress on the accommodation. While we deliberately designed a roomy interior, we continue to be positively surprised at its utility and volume. Headroom is generous throughout, and all of the cabins give a good sense of space. All of the floors in the boat are laid in Oregon Pine, slightly softening the contemporary lines of the furnishings. This warm wood has been treated with a special varnish which gives it a slightly soft feel to the touch, and provides excellent grip, even if damp. We feel that one of the highlights is the navigation station. This cabin provides a generous chart table and instrument panel. However, it also provides a comfortable off watch area, where crew or children can relax and, if they wish, access the music or video from the media server (see below). The large expanses of window mean that there is no sense of being “below”, and one always feels part of the action on deck. All three sleeping cabins have comfortable, well ventilated beds and dedicated storage units, in the form of hanging lockers, shelves, drawers and under-bed access. The beds have an Oregon pine border, providing both visual warmth, and a satin finish to the touch. The galley allows two crew to prepare meals, with large working surfaces on either side. The design of the passage between the work surfaces provides for easy bracing, should one be preparing food underway. For those of you with a technical eye, you will be pleased to see that despite the luxurious interior, numerous technical aspects of the construction still shine through. For example, the unidirectional carbon fibre reinforcements of the main beam are just visible beneath the paint. The custom made carbon shroud chainplates, with their titanium shroud bushings are subtly laminated into the aft cabin bulkhead. You will also find that there are no liners on the inside of the boat – this both reduces weight, and increased interior volume. Lighting, which is entirely LED, is placed in specially made composite panels. The interior is blooming just as our designer Bjorn Johansson had envisaged. |
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Electronics The first SIG45 has a state-of-the-art entertainment system, comprising a media server driving separate sound and audio systems in each hull and the cockpit. As the custom sound system incorporates Bose and other similarly high quality units, whatever tunes are played, they will sound fantastic. The media server means that no hard copy CDs or DVDs are required on board, and these resources and can be accessed in both hulls, and even via the navigation screens on deck! Naturally, the screens on deck were not primarily intended as outdoor cinemas. These very robust units allow the helmsman and crew to access any information displayed on the navigation computer, including radar, GPS, log and MaxSea displays. This is an important safety measure, especially when short-handed, and means that neither the helmsman nor crew need to leave the deck to go below for the purposes of navigation. |
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Next Steps We are looking forward to a busy autumn. We have many test sail appointments booked with clients and press – if you would like join us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Over the course of the next few months, we will also gradually explore the true performance capacity of this exciting machine prior to getting it onto the race track. Watch this space! Hugo Le Breton |
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Le Breton Yachts |