To the greater good

Torbjørn Linderson of Marstrøm Composites demonstrates how on-the-edge experimental technology does eventually find a place in the much wider marketplace

Testament to modern multihull design - the Gunboat 48
2100 on the first evening of a delivery of Peter Johnstone' s Gunboat 48 Cream from Rhode Island to South Carolina. It has been three rough hours on watch in a sloppy seaway with frequent gusts up to 40kt. Time to hit the sack and I am too tired to find a place to hang the foul-weather gear. So I throw it down alongside me in the big double bunk; my gear is dry anyway.

The new Morrelli & Melvin-designed Gunboat is sailed from inside a big pilothouse with a 360-degree view. You go out only to do sail changes and adjust the sheets; even then you generally manage to stay dry working from a secure cockpit at the foot of the mast. So what is a cruiser doing in Seahorse? Well, for starters, this is one cruiser where you can sail long passages with comfortable sustained speeds of over 10kt. Then there is the racing heritage: the original 65ft Gunboat was born when Peter Johnstone was looking for a cruiser to replace his Transpac winning Nelson-Marek 68-footer. And the name Johnstone might ring a bell: Peter' s father and uncle jointly created the J-24 and it was Peter who got the 49er going with Julian Bethwaite.

To read the remainder of this and many other topical technical articles, please purchase your copy of the March 2006 edition of Seahorse International Sailing, available at selected newsstands or by calling: + 44 (0) 1590 671899 or by email at: info@seahorse.co.uk

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