Salona 42

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Ben Jamin

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I am considering the Salona 42 as a potential Cruising boat and wonder if anybody has any experience or knowledge of the boats sea keeping abilities. Particularly how do they handle in heavy following seas and how well do they perform to windward in strong winds.
 
You might get a bigger response on Scuttlebut.
But equally Salona are not particularly common in the UK.

I looked seriously at a Salona 37 - which looks to be a similar concept. Considered as a possible lower cost Arcona alternative.
Interesting boats with some unusual features (do they have the internal keel frame?). Definitely more performance oriented than most mass market cruisers.
There was a Salona 37 used as a training school boat on Scotland for many years. As such was out in all weathers and seemed to cope fine.
 
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Depends on your definition of "cruising". It was designed in 2007 as a cruiser/racer influenced by the IMS rule which is common in the Adriatic. Light displacement at 7500kgs (Displ/L ratio 126) and well endowed with sail (SA/Displ 21) compare with a Bavaria 42 from the same designer at roughly the same time. Displacement 9200kgs, Displ/L 179, SA/Displ 19

Just happened to read a test of the similar Salona 40 - same basic design described as a performance boat that is a delight to handle in the light and moderate conditions of the test. The specific boat had been very successful on the racing circuit in Holland.

So given your emphasis on heavy weather handling probably not the boat for you.
 
Many thanks for your replies and advice.

I am new to the site, so I am not familiar with what Scuttlebut is?

I believe the 42 has got the stainless keel frame.

The Salona's sailing well in light winds is partly what interests me in these boats. (Their price compared with Arcona's is definitely another part.) After all keeping moving in light winds is ideal when cruising, unless you like cruising with the engine on. That's why I am looking for a boat that is well enough designed to sail well in both light winds and strong winds. I have a memory that I had read somewhere that Salona's had also performed well in ocean races, not just local regattas. But I have not found any information confirming this.
 
Ben Jamin said:
Many thanks for your replies and advice.

I am new to the site, so I am not familiar with what Scuttlebut is?

I believe the 42 has got the stainless keel frame.

The Salona's sailing well in light winds is partly what interests me in these boats. (Their price compared with Arcona's is definitely another part.) After all keeping moving in light winds is ideal when cruising, unless you like cruising with the engine on. That's why I am looking for a boat that is well enough designed to sail well in both light winds and strong winds. I have a memory that I had read somewhere that Salona's had also performed well in ocean races, not just local regattas. But I have not found any information confirming this.
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You might get a bit more response on Scuttlebutt as that has more general traffic from cruising sailors. However I can't think of any regular that would have direct experience as few if any Salonas were sold in the UK apart from the 37 (which I considered when in the market for that size boat). Not sure how many were built but apart from Holland which I mentioned earlier Salona never sold well in N Europe. The +/- 40' cruiser racer market was very crowded in that period and would guess that outside the Adriatic there is little about it that stands out other than its comparatively light displacement and semi custom build.

J&J are pretty good designers, not just production boats but also more performance orientated such as the several Grand Soleils they designed. light and heavy weather performance can be very subjective as particularly in the latter it is as much about the way the boat is handled as the underlying design. Based on the design data about the only thing one might say is that the boat will probably be livelier in heavier weather because of its comparatively light displacement.
 
awol said:
The RNLI "Saving Lives at Sea" progamme featured a Salona with hull windows, one of which had disconnected itself from the hull and allowed a prodigious amount of water to enter. There was a thread about it.
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awol

Thread 'How Safe are Windows in the Hull'

For my sins I watched "Saving Lives at Sea" tonight - the "rescue" that caught my attention was a Salona 40(something) that issued a Mayday 'cos it was taking in water. The water ingress was via a popped hull window in the fo'c'sle which the crew had stuffed with a cushion (at last a use for scatter cushions!). Pumps were passed from the lifeboat, boat was towed home and all was well ... but I was confused by several things:
  • Supposedly the yacht was in or going to a race - #3 pennant on backstay but no sail number!
  • There was no liferaft visible - if there was one on board I...
 
I should say on topic of hull windows though it’s a feature available on other marques -I saw sailing SV Cuba vid had an issue on what I think is a jeaneau and it’s amazing how simply the windows seem to be stuck in place. I should say we don’t have hull windows so I’m not an expert on their robustness or otherwise.
 
Yes it has Arcona looks and I had thought the A were slightly needing a degree of tweaking compared to other makes maybe I was scared off them slightly into thinking Arcona could become a handful in any breeze however maybe there is someone who has sailed an Arcona ,an xboat and a Salona out there. The main worry I would have though is ability to resell the Salona compared to say an Arcona 41 type. I also has this impression Arcona owners are active whereas support that way for a Salona might be limited.
 
The test of the slightly smaller Salona 40 was in the June 2006 PBO. It was by David Harding who was enthusiastic as this was his kind of boat. He was racing on Jim Mcgregor's very similar (and very successful) Elan 40 at the time.

He judged it competitive with a whole host of others Grand Soleil 40,Elan 40, Dufour 40, First 40.7, IMX 40, C&C 121, J/120, RO 400, Arcona 400, Dehler 39, Finngulf 41 and Hanse 400.

That might help the OP place the boat
 
Not sailed the 42, but quite a bit on the 36, 38 and 40. Not in the same league as Arcona and X yachts in interior and technical fit out, but great stiff solid stable feel on deck, much closer in performance to Arcona and X Yachts than they are to JenBenBavHan, you could really relish the prospect of a beat against a gale, bags of stability and fingertip light steering. If it ticks all your other boxes, go for it, I don't think any part of her performance will disappoint.
 
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