YM test of GT35

[Lucky Duck]

Did I read it correctly that one needed to use an electric pump to drain the galley sinks?

 

[Simondjuk]

I think that is 'Back in your box' Mr Jumblyduck!

Erm, those aren't fixing the toe rail though, are they? On my boat, there are self tappers which were used to locate the deck to the hull prior to the toerail being fitted, then the toerail was fitted and the whole lot through bolted.

The cleats themselves aren't on my toerail but inboard of it and fixed with 2no M10 bolts through a monolithic patch of deck and a backing plate.

 

[doris]

Erm, those aren't fixing the toe rail though, are they? On my boat, there are self tappers which were used to locate the deck to the hull prior to the toerail being fitted, then the toerail was fitted and the whole lot through bolted.

The cleats themselves aren't on my toerail but inboard of it and fixed with 2no M10 bolts through a monolithic patch of deck and a backing plate.

My neighbour's Bav36 Cruising has cleats set inside the toe rail. I enquired why he wasn't using the fair leads to be told
that a swell down the West Country had caused the fair lead/toe rail to be ripped off as it's only held on with self tappers. They certainly looked the part.
The toe rail has no holes unlike most toe rails but were there any, blocks might be attached which would be a disaster.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

These are self tappers,no doubt about it.

Doesn't appear to be attaching a toerail though. Looks more like it's holding the hull/deck join together while it cures. Also surely the point of a fairlead is to keep the lines away from the toerail and other parts of the bpat?

 

[SimonD]

Here's a pic of the underside of the toe rail fixing on a Jeanneau 37 I had surveyed. You can clearly see the self tappers holding the toe rail and deck moulding onto the hull. The backing plate and nut are holding a stanchion.

What is not so clear is that the hull moulding had been ground down to get the deck to fit properly. This weakened the structure to the point where the deck flexed, causing cracking of the deck and hull.

I'm not criticising, but it's not the sort of construction I would personally trust my life to.

 

[snooks]

To answer some of the questions raised....

£316,230 for a 35 foot boat! Beginning to realise it's time to cancel my YM subscription. This magazine is catering to people with a lot more money than me.

I chose to test the GT35 because I felt she was an important boat. The first build of a new British company, by a well respected designer. There are some more mainstream boats coming up, but there are some quality interesting boats that do cost a lot.

I wonder if car magazines are criticised for testing super cars for testing cars for people with a lot more money than me

£316k for a boat with all the aesthetic appeal of a supermarket meringue nest. You have to ask the question, why does it cost so much?

Why do Oysters cost "so much"? You can get a 60ft Hanse for a fraction of the price of the equivalent size Oyster.

How high a spec? You can get a fully kitted Jeanneau 379 or a Bavaria 37 for half that.

Rather thinking about toys you can add, think instead about the things you can't. Lead keel, deep bilge, water tight crash bulkheads, deep secure helm, Jefa steering, doubled light switches, decent chart table that you can use at sea. Solid oak fiddles, beautiful joinery, an escape hatch in the aft cabin, cushions held on with plastic clip fittings rather than Velcro, decent solid locker catches etc.

Looked as bland inside as an HR to me with all that fablon lookalike wood

All that wood was actual tree wood. The owner of that boat didn't want: end cushions, split cushion backs, or detailing on the cushions which would have help a lot.

When I tested the Exploration 45 Garcia had replaced Jimmy Cornell's choice of cushion colour with something more photogenic. GT just supplied the boat as sold, so as I said in the article I thought the saloon looked bland - reassuring to see I'm not the only one who felt that way.

Moulds are owned by Rusler Yachts (someone on the forum informed me). A new Starlight 35 special order is about £170k or about half the cost of a GT35.

They'd have a hard job building a Starlight 35 now, the moulds had a chainsaw taken to them. Heartbreaking I know.

And yes you did have to pump out the water from the sink; it has an anti-syphon loop.

Basically the GT35 is like a 38 footer down below, compare her to the same build spec 38 footer (if you can find one) and the price won't be wrong. I read on here about how you can't get properly built boats anymore...we'll you can, you just have to pay for the quality.

Should I only be testing boats that everyone can afford? If so how do we decide how much is reasonable?

Oh and the deck of Bavarias isn't held on with self-tapping screws, it's held in place til the glue sets.

 

[Barbican]

To answer some of the questions raised....



I chose to test the GT35 because I felt she was an important boat. The first build of a new British company, by a well respected designer. There are some more mainstream boats coming up, but there are some quality interesting boats that do cost a lot.

I wonder if car magazines are criticised for testing super cars for testing cars for people with a lot more money than me



Why do Oysters cost "so much"? You can get a 60ft Hanse for a fraction of the price of the equivalent size Oyster.



Rather thinking about toys you can add, think instead about the things you can't. Lead keel, deep bilge, water tight crash bulkheads, deep secure helm, Jefa steering, doubled light switches, decent chart table that you can use at sea. Solid oak fiddles, beautiful joinery, an escape hatch in the aft cabin, cushions held on with plastic clip fittings rather than Velcro, decent solid locker catches etc.



All that wood was actual tree wood. The owner of that boat didn't want: end cushions, split cushion backs, or detailing on the cushions which would have help a lot.

When I tested the Exploration 45 Garcia had replaced Jimmy Cornell's choice of cushion colour with something more photogenic. GT just supplied the boat as sold, so as I said in the article I thought the saloon looked bland - reassuring to see I'm not the only one who felt that way.



They'd have a hard job building a Starlight 35 now, the moulds had a chainsaw taken to them. Heartbreaking I know.

And yes you did have to pump out the water from the sink; it has an anti-syphon loop.

Basically the GT35 is like a 38 footer down below, compare her to the same build spec 38 footer (if you can find one) and the price won't be wrong. I read on here about how you can't get properly built boats anymore...we'll you can, you just have to pay for the quality.

Should I only be testing boats that everyone can afford? If so how do we decide how much is reasonable?

Oh and the deck of Bavarias isn't held on with self-tapping screws, it's held in place til the glue sets.

It was good to see the test report, I can't see the problem with testing all price points, whether you pay that or half the cost for something else at least one can have a good understanding of the market and make an informed decision. That it was also a new builder makes it all the more interesting.

You don't have time for posting, get your camera out and do some more tests!

 

[Seven Spades]

Well done Snooks. Lets face it so many 37-40' boats now cost £3200K or more that if you ignored this price bracket the mag would have a limited number of boats to test. I think we should rejoice at a new boat manufacturer here. As I said this is their first boat and although it looks bland below and possibly an un-exciting rig I am sure all that can be fixed. Blandness seems to be the modern way at the moment, just look at the modern styling of the Contest yachts. Their new boats have great lines,(this can be said of their older designs) it is only one you go below that you are put off.

 

[[3889]]

Here's a pic of the underside of the toe rail fixing on a Jeanneau 37 I had surveyed. You can clearly see the self tappers holding the toe rail and deck moulding onto the hull. The backing plate and nut are holding a stanchion.

What is not so clear is that the hull moulding had been ground down to get the deck to fit properly. This weakened the structure to the point where the deck flexed, causing cracking of the deck and hull.

I'm not criticising, but it's not the sort of construction I would personally trust my life to.

View attachment 43116

Asking rather than opining, but if the stanchion is bolted through, won't the fairlead fittings also be bolted?

 

[snooks]

Well done Snooks. >8 snip 8< Blandness seems to be the modern way at the moment, just look at the modern styling of the Contest yachts. Their new boats have great lines,(this can be said of their older designs) it is only one you go below that you are put off.

Thank you

I liked the Contest 42CS both inside and out, a tad slab sided maybe - they use a single piece mould.

But good solid boat, with a price to match.

I didn't find the interior of the 42CS bland, it's not traditional and full of visual confusion, it's nicely composed. It has enough visual distractions, hull port lights, off centre saloon etc depending on which of the 5 (IIRC) saloon layouts you choose.

There is plenty you can to to add your style to any boat. Sadly for a lot of "quality" manufacturers they can't afford to build a boat without having an owner for it. And invariably owners want to do things to their own boats or choose a colour of cushion that might not be to everyone's taste

As a tester of boats I can only test what I find. The mfgs can say this or that, but without seeing it I have no way of knowing whether it's better or worse that what the owner has chosen.

The other thing is that when we put a price it's always the price "as tested". So with something like the First 35 she had something like €20,000 of sails, the j122e had no instruments, and the Exploration 45 was set up to go around the Arctic. But then again the base price of some models is more or less a hull with a few cushions and no ropes /fenders to tie her up!

 

[AndrewfromFal]

Rather thinking about toys you can add, think instead about the things you can't. Lead keel, deep bilge, water tight crash bulkheads, deep secure helm, Jefa steering, doubled light switches, decent chart table that you can use at sea. Solid oak fiddles, beautiful joinery, an escape hatch in the aft cabin, cushions held on with plastic clip fittings rather than Velcro, decent solid locker catches etc.

:encouragement:

 

[dom]

Snooks,

I commend your open mindedness to explore and accurately report the world as you see it. There’s nothing worse than a journalist who squashes all he sees into a template of preconceptions; and FWIW I think YM is fun, interesting and damn good value for the price of a Starbucks’ coffee.

I chose to test the GT35 because I felt she was an important boat.

...I wonder if car magazines are criticised for testing super cars for testing cars for people with a lot more money than me

That said, I simply have no idea why you think the GT-35 is “an important boat” (outside the narrow perspective that it’s built in the UK): it’s not very fast, it’s certainly not a McLaren super car, the styling is not the Mae West and it’s all a bit clunky looking.

It’s true that rich folk can pay lots for desirable things; but $500K+ for a one-off attempt at a Toyota Hilux ...I think not!

 

[AndrewfromFal]

Snooks,

I commend your open mindedness to explore and accurately report the world as you see it. There’s nothing worse than a journalist who squashes all he sees into a template of preconceptions; and FWIW I think YM is fun, interesting and damn good value for the price of a Starbucks’ coffee.




That said, I simply have no idea why you think the GT-35 is “an important boat” (outside the narrow perspective that it’s built in the UK): it’s not very fast, it’s certainly not a McLaren super car, the styling is not the Mae West and it’s all a bit clunky looking.

It’s true that rich folk can pay lots for desirable things; but $500K+ for a one-off attempt at a Toyota Hilux ...I think not!

The problem is you are using car analogies to try understand/ explain the Boat market and that doesn't work; not least because, to use your example, a lot of people who buy Hilux's need them to fulfill a practical need (my friendly neighbourhood building contractor for example). Nobody who buys a GT, a Bavaria, HR or other AWB buys them to do anything other than engage in a leisure activity (either for themselves or others).

 

[snooks]

I felt it was important because she is the first boat from a new company...and after the economic water bomb that washed away many companies, it was good to see something new. The fact it's a UK company is another reason to big up the home grown boat and wave the union flag - not something we have a chance to do often

She also sets the tone for the new range of yachts and is also the first sub 40 footer offering modern looks and a very high standard of build quality. You can get traditional and high quality OR modern and not so high (in go anywhere cruisers). Now you can get both. Whether the person who appreciates high quality also appreciates her styling is yet to be seen.

That was why I felt it was important to be the first magazine to test her - and we were.

 

[dom]

I felt it was important because she is the first boat from a new company...and after the economic water bomb that washed away many companies, it was good to see something new. The fact it's a UK company is another reason to big up the home grown boat and wave the union flag - not something we have a chance to do often

That was why I felt it was important to be the first magazine to test her - and we were.

Well done you!; I'm not British, but own a business in Britain -- and I think you lot should stand up for yourselves and aggressively promote top quality British firms just like other countries promote theirs. One of Siemens' top brass recently remarked,
"Which genius came up with the idea that Isambard Brunel was the last Englishman to wield a spanner in anger?"

In terms of GT, I'd just say ...Design Matters in the luxury market ...it really really does! And FWIW I personally wish this gutsy little company a long and prosperous future.

 

[Twister_Ken]

She also sets the tone for the new range of yachts and is also the first sub 40 footer offering modern looks and a very high standard of build quality. You can get traditional and high quality OR modern and not so high (in go anywhere cruisers). Now you can get both.

Arcona 380 coming very soon. Hope you get to test her. Be interested to see how you think they compare.

 

[rogerball0]

Now that's more like it, how much?

 

[SimonD]

Asking rather than opining, but if the stanchion is bolted through, won't the fairlead fittings also be bolted?

Looking at the photos I took, it seems that the fairleads have a stud under them (I can't see any external fastening). So yes, they at least have a couple of nuts holding them on.

 

[E39mad]

I suppose the new upcoming Southerly 36 will be the closest alternative to an all British built yacht. I wonder how much they will be?

 

[snooks]

Arcona 380 coming very soon. Hope you get to test her. Be interested to see how you think they compare.

May be I should have used "moderate displacement cruisers" instead

The GT 35 might look like competition for the Arcona, but it's not. The Arcona will be far quicker. Put simply: Range Rover Vs Aston Martin