In the Press

11-8-2016

RP 68′ Fast Performance Cruiser Launches

November 8, 2016

Reichel/Pugh Design Nᴼ 256 – 68’ Fast Performance Cruiser
Comfortable cruising, day sailing and racing all in one beautiful yacht

Builder Baltic Yachts notes, “This spectacular 68ft silver-hulled, fast cruiser/racer for a repeat customer should deliver a highly rewarding sailing experience for her short-handed crew. The all carbon composite fixed keeler is bristling with performance enhancing features including a powerful square-top main, a retractable propulsion system, race boat style appendages and titanium fittings, plus a sophisticated and comfortable interior. As her captain said: “This is as a high performing cruising yacht that can excel on the race course.” A captive winch-controlled mainsheet and a powered winch for the asymmetric hoist take the weight out of handling. Displacing just 17 tons, almost 8 tons of which is in the keel, her advanced composite hull is built of pre-preg carbon over a Kevlar honeycomb core with Corecell used in slamming areas. A lot of attention was paid to fairing the bottom and appendages to the same standard as the topsides. Build time was just 18 months.”

Team members Tony Beale and Dan Flanigan had a successful set of sailing sea trials of the Reichel/Pugh 68 built by Baltic Yachts, and were on hand to help the sailing team hoist and test the well-designed and engineered North Sails suite! These tests included the Square Top Main, medium Jib, number three jib, mast head genoa, R1, and A2. The sails fit the boat beautifully, and the feedback is that the boat is fast and stiff! “Slippery” was the term that seemed to come up again and again! Tony and Dan both got time helming and trimming, bringing the design and engineering experience full circle. Tony Beale the lead Naval Architect on the project said, “the sea trials proved a great success. I believe the boat will exceed the Client’s expectations and prove to be a timeless design, thanks to the contributions of the Client and many great companies. Everyone should be proud of their involvement in this build.” Dan Flanigan, the lead engineer on the project stated, “Baltic did a great job building the boat. Over the course of three days we had the opportunity to load up all of the major structural components, and as expected we had no issues at all. The attention to detail in the build process has been excellent, and I could not be happier with the final result!” A special thanks to Mathias Flink, the Baltic yachts project manager, for giving the R/P team a true Finnish experience during their visit! Mathias invited them to his home where they enjoyed his floating sauna, complete with a cold dip into the lake, and a delicious meal of smoked fish and potatoes.

This project has been immensely rewarding for the RP team, working with a top notch team and client. The boat heads to Southern California next and we will check back in then! Check out the video of the cold but beautiful sailing in Finland on the RP68!

And stay tuned for compete technical details in the upcoming Jan 2017 edition of Seahorse Magazine, which reaches readers on Nov 19th via the electronic version.

Reichel/Pugh Design Nᴼ 256
68’ Fast Performance Cruiser
LOA: 20.90 m
LWL: 18.30 m
Beam: 5.23 m
Draft: 3.80 m
Displacement: 17 tons
Naval Architecture: Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design
Deck and General Arrangement: Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design
Interior Designer: Nauta Yachts
Structural Engineering: Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design
Build: Baltic Yachts
Project Management: Garth Brewer

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