The Boreal 44 is crisp to windward
After a good nights sleep aboard I was rested and looking forward to a short sail aboard the Boreal 44. But as Jean-Francois Eeman arrived with breakfast, things didn’t look promising as we looked out through the drizzle onto a flat calm river. Eventually though we agreed to go out and look for some wind out in the bay.And it was as well that we did, as we were rewarded with a light breeze outside that at least enabled us to put her through her paces a little.
The cutter rig is simple and hefty, with fore and aft lowers, parallel spreaders and running backstays, a bulletproof cruising rig. All reefing is handled at the mast on this boat, and there are substantial granny bars for security when at that task. All deck gear – granny bars, stanchions, pulpit and pushpit are in alloy to keep weight down at deck level, and to minimise contact between dissimilar metals. There are plenty of welded grab rails for safety when moving around on deck, and the painted non-slip surface provided good grip, although I like to see it on the coachroof sides as well, despite the dubious aesthetics of doing so. The side decks are clear and moving around on deck is easy.
And she sailed very nicely, considering the light conditions, and was easily driven and well balanced. The helm was light and positive, and she was a pleasure to steer with the big wheel from the side coamings. All of the deck gear was well positioned and of the right size, important for a short handed crew. She pointed well in the light conditions, and I’d be hopeful that this solid performance would also be born out in stronger winds when the daggerboards could be brought into action. With just the two of us aboard we were able to make light work of short tacking back up the river chasing the shifts in the wind. Even from such a brief acquaintance it would seem that all of the effort put into centring the weight and making the underwater sections slippery has paid off.
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So is she similar to other similar aluminium lifting keel boats of the same size from French yards? All of them are good boats with their own attributes and a strong track record. But the Boreal is different, in my view, in so far as she is clearly designed with higher latitudes in mind. I’ve no doubt that she would be just as happy in the Caribbean or the Med, but really, for me, she is more of an expedition boat. Jean-Francois Delvoye told me that she was the product of seventeen notebooks of sketches and ideas he recorded during his six years living aboard his previous boat with his family, including two years in Patagonia, and it shows. There is a lack of compromise in the boat that shows that she was designed after much thought, and has been built with a determination to do things the right way for long distance voyaging.
If you were planning to build a boat for some serious high latitude cruising, then this boat has a multitude of standard features – the doghouse, insulation, underwater sections, to name but a few – that would be very attractive. Couple that with no-compromise aluminium construction, and a yard flexible enough to work with you to achieve your goals, and without too much effort you’d have a boat worth putting at the top of your wish list. She won the French Sailing Boat of the Year award in 2010 against some pretty stiff opposition, and it’s not hard to see why.
If the 44 seems a little small, there is a 47 (a 44 with an extended scoop stern), a 50/53 in the same vein, and there is a 62 in the design stage. Myself, I’d go for a 47, do away with one of the heads and an aft cabin, and, if possible, have a more conventional island galley. The 44 is a ‘big’ boat for her size, and the 50 must be huge. A 53 or 62 would make a great charter boat for high latitudes, or a simple version would be ideal as an expedition or research boat .
A Lot of Boat for the Price
These are semi custom boats, and each one is built very much with an owners needs in mind. There is a considerable list of options, but a standard Boreal 44 currently starts at 299,331 Euros + French VAT for a European buyer. Add another 50,000 Euros for some essential options (heater, additional sails etc) plus electronics, and you’d have an awful lot of boat for your money.
About this review:
I would like to thank the two partners at Boreal Yachts, Jean-Francois Delvoye and Jean-Francois Eeman for their warm welcome to the yard and for answering my multitude of questions–as did the build team.
They were kind enough to take me out for an informal supper during my visit, but otherwise the visit was entirely self-funded.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Colin,
I can’t thank you enough for the review. I was convinced a while back that my next boat was either an Ovni or Garcia. Now Jean-Francois has convinced my to take a good look at his product. Your review has helped my over the hump of trying a new boat. I will just have to get over the interior design hurdle.
I hope you get a chance for some real Biscay weather to test the Boreal especially reefing single handed while the crew is sleeping below.
There is no doubt I would elect the larger sugar scoop model and although I would keep two heads but one would be all business and the one forward would be for calm or in port use with a sit down shower/tub combo.
I would also sacrifice one of the aft staterooms for a storage/work area for all the things a long cruise necessitates.
I found it interesting that the Boreal has no traveler. Although I suppose if one wanted one it could be mounted on the dog house roof. I did not notice if a topping lift was supplied or if that was felt unnecessary due to the rigid boom vang?
Finally although I like the dual function of the heating system, I find a Webasto or other hot air furnace a great aid to keeping the boat dry inside. Perhaps both would be the best bet.
Sometime I would be interested in hearing about things you would change if you were ordering a new boat.
Again thank you taking the time.
Victor
Hi Victor
I’m sure that any of the three builders would provide you with a very capable boat – it might come down more to where you plan to take her.
I’d agree with most of your thoughts re the interior, which isn’t dissimilar to our OVNI. Personally, I’d prefer the diesel heater system as it’s so simple and reliable, although we have a Webasto blown air system which has (so far) worked very well.
The Boreal doesn’t have a traveller, but the way the double ended mainsheet is rigged works OK. And the boat I sailed doesn’t have a topping lift, but I’m sure that’s only a matter of asking for one. We have one on our boat (although we don’t strictly need it), and it can always be used as an emergency main halyard.
And I hope to produce a posting on what we got wrong with our boat some time in the future!
Glad you’ve found the review useful, and thanks for the kind words.
Colin
interesting that you seemingly put the emphasis on the aesthetics of the boat by covering these at length in the first two posts leaving the most important aspects (sea worthiness) to a single (and the last) post, and i see this same approach consistently in boat reviews as i do when i observe prospective buyers considering a purchase…they eagerly go over the creature comforts first and at great length leaving the sea worthiness aspects for usually only a few cursory glances, and i am guilty of this myself although i am making efforts to turn this around once i realized what i am doing…excellent creature comforts are quickly compromised by even the slightest flaw(s) in seaworthiness while excellent seaworthiness will greatly enhance even the most spartan of creature comforts…so i prefer the latter over the former without exception…similarly, we have an extension to this with the universally true axiom to the effect that harbors rot ships and crews…meaning minimize your time spent in harbors, which, although totally true, is easier said than done…once settled into the harbor the task of preparing the then-domesticated vessel for sea becomes more daunting every day regardless of the crew’s bent for passaging…richard in tampa bay, aka cavu’s skipper now reluctantly on the look out for evidence of deep water horizon’s crude oil although so far we are spared of the scurge
Richard
I could not agree more. Looking at the Boreal the sea kindliness was (is) assumed but perhaps we should examine it in light of the sea state that Abby Sunderland was experiencing a few days ago in the southern ocean.
Colin,
it is my understanding – and please correct me if I’m wrong – that any of the larger boats from Ovni, Garcia and Boreal would do well in the higher latitudes. The obvious advantage of the Boreal is the dog house. And in reality for most of us a trip to Antarctica requires a passage through the tropics.
Regards
Victor
Thank you very much for all those comments… There is very much to say and I’ll try to be as complete and factual as possible.
Victor and Colin,
There is a topping lift, which is the same size of the halyard so it can be used as a second halyard. With the rigid boom vang it is not really essential so I remove it from the end of the boom the avoid it ragging unnecessarily along the main…
Heater : You can combine the advantages of both systems using the same circuit of pipes and radiators. I don’t know for other brands but Eberspächer does it…
Interior : Have a look at my previous comments and you’ll see we propose a version as Victor suggests.
Traveller : The “window” of angles in which a traveller on the doghouse would be effective is very narrow…
Our webbing system with blocks at different places of the beam do compensate the lack of…
Moreover on boats which are not racing boats the delta in performances and angles which cannot be compensated by the use of your vang are – according to us- really not very significant.
Victor,
There are examples of Ovni’s and Garcia’s who went everywhere around the globe! I even spent a lot of time with a Swiss family who went to Antartica and back in very nasty conditions with an Ovni 345.
Just like Ovni, Garcia has had new owners. It is important to see what the approach of the new owners are for the future.
Richard,
I do agree with you that when you read about a boat, what we really want to know is her seaworthiness. At the same time,
I really do appreciate the fact that Colin only wrote about things he was able to see or experiment… That is an objective approach.
I will try to be as objective and factual as he is, not “praising” qualities which obviously need a reality check.
Speaking about reality checks :
Last Autumn, Belgian journalists travelled to Brittany to test the boat in storm conditions. As they went out, the real wind was peaking at 54 knots… They felt totally safe and were enthustiastic… Article can be seen (but maybe not so easily understand) on our site http://www.voiliers-boreal.com (press review- article in dutch from Varen). The movie is/was on You Tube. I’ll try to see where…
Anyhow : according to them it was the first time ever a yard accepted to have their boat tested in those conditions.
( In the same spirit last spring, we accepted two journalists of Voiliers & Voiliers to be on board of the first sail ever with the Boréal 44… )
At Boréal the managing partners, the both Jean-François, were sailors before being boatbuilders. We met in Ushuaia where we both lived for two years on board of our boats. Jean-François Delvoye designed the very first Boréal 50 to take his family and himself to places he could/dare not to go with his previous boat… So initially, not for commercial purposes.
I’ll be happy to answer any remarks you might have on the subject.
Jean-François
A very big thank you to Colin for a really excellent review. I wonder, if the Boreal 47 had existed before we commenced what turned out to be a three year refit on Morgan’s Cloud, what we would have done…
Also, a special thank you to Jean-François(s) for their very open attitude, even when their brain child was criticized, and the clear way in which they have answered all of our questions.
Jean-Francios
Thanks for your clear and concise explanations. The YouTube video does show a very well behaved boat with a relaxed helmsman and crew in obviously quite strong winds. One more question. Are the daggerboards and rudder post behind the aft waterproof bulkhead?
Colin
Thanks for going to all the trouble to write this review. I also appreciated that your opinion was based on personal observation.
John/Colin/Jean-Francois
A big thank you to all three of you for hosting, reviewing and all the good comments. My last question of course is how soon can I get one?
Thanks again
Victor
Carter,
Yes, the casings for the daggerboards and the rudder post are behind the bulkhead.
Victor,
We would be happy to build a boat for you ! And the dollar rate is in your favour.
Once we haev agreed on a precises configuration it would take us 18 month to launch your boat.
Many than to all who in a way or antoher contributed to the succes of this overview
Jean-François
Hi Victor
There are those who suggest that centreboarders are not suitable for high latitude travel, but as Jean-Francois has pointed out the track record of boats from OVNI and Garcia would suggest otherwise. What I think the Boreal does very well is to identify suitable features you would want for such sailing from the design stage, whereas you might have to upspec one of the others from the start. And I saw nothing about the Boreal that would have made it unsuitable for the tropics, either.
Best wishes
Colin
To Victor,
From my information, Garcia has been sold by the initial creators of the brand some years ago…The new owners started the range ‘salt’. There are mixed echo’s bout those boats. Lately things did not go very well and the yart was saved in extremis from bankrupticy. It’s now Allures who owns the brand.
Regards Tom ( Holland)
Tom,
thanks for the information re: Garcia. I had a feeling things had changed there.
Colin, I never had any doubt the french aluminum centerboarders are up to the task. I am interested to hear what you would change on your Ovni when you have the chance to put it down. I, for one, have not found a single boat that has all the things I feel are important. There are compromises everywhere. I think the Boreal comes closest to my idea of a production expedition boat.
Hi
Tom, thanks for that. I had no idea that Garcia had been taken over. Our original idea had been to buy a hull and deck from Garcia (Passoa 43) to finish ourselves, but the price we were quoted was so extraordinary, we soon dropped that idea! The new boats do seem to have moved away from the original ethos, so maybe the change of ownership explains things a little.
Victor, it took me 20 years to decide on the boat I wanted, picking peoples brains and playing the magpie around boatyards, as well as coming up with a few ideas myself. And at the end of the day, I still got things wrong, and then there were simply things that weren’t options available with our OVNI. So, you’re right, things are always a compromise, and there will always be things you will kick yourself for having neglected to specify.
So I’m working up my thoughts on what we would have done differently, were we at the same stage once again – watch out for it soon.
And thanks to everybody who has contributed so many interesting and pertinent comments throughout this series – which has made it all the more worthwhile for all of us.
Best wishes
Colin