at equilibrium

cnb 76
Hull Number 1: the debut CNB 76 “Léo”
was commissioned by the builder as an
on-spec yacht and kitted out with practically
every option. That includes a Hall Spars carbon mast and boom. When reaching and in
tandem with a gennaker, 652 square metres
of sail provide hours of sailing fun
AT EQUILIBRIUM
The French builder has hit the bullseye with its CNB 76 semicustom sloop. Seven units sold in the very first year speaks volumes.
Off Hyères BOAT EXCLUSIVE boarded the quick Briand design.
Text Martin Hager
76 Photos Nicolas Claris
boAt EXCLUSIVE 1/15
boAt EXCLUSIVE 1/15
77
CNB 76
Clean deck split: a central deck winch accommodates the
Striking deckhouse: concealed beneath the roof is a large, bright deck saloon with plenty of space to live and sail.
mainsheet. TCE supplied the teak/carbon wheels.
Y
ou couldn’t wish for better sailing
conditions: gloriously blue sky, a
light, steadily gathering eastsouth-easterly breeze, azure blue water,
and, as befits the very clement weather
conditions, Hull No. 2 of the new CNB 76
range is waiting at the yacht jetty on the
idyllic island of Porquerolles to be taken
for a test run. This yacht belongs to a
businessman from Brussels, who has
78 major plans together with his family.
“We are planning a round-the-world
cruise on board our yacht ‘Wink‘ lasting
several years and we want to call at
destinations like Tahiti, Patagonia and the
Antarctic”, the owner relates proudly. An
impressive undertaking, which was extensively planned together with the builder. In contrast to Hull Number 1, “Wink”
was built as a pared-down engineering
version. “The yacht was designed to be
as lightly equipped as possible, to enable
the owner and crew to get hold of spare
parts if required and when venturing away
from the usual sailing routes”, explains
experienced builder’s skipper, Marc Renwick. Thus manual units feature instead
of hydraulic Reckmann furlers and the
anchor can’t be lowered into the foreship
using a hydraulic anchor arm, but lies
boAt EXCLUSIVE 1/15
securely lashed in a bow fitting. In contrast to that the Belgian owner ordered
the high-performance rig package, consisting of a Hall Spars carbon mast that is
2.50 metres higher than the standard
version. “This enables me to utilise six
to seven percent more sail area”, says
the owner. “I love a bit of fast, all-action
sailing.” And that after all is what the CNB
76 was designed for. Her lines, featuring
boAt EXCLUSIVE 1/15
a near-plumb bow and shallow, with-kink
aft section, along with her striking
exterior styling were CADed by Philippe
Briand, who is given command of his own
design for this particular day’s sailing.
Whilst he is manoeuvring the 23.17-
metre GRP-made sloop out of the
picturesque harbour, we still have time
to explore her interior. The builder commissioned the designer Jean-Marc Piaton
to create the interior, and he came up
with three different ambiance options,
Hull Number 2 is going on a world cruise,
visitingTahiti, Patagonia and the Antarctic
79
cnb 76
each dominated by different oak hues. A
companionway leads from the guest
cockpit to a bright, spacious deck saloon,
which is really impressive for a yacht of
this size. A seating arrangement, including
U-shaped sofa, is located to port, surrounding a large two-part dining table, which
can be electrically converted into a coffee
table at the touch of a button. Opposite
is a compact and, given its proximity to
the companionway, conveniently placed
navigation point and aft of that another
sofa. This can be converted with little
effort into two facing armchairs with the
aid of a rather smart mechanism.
Modern, linear and warm
The styling below deck conveys an impression of being linear, modern and yet
pleasantly warm. In contrast the innovative layout, featuring the owner’s cabin
in the foreship and crew accommodation
full of nooks and crannies next to the
galley, is unconventional yet appealing.
“This unusual layout can be attributed to
the requirement for a fully-fledged tender
garage, optimised to accommodate a
3.85-metre Williams Turbo Jet tender”,
the builder’s skipper explains. When the
yacht is at anchor, the tender glides
smoothly into the water with the aid of
floor-fitted castors via the stern flap,
which can be used as a swimming platform. This thoroughly uncomplicated
launch process only takes one minute.
Following our tour of the interior it is time
for all hands to get back on deck. “Wink”
is already head-to-wind, and thanks to her
electric Harken winches at the foot of the
mast, the 172-square-metre mainsail is
set in just a few minutes. The Raymarine
instrumentation on the mast displays a
wind speed of no more than ten knots
80 Command centre: the navigation point is located right next to the companionway.
(true wind), and Philippe Briand heads
from the Porquerolles across the Bay of
Hyères to Fort de Brégançon, located 15
nautical miles away. There is a decent
amount of wind and the 480-squaremetre A5 gennaker immediately swings
into action. As expected the light canvas
acts like a turbocharger. Scarcely has the
reaching sail filled out, “Wink” suddenly
accelerates from 8.1 knots to 11.8 knots
in the direction of the former summer
residence of the French President.
Standing at the helm, this new CNB 76
feels considerably smaller than she actually is, rudder pressure is agreeably low,
and “Wink” reacts immediately to control
commands. The yacht is so well equilibrated that she can be steered using just
two fingers, even at this speed and at a
decent angle of heel. Pure sailing pleasure. “In particular her broad, shallow aft
section with its striking kink in combination with the twin rudder system give this
yacht remarkably well-balanced handling
characteristics”, yacht designer extraordinaire Philippe Briand explains.
boAt EXCLUSIVE 1/15
Bright and warm: the deckhouse provides a panoramic view, the owner resides in a large cabin in the bow; storm fiddles are everywhere.
Clear statement
We wanted a yacht offering athletic chic,
plenty of sailing performance, a deck
saloon, tender garage and a large crew
area, all at an outstanding price”, is how
CNB’s founder Olivier Lafourcade explains the main idea behind the CNB 76
concept. The asking price of 2,205,000
Euro (excluding taxes) is a clear statement
of intent for a yacht of this size and
quality and makes this new semi-custom
product a mini-supersailer offering amazing value-for-money. For that asking
boAt EXCLUSIVE 1/15
price you get maximum 60 feet LOA from
many a competitor – mind you that is if
your negotiating skills are good. In contrast CNB’s prices are set and only vary
depending on what boxes you have ticked
on the long list of optional extras. The
builder deliberately avoided offering layout
variations. “That spares us extra design
and development work and saves the
client a great deal of money”, Olivier
Lafourcade explains. “He can then invest
that money, if he chooses, in a range of
different keel or rig options.” In order to
be able to manufacture the 45-tonne sloop
for this price and to the builder’s usual
quality standards, the Bénéteau Group,
as CNB’s parent company, invested considerable sums of money and thus
Hull kink and twin rudders give the CNB 76
superbly balanced sailing performance
81
CNB Rendezvous
bonus material
is available via our
BOAT EXCLUSIVE APP
SPECIFICATION
LOA:
23.17 m
Range:
LWL:
21.98 m
Generator:
Beam:
6.10 m
Fresh water capacity:
Draught:
3,00 m
Water maker:
Displacement:
Ballast: A
mbition gets the better of
everybody in the end. Whilst
this is supposed to be a justfor-fun regatta, there is still a fraught
jostling for position on the start line in
the north of the island of Porquerolles,
which is to a large extent a nature conservation area. No quarter is given here
– that’s how it is amongst yachtspeople
in regatta mode.
The French builder CNB invited owners to participate in the regatta or rather
friendly rally, as part of the sixth CNB
Rendezvous. This happening, launched
as a jolly family reunion and get-together
for like-minded yacht owners, takes place
every year, lasts for three days and offers
owners and their friends, who have come
along, a varied programme of social
events alongside the two regattas.
This year the owners of twelve Bordeaux 60s and two CNB 76s accepted
the invitation of the Bénéteau Groupowned builder – a small but select outfit,
which after the first “race” across the
bay of Hyères anchored up together
somewhere quiet to enjoy shipped-inby-tender refreshments provided by
long-standing champagne sponsor,
Thiénot. This was followed in the eve-
A fabulous place to sail and a varied social
event programme delighted CNB’s guests
82 boAt EXCLUSIVE 1/15
Bow/stern thrusters: Side Power
Furler:Reckmann
Air-conditioning:Dometic
Engine:
1 x Volvo D4
Navigation: Engine performance:
135 kW
Clamps: Sail area: 406 m²
Tender:
Raymarine
Seasmart
Williams Jet 3.85 m
carbon, Hall Spars
Design & Styling: Philippe Briand
33.97 m
Interior Design: Jean-Marc Piaton
Sails: Incidences
2500 l
CE-category: Builder: A
CNB, 2013
Family-friendly two guest cabins are forward of
New layout: the crew is accommodated opposite the galley, guests are quar-
the saloon, the angular galley is aft. At anchor
tered forward of the saloon. The owner’s bed in the bow is on the centre line.
the stern flap serves as a swimming platform.
PHotos: Nicolas Claris, Martin Hager
Fourteen yachts in the Porquerolles for sixth rally.
45 t
15 t
Fuel tank:
FAMILY REUNION
1500 l
Sea Recovery
GRP, carbon
Mast height:
ning by another programme highlight:
all were shuttled by tender to the idyllic
Plage d’Argent, where tables had already been set for dinner under the stars.
Another rally was on the agenda the
next morning: regatta number two took
the 14 semi-custom sloops at ten to
twelve knots of true wind around the
Porquerolles, past the “Jeaune Garde”
lighthouse and the small islands of Petit
Sarranier and Rocher des Mèdes back
to the bay of Porquerolles and over the
finish line. Overall victory in the Bordeaux 60 class was secured by the yacht
“Anna Bolina”, whilst of the two CNB
76s, “Wink”, which was delivered just
shortly before the Rendezvous, just had
her nose in front. The awards ceremony
in the CNB marquee in the port was
followed by a pleasant evening to bring
the curtain down on the event.
Another CNB Rendezvous will take
place in June 2015. “We switch
locations every two years, to make
things more interesting for us and the
owners“, says Arno Kronenberg, who
acts as the CNB distributor in Germanspeaking countries. Following on from
Palma de Mallorca, Bonifacio and the
Porquerolles, the builder is currently
looking for another scenic venue.
1 x 17.5 kW
Materials:
Rig: Rendezvousing off Porquerolles: twelve Bordeaux 60s and the two debut CNB 76s sailed two regattas off the Mediterranean island.
1800 nm @ 8 kn
enabled the interior, which consists of
four modules, to be produced in a completely separate process to the simultaneous hull lamination process, which
applies the vacuum-infusion method. This
is where the Group’s serial production
experience shines through. The various
modules are only finally put in place some
six weeks prior to launch, before the deck
and the hull are joined. The advantages
of this simultaneous construction process
are obvious and enable CNB to build its
latest model in just five to six months
instead of a year. “This enables us to
action five CNB 76 new-builds a year”,
says the builder’s founder.
Superyacht styling and quality at a serial
yacht price appeal to newcomers to sail
boAt EXCLUSIVE 1/15
The fact that the Bordeaux-based yacht
builder has managed to offer superyacht
styling and quality at a serial production
yacht price is likely to appeal to many
superyacht newcomers. That includes –
quite obviously – owners with a fondness
of travelling and a thirst for adventure,
like the “Wink” family. There is something pure about family sailing in France
that is very attractive. Whether CNB will
select a future rendezvous location in the
French Polynesia is not yet known. Allez!
83