SAIL

Neel 47

When first introduced nearly a decade ago, Neel trimarans seemed little more than an oddity, an intriguing variation in an ever-burgeoning menu of cruising multihulls. Since then these unique, fixed-ama tris, with their immense solid bridgedecks reminiscent of the first plywood tris of the last century, have proven themselves a worthy alternative to their more-common catamaran brethren. The new Neel 47 not only slots neatly in between the original Neel 45 and larger Neel 51, filling out what now amounts to a full range of offerings, it also introduces an interesting innovation in multihull accommodations.

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

As with previous Neels, all drawn by designers Michel Joubert and Bernard Nivelt, the 47’s main hull carries pronounced rocker, which combined with a

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Sail

Sail9 min read
Solar Updates
Sixteen years ago, I installed solar panels on my boat. At the time, the peak efficiency at converting sunlight to electricity was around 16%. Today’s panel technologies enable substantially more energy to be harvested from a given surface area, boos
Sail2 min read
Racing News: Welcome to New York—We’ve Been Waiting For You
There aren’t too many events in the four-year IMOCA 60 calendar that bring the fleet to this side of the Atlantic. Fewer still see the world’s premiere offshore racing fleet in the continental U.S. This May, we have a rare opportunity to see them in
Sail3 min read
Troubleshooting—When It’s Worth It
I was on the 1400-2000 watch on our second day at sea, sailing Falken across the Atlantic from Mindelo towards Barbados. The afternoon watch was blissfully shady with our westerly heading and downwind sailplan setup, with both sails spread wide out e

Related Books & Audiobooks