Grand Soleil 65LC - one of the most stunning new designs, but what's it like under sail?

The Grand Soleil 65LC oozes style, a Matteo Polli design which has high form stability and sail area for fast cruising. Toby Hodges was given an early sail trial from Palma, Mallorca. Full report in Yachting World August 2024 and our First Look tour of the GS65LC from its boat show debut is here: • Step aboard this sizzl...
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[@texmexbbq7085]

You’re the best sailing yacht reviewer in the world Toby…thanks for all you do…and your impeccable taste in what’s good and not so good.

[@yachtingworld]

Thank you very much for your kind comment! T

[@filangafree]

I am now an avid sailing yatch enthusiast - despite never having been near one of these things! Amazing content - educational and inspirational.

[@Rodrifuuu]

"I'm not gonna do a full tour" - Does a tour anyway. Legend.

[@yachtingworld]

Yep, I got a bit carried away!

[@Rodrifuuu]

@@yachtingworld Toby! Any news on the Persico or any other foiling cruisers?

[@yachtingworld]

@@Rodrifuuu Not yet but I shall ask!

[@boardelia]

I think this is the best format, to sail the boat and not just show it in the port or showroom !

[@khanthabuasiya7794]

I always wanted to see hiw this biat sail, thank you Toby for bringing us thus video. Always enjoy your reviews.

[@maxnex7676]

What a stunning yacht.

[@marcocatalan926]

Great video - really look forward to you new stuff. This is the perfect Med Boat - I have been on similar along the coast of Med Spain and these go just fine in lighter winds. Enjoy MED (motoring every day) on some tank built for the North Atlantic.

[@PaulieB-wi7mx]

When you make statement like *"...straight into good figures here..."* but then fail to provide said figures, you have not told the whole story, still love the vids though, just wanted to point that out. If it was me, any time sailing I would be running a Navionics type app op my phone and then doing a data overlay for the videos with speed and any other data _(if you are able to sync with the boat gear to get extra info)_ It would provide more of a "testing" feel to the videos and provide hard data. That said, I am a data person and also as a main trimmer, 40% of the time I am looking at instruments, so when I watch boats videos I love seeing the numbers, as it really helps me relate to what that boat is capable of doing. _Just my 2cents_

[@MrAnthism]

she is absolutely magnificent!!! The bad is that on these lengths the price goes sky rocket!!!

[@markgrice8214]

Thanks for showing us this yacht. I don't think I would purchase this boat but I certainly get great ideas from this video and think maybe a 50 or 58 would have what I need in a more manageable size boat. PS I am not going to comment on how this boat is totally unsuitable for: Artic, Anartica, or Mississippi River. I think it might be fantastic for the Med or Car.

[@TheAegisClaw]

Nice to see a single rudder boat, is it skeg hung too?

[@MogleCorp]

I am in love!

[@matteoamoroso8225]

Toby, wonderful review as usual. In your opinion, is this a yacht that can be handled by an experienced couple, or are we really pushing the limits here? The numbers are incredible... the idea of being able to do 200nm a day, in 10-15kn of true wind, shorthanded with just furling sails is mind boggling. I just think of the loads... and the size of those sails... I love this yacht. But at the same time I feel intimidated.

[@RulgertGhostalker]

I WANT ONE !!! but I guess a 42 LC would do.

[@ywc1872]

Stunning!!!

[@soleywolfgangsdottir]

the chart table is ridiculous for a boat of this size and price range. can someone explain to me how to eat at that saloon table at sea? i wish you would also point out the obvious disantvantages of a design during your walk throughs. especially if a boat is designed for fast cruising but the design offers a lack of handrails, for example

[@SailingIndependence]

The two most obvious names for this boat would be either "Man Overboard" or "Broken Ribs". I didn't see a single grab rail inside or out.. dangerous boat.

[@yoryteperman429]

Yet there were no reports of anyone falling overboard or braking their ribs during this video-recorded sail... Seems that salty gramps do not understand that this delightful pleasure boat is for balmy July Dolce Vita stints between Santorini, Capri and St Tropez, not for living aboard or bumming around for years and years on-end, and Not for traversing NorthEast passage... The way you salty grumps look at this boat is alike to criticizing a Porsche 911 Turbo for not being an RV or nor having a 14" wheel travel for driving over Rockies Rubicon trail. Think of it more like a supersized and supercharged Saffier daysailer and you will not be wrong...

[@peterbyrne652]

@@yoryteperman429 Toby mentions 'cruising boat' more than once. It's not a day sailer. You really think someone is going to pay over $2M and 'day sail' it? This is a boat to live on for periods of time, and in that context how safe it is in heavy weather is a fair question. People that can afford it aren't going out in heavy weather, but it's not a bloody day sailer.

[@harbourdogNL]

@@yoryteperman429 What you're saying is it's a McBoat for people who aren't actually sailors, but just want to swan about on calm days with no swell. Think Viking River Cruises, and call that sailing. LMAO.

[@SailingIndependence]

@yoryteperman429 *reply guy has entered the chat*

[@harbourdogNL]

@@SailingIndependence lmao, I'm going to borrow that!

[@robertw.1499]

Really don’t understand why these type of „flat-deck“ yachts can even be considered safe and comfortable in any water/weather conditions other than flat and warm weather. Moving around in that vast space below deck in rough weather would be simply madness. Or am I just an idiot who has no idea 🤪

[@yoryteperman429]

It is for 'flat and warm weather". Ever heard of Wally Yachts? Those that invented flat decks? They did (and still do) well, and this one is just a contemporary iteration of a well-established formula for Med...

[@nicolasmunk-rechnitzer9674]

Did you notice the overhead rails? You have to thing like a monkey and trust your hands rather than your feet 😊

[@robertw.1499]

@@nicolasmunk-rechnitzer9674 Never the less Nicolas, this is still a calm seas, low wind yatch for it to be comfortable and safe to sail. You are completely exposed on deck, no place to take shelter anywhere, neither from the wind and rain nor from the sun. Below deck is catastrophic in comparison to real, ocean going boats like Hallberg Rassy or Kraken. This is a posers yacht, lazy sailing days in light winds whilst lounging on deck with your Pims or cocktail.

[@joealphons5772]

Just curious, why do you need crew on these boats? If you are the owner who is into sailing and have friends who are into sailing don't you and them want to be involved in handling the boat? I can't quite imagine myself buying something like this and then just sitting there doing what exactly? Any thoughts?

[@ukpitts]

Charter market will be important customers for this boat. Owner operators will likely want a chef & a systems engineer - if they are going to venture far from a service centre. Crew quaters will be used !

[@yoryteperman429]

I think he mentioned at about 3min in, it can be sailed shorthanded, i.e. owner and wife or owner and friend can do it (if u can afford the boat).

[@spikeypineapple552]

Not about that. Most often config for owner is going to be a couple, most likely 50+ given the price of this boat. Is is sailable singlehanded? Yeah. Is it going to comfortable? Nah. Having basically a deckhand+chef on board is a massive luxury, but not unreasonable on a boat of this size.

[@yoryteperman429]

Whoever owns such a boat might already have a butler and a chef to take along for a sunday sail...

[@woutdewachter4246]

Beautifull yacht. Bit concerned about the very low toerail.

[@matthewkenny1944]

Still think it is a fantastic yacht. Just wanted to know how sailors felt about the direction of modern design based on their own experience.

[@matteoamoroso8225]

I think yours is a valid question. But clearly this yacht is not designed for high/low latitudes with huge swells. It is a Med yacht, and as Toby said, it is the perfect tool to enjoy those 10-15kn conditions with flat sea... which are extremely frequent in the Med in the Summer. I think your concern for a MOB is somewhat valid, but with the skipper aft and the cockpit so open, it's not as if nobody is going to notice. At night you'll always be hooked in and wearing a vest. This yacht is for your weekend trip from Portofino to Porto Cervo, your mid May regatta in Palma weekend, the 2 weeks summer holiday, hopping from Sicily to Ponza, Elba and Corsica. It's a yacht that will do 200nm in a day with 15kn of true wind shorthanded without needing an asymmetric!!!!! I agree, i don't see many cruising the Norvegian's fjords, but you don't see many Porsches/Ferrari in the Home Depot parking lot either. I dont think this is the perfect yacht to go round the world (although.... if you stay within the tropics you can have some fun!!!!) but if you really wanna sail La Tierra del Fuego maybe u can charter a Garcia for 2 weeks ;)

[@pulehushortribs157]

What is this Beautiful Yacht intended for? What type of conditions is She planned for?

[@SailingIndependence]

Princess sailing by the looks of it. Any kind of weather or sea state and you're tossing men overboard or breaking ribs down below.

[@joanromeusendros0251]

❤❤❤

[@TravelonlineWalk]

Nice boat to sail to Can Picafort

[@MrChanakkale]

Non c'è niente da fare.....siamo abituati a convivere con i capolavori da queste parti.

[@yoryteperman429]

A beaut.

[@george-3412]

When I watch videos of such boats it always comes the question "if you have the money why not buy a Gunboat?"

[@yachtingworld]

Probably because you'd need a bit more money!

[@briseboy]

Well, lots of beds, so that the ancient usual recreation ashore can finally be shipped.

[@BastaCrew]

Guapa

[@SHGPO]

Why not get a Swan for that money?

[@matteoamoroso8225]

Because for 3m you get a Swan 55 and this would leave it for dead, looks nicer and is more spacious. Re-sale value and build quality could be another story though.

[@SHGPO]

@@matteoamoroso8225 I’d rather buy a used swan 58 for the same money. Or a Solaris

[@SHGPO]

@@matteoamoroso8225 I’d rather buy a used Swan 58 for the same money. Or a Solaris

[@matteoamoroso8225]

@@SHGPO That is fair. It's all down to personal preferences. Looking at used is a bit unfair.. You'd be looking at a Swan 55 for the same amount of money... And it's a different yacht. As per Solaris the 64RS would come slightly cheaper than GS 65LC. It's not as performance oriented and its hull is not as powerful (but a bit more spacious, especially aft). At the end of the day, I think for Gran Soleil this is a huge win. This yacht and the 72 have put them in the same sentence with Swan and Solaris... and will help with brand image (and trickle down sales). This is the sexiest yacht on sale right now... and it matters when u look at these type of boats and the potential clientele. But arguing about this or the Swan or Solaris is like saying you'd pick the 911 turbo over a Ferrari 296 or Lamborghini Huracan.

[@SHGPO]

@@matteoamoroso8225 haha you’re definitely right about that, all these boats are an absolute dream. One day … ⛵️

[@stayfrosty1758]

oh really? A 65 feets million dollar yacht is stunning? No Shit! How about making a boat that a standard 30yo can buy and sail for a freaking once in a while?

[@yoryteperman429]

And what business a "normal" 30year old has with owning a leisure 65footer like this? Have you retired? Have you earned enough already to check out of "normal" life? Enjoy being 30-year old unabme to afford such a boat but still being in a life race, active, working, not yet fully made, because it surely beats being a sixty or even a fifty years old able to afford it, but being already at fifty or sixty...

[@klr650ish]

Just another overgrown, overpriced daysailer. Lack of safety in the boat seems to be the norm for this type of floating apartment.

[@harbourdogNL]

God, what a horrible boat. Ne'er a handhold down below, bodies will be flying around like the inside of a clothes dryer. Helm stations require you to commute between them they're that far apart, nothing is in reach, and if you're in any proper wind (sorry, 15 knots is not a proper wind) you're going to need to be clipped in anytime you're not below deck as there is nothing to hold onto above deck either.The teak (or whatever it is) decking is horrible, it looks like it hasn't been maintained for 2 decades. Dreadful boat.

[@yoryteperman429]

You seem to be so grateful this Grand Soleil is not yours because it is such a horrible boat!! Surely, a tired ex-charter Hanse or cramped decades old rotten Catalina are more to your liking!

[@atxsailor452]

That is a horrible deck layout and that crew...

[@antoncarmoducchi6057]

Pity, you were going to get a free one.

[@atxsailor452]

@@antoncarmoducchi6057 Darn, there went my opportunity to sell a horrible yacht and use the funds to buy one worth owning. 😢😢😢

[@ultraveridical]

"stiff slippery shape"

[@davidplatenkamp]

salty, wet and full of seamen

This video started out pretty good, but of course, it had to descend into obnoxious talking and videoing of the videographer! Just once, I'd like to see a sailing video that doesn't put the videographer front & center, while making the sailboat secondary!

[@yachtingworld]

In which case why not just watch the marketing videos on the manufacturers' websites?! People tend to view these tours for more of an informed opinion

[@vlkisef]

its a stunning boat but why dont they putt main sail boom little higher like on cats,you would get so much space under it,now on this you got no spray ,sun protection