God is in the details

Anders Kurtén
CEO of Finngulf Yachts All boats are by definition compromises - it depends on the skills of the designer and the builder whether or not the compromises are acceptable. Generally we have spent outrageous amounts of time just trying to figure out a lot of small details on the 43. We are staunch advocates of the belief that what separates a yacht from “just another fiberglass boat” is the number of small details one manages to nail just right. One particular detail we have just installed on hull #1 is the multi level “Dry Locker” in the bow as seen in the picture. The round hatch opens up to reveal a generous dry space below for storage of sails, inflatables, ropes and all kinds of stuff that you tend to lug along while not racing. On the upper level, that is revealed when you open the large triangular hatch on deck, there are dedicated spaces for anchor rode, windlass (remember, a lot of people will be cruising this boat extensively!), 2 LPG bottles, and fenders. As launch date closes in upon us, we now get the second snowfall this winter (quite extraordinary!), but the Baltic is still ice free. We have roughly 100 boats up for winter storage adjacent to the yard, and the most enthusiastic sailors here are now discussing the possibility of launching their boats mid March, and enjoying an Easter lamb dinner in the port of Visby, a 200nm cruise from Helsinki. The Baltic might be ice free, but the probability of balmy weather while sailing in March here still feels fairly remote. I am pleased that my all pervasive optimism and general foolishness when we prepared our project schedule (this was in February 2007, remember!) didn’t make me set the launch date for April 1st – that would have been quote ominous in it’s own right, not to mention being quite unrealistic. As well as being April Fools Day on top of everything else…