Gunboat 72V

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Se7en_speed

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I agree that it's a new direction for GB, but it will be interesting to see how this thing performs. Compared to a lagoon seventy 7 (140,000 lb) it's relatively svelte at 62,600 lb. 

 
S

Se7en_speed

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Sailabout said:
I think this market is starting to get crowded with over supply?
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I think there is probably a market for a more cruising oriented catamaran that isn't horribly slow.

I'm not sure what would be directly competing with this? Maybe the HH 88, but that is longer and 50% heavier. 

I think GB is going for as big as it needs to be to have the space you want, balanced with being as light as it can be to get good performance.

I'd be willing to bet this will be the fastest flybridge cat on the market.

 
hoektron

hoektron

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Gulf Coast, TX
72ft and not even a place for the skipper to sit...

Screenshot_20210702-143131_Chrome.jpg

 
B

Boogie with Stu

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Not really surprised, it's just good business; these boats sell better than high-performance ones. If you're going to go there, this one is a nice looking option.

 
Airwick

Airwick

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Victoria, BC
Arguably moving the boom up 6' on a 70' cat isn't going to hurt the performance that much but it still seems like an odd compromise to make. It seems you could easily have a "lounge" on the flybridge without requiring standing headroom under the boom, which would seem more "on-brand".

I'm also not sure how wise it is to be sailing at 25kt with a giant blind spot from the helm! It might not be too bad with a small self tacking jib but if you tack a big asym on that sprit it will completely obscure visibility from that flybridge helm location (which seems like the "working" cockpit) from approximately dead head (accounting for stepping to the side of the helm and the sail luff projecting to windward) to aft of the beam. Seems like racing (or sailing in busy waters) would be pretty sketchy on one of these!

I guess it must have been a "commonly requested feature" but still looks wrong!

Maybe this is to appeal to rich suckers who would buy a Sunreef but like the idea of the "Gunboat performance" and are actually just going to get sailed around by their crew. Porsche makes an SUV which seem like a contradiction but yet they sell lots of them so it probably makes a lot of business sense...

 
mpenman

mpenman

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Pompano Beach
Balance has the 76 that has a fly bridge. It's decently quick.

Forward cockpit is where you lounge.

Being up high is cool, can spy on the neighbors.

But no where to put a ton of solar, means you're carrying a genset. If you have a fly bridge, the owners want all cabin AC. No f'n way that boat is coming in at 62k lbs.

Agree with Sailabout, buy a frigging power boat.

 
Ruminator

Ruminator

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Florida
This turn of events is interesting, to say the least!

Given the portfolio of GLY why would they choose the GB brand for such a design (HH really nipping at their heels)?  First impressions/guesses would have been that the Outremer brand would have crossed this line first.  However I am not privy to the machinations of trying to remain profitable in this sector so at least I still could choose the 68!!

 
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Ruminator

Ruminator

Member
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Florida
soma said:
I was going to say that a flybridge Gunboat model feels like a desperate act. Outremers are selling like hotcakes so why mess with a successful business model? The new O55 seems like a winner on the water and in the marketplace. 
 

Launching one Gunboat per year, on the other hand, doesn’t seem sustainable. I assume 68 sales aren’t wildly outstripping the build pace, so time to recalibrate. 
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Perhaps indeed. 

Is your opinion that the O brand is 'better' because they are selling like crispy johnnycakes? Or that the affordability variable is in play for most intrepid explorers buying new?  You can always add another model, even to just eat some market share with the L,L,FP charter crowd that already sell the fly.

Not to argue your point (as your inside intelligence on all things GB exceeds most 'round these parts) but GLY had to know that the price point of the line would always be a low volume runner (I for one always point to the brand awareness and IP as part of the brand attractiveness when they liquidated in NC).  Perhaps a couple of prospective customers approached GLY and gave them a nudge?  It would make sense if they did.  One never knows the complete story looking in from outside...

Cheers!

 
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longy

Overlord of Anarchy
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San Diego
I would consider that keeping the best/high end workers employed might be a consideration. The factory may move talent towards the G builds as they get better/more expensive. Keeping the best employee's can get hard when you don't have the high end clients to pay for them. A G72 will certainly have a lot of custom work

 
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