Garcia Exploration 60 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The hull is solid aluminium plate, 5 to 12 mm thick, with 74 mm of thermal insulation across the hull and 70 mm from the waterline to the coachroof, combining with foamed floors to make a warm, quiet cocoon below anchor. Vertical double-glazed windows run along the saloon sides, with forward-facing panes reversed as on commercial vessels, and solid double watertight companionway doors close the accommodation off from the cockpit. Watertight bulkheads sit fore and aft, and a watertight door guards the interior; a sacrificial zone on the aluminium rudders, each preceded by a protective skeg, lets a composite top section crush in a collision without harming the hull, and the twin rudders are potentially independent if one is damaged.

Weight is placed centrally: the engine, heavy systems, and tanks sit between the mast and the companionway, with the anchor locker set back at the foot of the mast carrying 300 kg of chain better placed than in a conventional bow locker anchor. That central optimisation of mass directly shapes her behaviour at sea. Two 1,150-litre diesel tanks and 800 litres of water sit within that envelope, and the boat carries almost four tons of payload.

Rig and Handling

The standard cutter rig carries about 1,813 square feet of upwind sail, with a sail-area-to-displacement ratio near 18.2, and a carbon mast option adds 2.9 m of height and extra sail area without raising the centre of gravity anchor. The standard aluminium mast needs around 12 knots of wind to make way under sail; with the carbon stick the boat will move in winds as light as 8 knots. Hydraulics are confined to the vang, backstay, and daggerboard raise-and-lower, keeping complexity out of the running rigging.

Under power, the standard Volvo Penta is 175 hp, with a 230 hp Volvo option that the tester found advantageous: it drove the boat at 7.2 knots on 2,000 rpm for 12 litres per hour. Bow and stern thrusters make close-quarters work easier. On a Le Marin-to-Horta crossing the test boat held 7 to 9 knots under sail in 12 to 20 knots of wind, covered more than 500 miles in three days, and finished in 14 days 20 hours, spending a third of the passage under engine.

Accommodations

Isabelle Racoupeau styled a full-width owner's cabin forward in every layout, though sleeping forward of the mast can be hard to settle despite solid leeboards. A skipper's cabin sits very low in the boat's centre, and a starboard cabin measures 1.5 by 2.0 m. A small heads under the cockpit was added on the test boat at owner request, not on the original plans, with an electric toilet and a washbasin closer to a hand basin. The galley has a Corian top, double sink, and a five-burner oven, with fridge and freezer drawers in the utility space at the mast; the shower compartment lies even further forward opposite the port technical bay.

Known Issues

In warm latitudes the big galley set low by the port companionway draws little air, and the refrigerator drawers, once their locks release at heel, swing open and shut violently anchor. Two handrails were added at the cockpit exit on the test boat, and the owner's cabin forward can be uncomfortable despite leeboards. The watermaker sits in the technical compartment under the port saloon bench, started from the chart-panel forward.

The Verdict

The Exploration 60 is a purpose-built aluminium expedition yacht with genuine passage-making range, a protected deck saloon, and a centerboard that opens shallow gunkholing from serious offshore ability. Her insulation and weight placement make her quiet and steady, and the rig options extend her light-air envelope. The trade-offs are typical of the genre: a forward owner's cabin that moves more than the centre, and a galley that needs help in the heat.

Pros