Design and Construction
Berret's Serena 100 stretches 32.81 feet on the overall length with a 26.9-foot waterline and an 11.09-foot beam, giving a length-to-beam ratio of 2.96 that reads as a broad, volume-minded mid-30s cruiser rather than a lithe racer flat hull and deck in fiberglass. Both hull and deck are solid fiberglass, and the ballast is iron — a straightforward, repairable construction philosophy typical of the marque's 1980s output. The fin keel gives a loaded draft of roughly 4.0 to 4.3 feet, which lets the boat tuck into shallow marinas that deeper fin-keelers cannot reach shallow draft dependent on load. At 9,480 pounds displacement with a wetted surface of about 301 square feet, she is a moderate-displacement hull whose 217 displacement-length ratio places her among "moderate racers" in the period classification.
Rig and Handling
The masthead rig carries a 360-square-foot sail plan, returning a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 12.86 — enough to keep her moving in a breeze without being overcanvased for short-handed cruising. Her motion comfort ratio of 20.6 and capsize screening value of 2.10 describe a boat unsuited to ocean racing but stable enough for coastal and moderate offshore passage-making. The theoretical hull speed runs about 7.0 knots, and an immersion rate near 1,039 pounds per inch means she sits heavily and changes trim slowly under load — a predictable, forgiving cruiser's habit rather than a twitchy racer's. Sheet spec is period-standard: 12 mm (1/2 inch) control lines throughout, with a 25-meter mainsheet, 10-meter jib and genoa sheets, and 22-meter spinnaker sheets mainsheet and headsail sheet lengths.
Accommodations
The Serena 100 holds 40 gallons of water and 27 gallons of diesel in tanks within a 9,480-pound hull — modest cruising range provisioning for a boat of her size, consistent with her coastal and moderate-passage screening numbers.
The Verdict
The Gib'Sea Serena 100 is a Berret-designed, Gibert-built solid-fiberglass cruiser of the early 1980s that trades racer edge for marina access and stable motion. Her numbers describe a moderate-displacement coastal and bay cruiser with enough sail to be lively and enough beam to be roomy, in a hull that draws little and carries iron ballast simply.
Pros
- Shallow fin-keel draft (4.0–4.3 ft) eases marina and anchorage access
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck, iron ballast — straightforward cruiser construction
- Sail-area/displacement of 12.86 with 360 sq ft of canvas on a masthead rig
- Motion comfort ratio of 20.6; stable, predictable moderate-displacement hull
Cons
- Capsize screening of 2.10 excludes her from ocean-racing acceptance
- No interior, tankage, or rig-detail specifics beyond envelope figures
- 27 gal fuel and 40 gal water are lean for extended autonomous cruising
