This is a semi-custom, all-carbon boat aimed at serious sailors rather than an opulent gin palace. Its light-ship displacement is 27,558lb, carried on a 25ft beam, with 2,056 square feet of sail area.
Design and Construction
The 55 is built around lightweight carbon epoxy construction. Its hull and deck use carbon fiber, epoxy resin, and Corecell foam, brought together through a sophisticated vacuum-infusion process. The hulls and bridge are molded as a single unit, producing an extremely stiff, strong structure and eliminating the need for a forward crossbeam. Long carbon-fiber stringers strengthen the hulls internally to compensate.
Weight saving shapes every part of the boat. Carbon fiber features prominently in the Hall Spars mast and boom, while carbon/Divynicell-foam composite panels form the interior furniture. All systems are planned to use as little material as possible, and CNC routers cut individual parts to exact tolerances.
This disciplined approach to weight helps the 55 stand apart from most other cruising multihulls, particularly upwind, while still allowing for cruising comforts without sacrificing performance.
Rig and Handling
The working cockpit sits inside the shelter of the deckhouse, just ahead of the central wheel. From here, one person can set, trim, reef, and douse the sails using buttons that control two electric winches. Once trimmed, the self-tacking jib requires no further attention. The hydraulically controlled mainsheet can also be trimmed or eased at the touch of a button, and a large red emergency release beside the wheel allows it to be dumped in squalls.
The standing rigging is aramid fiber. Inner and outer forestays are tacked to a projecting carbon-fiber beam, which is braced to the hulls by aramid stays. Halyard locks inside the Hall mast reduce both stretch and mast compression.
Hydraulically controlled pivoting centerboards take the place of vertical daggerboards. They stow below the cabin sole and will kick up if they strike something. A helm display shows how far they’re deployed. The carbon-fiber rudder blades can also be lifted by hand within their cassette bearings.
Once familiar with the systems, test sailors found the 55 very easy to sail. They recorded an easy 6 to 7 knots in 7 knots of wind, and 11 knots on a beam reach in 12 knots with a screecher. The boat also tacked nimbly, even in light airs.
Accommodations
An open-plan central deck maximizes the living area. Instead of a conventional enclosed salon with aft doors, the arrangement combines an enclosed central helm station and large windows with a space that remains open aft. Removable screens or soft panels can enclose the back porch when needed.
A large sliding window ahead of the helm provides access to the trampoline and mooring platform. Above, a sliding moonroof gives the driver a view of the sails.
The tested boat had two superyacht-style double cabins: the owner’s quarters to port and a large double cabin to starboard. Both queen bunks sat on platforms with stowage beneath. A starboard aft cabin served as workshop-storage space, with access to the generator and washer/dryer. Owners could instead specify this area as an office or third stateroom.
With the optional galley-down layout, a roomy galley sits aft in the port hull and includes a four-burner stove, fridge, and freezer. The galley-up arrangement takes the place of one perimeter settee. The dining table seats eight to ten people.
Sliding locking doors with bug screens lead into the hulls. The heads have large showers and electric freshwater toilets. The understated, inviting interior could be finished in teak, cherry, walnut, or Makore.
Performance Underway
Writing in Yachting World, test sailors recorded the 55 reaching mid-teens to 20 knots downwind under reefed main and jib. Upwind, it averaged 10–11 knots at just under 40° apparent. It also coped with 45-knot gusts over Caribbean swells with very little slamming.
At speed, the boat lifts a hull and the airborne rudder whistles, yet it accelerates back into double digits within seconds. Offwind, however, the loaded helm requires a firm grip. Boat captain Chris Bailet said the aim is to sail at close to wind speed. Apart from the need to ease sheets, the boat remained quiet and calm aboard at speed.
Propulsion, Equipment, and Ownership
Gunboat will install any propulsion system the owner wants. The test and spec boats, however, carried twin 39hp Yanmar diesels driving feathering Maxprops through V-drives. The engine bays are large and well laid out, with very good access to all service points.
Owners can also choose the sail loft and wardrobe. The test boat carried Quantum sails, including a square-top main, a self-tacking Solent, and a furling R1/screecher.
The lengthy standard-equipment list covers the instruments and systems needed both to sail the boat to its potential and to live aboard at anchor. The builder manufactures the Gunboat 55 in North Carolina.
The Verdict
The Gunboat 55 combines an all-carbon, race-bred structure with genuine owner-operated cruising livability. It rewards sailors who want to cover ground quickly in warm latitudes without a crew.
Its single-unit molding and strict weight discipline produce a stiff, strong platform. The centerboard and rudder arrangements suit varied depths, while the enclosed helm and push-button sail handling make short-handed passagemaking plausible.
Pros
- Extremely stiff, single-unit carbon structure with no forward crossbeam
- Push-button short-handed sail handling from an enclosed indoor working cockpit
- Kick-up centerboards and hand-liftable rudders for shoal exploration
- Strong upwind performance compared with typical cruising catamarans
- Flexible two- or three-cabin layouts, with galley-up or galley-down options
Cons
- Aramid and carbon rigging systems demand informed, careful ownership
- The loaded offwind helm requires physical effort despite the powered systems
- The semi-custom, all-carbon build implies complex, specialist servicing
