FIRST LOOK // SHOGUN 43
THIS FAST, ALL-CARBON SWEDISH CRUISING YACHT INCORPORATES KEY ATTRIBUTES OF STATE-OF-THE-ART RACEBOATS. BUT IS IT REALLY A VIABLE PROPOSITION?
How many crewmembers of high tech racing yachts have wondered whether the boat could be tweaked and tamed to create a super-fast cruising machine that’s enormous fun to sail? I certainly considered the idea as a navigator in the Farr 45 fleet when there was a strong class in the Solent. Australian sailors Ian and Annika Thomson went further and refitted an early TP52, J-Bird, as an ultra-fast cruiser and occasional racer.
Mats Bergryd, a former ClubSwan 42 and ClubSwan 50 owner, is of a similar mindset, but instead he commissioned renowned Swedish father and son design team Hakan and Oskar Södergren, along with the Rosättra shipyard (better known as the yard behind the Linjett brand), to create a no holds barred all-carbon 50-footer for very fast cruising and occasional racing.
The Shogun 43 is the second model in the range, retaining the same DNA, but at a more affordable (though still very high) price point, and has enough interior space for family cruising.
One of the great things about the few cruising yachts that have top notch upwind performance is that, once you’re cracked off to true wind angles greater than around 50°, you’re already on a reach. It’s comfortable and fast, yet almost every other cruising yacht will still be struggling along in full upwind mode.
Equally, the Shogun 43 sails upwind at angles and speeds that would impress any race team on a similar size yacht. It proved quick to accelerate and very responsive. In a true wind speed of 15 knots and true wind angle of 40° our boat speed hovered consistently in the 7-7.5 knot range, with upwind VMG around 30% higher than many so-called performance cruisers of similar size.
But instead of requiring an army of talented crew to keep the boat constantly sailing at its best, all trimming and sail control can be carried out with only one or two crew on deck.
Hydraulics for the vang, backstays and deflectors, plus the electric traveller and toe-in adjuster for the twin rudders, for instance, all have fingertip control from
