[dropcap]L[/dropcap]aunched on time, on budget and on schedule to take part in the RORC Caribbean 600 Race this winter, the silver-hulled Baltic 115 Custom is set to raise performance stakes as she prepares to leave her builders in October. She was launched at Baltic Yachts’ waterside facility in Jakobstad on 10 August.
With naval architecture by judel/vrolijk and deck and interior layout and styling by Mario Pedol’s Nauta Design, this powerful 88-ton cruiser/racer will perform dual roles as a comfortable eight-berth family cruising yacht and high performance superyacht for the increasingly competitive racecourses of the world.
She benefits from the latest thinking in rig design from Southern Spars with a detachable masthead crane allowing her to set either a conventional ‘pinhead’ main and single fixed backstay for cruising or running backstays for her ‘square-top’ racing main. High speed hydraulics and a custom-designed barber hauler jib trimming system add to the performance package aboard the yacht.
Her light, stiff, pre-preg carbonfibre, foam-cored hull and deck mould benefit from carefully monitored weight control and distribution and Baltic have worked closely with specialist keel manufacturers APM to produce the custom carbonfibre keel box for the lifting bulb which reduces draught from 5.85m to 3.65m.
Nauta Design have used light oak veneers over extremely lightweight foam-cored panels for accommodation fit out and have combined this treatment with light coloured fabrics to produce a stunning overall effect. Use of natural light through large hull and superstructure ports is extensive. The entire accommodation was built in-house at Baltic where mock-ups and modular construction enable fully customised and highly accurate manufacturing.
Accommodation layout comprises owner and guest cabins forward, a full width saloon incorporating a spectacular bar area and a TV saloon on a lower level. There’s crew accommodation for five and a large galley right aft.
The yacht’s transom folds out to convert into a large bathing platform equipped with shower and fridge and simultaneously reveals a dramatic set of full width steps leading to the cockpit.
Final fit-out and sea trials will continue in Jakobstad before the yacht is officially delivered to her owner in October.
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