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Brave is a Grand Soleil 40, built in 2002 by Cantiere del Pardo in Italy
We have owned Brave since March 2005. We have cruised her to in France, Holland and Belgium and raced
her both fully crewed and two-handed, reaching Ireland and Brittanny in the two-handed Triangle Race in 2008. We enjoyed
our Round Britain exploration at a more leisurely pace, and hope to continue combining the delights of cruising
with the excitement of racing now and again. Designed by
Duck Design, she is a performance cruiser, with the emphasis on speed and seakeeping qualities, rather than maximum accommodation
space. We chose her because we have always enjoyed both racing
and cruising, and wanted a boat that could fulfil both roles. However, as she is primarily intended for short-handed cruising
by a "mature" couple, we chose the cruising, rather than the racing version of this sleek and slippery design. This means she has a slightly shorter rig and keel than the out and out racing version
(though at 2.15m she still has plenty of draft for the shallow East Coast!) and also a lot more creature comforts, as weight
is less of a consideration. These include full teak decks,
as well as anchor windlass, fridge, heating, two hot showers (one indoors and one outdoors) and much more besides.
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| Interior layout |
Vital statistics
LOA: 12m
LWL: 10.60m
Beam: 3.80m
Draft: 2.15m
Displacement: 6,800 kg
Ballast: 2,500 kg
Engine: Yanmar 40hp 3-cylinder diesel
Fuel tank: 180 litres
Water tanks: 360 litres
Holding tank: 80 litres
Equipment
Brave has Raymarine electronics including ST 60 wind, speed and depth instruments, Pathfinder radar and two RL 70 chart
plotters, one at the chart table and one at the binnacle - extremely useful for keeping radar watch on deck.
But perhaps the most useful item of all in the Raymarine 6001+ auto pilot, without which a crew of two would struggle
to sail the boat. It is particularly welcome for its unerring grip on the wheel when reefing the main or gybing the spinnaker!
Other essential electronics include a Simrad DSC VHF radio and an ICS Navtex 6+ receiver.
Her ergonomically well thought out cockpit works equally well whether racing fully crewed or sailing short-handed. All
control lines lead back to Spinlock jammers and Harken winches on the coachroof. Four large Harken winches on the coamings
cope with genoa, spinnaker and main sheets. The mainsheet traveller runs the full width of the cockpit, immediately in front
of the wheel, for maximum control.
The large wheel provides balanced "feel" and moves from lock to lock in a single turn. The helmsman's position is particularly
well thought out, with comfortable and secure positions whether sitting or standing behind or beside the wheel, to windward
or to leeward.
Accommodation
The GS 40 (now replaced in the range by a newer Botin and Carkeek design) was available with a choice of three different
interior layouts (one or two aft cabins, one or two heads compartments etc). Ours is the so-called "owner's"
version, with a huge double cabin forward and a single double cabin aft on the starboard side. This means that there is space
for a generous "bathroom" with separate shower compartment to port, where the other cabin would be, and also
an extremely large cockpit locker behind it, essential for all the equipment needed for live-aboard cruising. The
saloon features a longitudinal galley to port, and dining area to starboard, which can convert into a double berth, so the
boat can sleep six in total. But she is best suited to cruising with two or four on board. She has an unusually generously
sized chart-table - truly designed for serious cruising. Sails Brave cruises
with a Pentex 2 + 2 radial panel main and cross cut Dacron furling headsail with vertical battens supplied by Quantum
(Parker and Kay) at Levington.
She races with Pentex 140 per cent furling genoa and pentex furling heavy weather jib,
also by Quantum.
She has a Relling tri-radial all-purpose spinnaker (the last of her original suit of sails) and a smaller,
heavier Asymmetric by Quantum. Both kites are now installed in Quantum snuffers, to encourage us to use them more often while
cruising.
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