Edel 4XCat 33
GALLERY | Click images to enlarge
The Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Multihulls World includes a boat test of the Edel 4XCat 33 from ADN, which I happen to like quite a lot. The ADN design team is seeking that sweet spot between performance daysailer and luxury cruiser - a performance cruiser. It’s a niche currently dominated by folding trimarans and its nice to see this creative catamaran version.
Construction
The two hulls and bridgedeck nacelle are three separate modules which allows the boat to be shipped via container(s) anywhere in the world for final assembly, which is a considerable cost savings for serving overseas markets. Both port and stbd hulls are laminated from the same moulds, while the nacelle is designed with developable panels and built on a template (no mould) - an admirable job of minimizing tooling. ADN says the boat is available for strip plank amateur construction and even has plans available.
Less is More
The hulls are egg shaped which imparts form stiffness, semi-circular sections for low wetted surface and progressively full volumes. The 33 places most accommodations in the nacelle, which frees the hulls to be as efficiently shaped as possible - refreshingly slender for a modern cruising cat.
A slender hulled cat must be ever weight conscious, and to that end, the 33 is vacuum resin-infused using vinylester resin. The resulting molded interior surface is good enough to stand on its own, thus saving the weight of cosmetic headliners. The Edel’s fit out exhibits refreshing restraint in this age of standard Corian countertops on 22 footers, which adds up to weight and cost savings, as well as a boat that remains easy to maintain and live with. Steve Jobs once said that the key to good design was knowing what to leave out, and that maxim holds especially true in performance multihulls.
The 33 is available in two versions: light and not so light. The light version has a single 10hp 4-stroke outboard for auxiliary power, while the other has twin sail drive diesels. The outboard is tucked under the nacelle on a retracting bracket, and is steerable via a clever linkage to the helm. As the Edel 33 is a sailboat that actually sails well, I’d choose the outboard, and lose the weight, complexity cost and drag of the twin diesels.
Fashion Forward Style
The lines of the Edel 33 are decidedly unconventional, but still rational and minimal. There is headroom where you need it and not where you don’t. Decks are flat for walking, and surfaces are curved where possible to impart form stiffness and reduce air resistance.
Rounded and playfully spaceship-like, the yacht brings out my inner Han Solo. After over a decade of sentimental retro-modern product design in everything from autos to kitchen appliances, this design so unapologetically focused on the future is remarkably refreshing. The fact that its futuristic oeuvre is founded upon such an old fashioned notion as thrift reminds me that some things never go out of style.
All images from Edel Catamarans.
