What Can The New Grand Soleil 42 LC Do?

Plan drawing of the Grand Soleil 42 LC

She is the youngest and smallest yacht in the series with which the fine Italian brand wants to appeal to comfort-oriented owners. LC stands for "Long Cruise", a somewhat unorthodox translation for Langfahrt. The term cruising would suit the character even better, because the Grand Soleil is not intended for adventure cruises in high latitudes.

Shipyard owner and thought leader Gigi Servidati designed the elegant cruiser for the Mediterranean and for ocean passages in the Passat. He deliberately allowed an unusually wide spread: the 13-meter yacht can be configured from a pure cruising boat with furling mainsail, self-tacking jib and cockpit bracket to the sport version with a higher aluminum mast, rod, significantly more sail area and an open stern.

Only a few series shipyards offer such a degree of customization - especially since Cantiere del Pardo is also driving the development of an independent model that is more optimized for regatta sailing: the Grand Soleil 44 Performance announced for this summer.

In the test, the 42 LC proved to be pleasantly lively, even in the basic version. She lies delicately on the rudder, is easy to maneuver even in the harbor, and from 8 to 10 knots of wind she marches forward cheerfully - an interesting cross between dynamism and distinction.

We were particularly impressed by the expansion variant, which was shown for the first time at boot Düsseldorf in mid-January, with only two chambers and a pantry that was significantly enlarged aft. The Grand Soleil leaves nothing to be desired when it comes to extended cruises over several months. But also as a three-cabin, the construction by Marco Lostuzzi, whose interior and styling comes from NautDesign, is convincing. High quality, good levels of comfort, pleasantly light and spacious cabin - there is little to complain about. Of course, we already found a few points. You can find out which these are and why the 42 LC could become the rival of its four-foot longer sister in the detailed YACHT review in YACHT 5/2020.

The booklet is available here from us as a print version or digital edition. Or you can download the test directly from the link below

Photo gallery: Grand Soleil 42 LC

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