{"id":48187,"date":"2022-03-08T12:57:01","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T17:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=48187"},"modified":"2023-05-06T18:18:25","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T22:18:25","slug":"cigale-16-sailboat-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/sailboats\/cigale-16-sailboat-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Aluminium Cigale 16 Blends Good Looks and Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Cigale <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Metal Magic\n<\/span>\n Jon Whittle<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

If sailors are individualists\u2014and I firmly believe that we are\u2014then there\u2019s a subset of our community comprised of even \u00adstauncher iconoclasts, those who love and voyage upon metal boats. In this matter, having sailed some 28,000 nautical miles aboard a heavy steel vessel, including a transit of the Northwest Passage<\/a> and a spin around Cape Horn, I consider myself part of that hearty tribe. That boat, called Ocean Watch, <\/em>was a home-built, 64-foot Bruce Roberts design that I grew to love, but in a specific context: She was rough, rugged and built for service, not looks, and I came to view her as a workboat, not a \u201cyacht\u201d in the grand sense of the term. (Though I do find deep \u00adbeauty in no-nonsense utility, \u00adparticularly OW<\/em>\u2019s.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings us to the subject of the Cigale 16, from the French builders at Alubat, a popular, longtime leader in the category, now in its fifth decade. (Jimmy Cornell\u2019s Alubat Ovni, Aventura<\/em>, is one of the boatyard\u2019s best-known examples.) Yes, the Cigale 16 is \u00adaluminum (alloy 5083) and shares the characteristics of her metallic sisterships (regular preventive maintenance is key). But she is also a smart and capable vessel with a high level of craftsmanship and really solid sailing performance. Unlike my fond Ocean Watch<\/em>, the Cigale is a versatile, long-range yacht<\/em>\u2014in the best sense of the term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, when \u00adreviewing boats, I like to start with my take on the aesthetics, profile, and deck layout: you know, the topsides. But with the \u00adCigale, such an approach would be, as they say, burying the lede. Because the thing that first knocked me out about the boat was not abovedecks but below, just down the \u00adcompanionway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During our Boat of the Year<\/a> inspections this past fall, we were fortunate to have the \u00adCigale\u2019s knowledgeable and experienced owner, Brit \u00adDavid Hobbs, to show us around. Clearly, one of his favorite \u00adfeatures was the \u201caft saloon\u201d directly beneath the cockpit, behind the companionway, home to a massive dining table (beneath which lives the extremely accessible Volvo auxiliary, with saildrive), settees and sea berths (the latter particularly sensational), and a full galley and navigation station flanked just forward of the living area, to either side (handy, no?). I\u2019ve seen this approach before, many times; the ones I\u2019ve been most smitten with were metal boats from French designers and\/or builders. But it doesn\u2019t get much better than what naval architect Marc Lombard has pulled off here. Hobbs gestured \u00adtoward the bulkhead door \u00adleading forward, to the rest of the \u00adinterior, and said, clearly pleased, \u201cOn passage, we don\u2019t go up there.\u201d Why would you? It\u2019s bumpier and noisier. (That said, the accommodations and staterooms are first-rate and highly customizable.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"aft <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The \u201caft saloon\u201d below the cockpit is pretty terrific.<\/span>\n Jon Whittle<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

OK, I was kidding about the topsides, where the Cigale pretty much had me at hello as well. A few years back, the Cigale 16 underwent a redesign, with Lombard (well-known for his performance penchant) updating the original hull that was created by the Finot\/Conq design team. (About 18 Cigale 16s were the earlier version; our test vessel was Hull No. 4 of Lombard\u2019s take.) Hard chines, of course, are still part of the package, but the forward sections have been reworked to introduce better form stability. Coupled with the fact that nearly a third of the boat\u2019s 12 tons of displacement sits in the lead ballast bulb at the business end of the welded aluminum keel (\u00addrawing more than 8 feet), I trusted Hobbs when he said, in understatement, \u201cShe\u2019s pretty stiff.\u201d (Unlike the Ovni range, which employs swing keels, all the Cigales built to date have fixed keels, though a swing keel is an option.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happily, I soon discovered the stiffness part for myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few things about the \u00adCigale, some of which might be attributed to her French accent: The deck-stepped \u00adaluminum spar (carbon\u2019s an option) supports a huge square-topped main and utilizes a pair of running backstays\u2014not your usual setup on a \u00addedicated cruising boat. There are twin wheels and rudders (a single helm is an option) linked by \u00adcable steering; the cutter rig \u00adalso has provisions for a code zero set off a retractable sprit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hobbs, whose planned South Pacific cruise has for now been waylaid by the pandemic, nonetheless has put some hard miles on the boat, including a trans-Atlantic shakedown where the boat notched a tidy 18 knots, as well as competing in Antigua \u00adSailing Week. He\u2019s a pretty passionate sailor and carries a full complement of off-wind reaching sails, which, on a puffy, up-and-down Chesapeake Bay sea trial, with winds that gusted into the high teens, I was more than happy to help him set and douse. And I was justly rewarded: With a big gennaker drawing, we knocked off beam-reaching speeds in the lower double-\u00addigits, with a helm that was both light and exacting. Just a fantastic sail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"stateroom\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The staterooms are bright and open, with lots of layout options.<\/span>\n Jon Whittle<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

With those running backs and a single line furling setup on the code zero\u2014when that\u2019s hoisted, there are three headsails from which to choose\u2014it\u2019s an athletic boat to run under sail. The efficient, double-ended German-style mainsheet works well; the running rigging is conveniently led \u00adbelow deck plates so that lines don\u2019t get tangled underfoot; with flush deck hatches, the sloping foredeck is smooth and unencumbered. A rear arch is situated aft, just over the sugar-scoop transom, and is home to both a nifty davit arrangement and a perch for the \u00adsolar panels and antennas. Interestingly, the owner of our test boat eschewed a \u00adgenerator, opting instead for the solar array and a Watt & Sea hydrogenerator to help top off the bank of AGM batteries, \u00adcoupled with the Mastervolt inverter\/charging system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cigale 16 is \u00adclearly meant to go places, with \u00adcomfort and swiftness to spare. You don\u2019t even have to join the Metal Boat Society to participate. If far-distant voyaging is the goal, here\u2019s a vessel that will take you there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herb McCormick is<\/em> CW\u2019s \u00adexecutive editor.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The latest, greatest creation from the craftsmen at France’s Alubat Shipyard \u2013 specialists in aluminium cruisers \u2013 the 54-foot Cigale 16 is an appealing blend of looks, utility and performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":48188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Herb McCormick","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"167","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The 54-foot Cigale 16 is the latest aluminium design from the craftsmen at France's Alubat Shipyard \u2013 specialists in aluminium cruisers.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[167],"tags":[255,227,195],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48187"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}