With its German 39c, German Yachtbau has designed its first boat. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers in November this year was the first test of the performance of the yacht, which is made completely from aluminium.

It was also a double first: the German 39c is the first ocean-going yacht built in a yard in landlocked Swabia. And straight away the 12.7 metre long ocean-going vessel sailed the Atlantic. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers is one of the largest and most attractive events in the sailing calendar: a total of 211 yachts with hundreds of sailors on board recently set sail to conquer the Atlantic in an event which was being held for the 23rd time.

The German 39c is designed to meet the requirements of ambitious sportsmen and hobby sailors in equal measure. The special characteristic of the new yacht: its hull is made of aluminium – something that makes the vessel light and fast at the same time. Overall, the sailing yacht has a displacement of only 8.5 tonnes and can thus reach speeds of over ten knots.

The aluminium yacht is about 30 per cent lighter than a yacht of the same size built in the conventional manner. While other ships of comparable size mostly have a crew of four or five on board, the German 39c only has two. One of them is sleeping while the other is at the helm: only one person is needed to sail the yacht.