Review: The Spirit 76 Yachting World That's the Spirit!

New yachts rarely give that heady feeling of euphoria at first sight, but the Spirit 76 is different, believes Toby Hodges, who was captivated when he sailed her off the East Coast.

There are certain moments in your life when, whether or not you realise it, you are privy to a unique feeling, a sort of hypnotic aura that can last for minutes or even hours. When you were a child, and probably too young to recognise it, you may have had this fuzzy feeling of contentment after an academic accolade or sporting triumph. As sailors, we are lucky to experience a few more of these cherished moments than most.

Carrying the flood up the River Orwell and sailing a new Spirit 76 while surrounded by the craftsman who put her together, I had that feeling. In that moment, I realised what the Spirit was all about.

When we arrived at  the yard that  morning however, I still had my reservations. I'm a wooden boat lover and a sucker for sweet lines and gleaming brightwork, but I was still unsure. Spirits have traditional timber hulls, but with modern appendages above and below. Is it possible to recreate that wooden boat passion when fusing it with modern means and materials? And those trademark portholes and wineglass transoms had yet to work their charms on me.

But Nazgul instantly squashed any niggling doubts. Sparkling glosswork, chrome and a field of teak are the showpieces that dazzle, but it's those long overhangs and the clean deck that compound her endearing beauty.

Spirit world

Two old-gaffer sailors, Sean McMillan and Mick Newman, started Spirit Yachts in a shed on Newman's farm 15 years ago, when they decided to build the ideal yacht they had long talked about. The 37-footer they constructed was toted around boat shows as their demonstrator. Four years ago they moved premises in Ipswich Yacht Haven, having rebuilt the roofs of two 160ft derelict sheds.

Now with 35 employees and a Queen's Award to their name, the firm are firmly established, which they affirmed by exhibiting the largest boat ever at last year's Southampton Boat Show.

They started with two ground rules: 'If there's no work, walk away; and never borrow money' - "15 years later, we've never closed our doors and never borrowed money", declares a proud Sean McMillan.

Nazgul was 20 months in build. Having fallen for the 70ft Ghost, shown at the 2004 Southampton Boat Show, the owner wanted a slightly larger, durable yacht, capable of long distances. She may not have the minimal displacement of past Spirits, but a 28 tonnes, she isn't exactly obese either. A total of 13 tonnes sit in her fin keel with flattened bulb, producing a 40 per cent ballast ratio.

While the previous models (bar the 56) are not optimised for ocean sailing, the challenge of designing the 76 was to fulfil a dual role - an exciting and quick Spirit, with the capability to go offshore and carrying the necessary equipment. The typical fine ends of the other Spirits are thus slightly fuller for better manners at sea. As her owner successfully campaigns a couple of Melges teams, however, McMillan new he'd still want to do some regattas, so her roles extend to mothership, bluewater cruiser and trophy wInner!

The hull is made from Brazilian Cedar planking with double-diagonal Khaya veneers, all bonded with epoxy. Laser-cut stainless steel ringframes are bonded to the laminated mahogany frames in load-bearing areas, forming a core that's strong, light and spreads the load from keel, mast and stays.

Mahogany deck beams have 18mm plywood above, before the 7mm teak deck. The hull is expoxied, requires little fairing and uses the Awlgrip paint system, with two thirds of Spirit's clients choosing Whisker Grey - "Any colour is optional" says McMillan, "but we prefer it not to be white, because people might think it's fibreglass!"

It's that  smell...

The photographs convey the elegant form, flush fore and lush aft deck and towering composite rig, but they can't transmit the senses... the rich impact of the mahogany and the silky feel of varnish. Descending below into her heart is a timeless experience, with the portlights casting light over the skeletal ribcage of frames.

It's the smell that wins your over, however - the fresh vapours of lacquer and gloss and, moreover, the natural cedar and mahogany oils. "There is a sublime connection between us and the natural medium of wood." is how McMillan describes it.

"Everyone loves to stroke the boat, especially at the shows."
On deck it's all curves and flowing lines.From the bowed coaming, streamlined coachroof and rounded cockpits, to the sculpted helm seats. The bespoke binnacle defines the boat - classic yet contemporary'-with its folding, bespoke drinks holders concealing modern instruments beneath. And the large mahogany wheel uses carbon fibre reinforcement inside.

Motoring down river, Sean McMillan highlighted the common myth that wooden boats are heavy. Size for size, he likens the Spirits' weight to carbon-fibre boats. Combine this with bolt-on bulb keels, which allow for a flat run aft, and you can see how the Spirits 52, for example, is capable of 18 knots off the wind.

With 2,500ft2 of main up and 120 per cent Spectra genoa unfurled, we were quickly making 10 knots with a shifty wind of 16-20 knots. Short-tacking out of the channel to clear the docks, the 76 proved to be nimble, losing little speed on the turn, pointing to 30 and recording between 9 and 9.5 knots.

Settling into the groove so quickly makes it easy to forget her size. Indeed, we frequently waited until there was fractional depth beneath before confidently throwing in graceful tacks. Heading outside into a slight chop, we touched 11 knots reaching at 60 off the wind, the speed increasing with heel as long overhangs added wetted area.

I felt poaching the wheel for the major portion of the day. A pleasure to helm, with excellent manners, she sliced through the easterly chop gracefully. The steering is responsive enough to react to shifts, with a smidgen of weather helm. The stock is only 1m aft, keeping the linkage minimal, so feedback from the semi-balanced blade beneath is reasonably direct.

The fully battened main, with deep roach, is the driving sail, so trimming via a powered winch is the key to control. The mainsheet system is simple design: with no traveller, the Spectra sheet leads down from the boom end, through a recess in the cockpit sole and under the deck to the starboard winch.

Among the team aboard keen to see the fruits of their labours during the sea-trial, was John Parker of Quantum Sails. Parker has been designing the sails for Spirits for 11 years. Customers are  encouraged to discuss their sailing requirements personally with Parker, so their wardrobe fits their exact needs and by being present on trails, he can help them get the most form their sails.

Pink kite?

With the River Stour nearby, we decided to run down the channel and hoist the asymmetric. Given that her name, Nazgul, is from JRR Tolkien's fearsome 'Dark Riders' in The Lord of the Rings, the bright pink sail that was unveiled came as quite a surprise! I gather that  her owner uses pink kites on his successful sportsboats, so I won't tease.

Short-gybing a two-year project after she's only been in the water for a week is a treat. The 'turbo' line speed on the winches helped centre the main quickly and swap active sheets, which can be led to a dedicated or primary winches. With the wind abaft the beam, between 130-150 degrees, the log consistently showed half the Force 4 wind speed.

Crew comforts are sacrificed for the low-profile coachroof and deck lines. The cockpits therefore offer little protection, backrests or bracing. Focus resides with sailing when at sea - at rest there's the sundeck to relax on and a table can fit in the guest cockpit. The side decks are wide and sturdy, and kept streamlined thanks to removable guardrails.

Haylards run through the mast and out via clutches to four deck winches at the base. The triple-spreader carbon rig and Park Avenue V-boom are supported by discontinuous rod rigging. Formula's John Morris told us how the 200 per cent prebend, which McMillan like to have set up, is made possible by the angular swept-back spreaders.

"In an ideal world, we would have 15mm more on the mast section", says Morris, "but on a Spirit, we'd opt for aesthetics every time". Performance and aesthetics are key: Spirit has used Andersen winches, but as Lewmar boast better line-speed, they persuaded them to redesign the tops to suit - the result is impressive polished stainless steel. Tweaking the rig is simple via the Meridian hydraulics, with push-button controls for the backstay, vang, outhaul and halyard tension.

That field of teak aft may look luxuriously flush, but it camouflages modern practicality. A vast  hatch to port lifts on gas struts, providing  access to a tender garage large enough for a 3.7m inflatable. The 3.4m RIB that the yacht engulfs is deployed using a carbon-fibre davit (weighing just 15kg), which can be mounted by t he hatch or in two locations forward by  removing deck plates.

Plenty of room remains for the outboard and toys- plus a teak passerelle-that lives in the lifting roof. A slightly shorter, but still cavernous locker to starboard is large enough for the sails, fenders and warps. Abaft the 'double garage' are tow smaller lockers, one for the gas bottles and garbage and one housing a teak shower tray, shower and deckwash.

Other than the engine room, machinery access is via a compact hatch to starboard of the binnacle. Down here, below the helm, is a small mechanical world: genset, hydraulics, autopilot rams, steering gear, battery charges, water marker and chiller units are all accessible.

Classic interior

Both cockpits have steps, with the aft set serving the navigation station and aft cabins, and the forward one leading to the saloon and gallery. A third set below a flush foredeck hatch serves the crew quarters. Forward of the gallery, this comprises a twin-berth cabin with bench seat to port and ensuite forward with compact heads and a bench-seat shower.

The bright coral blue Alcantra upholstery in the saloon is stunning, offsetting the satin woodwork. But it was the beautifully fabricated stainless steel ringframes that  seduced me. On anything larger than 70ft, Spirit strengthen their load-bearing timber ring frames with steel which, together with two longitudinals, spread the rig and keel loads.

There's an air of prestige below decks that's a world beyond the soulless superyacht trend. Book-matched joiner work is first class, with practicalities aplenty. The central console between the port sets is for glass stowage, with individual holders for wine glasses and champagne flutes. The saloon table, with central bottle stowage, folds over to provide a fiddled surface. And from the comfort of the buttoned-backrest seats, it's hard not to applaud the beautiful detailing from the tongue -and-groove deckhead and mahogany beams, to the clear custom hatches with their mirror-finish latches.

Bespoke quality continues throughout. In the gallery, the lid of the top-opening cool box has an integrated knife rack complete with Global knives. The teak drying rack has a spotlight above it and there there are recesses in the surfaces for chopping boards. The front-opening fridge (120lt), freezer (90lt) and waste-compactor are faced with matching satin-finished mahogany.

The hull is unlined, so that the inside of the lockers reminds you of the exemplary framework defining the shell. The floorboards are screwed down, but with the bilge kept flat, especially the run aft for offwind performance, there's nothing below except the frames.

The 76 is not designed to carry the masses. Of the two compact guest cabins, one has berths fit for passage-making - and the saloon table can only accommodate five for dinner. But she's a practical, sea-going boat. The aft-facing navstation sits beneath the guest cockpit, central in the boat for least motion and above the engine. The seat lifts, which, together with side access from the guest cabin, provides good engine accessibility. The large table is angled and, with a large fiddle, makes a secure area with instruments mounted on the panel to the side.

The guest cabins are each side, with the portside cabin having an adjoinging door to the master ensuite heads. A guest heads by the aft cockpit steps makes an ideal day heads. With a large centreline double and surrounding bench seat, the owner's cabin is comfy with a luxurious ensuite containing a wet/shower room. The make-up cabinets are show-stealers, with sliding jewellery drawers.

Boatbuilding finesse

Having spent their first eight years without selling a boat to a British customer, Spirit have sold predominantly to UK clients for the last seven years. We're a little slow on the uptake, but we're recognising boatbuilding finesse. I don't think HRH Queen Elizabeth II hands out awards willy-nilly.

Nazgul ably pays homage to the classic ladies from the 1920s that so inspired her designers. I thought sailing performance would sparkle- and it did. But it was her manners and ease of handling that impressed - being able to sail effortlessly all the way up a tight channel in July did the talking and left me reeling. The finish is immaculate, but it's that smell below which would finally make me part with my millions - if I had them. It's something you just have to go below to appreciate: it'll tug at your intimate senses.

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