The Arcona 340

Reprinted from Yachting Monthly January2010 www.yachtingmonthly.com

Reprinted from Yachting Monthly JANUARY 2010 www.yachtingmonthly.com

100-POINT BOAT TESTThe UK’s most comprehensive yacht tests

Reprinted from Yachting Monthly JANUARY 2010 www.yachtingmonthly.com

NEW BOATS TRIED & TESTED

Arcona 340Does the Arcona 340 live up to the immaculate performance and build standards set by her Swedish sisters? Chris Beeson finds out

he words ‘Arcona test’ are enough to make us salivate like Pavlov’s dogs here at YM. In February 2008, we tested the

Arcona 460, which was lean, powerful and elegant, a real ocean-eating fast cruiser. She was also comfortable, beautifully mannered and impeccably built. We foamed at the mouth in praise. Next, we tested the Arcona 430 (January 2009), and she was even more dazzling than her big sister. She won European Yacht of the Year 2009.

So expectations were sky-high as we prepared to test the new Arcona 340, also nominated for European Yacht of the Year. Arcona is based in Gustavberg Hamn, 10 miles east of Stockholm, and builds some of its yachts, the 460 and 430 included, in nearby Kungshamn, but not all. The 340 is built in Arcona’s yard on Saaremaa, an Estonian island in the Baltic. Arcona established the yard itself and carefully monitors working practice and quality control in a bid to ensure standards are as high as they are in Kungshamn. We couldn’t wait to find out if they’d succeeded.

PerformanceWe had hoped for more than the southwesterly Force 3 we got, but

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A joy to helm: the views forward are clear, the helm positions comfortable and the steering system is as good as it gets

the 340 still displayed all the performance hallmarks of an Arcona. With a 106 per cent No3 furling jib sheeted on coachroof tracks, we sailed very close, making 6.2-6.3 knots at 27-29° to the apparent wind and tacking through 70° even in these light conditions, when easing sheets is generally the right idea. The genoa (41m2 compared to the No3 jib’s 29.4m2) sheeted on the sidedeck tracks would have helped to assess performance but our test boat, AnnArchy, is configured for short-handed sailing, so the jib was chosen because it’s easier to tack.

Bearing away onto a fetch, at 50-60° to the apparent wind, she glided imperiously along at 6.4-6.7 knots in 12-13 knots of wind over the deck, slowing to 5.9-6.1 knots in a lull of 10-11 knots of breeze. Coming down further onto a beam reach she made 4.9-5.3 knots under white sails. Then we launched an asymmetric spinnaker and even though it needed re-cutting, we still squeezed 7.2-7.6 knots out of her, close-reaching back towards Southampton Water.

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Reprinted from Yachting Monthly JANUARY 2010 www.yachtingmonthly.com Reprinted from Yachting Monthly JANUARY 2010 www.yachtingmonthly.com

100-POINT BOAT TEST

‘Fast, powerful, easily controlled... She’s a control freak’s dream to helm. Feedback from the rudder was fluent and perfectly pitched’

Arcona 340Key features

Throughout she felt fast, powerful but easily controlled. In fact, she’s a control freak’s dream to helm, with great views forward, good helm positions outboard and footblocks and the binnacle for bracing.

DesignShe clearly has Arcona genes, looking both mean and beguiling at the same time. The flush moonlight hatches seen on previous Arconas have been changed for Lewmar ones, but she’s obviously an Arcona.

The 340 is designed to be a touch more sedate that her big sisters. A yacht’s displacement/length (D/L) ratio gives an idea of speed potential – the lower the number, the slippier she’ll be. The 340’s vital statistic is 159, as opposed to 147 and 142 for the 430 and 460 respectively, so she’s a little shorter at the waterline relative to her displacement. However, two of her rivals for this year’s European Yacht of the Year Performance Cruiser award, the Bénéteau First 40 and J/97, have D/L ratios of 181 and 205 respectively, so she’s still quick.

Another suggestion that she’s a touch more relaxed compared to

her stablemates is her sail area/displacement (SA/D) ratio of 23, compared to 26 for the 430 and 460. Against 24 and 20 for the First 40 and J/97 respectively, she’s not short of power, and with a ballast ratio of just under 40 per cent, she’s stiff enough to wear her high-tech canvas, stiffer than the J and about the same as the First.

ConstructionHull and deck are foam-cored with polyester resin-infused GrP, with solid laminate in load-bearing areas, and the hull-deck joint is bonded and fastnened. Her remarkable stiffness is thanks to hull stringers and main bulkheads laminated in place, along with the galvanised steel frame that bears the rig and keel loads, bolted into a laminated floor grid and structural bulkheads. The keel is cast iron with a lead bulb and the rudder is foam-filled GrP

on an aluminium web and stock.

SailplanThe 340 doesn’t come with sails as standard because most Arcona owners have very firm ideas about what sails they want. AnnArchy has a Tape Drive mainsail with three reefs and a No3 jib by UK Halsey. She has no spinnaker pole and it’s

helmsman has the Lewmar 40 mainsheet winches and the backstay, adjusted using a camcleat on the transom, within easy reach. Standing at the wheel, the backstay cascade is too close to your head – a split backstay would be better, and I’d prefer a bag or net to stop the backstay tail falling through the open transom. Throttle, shorepower and the manual bilge pump are to starboard and the engine control panel is to port.

Step around the 1.4m-diameter wheel and over the mainsheet traveller, mounted in front of the binnacle, and you’re in the cockpit. It’s too wide at the aft end to brace against the seating opposite, so I’d add a footblock to the cockpit sole. The seating is too short to stretch out and sitting centrally you have the Lewmar 46 primary winch right between your shoulders, so the only safe crew seat is the forward one.

Cockpit stowage is in two quarter lockers and a main cockpit locker to starboard. The quarter lockers, gas-strutted and rubber-sealed, open into the transom, revealing four beefy buttresses on the rudder tube, but you’ll lose kit into the void. The cockpit locker is also huge and below the locker sole are

The chart table is a good size with plenty of stowage, excellent access to the electrics (INSET) but limited instrument space

There’s lots of stowage below and behind the 6ft 6in saloon berths (INSET). A hatch provides light and ventilation and there are two dorade vents

No direct galley ventilation and the stove’s gimbal is fouled (INSET)

Steps remove for maintenance and there is an access panel aft too

The sleek coachroof limits forecabin headroom to 5ft 6in

Moulding above toilet is too close to your head

Standing behind the wheel, as you would when helming downwind, the backstay blocks are too close to your head

Despite the lack of breeze she slipped along sweetly under a small gennaker. Her flat run aft and hollow bow section are clearly visible here

unlikely a shorthanded crew would make much use of one, so I’d add a No1 genoa for upwind light airs work and a gennaker. As discussed, the 340 has no shortage of sail power on her Seldén rig – fractional, with twin sweptback spreaders – and there are ample control lines to get the best out of the sails.

Deck layoutAnnArchy has teak in the cockpit and grey non-slip elsewhere. The

There was no play in the wheel and feedback from the rudder was fluent and perfectly pitched

Sitting in the middle of the cockpit seating, the primary winch is right between your shoulders

There is no non-slip around the mast, which could be a problem if you’re hauling on a halyard

The gas bottles are in the anchor locker: tricky if the gas runs out in a blow and makes the anchor less easy to stow

Sidedecks are easily walkable but hand-holds are short. Jib sheet and mainsheet chafe each other

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Reprinted from Yachting Monthly JANUARY 2010 www.yachtingmonthly.com Reprinted from Yachting Monthly JANUARY 2010 www.yachtingmonthly.com

100-POINT BOAT TEST

Under sail on deck Below deckBUild

YM’s 100-POINT RESULTSThis is a fantastic yacht: powerful, fast, perfectly mannered and very good-looking, but we left feeling just a little disappointed. She’s the first Estonian Arcona we’ve seen and, while easily matching the quality of most production yachts, in some aspects of design and finish, she doesn’t live up to the stratospheric standards set by Swedish-built Arconas – but then the price reflects this. She’ll give her rivals a serious run for their money in the European Yacht of the Year, but she’s not as outstanding as her bigger sisters.

ToTal scorePERFORMANCEShe matched our sky- high expectations. The Arconas we’ve tested are all very quick for their waterline length, fabulously well-behaved and reassuringly stiff thanks to their consistently high ballast ratios. The 340 is no exception and she’ll eat up passage miles with ease. In this respect, she’s every inch an Arcona.

AT THE HELMShe is an absolute joy to helm: instantly responsive, perfectly weighted, confidently reassuring the helmsman that he has complete control. She loses marks because the backstay blocks are right behind your head when you’re standing behind the wheel, as you would while running downwind, and because you’ll struggle to see the plotter sitting outboard.

DECK LAYOUTShe’s well set up for shorthanded sailing, giving a crew of two control of everything from the cockpit, but the seating positions lack footbracing and the primary winch between your shoulder blades could cause serious problems in a seaway. The jib sheet and mainsheet chafe each other and the lack of non-slip around the mast could be a problem.

SAILPLANPlenty of power and control. For short-handed sailing, the No3 jib is a good choice because it tacks easily. We’d like a genoa sheeted on the sidedeck tracks for fetching or reaching, because the coachroof-sheeted jib will be less effective offwind. All lines, including single- line reefing, are ducted aft to banks of clutches either side.

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTIONShe fell a bit short of our very high expectations. As a sailing machine, she’s pretty much perfect and looks fantastic. As a place to stay, there are issues: no wet locker drain, no galley ventilation, quarter lockers opening into the transom and gas bottles in the anchor locker. The finish below – not shabby by any means – isn’t up to Arcona’s gold standard.

MAINTENANCEEngine access is very good, but a panel in the heads would improve access to the oil filter. The steps can be removed, which is great in port but underway they’d need to be secured in some way. Seacocks are labelled and accessible but not ideally positioned. Also, we’d rather see the quarter lockers closed in, with a panel giving access to the steering quadrant.

CHART TABLEIt’s a good-size chart table, well fiddled and with a secure seating position, plus plenty of stowage in drawers inboard, beneath the table and the seat, though stowing heavy kit there could damage the seacocks. Access to the well-organised electrics is first class. There’s a shortage of instrument space but room for bracket-mounted instruments forward of the hinge.

GALLEYStowage is fairly good. The pot drawer below the stove works really well, the 6in deep lockers outboard less so, and the stove rubbing against the protective steel strip isn’t impressive. Lighting is good, but there’s no dedicated galley ventilation. Work space is limited without sink covers in place and the cream upholstery will suffer without a splashback for the sink.

HEADSStowage is ample and the heads is light, bright, spacious and has ventilation. Bracing on the toilet is good, but how many times will you bang your head on the cockpit moulding? The wet locker is very neat but let down by the lack of a drain, there’s no shower head bracket and the shower drain pump makes a bit of a racket. We’d also prefer the toilet’s seacocks in the heads.

LIVING BELOWShe’s comfortable, well laid out with plenty of stowage below, but it lacks organisation and in some storage spaces, for instance below the chart table seat, small items are likely to go astray. Ventilation is adequate but there’s no main light in the forward cabin and having the toilet intake seacock below the aft cabin berth is not going to encourage good practice.

l Price £132,000 (inc VAT)l LOA 10.4m (34ft 1in)l LWL 9.3m (30ft 6in)l Beam 3.45m (11ft 4in)l Draught 1.95m (6ft 5in)l Displacement 4,800kg (10,582 lb)l Ballast 1,900kg (4,819 lb)l Sail area 65m2 (700sq ft)l Engine 20hpl Diesel 130 lit (28.6 gal)l Water 200 lit (44 gal)l Displ/length 159.4l Sail area/displ 23.24l Ballast ratio (%) 39.6l RCD category Al STIX 33l Designer Stefan Qvibergl Builder Arcona Yachtsl Tel 02380 457770l Website www.arconayachts.co.uk

Arcona 340

‘As a sailing machine, she’s pretty much perfect and looks fantastic, but there are a few issues with stowage and finish down below’

the fuel tank and the calorifier. The washboards stow below the companionway and the sprayhood drops into a moulding just forward of the instruments.

With the sprayhood down, there are no obvious hand-holds when stepping onto the sidedecks, though halyard winches or lifelines would do. The sidedecks are clear because the chainplates and genoa track are well inboard. All lines, except main and jibs sheets, are ducted aft.

on the foredeck, the owner opted for the lightweight ‘racing’ bow roller, which is well short of cruising spec. Below the recessed furler is a stainless steel fitting for the gennaker tackline that runs through the stem. The pulpit is cut

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TECHNICAL

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away to make sure it doesn’t foul the tackline.

Living belowHeadroom in the saloon ranges from 6ft 1in by the companionway to 5ft 7in forward. Coming below, the top step seems shallow at 6in and the only hand-hold is to port. once below, the galley and chart table fiddles act as good hand-holds and there are great handrails running the length of the saloon. Stowage is in two lockers either side, bookshelves forward of both, and below the saloon berths. The water tank is below the port aft saloon seating.

In the forward cabin there is space, if not headroom, to stand aft

of the 6ft 6in double berth. To port, there’s a shelved locker with a hanging locker to starboard. There is no main cabin light, but the main hatch does the job during the day and two reading lights will suffice at night. The berth cushions are split and there are hinged panels below, making it easy to get at the masses of storage beneath the berth and the box housing the triducer.

The aft cabin has 6ft standing headroom, but it’s a bit gloomy because the builders omitted to include a second portlight that opens into the cockpit and was included in the designer’s plan.

There’s a main cabin light and a single reading light. Stowage is in the hanging locker outboard, which shows signs of corrosion on the hanging rail. There are batteries

Gas bottles in the anchor locker could cause corrosion problems. Plus, it’s a long walk to the shut-off switch

Lines are neatly ducted aft but we’d like to see some non-slip around the mast

The backstay’s cascade blocks are too close to the helmsman’s head

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stainless steel bulkhead lining.The heads has 6ft 1in headroom,

one opening port and a light. Stowage is good in a top-hinged spring-strutted mirrored locker and a locker below the sink. Bracing on the toilet is good but you will hit your head on the cockpit moulding above. There’s a wet locker but it lacks a drain and behind the toilet there’s a sliding panel that opens into the cockpit locker, improving access considerably. A teak grate covers the shallow shower sump but there’s no bracket for the mixer tap shower head.

Under powerThe Yanmar 20hp engine drives a two blade Flex-o-fold prop on a saildrive and it runs very smoothly. She cruises at 2,800rpm making 6.4 knots, otherwise performance ranges from 4.4 knots at 1,800rpm to 7 knots flat-out. She turns pretty much in her own length forward and within two lengths astern and the rudder angle is 30° either side of the centreline. Engine access is good. The main step lifts and the others remove to allow maintenance of all systems but it’s a bit of a stretch getting to the oil filter. W

below the berth and a panel removes for easy saildrive maintenance. Below the berth there is some shallow stowage and also, somewhat inconveniently, the toilet intake seacock, positioned on the centreline so it works on both tacks.

The other heads seacocks are below the chart table seat, another locker that has dark recesses in which kit could be lost. To port, the galley has good lighting above the sinks and stove but no direct ventilation. Stowage is in sliding door lockers outboard, which are only 6in deep, in drawers aft of the two-burner ENo stove with grill, below in a great pot drawer and in two lockers below the double sinks. We liked the spice rack outboard of the stove but didn’t like the way the stove’s gimbal is fouled by the

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Address Email Web TelephoneHamble Point Marina info@arconayachts.com www.arconayachts.com +44 (0) 2380 457770SO31 4NB

460 430 400 370 340 2008/092009

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