Italian shipyard, Solaris develops its market towards Europe. This range of 37 to 73 foot sailboats, designed for the sun and the pleasure of "beautiful sailing", has been represented in France for 5 years.
Hedonistic boating
It doesn't take much effort to imagine yourself gliding along on an indigo water surface with a Solaris, then deploying the back deck at anchor and enjoying a glass of prosecco with your feet in the water. For this range of sailboats, the sailing program is that of hedonistic boating. Vacations with family or friends, offshore sailing and, on occasion, why not a crewed regatta.
Many boats are more typical. Some are more suitable for ocean sailing, others for lazing around at anchor, or even those that cut their prestige by sailing upwind. The Solaris are above all very beautiful sailing boats, but they do not forget their function and the versatility necessary to make a good sailing boat.
These boats are designed for sailors who are sensitive to the aesthetics and elegance of the Italian way of life, those whose "dolce vita" invites them to sail when the weather is good and a beautiful anchorage is on the horizon.
Italian design
Contemporary, elegant, racy, rewarding... For a long time, Italian creators have distinguished themselves in the field of industrial design: Vespa, Riva, Wally, Ducati, Maserati, are the flagships.
Solaris is of this lineage, we first see a beautiful boat. It is distinguished by the emotion it arouses. The engineers in Trieste (the place where the shipyard is located) have a respect for design, for example when asked: " Why such small roof windows ?" Larger ones might be brighter. The worksite's response is accompanied by a benevolent smile:" We know how to make it bigger, but it's not elegant. "
Then when you get closer and look around, you notice the quality of the materials, the assemblies, the finishes, the manufacturing technique and you realize that if the Solaris is a beautiful sailboat, it also seems to be well made.
Specific characteristics of the "Italian" design
On the deck, the maneuvers are hidden. The halyards, sheets and other rails are invisible for the pleasure of the eyes and bare feet. The flush-deck inspired design - i.e. without roof prominence - is sublime, but imposes some concessions. The roof will not be able to protect the crew in the cockpit from the wind and spray when the weather changes. The roof windows are narrow and let little light into the cockpit...
The Solaris cockpits are not very deep and the winches are not placed in the best position for ergonomic maneuvering. Finally, as there is no piano on the roof, maneuvers are sent aft to the helm station or remain at the foot of the mast. Everything is elegantly thought out, but like the absence of footrests in the cockpit, one might think that sometimes ergonomics takes second place to design.
Modern and pragmatic manufacturing technique.
Jean-Pierre Mari of the Solaris Yacht shipyard proudly claims that all of his yachts are built in Italy in modern workshops. The construction method can be described as both artisanal and high-end. Indeed, the hull and deck are vacuum infused. The manufacturing materials are homogeneous and use fiberglass, vinylester resin and airex foam. The composite bulkheads are laminated to the hull and deck, guaranteeing a real rigidity of the structure. The shipyard uses a little carbon on sensitive parts such as chainplate reinforcements for example.
On the inside, as on the large units, there is no counter-mould, so this requires many hours of sanding, filling and trimming. This technique also allows to keep a reasonable weight estimate.
