It's not often that not only sailors gather around a motorboat, but even seasoned fishermen and sea rescuers. There must be something special in the water. But that's exactly what happened in mid-May in the harbour of Lerwick on the Shetland Islands.
There are even two boats moored at the jetty - two Pogo Loxo 32s.
The interest is easily explained: for one thing, the type is new. Developed by Pogo Chantier Naval Structures in Combrit Sainte-Marine in Brittany, the new model only celebrated its premiere at Boot Düsseldorf in January. Secondly, its exterior is unusual:
"Where's the mast?" someone shouts. In fact, the flat hull with its small deckhouse and the sea fence instead of a railing clearly shows the genes of a modern performance cruiser - under sail, of course.
The elongated foredeck and the wide transom are also indicative of this. Only the bent frame is more reminiscent of a motorboat. The design is no coincidence: the boat builders at Pogo have made a name for themselves with sporty sailing boats.
In 2017, one of their models won the title "European Yacht of the Year".
The top priority for the Loxo 32 is therefore: everything should be as simple as possible, yet reliable and efficient. That issuccessful. Even though there is not much more space below deck than in a camper van and the ambience is purist par excellence, the concept is coherent and has its own simple elegance.
However, the greatest strength of this GRP boat lies in its performance: the low unladen weight of just under 1.7 tonnes and the slim hull shape mean that the cruising speed is around 11 knots (top speed: 17 knots) despite the relatively low engine power (maximum 75 hp from Volvo Penta) - and that (according to the shipyard) with a fuel consumption of just half a litre per nautical mile.
With a tank capacity of 150 litres, you can get quite far without a replacement canister.
For example to the Shetlands - after a 180 nautical mile passage from Bergen in the west of Norway, part of a promotional trip called "Viking Saga" (which we will report on later). And the sea behaviour of the graceful-looking Loxo is actually good.
Even in NE 3 and a very choppy North Sea due to the strong tidal current off the Shetlands. The foreship remains surprisingly dry even when going directly against the wave. Conversely, it is easy to keep on course with a stern sea. The shipyard is not only targeting ocean-going sailors and long-distance skippers with its new Arrow.
Thanks to the low clearance height and a draught of just 0.7 metres, water hikers can also get almost anywhere inside.
You can read the full report on the Pogo Loxo 32 in the August 2018 issue of BOOTE. The magazine is available in DK-Shop available.
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