'DUET' | Arrow 1360 Catamaran
Geo Uhrich, owner of 'DUET' the first Arrow 1360 to be launched, speaks about his experiences cruising in Spain and commends the boat's sailing ability.
Owner Geo Uhrich speaks about DUET’s impressive performance and his experiences while cruising in Spain.
“It was fun to show a 50’ production cat how we can sail to windward in 8 knots of breeze and maintain over 8 knots of boat speed! They actually motored right up to our stern and had a good look to see what the heck we were doing that could beat them so soundly! Great fun! The best thing about DUET so far is how well she sails. We love the fact that we can sail in as low as 6 knots of true wind. When the wind even gets lower, we add a little thrust from the electric engine (still quiet) and get our apparent wind up enough to maintain our speed.”
portfolio
“We have just returned to New Zealand after spending 5 months away in Tonga and Fiji and thought I would let you know some things that have happened to us and our Cosmos 1160 called Division II. I knew that building a time proven design would have its advantages and I feel that the boat has outdone herself in performance and comfort. When we left Whangarei back in mid June for our first ever trip offshore we were unsure just how we would go. I have to say that the boat looked after us and we had no worries. We had one day on passage where it blew up to 50 knots with a constant 43/45 knots. With only the tiny storm jib up we surfed along quite happily and comfortably at 12 or so knots one hand steering with no worries. The very buoyant bows kept the decks almost dry. The rest of the passage was very uneventful and it was almost a shame to make land fall.
During our three month stay in Tonga our shallow draft allowed us several times to go and anchor closer to the beach or tucked closer in for shelter as others were more exposed to the elements. We had countless comments on the design and finish that we achieved during the build. During Regatta Vava’u we won the multi‐hull division beating the St Francis 50 quite easily due to our pointing ability and good speed, in fact passing and out pointing most of the half boats. What a great feeling!
“We left ‘D’Estree Bay’ in Broome last week and are now back in Hong Kong. A friend of ours is taking her to Borneo for us where we will pick her up again to continue the trip to Hong Kong in a few weeks. We sailed her to Perth from Adelaide in late February via Esperance and Albany and left her at the Freemantle Sailing Club for a month then, in April, took just under 3 weeks to sail her to Broome via the Abrolhos, Shark Bay, Ningaloo and the Montebellos. It’s the best sailing we have ever had. The boat goes like a rocket and is comfortable and easy to sail. She is everything we hoped she would be. Our top speed has been 24 knots but there have been plenty of days loafing along at 12 – 15 knots. In flat water we can get her to do 10.5 knots upwind – faster than our Volvo 60 which winds up at about 9.5 knots on the wind.
We have sailed with two couples and there is a tonne of room and very easy watches for the overnight legs compared to our mono hull days. We are very fussy about weight and getting the sail off her promptly. The big flat head mainsail gives her overdrive! Being a light ship makes her a joy. Thanks so much for everything.
The delivery proved Attitude everything we set out to achieve, with our wish list dovetailing nicely into your fantastic design.I believe Attitude gives you guys the opportunity to promote the G‐Force range as a true performance cruiser, probably the best there is, not just a bare bones racer. And as you know better than most, when it comes to making these purchases, the saying “happy wife, happy life”, certainly makes that decision easier.”
“Jag is tracking very well can take your hand off the helm at any speed for minutes on end and she says on course. Did this one day in slight seas and 20 knots of wind for seven minutes at 16 knots boat speed and her course altered by 7 degrees. I am very much enjoying ‘JAG’ she is awesome. I am cruising at 16 knots using 24.4 litres per hour for both motors.”
