delivered. The 47 received a design overhaul 1993, becoming the
Valiant 50, although the first model year was 1994. Perry added a
bowsprit to the 47 and moved the mast forward, "something like 13
inches," he said in a recent conversation. "Over the years I've
tried to design a boat with as near natural helm as possible," he noted,
"because you can always come up with weather helm."
According to Perry, the 50 balances better than the 47,
"but it's hard to say if it's a better performer," he said, "Perhaps in
that magic range of 15 to 22 knots you don't have to compromise trim to
keep the helm gentle, maybe then it's a better performer."
The 50 is, he commented, a more forgiving boat than the
47. "If I did one thing wrong with the 47, it is that I made it to
much of a hotrod." he said.
With a new deck mold needed for the altered mast
position on the 50, other changes were also made. The 50's deck
mold allows the owner to choose locations for the hatches, portlights and
Dorades and to decide on a center or offset companionway.
Today Valiant builds the 42 and the 50, hybrid
descendants of the 40 and the 47. They still have the molds for
the previous models. "If we fabricated it originally," said Wally
Wells, Valiant's national sales manager, "we can probably provide a
replacement part."
Each Valiant is nearly a custom boat. The
sequence of construction begins with a one-piece solid fiberglass hull
using isophthalic resin, nearly two inches thick at the turn of the
bilge. Floor timbers are made of high-density structural foam
covered with fiberglass and glassed to the hull. The sole is solid,
half-inch teak-and-holly planking above 3/4-inch marine grade plywood.
Bulkheads and interior furniture are then attached to the hull,
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the deck
is fastened (using 5200 and
an aluminum toerail
through-bolted every 4-1/2 inches) and, finally, the boat's
equipment is installed: the engine, tanks, stove and so on go in
last, thus ensuring that anything in the boat can be taken out
for repair or replacement at a later time.
"The boat is built with long-term maintenance in mind,"
said Wells. "We don't build disposable boats."
It's a
slow process, and each Valiant 50 takes about eight months to
build. Hull number 11, their first with a walk-around island
berth, will hit the water sometime in November.
The 50 is
available with four different basic interior arrangements with
two different companionway locations. Within certain limits,
hatches, Dorades and winches can be placed where desired and
refinements or changes from the basic interior designs are
entirely possible. With labor-intensive building process an
individual attention each boat receives, buying a boat at
Valiant is as close to commissioning a custom boat as most
people will ever get.
The 47 has an impressive track record. In
the 1986 BOC round-the-world race, Mark Schrader's stock Valiant
47 Lone Star was the only boat to complete the race without
stopping for major repair. Alan Veenstra's Parvenu has been
winning races regularly, everything from the Bermuda 1-2 to the
New England Solo to the Trans Lake Michigan Solo. Bill Pinkney's
record-setting (the first African American) solo
circumnavigation, passing under all five Great Capes,
was done on
Commitment, the second time that particular
Valiant 47 had gone around.
It is fair to say that the
50 is every bit capable a boat as the 47, with added practical advantages
of the bowsprit for both anchoring and |
sailing. Valiant's boats have a hard-earned,
worldwide reputation, and the 50 represents 30 years of design refinement by Perry
combined with a similar number of years in boatbuilding expertise by Valiant Yachts.
There are several owner's groups, which is in itself an indication of the pride and
seriousness of Valiant owners.
There is probably not a year that goes by that, somewhere on this watery globe,
a Valiant yacht isn't involved in a circumnavigation. It is a boat designed for
far horizons and owned by those seeking them out.
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