Armstrong 12,80: when smaller becomes larger

NEWS	PHOTOGALLERY

After the Armstrong 10, the most interesting wooden “pocket classic family boat” in recent years, they’re now presenting the Armstrong 12.80, also constructed in this noble material. It’s the same designer - Mario Quaranta, owner of the Sibma Navale yard based in Turin and Dolcedo, a town in the Ligurian hinterland behind Imperia. Mario Quaranta, the son of Ernesto, who founded the family business in 1962, is very well-known and respected in the world of wooden constructions and period yacht restorations. One reason is that he isn’t content to design and manage, but participates directly in the builds, dirtying his hands with glue and sawdust, which is only right for someone with such a visceral love for his job.

Construction of the new craft began in late 2006 and finished in July 2007. Compared to the smallest Armstrong the 12.80 offers greater comfort, large main deck spaces, more berths and a full-beam cabin that’s really a suite. She also has a displacement hull with deep-V section forward. Her construction is based on a mahogany and iroko keel, with ash frames and mahogany laminate stringers, covered by a triple layer of Sapelli mahogany superlaminate. The deck is built of 15mm sheets of mahogany marine laminate, on which are placed12mm teak staves.

SP system epoxy resin was used for gluing and saturation. Following the Nordic practice, there is a 5.80-metre silver spruce mast with an 8 square metre Bermuda sail. When riding at anchor this can help reduce roll and keep the bows into the wind, and under way with side winds the sail can add a further push. The antiskid paint on the deckhouse is even and consistent. It comprises a marble powder blown onto a film of fresh epoxy resin. The Armstrong 12.80 can be described as floating home, redolent with the aroma of wood, to be experienced all year round thanks to its generous spaces and lofty headroom of around 2 metres.

The interiors, with six berths and two bathrooms, are made of mahogany superlaminate. The flooring is in extremely practical fake teak that could even stand up to being trampled over by hiking boots. There is also the option of mahogany flooring. The white-painted ceilings in all the interiors contrast nicely with the bare laminated mahogany beams. There is a heating system on board, and while there is no air conditioning, even in the most scorching sunlight the interiors remain fresh and airy. The locker beneath the saloon for storing materials and equipment measures a roomy three cubic metres. Many features help to make this Armstrong 12.80 a successful, meticulous build, from the large cockpit with central table to the large sunpads, the canopy supported a metal structure, the tender - which is launched and landed with the electronic gangway - and the two wells in the cockpit that can host a generator to the solid, high stanchions.

All in all, this is a well-executed design for sailing in all weathers, without too many frills, but equipped with everything necessary. The Armstrong 12.80 will suit a family that wants to experience the sea without giving in to fashions that dictate almost oval lines, or market trends emphasising the highest possible speeds. But what does the future hold for Mario Quaranta’s yard?

At the moment it’s working on another long Armstrong, this time 13.80 metres, with hybrid propulsion. Launch is scheduled for March 2009. It will feature a 270hp diesel engine and two electric units totalling around 30kW, providing enough power to sail for four and a half hours at about 6 knots. In the meantime, the Armstrong 12.80 and its Ligurian owner are preparing to take part in the period and classic motoryacht event at Imperia-Oneglia in September 2009. Go and take a look, but remember what the Armstrong 10 proved -- boats like this inspire extreme emotions, and when that emotion is love, there are no half measures!

Paolo Maccione

(Yacht Digest n. 150, dic 08 - gen 09)