O Yachts Class 6

Test location: Rade de Toulon, South of France
Conditions: 5 to 7 knots of wind, smooth sea state

O is for Owner

The O Yachts brand made a name for itself in 2014 under the impetus of Frenchman Dan Lévy with his Class 4, a model that has since seduced several owners (See test in MW no. 138). The goal of the Latvian shipyard, based northeast of Riga, is to produce “owner’s” multihulls - as its O suggests. The model I’m discovering today is the second one; the first one, released more than a year ago, started its career as a powercat (with a big internal combustion engine in one hull and an electric motor in the other) before being fitted with a rig. The objective of the Class 6 is to appeal to yachtsmen who want to go far and for a long time, with their family (possibly short-handed), with a multihull of which they would have chosen not only for the standard finish, but also most of the technical elements of navigation and comfort. The platform is very spacious but nevertheless capable of the highest average speeds, in complete safety, whatever the sea state. That’s an ambitious program, maybe even contradictory, you might ask?

In light airs, despite a very modest sai...