Impression 40: When the wind doesn’t come, we just have to make ourselves comfortable!

Portorož (Slovenia) – Those who sail know that, the wind is not always on our side. But what better occasion to experience all the comforts of a boat, than a cool autumn day,? The thermal just wouldn’t let up, but we still got out of the marina in Portorož to take a closer look at the new Impression 40, where Rob Humphreys is once again putting his pencil to it. Certainly the name fits like a glove in describing the interior spaces of this boat, which convinced us by many solutions that revolutionized the hull (a reinterpretation of the Slovenian shipyard’s 394) including the open cockpit and the spacious and bright interior even on a cloudy day like the one during which we tested the boat. In the company of Luigi Coretti of Adria Ship and Matic Klemenec, the shipyard’s marketing project manager, I climbed aboard this Deck Saloon (characterized by a raised deckhouse that does not, however, detract from the lines of the hull), which in just 40 feet manages to find space for everything that makes a cruise enjoyable.

DESPITE THE CLOUDS, BELOW DECK THE LIGHT WINS
Given the lack of wind, I begin the tour of the boat from the interior spaces, which are available in four different layouts depending on needs: cabins can be two or three, while bathrooms vary from one to two (the boat I tested came with three cabins and one bathroom). What is striking as you go below deck is definitely the amount of light entering the dinette, I start counting the windows: two large side windows on the deckhouse to the left and one to the right, two small hull windows (sofa seat height), three square windows on the deckhouse above my head (one of which can be opened and two of which cannot); as for the cabins, there are three light points in the aft cabins (two of which can be opened, allowing good air exchange). The interior is developed on three levels (so watch out for the various steps!): the level of the L-shaped galley, which is really large and well equipped and has an unusually large refrigerator; the level of the saloon, which houses a table on the left and on the right a full-wall sofa with a foldaway chart table that becomes part of the sofa; and the level of the forward and aft cabins.

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WHAT HAPPENS OUT ON DECK
As we wait for the wind, we begin to test the performance of the engine, a 40-horsepower (available as an option, while the standard version provides a 30-hp). At idle 600 rpm we were doing 2.9 knots; at 1,000 rpm 3.5 knots, at 1,500 4.7, at 2,000 6.8: at 2,500 7.3, while, at the recommended cruising speed, at 2,800 rpm we were doing 7.9 knots. The cockpit has been revolutionized compared to the 394: thanks to the open stern (the Impression 40 is available with a planking that can be lowered to the level of the footing or with a planking that completely encloses the stern) it has increased in size and is protected by tall stern guards. A table with opening doors adequately equipped with handrails, two lockers with proper storage space and cup holders within reach of the benches can be found here. The rigging area, equipped with a double wheelhouse with smooth passage between the two wheels (composite) to go aft, features two reach winches for the genoa sheets and two in the deckhouse (all four as standard), while the furling dacron mainsail with vertical battens features the sheet circuit on the deckhouse, which does not disturb cockpit life and has a dedicated stopper near the hatch. Spaces to lie in the sun? In the bow, two people lie comfortably in the large triangle, as well as on the cockpit benches, which have adequate width. Portholes and hatches, while not flush, do not bother because they are recessed of the hull mold. The cast-iron keel fishes 1.80 m, the Selden mast is made of aluminum, and the Furlex furling (with rails cocked on the foredeck passages of the moorings attachment) makes the boat easily steerable even by one person. The hull is built in vacuum infusion and external vinylester, the hull spider is built off-site glued with epoxy and handkerchiefed, as are the bulkheads.