Our test – Pogo 50, the “must” boat for true sailors

Spartan but solid, a child of the Breton oceanic philosophy, it features a large beam (5.15 m) and starts gliding at the slightest increase in wind. A real delight to steer (with tiller steering), it feels like being aboard a drift boat! Why am I so glad to wake up early today to travel to the Marina Genova Airport? Because I will be able to board the Pogo 50 “Surfing Petrel.” What is special about this boat? For us Italians, everything. It is the work of the Structures shipyard in Combrit Sainte-Marine, which specializes in building boats for the course au large (a few examples: Structures founder Christian Bouroullec won the Mini Transat in 1999 aboard his Pogo 6.50; a Class 40 from the Pogo series triumphed at the Route du Rhum in 2006), which when it does set out to produce cruising hulls nevertheless remains faithful to the all-Breton philosophy of offshore sailing (as was already seen with the Pogo 10 m and Pogo 12.50). The design came from the pencil of the Finot studio. A true rarity to try in our sea.

THE CREW OF THE DAY
At the Marina, at 9:30 a.m., we are greeted by Charly Fernbach of Structures: I am the only journalist who will be on board, Besides me a Belgian gentleman with his (charming) partner, interested in buying a Pogo 50, the Milanese Enrique Ferrante and Filippo Masci, (as a couple they are designing a boat that will be halfway between a TP52 and a Pogo 50 as far as the hull is concerned, but with an Italian-style interior) and Renato, a Brescian owner of a Pogo 12.50 reluctant to reveal his last name. If I had to choose the soundtrack of the day, I would opt for Battisti & Mogol’s “Una giornata uggiosa.” It threatens to rain, and there is no wind at all.

watch the video of our test

WHAT SPACES ON THE DECK!
Coming aboard: the maximum beam point of the boat (moved far aft), is 5.15 meters. The kinship with ocean racing boats is manifest: the bow is sharp but proceeding towards the stern the hull flattens out sharply, ending in very pronounced edges. The boat – polars in hand, but you can already tell from the shape of the hull – is at its best in carrying gaits. The enlarged shape results in a huge cockpit, unthinkable aboard a traditional 50-footer. Adding to this feeling of space is the dual tiller steering (nowadays very rare on 16-meter boats!). The swinging keel allows for a draft ranging from 3.50 to 1.50 meters (the keel rotates in approximately 1 1/2 minutes) . The boat performs best with the keel down, of course, but the solution allows for smooth sailing even in shallow water (in Brittany, tides are a parameter to be taken into high consideration).

SIMPLY UNSINKABLE
The deck is marked by functionality: of frills, aboard the Pogo 50, you will find very few. Hull, deck and internal structural elements are vacuum-laminated vinylester sandwich interspersed with a layer of polyurethane foam. Foam was used in various places on the hull (including in the longbars) to prevent the boat from sinking. “The Pogo 50 is unsinkable,” Charlie tells me, “and this is a characteristic that, by tonnage, the Class 40s and Minis we build must possess. For us, it was nothing more than replicating it on a 50-foot cruiser.” The hull is divided into watertight “compartments”: a watertight bulkhead isolates the technical area of the rudder, and another serves the same function at the bow, so as to confine any water ingress, The boat is ultralight: with an overall length of 16.15 meters (15.20 at the waterline) it weighs 8.9 tons at light displacement.

THE “LIGHTNING STRIKES”
Before I talk about the interior, I want to tell you about three “lightning strikes” I experienced on board: I fell in love with some French-style solutions that if, I were to have a boat built from scratch, I would definitely want to employ.

First, the tilting chart table, which, together with the arched seat, will allow you to plot routes and consult the chartplotter even when the boat is “lying down.”

Second, the removable coffee table to put in the cockpit (the supports of which are also removable), which is lightweight, perforated in the center, and when not in use hangs on the wall in a berth taking up the least possible space.

Third, the easily accessible bilge pump handle (not being located in any locker, it is simply on the “step” beside the starboard rudder).

INTERIOR: BANISH THE SUPERFLUOUS!
First of all, the interior layout is characterized by a large and bright square: the design is inspired by criteria of maximum functionality; there is no room for luxuries, optional extras and sometimes finishes. The Pogo 50 is a boat for true sailors, unconcerned about aesthetics. It is all very square and the materials used are vinylester and light wood. On the left is the kitchen and an L-shaped sofa surrounding the dining table with opening wings, carved from the swinging keel case and penetrated by the through-shaft. Attached to the table is a counter where the refrigerator and freezer are located, on the right side of which are buttons to operate the rotating keel. It takes up a lot of space, but in heavy seas it provides a good source of footholds. On the right is the other sofa and the aforementioned chart table, as well as the convenient bathroom. Forward is a double cabin with a bed on the port side and a settee and coffee table on the starboard side: the bathroom with a dedicated shower is located even further forward. Aft are two double cabins separated by the engine compartment. Numerous, in general, are the openings so that there is good light, and the interior layout offers plenty of storage space.

SAIL PLAN.
Although the Pogo 50 is for all intents and purposes considered (by the shipyard) to be a cruising or “long” racing boat that is not overly competitive (“Surfing Petrel” finished the 2012 ARC in fourth place overall in the Cruising category), the sail plan is far from restrained. The square top mainsail is 88 square meters, the solent (mounted on the supplied furler) measures 63 square meters and the foresail 35 square meters, also with a dedicated furler. Gennaker and asymmetric are 120 and 200 sq m, respectively. The carbon shaft with only two orders of quartered spreaders is through, and there is no backstay.

SOUNDS LIKE A DRIFT!
We leave Marina Genova Aeroporto in total becalmedness. Charly asks me if by any chance I – a Genoese – can predict the weather pattern. “As long as there is this foggy cape over the mountains,” I reply, “let’s forget about the wind. Unfortunately, the first hour and a half of sailing is a helpless dangling, as a recent sirocco left a legacy of an annoying formed wave. If nothing else, it is a good opportunity to test the engine, which at high revs propels the boat at about 7 knots. Between two valleys in the meantime a glimmer of sky opens up and there is wind, from a north wind. Two, three five and then seven to eight knots. We hoist the gennaker and the Pogo 50 reveals itself to be what it is: a planing bomb. We hit 8 knots, the wake looks like that of a speedboat, and on board we are all gassed up like children and vying for the helm. Which, even though it is tiller-driven, is super smooth and hyper responsive: it really feels like steering a dinghy, when the gust comes you lean in and start gliding as if you were on a 470, or a Contender. Without realizing it, we go out to sea until we can hardly see the coast. The wind then turns to sirocco allowing us a return to Marina di Sestri still in a carrying gait.

At the level of cockpit solutions, I liked the convenient column with the electric winch between the two rudders with which the mainsail sheet and the two undercarriage sheets can be maneuvered, while the two storage spaces under the rudder rails are a bit inconvenient since when they need to be opened it is necessary to lift the rails themselves. But first we got to try the boat upwind as well: in theory that should be its weak point, but with 8-9 knots we don’t struggle to reach 7 1/2 knots. Moral of the story: we went out to sea at 10 a.m., returned at 5 p.m., the time really flew by. If you want a boat without too many frills, to have fun while sailing fast and safe, and you have 492,500 thousand (excluding VAT) to spend, why not jump on the Pogo 50?

Eugene Ruocco