PROVEN. Ice 60 world premiere test. PHOTOS and VIDEO

It was the world premiere boat at VELAFestival 2018 and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try it out exclusively. The Ice 60 arrived in Santa Margherita Ligure freshly launched and we had the chance to participate in the boat’s first ever sailing trip. In fact, with us on board, in addition to Ice Yachts shipyard owner Marco Malgara, were technicians from Diamonds Sails to test the sails on their first outing.

The Gulf of Tigullio gave us a bizarre day, we cast off our moorings in what seemed to be near becalmed conditions but as soon as we left the harbor we were immediately up against An upright northeast that rose from 10-15 knots to over 25 making this first outing of the somewhat muscular Ice 60 a more than reliable test of the boat’s reliability.

We sailed with full mainsail and on the bow an “all round” low overlap jib designed for cruising. In air around 15 knots, the Ice 60 expressed its full power, managing to consistently windward over 9 knots and exceeding 10 as soon as the angle opened slightly. In these conditions the boat proved extremely stable and balanced, certifying the good work done by the Felci studio.

When the wind rose above 20, and then even up to 25 knots with higher gusts, conducting became, game forcefully, more challenging, and on maneuvers one could feel the full load of a sporty 60-footer. However, the rudder even at high heeling angles remained efficient and allowed the Ice 60 to stay “in the saddle” even at times when the boat was over-sailed. All it took was to lean a few degrees to the broad windward to see the speed rise above 12 knots with the wake hinting at pulling away from the stern.

Aesthetically, the boat follows Ice’s “family feeling.” The deckhouse is reminiscent of that on the Ice 62, the pronounced width at the stern and the round volumes, on the other hand, echo those already seen, and appreciated, on the Ice 52. One of the hallmarks of recent Ice Yachts production, the “scimitar” bow with slightly negative inflection, an unmistakable trademark, could not be missed.

In terms of maneuvering, the shipyard repurposed elements that had already been extensively tested with the previous production. Appreciable on a sporty 60-footer the ability to have many boat adjustments directly on the helmsman’s console, from which some of the boat’s main maneuvers such as furling and opening the headsail and the mainsail carriage (which runs recessed with a length equal to the width of the cockpit, like a true sports boat) can be electrically operated.

FT LENGTH m.17.99
LENGTH AT THE LAG m.16.80
BAG MAX m.5,20
FISH m. 2,85
DISLOCATION kg.17,900
Ballast kg.6,200
150HP ENGINE
WATER TANKS 900LT
FUEL 600LT
VEIL SURFACE 220sqm

www.iceyachts.it

Mauro Giuffrè

THE FULL PROOF OF ICE 60 IN THE JUNE 2018 PRINT ISSUE

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