See also Sailship Sonabia
Robust, simple, rustic: an austral expedition sailship without compromises.
With her impact resistant hull (60mm thick), her lifting keel made of massive steel, her lifting rudders, Sonabia 2 can be grounded without risk.
-
- Dimension 15m x 4.55m
- Draft 2.90m to 1.40m (keel up)
- Weight: empty 11.4 tons, loaded 13.5 tons
- Engine 85 HP
- Sails area 110m2 to 16m2 (heavy weather)
- Fuel tanks 1280L
- Autonomy with engine: 2100 nautical miles
- Water tanks 700L + water maker 60L/h.
- Persons aboard:
- Antarctic: 5 persons+ 2 crews
- Ventisqueros, Cape Horn: 8 persons + 2
- Safety devices for Antarctic expeditions:
- floating survival suits, lifejackets, 2 liferafts, emergency beacon (EPIRB), 2 satellite phones, 3 fire extinguishers, CO detector…
Content
- Design – Construction
- Hull
- Keel and rudders
- Sails and rigging
- Engine
- Mooring
- Energy
- Heating
- Water
- Steering
- Instruments
- Interior
- Safety
Design – construction
- One-off design
- Architect David Reard
- Built in Socoa, Basque Country, France
- Construction 2013-2021
- Certified norm 2013/53 UE (Europe), division 245 (France)
- Navigation zone: without limits
- Category of construction A
- Category of safety devices 1
Hull
-
- Multilayer material
- Thickness 46mm (top) – 60mm (below water)
- Internal: sandwich plywood epoxy-glass 14mm
- Middle: PVC foam, compartmentalized and reinforced with fiberglass
- External: epoxy glass, thickness 4mm (top) – 12mm (bottom)
- Bow and aft protection:
- Outside: crash boxes (foam)
- Inside watertight bunkers
- Impact tests IBT method,
- 20kg weight falling from 3m, 3 impacts without perforation
- Multilayer material
Keel and rudders
- Keel
- Massive steel covered with epoxy fiberglass
- Weight 3.4 tons
- Lifting mechanism: electric winch
- Draft: 2.90m – 1.40m
- Rudders
- Massive wood reinforced with fiberglass
- Thickness 75mm.
- Hanging at the stern
- Liftable in case of shock or for grounding
- 2 lateral rudders
- 1 auxiliary central rudder (for engine)
Sails and rigging

Mast
-
- Material: aluminium
- Height 20m
- 3 levels of spreaders.
- Triple triangulation
- Front stay + shrouds + backstays
- Middle stay + running backstays
- Baby stay + diagonal shrouds
Sails
-
-
- Genoa, yankee, staysail, stormsail
- All sails with hanks
- Main sail with 4 reefs
- Sails area
- Genoa + mainsail ~ 110m2
- Stormsail + mainsail 4 reefs ~ 16m2
- Genoa, yankee, staysail, stormsail
-

Engine
-
- Nanni 85 HP
- 4 cylinders, 3L
- Turbo charged
- Mechanical gearbox Kanzaki
- Shaft: 40mm diameter, stainless steel AISI316.
- Propeller: 3 fixed blades, bronze
- Tanks:
- Main 2 x 600 L
- Buffer 80L (gravity feeding)
- Fuel consumption: average: 3 L/ H at 5 knots
- Autonomy with engine 2100nm
- Double control panel, inside and outside
- Nanni 85 HP
Mooring
-
- Main anchor: Rocna 33 kg. + 100 m chain, 10mm high resistance (grade 40).
- Emergency anchor: 20 kg + 40 m chain, 10mm high resistance
- Mooring lines: 3 x 100 m
- Tender:
- Inflatable tender, capacity 3 persons
- Outboard Yamaha 4H
- Spare tender, inflatable, 3 persons
Energy
-
- Solar panels 4 x 50W
- Wind generator 300W
- Alternators 2 x 100A
- Service battery bank: 560AH (8x70AH)
- Engine battery: 110AH
Devices chargers
-
- 12V plugs lighter type in cabins
- 220v available in main room
Lights
-
- Multiple portlights in each room for natural light
- Roof lamps and reading lamps equipped with LEDs
Water
-
- Fresh water tanks: 2 x 350L.
- Water maker
- 60 L/h (40L/h in the Antarctic).
- Emergency water maker 5 L/h
- Pressurized sea water in all sinks and wash basins
- NO pressurized hot water
- Good ol’ way: make hot water on the stove to take a shower.
Heating
Sources of heat
-
-
- Fuel stove (Refleks 2000K), with electric fan to spread warm air
- Engine heaters (2 heat exchangers with fans)
- Hull and deck dark gray in order to capture solar heat
-
Thermal insulation
-
- Hul and deck: 30mm thick insulating foam
- Insulating bottom layers for mattresses (polycarbonate honeycomb)
- Double glazing
- Independent ventilation in each room (circular holes with deflector and removable lid)
Steering
-
- Exterior + interior
- Cockpit: tiller
- Pilot house: joystick.
- Autopilot Furuno
- Electric drive Raymarine type 2
- Double control (cockpit + pilot table)
- Spare parts and equipment
- Exterior + interior
Instruments
-
- GPS Furuno.
- 2 additional GPS (always connected)
- 1 handheld GPS
- Radar Lowrance
- AIS class B Camino 108
- Instruments Furuno
- Wind, speed, depth…
- Barograph Nasa Meteo Man
- Other instruments:
- Barometer, clinometer, clock
- GPS Furuno.
Interior


Cabins and berths
-
- 2 rear cabins with double bed
- 2 front cabins with superposed berths
- Convertibles into 1 single cabin with double bed
- 2 berths in the pilot house (for crews)
- Total: 10 beds
Front cabin, rear cabin, pilot house
Dining room
-
- Central table, bar-like around the keel
- 10 seats, stool type.
Resting zone
-
- 4 bean bags in the main room to rest and/or sleep
Kitchen
-
- In the main room, along a narrow pathway (prevents falls)
- 2 large sinks (30L)
- Pressurized fresh water + sea water
- Grey water tank: 80L
- Gas stove with 2 burners
- Additional removable stove (“plancha”)
Bathrooms (x 2)
-
- Sea toilet Lavac
- Large wash basin (30L)
- Seat for shower
- Fresh water with shower spray gun and hose
- Pressurized sea water
- Manual pumps for WC and shower waste water
- Black water tank: 75L in each bathroom
- Gray water tank: 40L in each bathroom



Bathroom (without and with shower floor)
Pilot house
-
- Panoramic visibility
- Instruments on front panel and roof panel
- 2 berths for the crews
Visibility in the pilot house – Drake passage, 2022 02 05, wind 25 knots and more
Safety
Deck
-
- Anti slippery cover (sand + epoxy resin).
- High stanchions (minimum 80cm above deck)
- 3 stanchion lines, dyneema polyester
- Deck lifelines centered and elevated to tie oneself short
- Deep cockpit, protected against waves
- Dyneema polyester handles around the cockpit and the pilot house
Personal safety equipment
-
- Survival floating suits SOLAS, made of thick neoprene.
- Lifejackets with tethers
- Safety belts
Emergency
-
- 2 liferafts (4 + 6 persons) for easier handling
- Emergency beacon (EPIRB) with GPS, Furuno
- 2 Iridium satellite phones
- Fire: extinguishers 3 x 2kg, anti fire cover, CO detector.
- First aid kit
- Flooding: 3 electric bilge pumps
- 1 emergency manual bilge pump