In September, Swedish hull innovation brand Petestep tested our boat Virtue V10 Top, fitted with a hull under their license. The sea trials took place during this year’s Cannes Yachting Festival, in the wonderful waters of the Bay of Cannes. Below is their opinion of the tested model.
Tested model: Virtue V10 Top, 2×300 hp Yamaha
Date: 2024, 11 September, Bay of Cannes
Conditions: ~10 knots of wind, wakes from all sizes and directions in the Bay of Cannes.
General behaviour
The boat behaved in general nicely. The acceleration was powerful, and the hump trim was notably low. With an even keel, landings in all waves felt smooth and controlled, with very little noise from the hull.
The inverse bow calls for engines to be trimmed out in low planing speed and in steep waves, to avoid wetting the deck. In longer waves or lower wave heights, there is no need to trim excessively, and for normal uses the boat is extremely dry when on plane.
On our first sea trials, where the wave heights were below 1 meter, not a single water drop reached anywhere on the deck when planing. At displacement speeds, some spray can reach the deck in wavy conditions, due to the inverse bow and straight, smooth topside design.
The handling was sporty, responsive, intuitive and predictable in all speeds, with a heel during turning which feels natural and safe. We saw no tendencies to chine-hop or bow steering during our test. Transverse stability was good at all speeds and the boat did not feel sensitive to changes in wind direction and speed, even though they were noticeable.
Performance
Acceleration felt powerful with 2x300hp Yamaha engines, and there was little need to use engine trim in calm conditions. To reach maximum speed, the engines could be trimmed out a little, as is common practice. In the limited space we had and the intense sea conditions, we reached a top speed of 47 knots, but it is likely to be higher in calmer conditions.
Petestep AB
Tegelängsvägen 20, 145 53 Norsborg, Sweden
Phone: +46 707 66 26 82 Email: jonas@petestep.com