Discovery 58

A voyage of rediscovery

The Discovery 58 has long been recognized as a superlative blue water cruiser. Toby Heppell steps aboard the latest model to examine how it has developed

I’d been provided a berth number ahead of our test of the new Discovery 58C, but arriving at Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour up the Beaulieu river I really didn’t need anyone to point me in the right direction. All Time

High’s mast towered over every other boat on the pontoons and swinging moorings, looking for all the world a beacon of calm in the blustery, crisp, autumn morning air.

It is clear from the off, the 58C is a big boat. A very big boat. At just shy of 60ft that might not come as a surprise, but up close, her high topsides, wide stern and deck saloon all point to a yacht with a great deal going on below, and she practically towers over the pontoon as a result.

She follows the successful, earlier

Discovery 55, also designed by Ron

Holland, and features the same standard keel, and cutting edge build techniques include a resin infused kevlar reinforced hull.

There will be those that take one look at the Discovery 58C’s lines, her electric winches and furlers, and scoff at the thought of this modern bluewater business. This is, no doubt, exacerbated by the not insignificant cost of a boat like this. To be clear, the vast majority of us will never have the money to own one. But the question is, if we did, would we want to?

Below

The work below on Discovery Yachts is noted for being incredibly impressive, and you could well argue that it is here the Discovery 58C has been designed to excel. Before we get into the specifics, it is worth noting that the C in 58C stands for custom, and thus the test boat we were sailing on - All Time High – has been designed alongside the owners and their wishes. This is not an all-out custom build from scratch, but within the basic confines of the moulds from which the hull and deck are made, the bulkheads etc. the world is very much your oyster (or rather, Discovery…)

Stepping down into the main saloon area what first strikes is how light it is. Large windows forward spill light into the area as do equally large portlights to port and starboard. The focal centre of the room is the seating and table area. The table is one of the first custom touches to draw the eye, with an octopus motif inlayed into its centre in what looks to be some really impressive veneer inlay skills. These themes both continue throughout – that of the octopus and truly skilful joinery. The octopus motif continues subtly through the textured drawer and cupboard handles - I ask the cost of these and the sum is eye watering, having been designed and brought in specifically for this purpose. But it is the joinery that dazzles, the grain matching throughout the cabinetry is truly second to none.

To starboard of the steps into the saloon is a navigation table and seat, complete with all the electronic gizmos you might want. With the view forward from those two large windows, it is easy to imagine keeping watch in the dry and warm

and adjusting the pilot while the rain and wind batter away outside.

Down further and forward you have a study/ guest cabin, with a heads to starboard. Typically this study area would be a bunk crew cabin with a small door leading to the double forward, but that has been eschewed here in favour of the study option. Where there would have been walls operating the bunk cabin, the corridor next to them and the double forward, there is now open space, with a curtain to separate the double from the study. This curtain is to offer some privacy from the heads, which are closest to the saloon, but now act as an effective en suite, though will be used by guests should you have more than two couples onboard. The benefit here is the large double with study but of course the drawback is that slightly awkward heads / curtain situation. These are some of the difficulties that can crop up when you are looking at a semi-customisable yacht. You will always be limited by bulkheads and hull lines, so change without compromise is somewhat limited.

Aft of the inside nav area is a small two bunk room, which could easily serve as crew berths, or decent cot berths while at sea, indeed the owner wanted these here instead of forward as they are more centrally located and should offer a comfier berth in a seaway. Heading aft to port and you step down into a galley kitchen, which should be practical, allowing the ability to brace throughout its length should you be cooking in any sort of a seaway. This leads you to a very large master suite aft with en suite heads and shower facilities. Two portlights sit a little above the waterline, offering an excellent view out over the water from the bed and the heads are impressively roomy.

What is clear is the choices that have been made throughout on All Time High speak to an owner who intends to sail the boat themselves with occasional guests and the spaces have all been optimised as such. The craftsmanship is truly exceptional and little details, such as a wine store built into the table stand – filled with champagne of course - abound.

There are parts where the layout feels a little odd. In addition to the study with curtain, there is also a large flat tabletop space opposite the table in the main saloon that seems to have been put there for

ABOVE

A well lit saloon area with superb views

BELOW

A practical galley ideal for blue water cruising no other reason than nothing else could go there. The owner says it gives him a chance to unfold a full admiralty chart, which is a not possible on the chart table - though folded there is still ample room for nav calcs. Ultimately, I gather the space is the product of the bunks being moved from the study area to aft of the nav area, and thus leaving something of a void space which has been infilled with the flat surface.

These are small complaints, and so far as the owner is concerned these are benefits as they came at his request. What their existence does imply, however, is that the efficient design of space within a boat - and even one of 58ft - takes a lot of planning and consideration. Overall, it is hard not to be impressed with the craftmanship, amenities and space offered below.

Under sail

For the course of our test sail, we had a team on board from Discovery in addition to the owner. This boat has only recently been delivered and thus she is still in something of a commissioning process. As such we did have a few issues with the electronics throughout the day, the key being a lack of boat speed reading from the paddle wheel, though we had SOG (speed over ground) from the GPS. Additionally our apparent wind speed seemed off

all day and was due for recalibration.

These are relatively minor tweaks and are the sort of thing you would expect in the commissioning of a brand new semi-custom boat and setup. But it did make it difficult to be entirely accurate with the data I was able to pick up throughout the day.

What quickly became clear, however is this would not be the issue it might have been on a more performance oriented boat. In the high teens to mid 20 knot windspeed we had on the day, the Discovery happily cantered around making 7 knots over ground more or less no matter which direction you pointed her. We set out a couple of hours before high tide and return a couple after, so even considering the tide, she was remarkably consistent speed-wise.

Upwind

Once out into the Solent we hoisted the sails and set off into the teeth of a cold, east north easterly breeze, which was regularly hitting 25 knots. Unfurling the self tacking headsail and the mast furling main is all done electronically from the helm station at the single wheel - double wheels can be fitted should you wish. From here you can also control mainsheet, mainsail traveller and the two large primary winches, which you would use for a full genoa or for spinnaker.

The self tacking headsail, however, leads back to the cabin top winch and has the controls there too. This does mean it is not easy to access for a single person helming, but as a self tacker, you’d be looking to set it up for your course angle and leave it well alone. As this is the winch you would use for vang, halyards etc. its positioning does make sense even for a single hander as you would want controls to hand when hoisting or lowering sails or making halyard tension changes etc.

With the occasional bigger gust filtering down the Solent and the traditional short, sharp chop being kicked up, my initial impressions of the Discovery’s performance upwind were a touch disappointing. She was surprisingly heavy on the helm and displayed a tendency to round up in the bigger puffs. It was almost immediately obvious the balance was wrong and after furling some main in and unfurling a fair bit more headsail, she was much better behaved.

As with the electronics, these are the to be expected teething problems of a new boat as you discover her sweet spot. I’d have been inclined to take in even more main and unfurl much more headsail to improve things further but on a test in these conditions we weren’t looking to push the boat that hard.

I would not say that we ever got to the point of finger tip control upwind, but I suspect some more hours sorting balance and it will come. Certainly once we were settled in, standing at the helm, with the option to drop a bit of traveller in the gusts and wind it back in at the touch of a button, in 20 knots of breeze, was delightfully easy, and you could well see her chewing through the miles with ease upwind. Once set up she was happy to sit at a touch under 7 knots in 20 knots true at around 35º to the wind. It might have taken a little time to find that sweet spot, but once there, she gobbled up the miles with ease.

It is particularly worthy of note that despite sailing on a blustery, choppy Solent and despite my walking the decks when not helming, at no point did a single drop of water land on me. Whether this implies blissful sailing that would allow you to churn through miles in comfort or a disconnect from the art of sailing will probably depend on who you are, but it is impressive, and speaks to the sheer volume and supreme weatherliness of the boat herself in wht were some pretty lumpy conditions.

LEFT

Upwind, the boat reeled off a steady 7kn

BELOW

Off the wind the boat was an absolute joy

TOBY’S VERDICT

To come full circle, if I won the lottery tomorrow would I buy a 58C? Frankly, no. But not through any failing of the boat, merely that this boat represents something I do not want from my sailing.

If I were this owner, looking for a beautifully built boat to carry me to Caribbean quickly, in comfort and with a smile on my face and then provide me a stunning base from which to spend a season island hopping then there is little to criticise here.

The only faults I could find below were those few things which I would not find ideal but were there by request, as a semi-custom yacht, but she was immaculate otherwise. I’d like to have a little more time working her up, in terms of upwind balance, but she improved with every tweak and revealed a remarkable turn of pace. Downwind she was an absolutely stunning performer, and I can think of few boats I’d rather be on in the Bay of Biscay, say. If all that is not the very definition of the perfect bluewater cruiser, then I honestly do not know what is.

PERFORMANCE: H H H H H LOOKS: H H H H H COMFORT: H H H HH

THE SPEC

Overall length: 58’8” (17.88 m) Length waterline: 51’10” (15.8 m) Beam: 16’8” (5.08 m) Draft: 7’8”/6’5” (2.34/1.93 m) Light displacement: 60,075 lb (27,250 kg) Sail area: 1,629sq/ft (151.3sq/m)

Price:

Contact:discoveryshipyard.com

ABOVE

Despite 25kn of breeze and a short Solent chop, not a drop of water touched the deck during the test sail

BELOW

The elegant Ron Holland lines were penned for blue water cruising

Downwind

If upwind had initially been a little less stellar than I had hoped, crack the sheets a touch and the 58C felt much better behaved. There was not huge turn of pace as you’d expect from a reasonably large heavy boat, just the sort of unfussy slight acceleration that comes from footing a little.

We’d elected not to take the chute out of its bag in wind that was, by now, regularly hitting 25knots in the gusts so heading further downwind was a case of unfurling the big genoa, and poling it out to windward.

Running with full main and full poled out genoa the 58C lit up.

Until now, I had enjoyed the sail and could see the appeal of the boat as a whole, but couldn’t say I has been truly thrilled by the sailing performance. However, as soon as the sails were pulling, she was one of the most delicate boats I have sailed in some time. She offered just the right amount of feedback to the helm and was light on the steering, such that you really felt you could drive her as hard as you pleased. The waves we had were not significant for this type of boat but I suddenly was longing to be sailing her in the trades, with a decent swell astern. She would be an absolute joy to sail in these circumstances.

From her stability downwind, I’ve no doubt we would have carried the chute with little problem and would have been east of the Isle of Wight before we’d even registered it. With the wind in the high teens, we were making a tiny fraction shy of 9 knots with the wind at 160º, stick me in the Atlantic on this boat and I’ll see you in the Caribbean with a wide smile on my face. All too soon we were approaching the west Solent and so time to head home. I could have sailed her like this for much longer.