But this 12m (39-foot) Kevin Dibley-designed canting-keeler has taken longer than most, with 30 years elapsing from the lines going on the plan to her bright-orange hull hitting the water in late 2023. And, again like many boatbuilding projects, this is not the end – rather, it’s another step on the journey which will keep her owners, Derek and Janine Grul, happily occupied for a few more years to come.
The boat was originally conceived by Dibley as an entry in a design competition run in the early 1990s by Yachting New Zealand, in the hope of stimulating racing in and around a 40 foot class. The design brief was for the yacht to be comfortable for a family to
