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Built in the Kungsviken, the "Bay of Kings", on the island of Orust in Sweden, the Malö 41 carries on the tradition of family boat building that started in 1939. Designed by Leif Angermark Marin, the boat has the conservative, aft cockpit look outside, but there's a lot happening down below. Although technically a production boat, there are many configurations available to tailor the boat to the owner's wants and needs.  Buyers can choose from a number of choices; from a standard layout with lots of storage for cruising, to a more roomy interior suited more for weekend and holiday enjoyment. We'll talk much more on that later.
We met up with Mike Locatell of Discovery Yacht Sales in Seattle, U.S. representative for Malös, and headed out onto Lake Union for a test sail. The normally friendly confines of Lake Union were a bit blustery, with winds up to 20 knots, so we had a good opportunity to see how the boat handled in windy conditions. Before putting the sails up, we put the boat through her paces under power. The boat has a Yanmar 75 HP diesel which gets power to the feathering prop via the Aqua Drive system. With this system the motor doesn't have to line up perfectly with the shaft and it helps quell vibration. The single shift/throttle was easy to use, and the boat manuevered surely and easily even with strong wind. The engine was quiet and the wheel had little pull on it at cruising speed. Time for sailing. We pulled up the fully battened main out of the lazy jacks and unrolled the jib off the Harken furler. We had a 150 up which was too much sail for the wind but went for it anyway. The boat is relatively narrow compared to today's wide-bodied cruisers, so she heeled easily, then settled down. The main had slab reefing so we threw in a reef to keep her a little more upright. A boat built for the North Sea has little problem going to weather in Lake Union. Off the wind we sailed comfortably at about 8.5 knots in 15 knots of wind with the reefed main and the 150. On the wind we rolled the genoa up a bit on the Harken roller furling. The helm was still a bit heavy but would have easily balanced out with less headsail. The mainsheet is mounted on what Malö calls the Targa-arch. This is an arch on which the traveler is mounted. It certainly cleans up the cockpit but does limit the traveler length. Another function of the arch is to provide support dodger the dodger. When coupled with the hard windshield with canvas, this produces very nice protection from the weather. In fact, you can enclose the entire cocpit and still sail the boat. Surprisingly, the boat maintains her pleasing profile even with all this canvas. The teak deck looks great and provides good traction. To prevent leaks, no fasteners go through the teak planking. Instead, all deck fittings are through-bolted into raised, metal reinforced fiberglass pads on the deck. You can move about easily on the deck, but almost all functions can be handled from the cockpit. Even the windlass is below deck, in one of the three watertight compartments up front. The boats come standard with Andersen self-tailing winches: two 58Ts primaries, one 40T for secondary winches, and a 28ST on the mast. All were within easy reach for shorthanded sailing. Lifelines are supported by beefy stantions, noticeably larger than on most production boats. Same with the bow and stern pulpits. Going below is a delight. The mahogany interior furnishings are sealed with six layers of a satin varnish, then hand-polished. The result is a rich interior that, combined with all the light from the metal Lewmar portlights, produce a well lit, warm feeling. An intriguing fact is that the molding of the Malö's hull and deck cannot be done on the island by law, so the boat is "stick built". That means that every piece of workwork, hardware, even the engine, has to come in through the companionway. The result is a that everything is basically handcrafted into the boat, making it very attractive where you can see, and extremely strong where you can't. In the beginning we talked of the versatility of the Malö 41. It's hard to comment on the layout as it can be custom fit to each owner's preferences. Basically there are two interiors to work from, which coinside with whether you have the Classic straight stern layout or the new Standard version with the built-in swimstep . However, because it is "stick built", custom modifications are easily incorporated and Malö encourages customer input during the building process. The boat we were on was going to California to sail the coast and the Channel Islands. The settee on the port side, in this case, was widened a bit to provide a true double bunk. On the starboard side in front of the nav station were two comfortable chairs with a lovely cabinette in between, set up as a hospitality center. This owner has chosen to give up a little stowage space for more short term cruising comfort for his guests. Even so, there was plenty of "hidden" stowage. Even the space under the vee-berth was set up with drawers. One item I hadn't seen before was one of those obvious ideas that you wonder why it isn't in every boat. The hatch over the vee-berth has an integrated ladder or step built in so you can use it quickly to escape the forward compartment if need be. All countertops in the L-shaped galley were Corian¨. I thought the refrigerator was a bit small until I was shown the additional freezer unit underneath the settee. Another option the owner had chosen. Even the medicine cabinet and counters in the head were Corian¨ to be impervious to moisture. The hull is handmade sandwich construction consisting of fiberglass reinforced ISO polyester with a surface coat of NGA gelcoat.The hull to deck joint is glued-bolted-and glassed. There are three watertight compartments up forward, providing collision security. The floor timbers are sawn separately for an exact fit and added stiffness. To me the Malö 41 is a fine combination of new technology with proven experience at sea. You have modern comforts like hot water heat serving two zones, each with individual thermostats, alongside the practical knowledge of safety eyes in the cockpit for hooking safety harnesses. All things combine to fulfill the company's goal of building a strong, traditional cruising boat "to sail around the world without hesitation and to survive whatever the ocean has to offer." Thanks to Mike Locatell, Discovery Yacht Sales, and Malö Yachts for inviting us aboard. |