CNB 76 Sailing Yacht, a Production-Built Superyacht Examined

A 76 footer built on a production timetable

The CNB 76 started from an unusual premise. CNB had built dozens of custom yachts in Bordeaux before joining Beneteau in 1992, then proved with the Bordeaux 60 of 2009 that a semi-custom boat could sell in numbers. For the 76, launched in 2013, the group's engineers devised a modular build that let them deliver a 23 m yacht in five to six months instead of a year. Yachting World's Toby Hodges called the result superyacht styling and engineering at a serial production price.

It worked commercially. CNB's own history lists 32 CNB 76s sold, making it the best seller in its class, and the model ran until the CNB 78 replaced it after Solaris bought the yard in 2021. Anyone searching for a CNB 76 today is looking at a small, well documented fleet of Briand raised saloon sloops, almost all of them in the Mediterranean.

Four modules, one cradle and a 10 mm tolerance

Yachting World pieced together the method: the hull is resin infused in one shot around a PVC foam core with carbon reinforcement, which CNB said made it the largest yacht infused in a single operation. The hull then sits in a metal cradle that holds it rigid while the interior is built in four separate modules, including the engine room. The modules are lowered in with less than 10 mm of tolerance. Building hull and interior at the same time is what halves the build time.

The approach drew one criticism that buyers should know. On the early boat, the tester heard creaks from the forward twin cabin and elsewhere; CNB attributed them to wooden spacers behind deck and hull linings rather than the modular bonding. A decade later, CNB's UK agent told Yachting World that the 76's fundamentals were excellent but it lacked the finish of the Solaris-built 78, which returned to laminated-in bulkheads. On a survey, listen for noises under load and check lining fixings.

Ten knots on a close reach and speed in light air

The first boat, Leo, was splashed in August 2013 and sent on a six-month sea trial from Bordeaux to Turkey. Yachting World sailed her out of Palma on a close reach in a Force 4 to 5 and held a consistent 10.5 to 11 knots, and the boat matched wind speed up to about 9 knots of breeze. In only 4 to 6 knots of true wind she still sailed half a knot to a knot faster than the wind with sheets slightly cracked. Under an asymmetric she passed 11 knots, though the swell made the motion uncomfortable on that angle.

Close-hauled into a short sea she felt stable and powerful, settling onto her chine without trying to round up, and the twin rudders give a light, almost neutral helm that suits an autopilot. The keel bulb carries winglets to cut tip vortex drag. Briand's sail plan offers 311 m2 with a 100 percent foretriangle; the brochure lists a 160 m2 main, 144 m2 genoa and 79 m2 staysail on the standard rig.

Four keels in one trunk

A keel trunk molded into the structure lets owners choose draft to suit their cruising ground. CNB's brochure lists a standard keel of 3.00 m (9 ft 8 in), a shallow 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in), a deep 3.50 m (11 ft 5 in) and a lifting keel ranging from 2.10 to 4.00 m (6 ft 9 in to 13 ft 1 in). Standard ballast is about 15 tonnes on a light displacement of 45 tonnes. CNB argued that offering a single interior layout saved owners money they could spend on keel and rig choices, so expect real variety between boats on the brokerage market.

Crew aft, owner forward, and a raised saloon between

CNB describes the 76 as the only raised saloon in its class that separates the owner's area forward from the crew area aft. The galley is enclosed for safe cooking at sea, fitted with Miele appliances and Corian surfaces, and sits beside a comfortable crew double with en suite; butterfly doors close off the galley and crew zone from the saloon, and an escape hatch gives the crew their own route to the cockpit. A second crew cabin with bunks can be specified.

The deck saloon is the showpiece, with low coachroof glazing that keeps end-to-end visibility outside and gives five-star views inside. Sofas to starboard are locked with electromagnets and can swivel together in port, tables to port seat eight, and an aft-facing nav station sits by the companionway. Forward, the owner's cabin hides its berth behind a half-bulkhead and has a large head and shower. Guests get a Pullman to starboard and a double or twin to port, each with en suite access.

The 3.85 m tender garage and an 1,800 mile engine

The bathing platform doubles as the garage door, and CNB says the 3.85 m tender stows in under a minute; Yachting World watched a jet tender launched fuss-free at anchor in Cabrera. A large sail locker forward adds stowage for water toys and spares.

Power is a single Volvo Penta D4 of 180 hp at 2,800 rpm, which looks modest for 45 tonnes but suits a sailing yacht that motors at delivery speed. Leo's skipper calculated about 1,800 miles of range at 8 knots from roughly 2,500 liters of fuel; the brochure lists 2,550 liters of diesel and 1,550 liters of water. The engine room module leaves good space around machinery, and CNB's long focus on noise meant the genset was hard to hear. Bow and stern thrusters with joystick control handle docking with the twin rudders.

Who bought the 76, and how they rig them

Two of the first five owners were first-time buyers, which CNB credited to the price: Yachting World compared the 76's roughly 2 million euro start with a Hallberg-Rassy 64, X-65, Oyster 625 or Amel 64 of similar cost. Later reporting adds useful market color: more than 90 percent of CNB 76s are Mediterranean-based, and 13 owners chose in-mast furling so that reefing could be a one-person job. Two of the first CNB 78 orders came from 76 owners stepping up, a sign of loyalty to the concept.

Not every CNB 76 is the Briand raised saloon

Before the production 76, CNB built custom aluminum yachts, and at least one 1993 aluminum CNB 76 with a Yanmar engine and five cabins is on the market in Italy at about 690,000 euros. It is a different boat entirely. The Briand production model dates from 2013 or later, is GRP with a single Volvo D4, and lists at about 1.98 million euros for a 2016 example in Palma. Use the build year and hull material to filter search results before comparing prices.