Canoe & Transom sterns - the GGR fleet

On the British and European coast, canoe sterns - that is, a stern which return to a single point, creating an elliptical deck plan - are not at all common. Indeed, transom sterns - those with a flat-faced stern - are seen almost universally in our home waters.

However, in contrast to that recognisable trend, almost 40% of Golden Globe entrants use boats designed with canoe sterns, an anomaly easily spotted when walking down the GGR dock in Les Sables d’Olonne. Even discounting the older nature of the fleet, the number of canoe sterns remains anomalous - with a deeper dive though, this variation can be explained.

Canoe sterns, known also as double-enders, are traditionally advantageous for bluewater sailing. In following seas - such as that of the Pacific and Indian oceans - double-enders hold more directional stability compared to their transom-stern counterparts.

This is because, while a transom-stern can be pushed forwards by a breaking wave leading to broaches, a canoe-stern is able to ‘part’ the wave and allows breaking water to flow either side of the hull, meaning a broach is less likely.

With this in mind, you may ask - why haven’t the whole GGR fleet opted for double-enders?

The answer is simple - as with all yacht characteristics, a benefit in one area leads to compromise in another. Cockpit space is lost, as well as storage area; more importantly though, for GGR sailors, is that the reduced buoyancy of canoe sterns compared to transom equivalents means they remain heavily at risk of waves breaking over into the cockpit.

Furthermore, plenty of transom-sterned yachts have completed circumnavigations, including both the 2018 and the 2022 GGR winners, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede and Kirsten Neuschäfer, suggesting canoe-sterns are not a vital requirement for the GGR.

The choice of a canoe stern, then, is not a black and white, binary good/bad decision. Indeed, much analysis seems to suggest they are outdated and are unnecessary for circumnavigations.

However, canoe sterns are picked by skippers not only for their physical characteristics but also for what they say about the philosophy of the chosen yacht design, as Pat Lawless explained regarding his boat Silvermines Hydro, a Saltram Saga 36.

“Canoe stern is an advantage, but it wasn't a major factor in my decision - it was the whole boat as a package.”

Looked at in isolation, then, canoe sterns might indeed appear to be an slightly odd choice for GGR skippers, with their many downsides. But closer inspection reveals that canoe stern designs are actually symbols of ocean going quality, a quality which GGR skippers search for in their decisions regarding yacht design. Even if they are not technically required, they are a point of principal for many skippers who see it as a cornerstone of bluewater yacht design.

Therefore, the quantity of yachts with canoe sterns in the GGR fleet simply shows how skippers have chosen traditional ocean going yachts, yachts which will leave Les Sables d’Olonne next Sunday 6th and hopefully return back to port having completed a circumnavigation sometime in 2027.