Shogun Yachts 43

There are yachts that promise performance, and then there are yachts that quietly reset the benchmark, like the newest Shogun 43. NIKE is precise, composed, and incredibly fast. Built in carbon fibre and epoxy sandwich, she carries a presence that is as refined as it is dynamic.

FURTHER BROKER’S COMMENTS:

Designed by Oscar & Håkan Södergren, NIKE is an updated and lighter version of the Shogun 43 performance cruiser. She is built for those who want to sail fast, often and well. A yacht that delivers line honours on the course, yet remains composed, intuitive, and quietly luxurious below deck.

As with the Shogun 50, the objective behind the Shogun 43 is to create an all-carbon thoroughbred capable of delivering exceptional speed without the usual compromises. For years, those seeking true high performance cruising have had little choice but to adapt race-bred platforms, accepting the trade-offs in comfort, usability, and short-handed handling that inevitably follow. The Shogun 43 redraws that line.

Constructed from the outset for double-handed sailing at pace, she pairs a fully optimised carbon structure and winning races with systems designed for precision and ease. NIKE is a yacht that is not only fast but accessible in a way that few in this category have managed to achieve.

Recent seasons have seen the Shogun 43 dominate leading double-handed events, taking line honours across the board, proving what the Shogun 43 design promised from the beginning.

Her specification highlights include:-
• Carbon fibre and epoxy sandwich construction
• Oyster White topsides
• Flexi teak decking
• Axe bow profile with integral spray sails
• ORC optimised carbon fibre keel blade with lead t-bulb
• Carbon racing rudders
• Pauger high modulus carbon fibre mast and box boom
• Pauger carbon fibre standing rigging
• E-bar system(rudder toe angle adjustment system)
• Hydraulic mast-jack - manual
• Integrated bowsprit
• Full North racing sail wardrobe with 3Di mainsail and jib, staysails, asymmetrics and code sails.
• Electric furler for head sails and flying head sails
• Antal electric mainsail traveller
• Load-cell on forestay with displays in cockpit
• 6 x Harken Performa winches in cockpit plus additional 2 x electric Harken halyard/control line winches at companionway
• Jefa steering with twin Carbonautica carbon wheels
• Victron Energy electrics with charger and inverter
• B&G instruments with Zeus 9’ plotters, Nemesis mast dispaly, autopilot, H5000 and AIS transceiver
• Eberspacher heating
• Full galley equipment
• Electric carbon toilet


MANUFACTURER’S COMMENTS:

Want a cruising yacht that effortlessly combines innovative design and ground-breaking technology, to make doublehanded sailing easy and fun – even at top speed?

Enter the Shogun 43.

Developed with a focus on performance and ease of use, this cruiser goes beyond conventional and traditional design, taking performance cruising to the next level. It is the yacht for you who love speed and want to sail fast without a crew. It is for you who want to have fun on the water and maximise your sailing experience every time you go out, but still want full interior comfort onboard. Shogun 43 gives you both.
The interior of the Shogun 43 is developed to look and feel harmonious both from a sensory and auditory perspective. We wanted to create a quiet and cosy space with an interior that feels solid, and still is lightweight.

Thanks to a sleek design that can be customised specifically to your type of sailing, the Shogun 43 is a hybrid performer – whether its weekend hops or long distance cruising. Change your setup depending on the number of people onboard, weather conditions, type of sailing, preferred power, and overall experience.

The Shogun 43 was conceived as the ultimate synthesis of elite performance and accessible handling—a yacht that delivers exceptional speed while remaining easily managed by a minimal crew. The results from this season’s campaign speak for themselves, and the message is unequivocal.

Throughout the recent racing season, the Shogun 43 has demonstrated its competitive excellence across the most challenging offshore arenas. It has consistently proven its capabilities in premier double-handed competitions, including the Princess Sofia Cup, the demanding Gotland Runt, and the prestigious ORC Double-Handed European Championships held in Helsinki.

In a remarkable exhibition of both performance and durability, the Shogun 43 didn’t merely participate—it commanded the field, achieving line honors in every competition it entered.

These back-to-back victories represent more than just podium finishes; they validate the yacht’s inherent winning character. Designed and engineered to lead the fleet, the Shogun 43 fulfills the ambition of its name, demonstrating conclusively that top-tier performance is fully compatible with shorthanded sailing.

PRESS REVIEWS:

“Shogun 43 review: High velocity cruising

How many crewmembers of high tech racing yachts have wondered whether the boat could be tweaked and tamed to create a super-fast cruising machine that’s enormous fun to sail? I certainly considered the idea as a navigator in the Farr 45 fleet when there was a strong class in the Solent. Australian sailors Ian and Annika Thomson went further and refitted an early TP52, J-Bird, as an ultra-fast cruiser and occasional racer.

Mats Bergryd, a former ClubSwan 42 and ClubSwan 50 owner, is of a similar mindset, but instead he commissioned renowned Swedish father and son design team Hakan and Oskar Södergren, along with the Rosättra shipyard (better known as the yard behind the Linjett brand), to create a no holds barred all-carbon 50-footer for very fast cruising and occasional racing.

The Shogun 43 is the second model in the range, retaining the same DNA, but at a more affordable price point, and has enough interior space for family cruising.

One of the great things about the few cruising yachts that have top notch upwind performance is that, once you’re cracked off to true wind angles greater than around 50°, you’re already on a reach. It’s comfortable and fast, yet almost every other cruising yacht will still be struggling along in full upwind mode.

Equally, the Shogun 43 sails upwind at angles and speeds that would impress any race team on a similar size yacht. It proved quick to accelerate and very responsive. In a true wind speed of 15 knots and true wind angle of 40° our boat speed hovered consistently in the 7-7.5 knot range, with upwind VMG around 30% higher than many so-called performance cruisers of similar size.

But instead of requiring an army of talented crew to keep the boat constantly sailing at its best, all trimming and sail control can be carried out with only one or two crew on deck.

Hydraulics for the vang, backstays and deflectors, plus the electric traveller and toe-in adjuster for the twin rudders, for instance, all have fingertip control from the helm stations. This ability to fine tune the rig and sail trim so easily is a core part of this yacht’s concept.

The idea is to make fun and exciting sailing accessible beyond a relatively small group of die-hard semi-professional racing teams. This boat is therefore designed to make it as easy as possible for a single person on watch to get as much performance out of the rig as you might when racing with a full crew of 10 or more people.

It’s very much the type of boat that makes you actively want to hand steer and trim attentively to cover long distances quickly. When helming in gusty conditions, for example, you can drop the traveller, increase twist or apply more backstay to depower the mainsail, all at the touch of a button on the helm consoles. Reverting to the previous trim when the gust passes is just as easy.”

Yachting World, May 2024