With her striking bright red hull, the San Gottardo looks and acts the part of an Arctic explorer.
When we visited her a few years back, she was put into service for The Swiss Arctic Project, a charitable effort to show youngsters the effects of climate change through real-life glaciers, wildlife and more.
Her significant refit included a steel superstructure and aluminum pilothouse, an overhauled 430-hp Caterpillar D343 diesel, two generators plus solar panels, and commercial-scale ovens, freezers, a walk-in fridge along with the usual one, and a washer and dryer. Joystick steering, twin radars, an Iridium satellite phone system, and three independent GPS receivers were placed in the pilothouse, and a hydraulic system with its own battery was added for redundancy. With a watermaker and three independent heating systems—one dedicated to under-floor heating for added comfort—along with air conditioning, she would be comfortable in just about any climate.
She has a range of more than 5,000 nautical miles at 6 knots; at 7 knots, range drops to 4,300 miles (burning around 3 gph). Her top end is 10 knots.
