I call this boat a family camp-cruiser. It is a trailer-sailor intended for short cruises in protected or semi-protected water with a family of four. It is inspired by the Triloboat.
LOA: 24'
LWL: 18'
Beam: 7'
Draft: 5"/4'
Displacement: 2,300 lbs
Sail Area: 200 sf
SA/D: 18
There are a lot of production boats out there for this purpose, but after 13 years with just such a boat, I have a particular suite of features in mind for this type of cruising that can only come in a one-off boat:
Shoal Draft
The barge or scow hullform is the last word in shoal draft. The only way to get more on the same footprint would be to eliminate the end curves and have a boat that is a pure rectangular prism. That would be too crazy even for me!
Maximum Interior Space
Our old South Coast 22 had a cabin 8' long and a beam 7' at its widest point. This boat has two rooms, 7' square- a living space more similar to what you would find in production sailboats in the low 30' range. That's in terms of length and width, of course. The headroom is exactly what we had with the South Coast 22.
This is a major stress point for me. The kids are bored and looking for something to get into such as getting bitten by ants or run over by a truck while I have to devote all my attention to rigging the boat. Ale wants to help me, but she has to kind of watch the kids. Meantimes, five hundred power boats have already launched and I am wondering when I will get cussed out for taking up valuable space in the lot.
On this design, there should be significantly fewer steps. The standing rigging spaghetti will be eliminated as well as the task of dragging the mast back ten feet so I can step it. I won't have to hang the rudder every time, nor trice up the motor to protect the motor mount.
There will be other tasks that the old boat didn't demand- setting a mizzen mast, for example. Hopefully, there will be a net reduction in time and effort.
I cannot yet speak from experience on this one. I have only ever sailed jib-headed sloops, so this will all be experimental for me. I find that the two most troublesome features of sailing my old boat were reefing and jibe avoidance. The virtues of the junk rig are supposed to take the pain out of these. Time will tell if I prefer the fresh vices of the Junk rig to the familiar ones of the Bermudan.
Easier Setup at the Ramp
This is a major stress point for me. The kids are bored and looking for something to get into such as getting bitten by ants or run over by a truck while I have to devote all my attention to rigging the boat. Ale wants to help me, but she has to kind of watch the kids. Meantimes, five hundred power boats have already launched and I am wondering when I will get cussed out for taking up valuable space in the lot.
On this design, there should be significantly fewer steps. The standing rigging spaghetti will be eliminated as well as the task of dragging the mast back ten feet so I can step it. I won't have to hang the rudder every time, nor trice up the motor to protect the motor mount.
There will be other tasks that the old boat didn't demand- setting a mizzen mast, for example. Hopefully, there will be a net reduction in time and effort.
Low Tech Rig
I cannot yet speak from experience on this one. I have only ever sailed jib-headed sloops, so this will all be experimental for me. I find that the two most troublesome features of sailing my old boat were reefing and jibe avoidance. The virtues of the junk rig are supposed to take the pain out of these. Time will tell if I prefer the fresh vices of the Junk rig to the familiar ones of the Bermudan.
No comments:
Post a Comment