= I am at it again! If you have followed the Cat-Ketch rambling below, you know that I had in mind to revisit the concept. Adding and subtracting elements to present an updated versatile version of this animal. Nobody called on this one. So why?
= When conventionally rigged sailboats are considered superior and when the cutter or sloop are the mainstays in the industry. A designer can argue all day long on this or that, but certainly, the client has ideas about aesthetics, appearance and taste when considering buying a boat. Or is he simply following the followers?
- Despite the reputation gained by designing quite a few selves standing rigs, the basis for the office work is far wider than simply relying on the design and construction of such boats. But I am trying to constitute syntheses about what has been learned over the years in a package brought up to date and hopefully with the construction of a prototype for a production run.
- The first consideration is to define the function of the boat. The environment is dictated by the dual purpose of offshore sailing and life-aboard. Those notions will dictate the interior design while the above deck is dedicated to sailing. Furthermore, performance under power has to show good speed. The design is voluntarily limited by characteristics inherited by experience and therefore I have decided upon the following parameters.
L.O.A 40'; draft 5'-0"; Rig: Cat-ketch. Accommodation cruising comfort for four. Headroom 6'4".
- Protection and safety a must. L.O.A to 12M. to be on the safe side of regulations limiting the length of a vessel to a certain category. It is always tempting to add to size but, I am forcing the issue here. Also in view of the larger 45 and 43's with the 37 somewhere, I think I'll try 40'. For the really Big Boat, I'll wait until someone comes with the Big Money.
- Of course, by limiting the length on deck, I have to maximize the length of the waterline. With the current, and also very old fashion of designing plumb stem and stern, the result is pretty straight forward and I end up with a D.W.L of 38.5'. This is the starting point for what I have in mind, with the always present gnawing need to constantly think about gravity, volume, square footage, stability and comfort, and safety; the whole scenario "a la" M.G.M.
- Length is followed by canoe body depth and overall beam. When it comes to the Midship Section, with a keel draft limited to 60", I restrain myself to go over 24" below the waterline for a proper hull deadrise. This in order for the fin keel to work as efficiently as possible with what is given. Past the length issue, the beam is where more room, inside and outside can be had. Therefore, going with a tolerable length/beam ratio of 2.5 at the deck level, I streamline the hips at the waterline.
= Recent commission prevents me from spending time on this project so: to be continued...
On the Blog, see also: Swing keel, centerboard.
