Tartan 4000 Review

A progressive cruiser from a venerable builder

Tartan Yachts is a time honored marque in yachting. The Tartan 37 and 41 set high standards for sailing yachts back in the 1970s and 80s. In more recent years the company has been buffeted by the economic storms weve all had to weather lately and Im glad to see that they appear to be surviving, and perhaps even thriving under new ownership. The 4000 is their latest offering in the forty foot range. As you may know, Sailing World Magazines panel of experts named it 2012 Boat of the Year, so I think its worthwhile to take a good look at the boat.

Like all the recent Tartans, the 4000 was designed by Tim Jackett to be a wholesome and well appointed cruiser/racer, with the emphasis, in my opinion, on cruiser. Starting with the profile view of the boat I must say it is refreshing to see a new boat that hasnt been pushed to the far edges of the design envelope in pursuit of interior volume. The sheer is elegantly sprung and there is a nice aesthetic balance between the rake of the stem and the slope of the transom. Below the waterline the hull is relatively deep amidships and fairs into finer waterlines aft than we see in the newer boats from Europe. That raked stem has practical value beyond aesthetics. Cruising boats with plumb stems invariably accumulate scrapes and marks around the bow from the anchor chain or rode unless they have fairly long bow planks. Tartan refers to the keel as a beavertail. It looks like a squished bulb to me, which is fine. It gets the weight low without excessive draft and should provide good stability for this well balanced boat.

The bulb is different looking, but it does get the lead down where you want it.

The Tartan 4000 is propelled by an interesting sailplan that they call a Cruise Control Rig or CCR for short. The mast is carbon fiber as is the boom, which is V-shaped to capture the mainsail when it is doused, eliminating the need for a canvas stackpack. Thats a nice arrangement that I think will work well. The boat is rigged with double headsails on roller furlers. The forward one is a genoa and just a few inches aft of it is an inner forestay that carries a small working jib that sheets to a thwartships track just forward of the mast, making it self tacking. The idea is that in light air youll use the genoa and when the breeze is up youll switch to the working jib. For cruising, this arrangement might be okay as long as you remember that when sailing under the genoa, it has to be rolled almost all the way in whenever you tack. On the other had, when sailing under the working jib, that rolled up genoa is right in front of its leading edge, spoiling airflow and compromising its effectiveness. I think a better solution would be a single headstay with a well made foam luffed 140% genoa on a reefable furler. You would save the weight and cost of the second furler and have equal or better all around performance.

Tartan 4000 Cruise Control Rig

In the profile view of this boat its hard to fault the nice lines in of the deck. Its relatively low and well proportioned, with good clearances along the side decks. Ive given up on criticizing mid-boom sheeting since my own boat is rigged that way. Its not optimal from a sailing perspective but it makes other things work better, so I grudgingly accept it. The cockpit on the T4000 is really well done. Halyards and control lines are led to a pair of winches on the cabin top and the coamings are wide enough to sit on. Notice in the photo below that the mainsheet traveler is mounted on the cockpit sole, which is a practical thing to do. It might take a bit of getting used to, but it opens up the cockpit and offers much better sail control than the standard mid-boom unit. The boat has twin wheels mounted on nicely designed carbon pedestals. The photos also show that the hull is quite beamy aft, but there is considerable flair in the aft sections of the hull. I think this is a nice compromise that will reward this boat with good sailing manners in a breeze while still allowing for plenty of room in the cockpit.

Nice cockpit arrangement. Cruisers will miss having a swimstep built into the transom.

The accommodations in this boat are a pleasant surprise. The layout is thoroughly modern, with a queen-size berth in the forward cabin and strategically angled bulkheads in the main salon. The galley is large and offers plenty of counter space and storage. The nav station is also large and well designed, and just aft of it is a good sized quarter-cabin. All of these spaces work well and the only missing item is a good sea berth. Aboard the Finisterra Ive designed a lee-board to fit in the quarter cabin to make a snug berth for offshore passages and the same could be done with this boat. I think the designer was able to incorporate the nice open spaces into the boat because it has only one head. Personally, I think one head is enough for a cruising couple with occasional guests. Aboard the T 4000, they werent content with building a nice spacious and practical head, they incorporated a circular door for the shower. It may be cute as a bugs ear, but I prefer to eschew such gimmicky features that are likely to give trouble at some point.

Nice layout and solid wood joinery make for pleasant living aboard

I really do like the nice solid wood joinery in this boat. It is a refreshing departure from the IKEA-like styling of the new European inspired boats Ive been looking at lately. I saw one of these boats at a recent boat show and admired the quality of the furnishings. The engine is a 55shp Volvo with a saildrive located under the companionway. That many horses will push the 4000 along at hull speed in almost any conditions.  Back in my boatbuilding days we installed a good many saildrives, mostly Yanmars, and they work very well especially on racing yachts. But I personally prefer the trusty shaft and strut type for long distance cruising. Ive seen more than a few boats having saildrives replaced in inconvenient harbors.

Traditional wood joinery makes for very pleasant accommodations

The Tartan 4000 looks like a sweet ride for local cruising and club racing, and it could easily be optimized for offshore passagemaking. It has some interesting features such a cast and polished fairleads for the mooring cleats that add a touch of class . My guess is that most of the time youll bypass them, but they sure are pretty. I checked PHRF numbers for this boat and it looks like the rating is going to settle in the 72-84 range, which is quite respectable for this boat. Im sure the good looks, build quality and  BOTY award will generate lots of attention for this boat. Its definitely worth a look.

The Cockpit Project Replacing the Teak Decking

Finisterra arrived at her new home on June 26th and we took a few days to unload cruising gear and get moved back into the house. Then I got right to work on the biggest project on my work list, replacing the teak in and around the cockpit and transom.

The teak doesnt look too bad in the photos but it is pretty well worn down between the caulking lines and occasionally offers up a splinter. There are also rows of bronze staple ends that are beginning to emerge from the teak in several areas. 

The dots in the foreground are staple ends sticking up through the wood. 

I think the way Beneteau makes the teak panels is to lay the teak planks on a table with the caulking grooves on the bottom, then staple them together to make panels. After the planks are stapled together into panels, they flip them over and fill in the grooves with silicone caulking. This makes the finished panels flexible enough to conform to the curvature in the seats. Then they fit the panels into recesses in the deck, bedding them in what looks like black 3M 4000 Polyether adhesive.

It was fairly easy to pry the teak off the deck, but much more labor intensive to remove the black adhesive. I finally resorted to a set of sharp chisels to scrape the black gummy adhesive off the fiberglass. The bead around the perimeter is similar to Dow 795 silicone and was fairly easy to remove with a razor knife and a chisel.

In this photo the teak has been removed, but you can see a few spots where some of it stuck to the adhesive. Notice the parts where there are vertical lines. Beneteau applied the adhesive with a serrated trowel and then bedded the teak in the stuff. You can see where the teak was actually in contact with it and where it wasnt. You can also see the bead of silicone around the perimeter.

To get the teak off, I first cut the silicone around the perimeter with the razor, then using the hammer, carefully drove a chisel in between the edges of the teak and the fiberglass.  Once it was started, I could drive the screwdriver further under the teak and pry up large chunks or complete planks of it.

Here you can see where I have removed the adhesive from part of the portside cockpit seat. 

To remove the adhesive, I used a razor knife to scribe sectional lines into it, then worked a sharp chisel between the adhesive and the fiberglass. I was able to remove most of it this way. Then I used the chisel to scrape off as much of the remaining adhesive as possible. Later I will sand the rest of it off.

It took several long days to get all the adhesive off the deck. It was fairly dull work but there is a lot going on in the industrial part of the harbor and I often paused to watch as ships came in to unload their cargoes from all over the world, then reload and head out to sea again. There was also no shortage of interested passersby, many of whom stopped to check my progress and offer advice, so the days passed quickly and before long the job was done.

I decided to replace the teak with PlasDECK synthetic teak instead of real teak for several reasons, not the least of which was the cost. The price Beneteau quoted for replacement teak panels was a little north of $3,000, while the synthetic material runs about $1,000. But price is only part of the reason for choosing PlasDECK. Its made of recycled plastic and I like the idea of putting less plastic in landfills. It is easier to keep clean and is quite durable. Of course no knowledgeable person is going to mistake synthetic for real teak, but Im okay with that. You can learn more about this material by visiting Plasteak.com.

The next step was to make templates for the replacement panels. I used 6 mil poly sheeting as pattern material, and glued it in place with a light spray of aerosol contact cement. Then I inscribed the outline of the perimeter of each piece along with all the other information the manufacturer needs to fabricate the replacement panels. Ill send them off tomorrow morning and in about three weeks the panels will be delivered.

The pattern material is temporarily glued in place, then marked with all the necessary information.

Its important that the "caulking lines" of the new panels line up properly so the patterns were carefully marked to show where they should be.

While Im waiting for the finished panels Ill have lots of time to finish removing the black adhesive from the seats and maybe even spend a couple of days at the Island.

C C Redline 41 Review

There has been no shortage of fanfare surrounding the launch of the new C&C Redline 41, and with good reason. This all-new design traces its commercial pedigree back to  the fabulous line of racing/cruising yachts designed by the legendary team of George Cuthbertson and George Cassian, The history of C&C Yachts is convoluted so I wont go into the details here, but you can read all about it on the Internet. Back then I was still a kid and a huge fan of C&C boats and thought they were all designed by the two Georges, but in fact much of the credit for the excellent design work belongs to Rob Ball and Rob Mazza as well as other talented designers that spent more or less time at C&C.

That was back in the heyday of yacht building in North America. By the mid 1990s the company had fallen on hard times and was taken over by Tartan Yachts, which produced a series of boats under the C&C name that were designed by Tim Jackett. Those were, in my opinion, okay boats but not quite in the same league as those designed by Ball, Mazza and the rest of early C&C design team.  In 2013 the C&C assets were acquired by US Watercraft, which is based in Warren, Rhode Island.

Finally, C&C, which suffered the same stormy weather as all the other sailboat builders in America over the last fifteen years, has found a favorable wind. It will be a surprise to me if C&C does not return to something akin to its former success. In addition to C&C, USW owns and manufactures the Alerion, True North and Carolina Cockpit brands as well as Waterline Systems. They are also a licensed builder of several J/Boat and Farr models. They have enlisted the venerable Barry Carroll to manage the C&C brand and Mark Mills to do the design work. Its hard to imagine a more capable gang to carry on the C&C name.

The Redline 41is intended as a racer/cruiser with the emphasis on IRC racer.  Here are some numbers:

LOA:  40.7
LWL:  35.4
BMAX: 12.13
Draft:  8.2
DISP:  15,100 LB
BAL:  7,232 LB
Calculated Sail Area: 891 SF
D/L:  152
SA/D:  23.3
BAL/DISP:  48%

Wire frame drawing shows a moderate displacement hull with firm bilges, narrow waterline beam, long overhang aft and no chines. 

I visited the C&C web site (www.c-cyachts.com) and found all of the photos for this article, including the beautiful wire frame drawing that gives us a pretty good understanding of the overall proportions of the boat. So beginning with the hull, we see a very clean shape with a narrow waterline beam and minimal wetted surface. Notice the slightly raked stem and the longish stern overhang. I like the raked stem for aesthetic reasons, and the long overhang aft provides reserve buoyancy when the boat is pressed, leaving a clean wake.  Notice the distribution of beam, its been pulled in a bit at the transom and there is plenty of flare in the hull in that area. Up forward, the bow is fine, with just a bit of hollow in the waterlines, and the knuckle is placed just above the waterline . This is going to be a slippery and well behaved yacht on all points of sail.

Driving upwind. notice the clean release of the wake off the transom. 

The keel consists of a cast iron vertical fin mated to a lead bulb. The bulb is an inverted "U" shape in cross section. This helps get the center of gravity (CG) as low as possible but does generate more turbulence than a more symmetrical torpedo shape. Im sure the Mills team analyzed this trade-off and decided that the benefit of the lower CG outweighs the cost of the higher turbulence.  The rudder is a deep, thin blade that should provide good control. With a displacement/length ratio of 152, the 41 isnt going to be a downwind planing machine but should surf along quite nicely on races such as the Transpac.

The IRC rule encourages moderate displacement and high-ish freeboard. This 41 is not equipped with an anchor locker or bow roller, but it sure is pretty.

Notice the inboard and outboard tracks and barber hauler.  

The cabin trunk is low and aerodynamically sculpted. It is relatively narrow amidships, leaving wide side decks and plenty of room to locate the jib tracks well inboard. Racers need tight sheeting angles. Notice that the forward end of the trunk is fairly wide, leaving very little side deck in this area. This was likely done to provide headroom in the head and forward cabin. The cockpit design is a nearly perfect for a racer/cruiser. The seats forward allow for headroom in the quarterberths and offer some comfort for the crew. The mainsheet traveler is located on the cockpit sole, with the sheet led to a pair of winches at the aft end of the seats, Admirals cup style. The photos show a recess in the open transom and I noticed in one of the renderings on the web site that they were at least thinking about a fold-down panel there that would serve as a swim/boarding platform. I dont think its necessary for cruising since the recess provides enough of a step that boarding from a dinghy wouldnt be a problem.

Sensible deck layout and reasonable accommodations for a racer/cruiser

The rig is pure raceboat. The mast and boom are carbon and so is the retractable bow pole. The chainplates are out at the rails so jibs are limited to about 105%. The boat has inboard and outboard jib tracks and barber haulers. This will allow the trimmer to dial the jib in perfectly. There is apparently an option for a short permanent bowsprit in lieu of the retractable pole. That would be a nice place to mount the anchor and roller, but since there is no provision for an anchor locker or windlass theres no point in trading the pole for the sprit.

The V-berth is snug and lightweight.

Going below, the accommodations are exactly what I would expect from the builders of the Alerion, a tasteful blend of white surfaces and wood accents. You might wonder what all that wood is doing in a boat like this. It certainly harks back to the days of true racer cruisers that C&C once built. The layout is functional for racing and offers just enough comfort for coastal cruising. The V-berth looks small, a perfect place for the kids. The head is minimal for a racer/cruiser and is located forward of the main bulkhead with access from the forward cabin. This isnt a perfect arrangement but is acceptable, in my opinion, because the Redline 41 is a racing yacht with cruising amenities rather than a cruising yacht racing capabilities.

Basic but comfortable accommodations.

The galley is bright and spacious for a racing yacht.

Its nice to see a well designed nav station on the Redline 41

The Redline 41 is going to be a fast and fun boat to sail. As for cruising, its easy to envision spending a week at the island, on a mooring. People passing by will inevitably slow down and admire it, ask what she is and comment on what a beautiful boat she is. Its harder to envision this boat spending a month cruising in more remote areas where good ground tackle, sun protection and shallower draft are important. Its a racing yacht that can be cruised. As I mentioned earlier, I will be surprised if this boat isnt a huge success and a worthy successor to the legendary boats that C&C produced in its heyday.

Dehler 41 Review

About a year ago, when we were still searching for a new boat, I came across a beautiful 2005 Dehler 41 on Yachtworld. It had all the right gear and was well priced, but it had a teak deck and a couple of other features that made it unsuitable for us. But that is not to say that it was not a good boat. Quite the contrary, it was a fine cruiser/racer and we came close to making a bid on it in spite of all that teak.

Fast forward to February 2013...Ive been eagerly anticipating the unveiling of Dehlers new 38 here in the States but not surprisingly, its running a bit late. So while were waiting for the new boat I thought it would be fun to take a look at the latest version of Dehlers 41 footer. The Dehler marque is not as well known on this side of the Atlantic as other German names such as Hanse and Bavaria, but the company has a long and admirable history of producing high quality boats for both cruising and racing. Unfortunately, Dehler, like many other sailboat manufacturers in the last decade, had a close encounter with oblivion, but was rescued by the Hanse Group. This German boatbuilding conglomerate owns the Moody line of yachts as well.

Back in the 1980s and 90s Dehler worked closely with the E. G. Van De Stadt design firm and produced such IOR classics as the DB1 and the Sprinta Sport, which some 35 years on is still going strong as a one design class in Europe.

DB1 Circa 1980.  A well balanced IOR design

For the Dehler 41, the builder turned to the firm of Judel/Vrolijk. Americas Cup aficionados may recall that Rolf Vrolijk was the chief designer for the winning 2003 Alinghi team. Friedrich "Fietje" Judel, the other half of the design team recently retired from active involvement in the office, but the J/V firm continues to produce extremely fast and good looking designs. Okay, enough history, lets take a look at the new 41.

Sleek lines and no chines

The D41 fits into that very competitive market segment that includes the Jeanneau 409, the Beneteau First 40, Elan 400 and others. With a Displacement/Length ratio of 152 and a Sail Area/Displacement ratio of 22.85 we can call this boat a medium-light and moderately high powered cruiser/racer. But the numbers dont exactly tell the whole story. Lets take a look at the drawings and photos of the boat to get a fuller understanding of the performance potential of the D41. Notice the plumb bow and longish stern overhang in the drawing above, then take a look at the proportions of the stern in the photo below.

Dehler 41. Notice the very powerful stern sections. 

Those powerful aft sections add about three feet of waterline length and change the D/L ratio to a much more competitive 125. Then notice the mainsheet traveler on the cockpit sole and the removable transom door. Add the deep keel with nearly eight feet of draft and suddenly the Dehler 41 looks like a dangerous competitor on the race course.

D41 Deckplan. Clean lines, spacious cockpit, conventional ergonomics.

Looking more closely at the deck, notice that the chainplates are located nearly at the sheer. This dictates non-overlapping headsails for upwind work. Again, this is something we find mostly on race boats but it also makes good sense on cruising yachts. The aft winches on the cockpit coaming are dedicated to the mainsheet. This boat is equipped with what is referred to as the German or Admirals Cup mainsheet system. It leads from the traveler up through the boom, then down to the deck from the gooseneck fitting and back aft under the deck to the winches. De riguer on grand prix racing yachts for years, this system is becoming increasingly popular among the racer/cruisers as well. In the plan view the cockpit coamings look rather hard-edged but in reality they are artfully shaped and look like a reasonably comfortable place to sit if youre steering or trimming a sheet on race day.

This is a nice racing cockpit, but what about cruising? The wide open transom, which is lightweight and functional, isnt necessarily the best thing for cruising, so Dehler compensated by incorporating a "tailgate". Im not a fan of this arrangement because for cruisers there are ever so many reasons to step out on the transom while at anchor, in a marina or under way, and raising, lowering and generally fiddling with that thing is inconvenient at best. In my opinion a better solution would have been to extend the transom a bit and forego the tailgate. I also question the angle of the cockpit seats. They are angled aft about nine degrees. This is totally acceptable for racing because the crew will be on the rail most of the time and the trimmers will be perched on those comfortable coamings instead of on the seats. But lets say youre cruising and the crew consists of yourself and another person. When you are on watch youre likely to be sitting on those cockpit seats twisting your neck to see forward as your vessel plunges through the night toward your destination. In such conditions I think seats that are parallel to the centerline of the boat would be more comfortable. This is a small point in the overall scheme of things, but its these details that separate a great cruising boat from a good one. On the other hand, notice that the halyard winches are on the cabin top and there is plenty of room between the helm, the mainsheet winches and the jib sheet winches. The D41 will be a more efficient boat to sail than those that have the halyards and control lines led aft, either inside or on top of the coamings to someplace near the helm.

Going below, Dehler offers a wide range of variations in the accommodations. On their web site I scrolled down until I found the one that works best for me. I recommend that you visit www.dehler.com and do the same thing. There is enough variety there to please almost everyone. Anyway, I chose the version pictured below. It offers two cabins, a relatively large galley and a single spacious head.

The Dehler 41 offers excellent accommodations for the cruising couple.

Beginning in the forward cabin, the V-berth is of modest but adequate dimensions, leaving plenty of space for a comfortable seat and a large locker. Aft of the main bulkhead we find a conventional main salon, with a "U"-shaped dinette to starboard and large settee to port that incorporates a nav table. Aft of the navigators seat is the head, which incorporates a spacious shower. This will be much appreciated by those who cruise aboard this boat. The galley is of reasonable proportions and aft of it is a spacious quarter cabin. The boat is blessed with lots of storage capacity aft of the head and in the very large lazarette area. To me, the clean, simple styling of the Dehler 41 is evocative of a modern, or perhaps post-modern version of  the Bauhaus school of design. Straight lines, pure functionality and simplicity of form all work together in the styling of this boat.

I think Gropius or Mies van der Rohe would approve of the D41s styling.

This stylistic approach may not work for everyone, and I have criticized the Hanse 415 for being a bit too squarish for my taste, but I have to respect the quality of design in these accommodations. The same can be said of the deck design, with its softly curving coamings in contrast with the harder edges of the rest of the cockpit, and the sleek yet functional proportions of the cabin trunk.They all strike a nice aesthetic and functional balance that appeals to me.

Simple elegance combined with impressive performance potential in the D41

When I began to study the Dehler 41 I was prepared to find it unappealing, as I did the Hanse 415, but I think the designers and builder got it right on this boat. It is clearly a fast and powerful vessel, no question about that. But more than that, they found the right balance of form, function and performance. As I studied the photos and drawings of this boat, I got the sense that the D41 isnt a wolf in sheeps clothing, its more of a wolf in wolfs clothing. I like this boat!

Leaving LA

Big ships at the Evergreen dock.

The USS Iowa is a huge attraction 

Finisterra passed through Angels Gate for the last time just before noon on Monday, November 3rd. The wind was very light and we motored over a flat sea to Two Harbors where we secured a mooring on the west side of the cove. We spent the next couple of days hiking and relaxing after a long four months in the California Yacht Marina. It was always interesting to see and hear the ships coming and going from the deck of our boat, but it was ever so nice to have all our work projects completed, and the prospect of another voyage south to warm and welcoming Mexico just ahead.

While at the Isthmus we took time to vote

On Wednesday we sailed a few miles down the coast to Avalon. Here weve been been enjoying the town and relaxing. Yesterday we took the Zip Line Tour, which was a lot of fun. It starts on a hillside above Descanso Bay and in five legs drops about 550 feet, traversing the ravine behind the bay.

Geared up for the Zip Line

Tomorrow well leave early in the morning for San Diego, where well stay a few days to do some last minute provisioning and hang out with friends.

Finisterras New Canvas

Before we bought Finisterra it was named "The Cats Meow". The previous owner had proudly applied that name in eight inch tall letters on each side of the hull.  And just to make sure there was no mistaking the name of the boat, he had lots of cats paws applied to the hull in strategic locations on the bow, around the name and across the transom. The boat looked like a big cat had walked up the bow, along the sides of the hull and across the transom before disappearing back into a surrealistic cat dream. It really did look like a cat lovers dream boat.  It only took me a couple of days of sitting in the sun with a heat gun and putty knife to get the name and all those cat prints off.

The dodger and bimini on The Cats Meow were a faded shade of green and were at the end of their useful life when we bought the boat. I like the color green, and I like cats.  But I cant say I like green cats or green dodgers, so the day we bought her we knew wed soon replace the green with new cadet gray canvas. The job is just about complete and we are quite pleased with it.

New Dodger

Its always an interesting experience to design a dodger for a boat. In this case, the stainless steel framework was already installed and was in good condition. The challenge was to use the existing frame to redesign the dodger so it meets our specific needs. I like to be able to see over the dodger from the helm and Lisa doesnt like to have to duck under it. Since Im about seven inches taller than her I was able to adjust the height to accommodate us perfectly. This involved lowering it about three inches by cutting a little off the frames and adjusting the angles of them a bit.

I think most of the dodgers I see around my marina are too tall and clunky looking, which is surprising since virtually all dodgers are custom made. I am also of the opinion that most of the time, the person who designs the dodger gives little consideration to the aesthetic effect of the dodger on the overall look of the boat. I understand that their primary purpose is to provide protection from wind and spray but Im not prepared to sacrifice style for the minimal added protection of a taller dodger. So, perfectionist that I am, I took dimensions and photographs and made CAD drawings of the whole thing superimposed on the profile of the boat and puttered around with it until I was satisfied with it. Then I adjusted the angles of the frames this way and that until I had it all just so. When all that was done, I passed this information on to Dan at Harbor Custom Canvas in Long Beach and he, being a master dodger builder, converted it into reality. We had them build the dodger on our last boat and found their workmanship and service to be excellent in all respects then, and they did another outstanding job on the Finisterra.

Lots of Strataglass for good visibility, a full length grab rail and a zippered roll-up section amidships

I chose Strataglass over vinyl because it doesnt wrinkle, its very clear and its durable. Strataglass is also flexible enough to allow for the roll-up center section, which is very valuable in the tropics. Notice that the corners of the glass are radiused instead of sharp. I like the look of this design better and as an engineer and designer, I have always associated sharp corners with stress risers.

New bimini

Our boat came with a bimini mounted to the stern pulpits. The original was about four inches higher than the new one. My goals in lowering it were threefold.  A lower bimini is structurally more stable, presents less windage and is better looking. It actually provides more shade than the old one because it is about four inches longer and the low height helps put the shade where its needed instead of off to one side or the other when the sun is at an angle instead of directly overhead, which is virtually all the time.

We had snaps fitted to the sides and back, and a zipper on the forward side. These are for side curtains and a filler piece that connects the dodger to the bimini and provides shade over the entire cockpit. The side curtains will be made of polypropylene mesh and will attach to the top rails of the pulpits and lifelines. The mesh is fairly see-through and lets the breeze pass through as well.

This view gives a sense of the proportions of the dodger and bimini

Dodger + filler + bimini = comfortable cockpit

Notice that the bimini extends the full width of Finisterras ample stern. The extra shade this provides becomes more important south of the Tropic of Cancer. It isnt visible in any of the photos but I had Dan weld a grab rail onto the aft side of the bimini similar to the one on the dodger. Its fairly handy as a grab rail, but its the perfect place to put the solar panels. On our last boat I mounted them on the aft end of the bimini and made them adjustable so that I could angle them toward the sun. Thats the next project I have planned for Finisterra.

Salona 41 Review

I first noticed the Salona 41 a couple of years ago when we were still searching for a new boat. Salona Yachts is located in Split, Croatia. As the American sailboat industry has declined in recent years, eastern European countries have developed a strong presence in the sailing industry and Salona Yachts is a good example of why this has occurred. They build solid, well engineered boats that look good and offer excellent performance. The Salona 41 was designed by J&J Design, which is part of the Seaway group of companies. Over the last twenty years J&J has created an enviable portfolio of designs, including most of the Salona boats.

Sensible keel and large rudder on the 41.

In studying the sailplan and photos, I was impressed by the conservative approach to the hullform. We don t have the lines plan for this hull but based on the photos and drawings, it appears that the longitudinal centers of flotation and gravity are somewhere near the aft end of the hull/keel joint, roughly at the deepest part of the hull in the drawing above. This indicates that the bow sections are finer than a typical cruising yacht but not extreme, and the stern is pulled in a bit compared to many new designs in which the beam at the stern is nearly as wide as the beam amidships. This boat will have good manners even when pressed hard. With a displacement of 16,424 pounds on a 37.56 waterline, the displacement length (D/L) ratio is 138, which might be a bit light for an all-out cruiser of this length but is about right for a racer/cruiser. I like the big, aft-swept keel. It isnt as hydrodynamically efficient as a vertical fin and bulb but it will shed kelp and is, in my opinion, the best solution for a performance cruising yacht. Salona offers four different keels of 5.74, 6.56, 7.38 and 8.79 draft on the 41. For cruising in most parts of the world Id choose the 6.56 version. But for racing on the west coast, the deep keel would be my choice.

In cruising mode, the 41 shows off her  clean lines.

I like the rig on this boat. The chainplates are located a foot or so inboard from the sheer, making it possible to run overlapping jibs but Im not sure they are far enough inboard to allow the tight sheeting angles needed for racing. For cruising, the large rig, with a sail area/displacement ratio (SA/D) of 22.2 means you can leave the genoa home and cruise with nothing bigger than about a 105% jib and a cruising kite. The mainsail is set up with an Admirals Cup style mainsheet that is led aft on the boom and down to a traveler located on the cockpit sole. This is an efficient arrangement but most cruising sailors accustomed to the traveler on the cabin top or even on an arch will find that it takes some getting used to. Notice the stackpack mainsail. Salona has wisely chosen not to install a roller furling mainsail on the 41.

Sleek deck lines, twin wheels and no chines. Notice the short bowsprit on this boat. Youll want one if you plan to do any cruising on your S41. It will keep the anchor chain from rubbing the gelcoat off the bow.

I like the wide open cockpit with the traveler recessed into the sole. 

The cockpit is well designed for racing and cruising. The coamings are wide enough to sit on and the seats are long enough for lounging, yet neither would hamper a racing crew. A large and uncluttered cockpit is essential for quick boathandling in racing situations, and is just as important for cruising. After living aboard for a month or so, youll appreciate every square inch of space in the cockpit.

Two cabin version works best for a cruising couple. 

The boat can be configured with two or three cabins and one or two heads. For cruising I would choose the two cabin, single head version. The forward cabin is large and incorporates a good sized berth, two hanging lockers, a seat and plenty of open space. This kind of space gets important quickly for liveaboard cruisers. The main cabin is open and features a big enough galley and a big dropleaf table amidships. The accommodations plan above shows a forward facing nav station, but the photo below shows the three cabin layout with an outboard facing table with a stool instead of a seat. I would demand the configuration shown above. Those little round stools are great for the local pub, not so good for working at the chart table, especially underway.

The three cabin version, shown here, is okay but the two  cabin version is ideal for a cruising couple.

I like the fact that the builder chose a basic, straightforward interior design, without gimmicky features like angled bulkheads and foldaway tables. This is a comfortable and useful interior plan that will wear well over the long term. If you visit the Salona web site, where all of the photos I used here came from, you can see 360 degree views of all the interior plans.

Salona uses vacuum infusion technology to fabricate the hull, deck and other fiberglass parts of their boats. This process results in light, strong parts and minimizes styrene emissions into the atmosphere, which is important for the health of the people who build the boats, and good for the environment. They also incorporate a structural steel grid in the hull to accommodate keel and rig loads. This is not the easiest or least expensive way to build boats, but ensures they will be strong, light and stiff for years to come.

Overall I give the Salona high marks for design and construction. The boat will be fast enough to be a lot of fun to race, yet has enough cruising amenities to make life aboard quite comfortable. Its a good looking boat that avoids extremes and faddish design elements. The nearly vertical transom lacks a swim step, which would be desirable for cruising, but other than that minor point, this boat is ready to go racing or cruising.

Finisterra Update

In the last couple of months weve been sailing the boat quite a bit. The stackpack system works well. Its different from typical systems in that when were sailing it can be rolled up and secured along the boom instead of staying deployed. Its a bit more work to roll it up but I much prefer the sail unfettered by the bag and lazy jacks.

Slick stackpack contains the full battened mainsail

Awhile back I mentioned that the autopilot was not working properly. After searching the Internet for ideas on how to fix it, I removed the linear drive and rebuilt it, then reinstalled it, confident that Id solved the problem. But I was wrong. So Ive ordered a new drive which should arrive next week.

The boat came with funky pleated cloth curtains on all the portlights. I suppose theyre stylish in a 1990s sort of way, but they are eight years old and at the end of their useful life. We really liked the OceanAir shades we had on the Honcho so we ordered a set from Defender and installed them last week. These shades block out 100% of the sunlight and are good looking.

One thing Ive wanted to change since we got the boat was to upgrade the ground tackle system. The original equipment included a 40 LB Bruce anchor, 40 feet of 3/8" BBB chain and 150 feet of nylon rode. The new system includes a 55 LB Rocna anchor, 200 feet of 5/16" G40 chain and 150 feet of nylon rode. This requires changing the chain gypsy on the windlass. To do that, I had to remove the windlass. This is a simple matter of four bolts. When I got it out of the boat I discovered a lot of corrosion around the base of the unit. Ive noticed that the shelf in the anchor locker where the windlass is mounted is often wet, either with seawater or fresh, so its no wonder the aluminum housing of the windlass is corroded. When I re-install the unit Ill make a mounting plate out of 1/2" StarBoard to raise it up so that it never sits in water.

My winter project is to go through the exterior canvas on the boat. Ill lower the dodger by an inch or two, make some changes to the bimini and have side curtains made for it. Ill also set it up to mount solar panels to it. 

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 41 DS

DS 41: New Look from Jeanneau

Recently Ive been looking at the new Sun Odyssey DS line of cruising yachts and had a chance to go aboard one of these uniquely styled boats at a recent boat show. In reviewing this design Ill start with the overall proportions of the boat because we can learn a lot about a boats sailing qualities just by assessing the juxtaposition of the keel, rig and hull volumes. Boats can be beautiful or not, but I think boats that perform well are always better looking than those that dont, regardless of dimensions and coefficients. In the profile view above, notice the relationships between the hull, keel and rig. The nearly vertical leading edge of the keel is slightly forward of the mast.  On the deckplan youll see that there is a jib traveler also just forward of the mast along with a pair of jib tracks just aft of it, with the shrouds led to chainplates that are located almost at the gunwales. All of this dictates that the 41DS will carry small headsails, while the mainsail shown in the photos is a good looking fully battened and lazy-jacked unit with lots of power. This arrangement looks to me like it will generate a good deal of weather helm, so itll be interesting to take this boat out for a test sail.

Beamy and full ended, the DS 41 offers plenty of room below, but how does she sail?

In studying the shape of the hull, I see that Jeanneau has embraced the current fad of chines from about station 6 to the transom. This may add a bit of visual interest to this hull but wont appreciably affect its performance. I would call this a chubby boat in which accommodations were perhaps more important to the builder than speed. The rudder is deep and powerful and will be appreciated when the boat is on a reach.

I think the DS 41s deck is a bold, even audacious, design. The height and bulk of cabin trunk is visually mitigated by the clever use of smoked plexiglass windows and molded-in steps aft. With the jib tracks mounted on the cabin top, side decks are uncluttered, making fore and aft movement easy. The cockpit coamings are an extension of the roofline of the cabin trunk, curving downward to a point just forward of the helm station. I leave it to you to judge the aesthetics of this design, but I will say that I found the slope of these coamings to be uncomfortable for sitting. Of course there are seats aplenty in the cockpit, but I still think the coamings should be more than just styling points. While Im on the subject of the coamings Ill mention the winches. I appreciate that they are conveniently located for the helmsman, and that they are electric (at least on the boat I was aboard). But the location of them means that under sail, the helmsman is going to be very busy at times managing the sheets and other controls that are led to this pair of winches. Given their location, there is no good way to get any real leverage to pull on any of the lines that are led to them and the crew who jumps in to help will likely be a distraction for the helmsman. The mainsail is controlled by a German style sheet system without a traveler. Were seeing this arrangement on many new designs and I think it is an inexpensive alternative, but I prefer to  have a traveler.

Twin wheels are really a requirement on the 41DS because of the very wide stern of this boat. They enable the helmsman to sit well outboard so he or she can see the jib teltales, and they have the added benefit of making access to the swim step easy. I really like the swiveling instrument pod on the aft end of the cockpit table. Im not sure how far it swivels but Id like it to go far enough so that I could sit in the cockpit and see all the data. The cockpit is large and will be a fun place to congregate when the boat is on the hook.

Going below, you can see the benefits of that buxom hull. The wide open spaces, light colors and natural light from the plethora of hatches and ports make the 41DS a very inviting boat. More so when at anchor than at sea.

Condo-like accommodations

The DS designation stands for Deck Salon and, combined with the tallish cabin trunk, the cockpit sole is raised far enough to create a massive aft cabin with sitting headroom above the centerline berth. I think this arrangement is going to be a huge selling point for the DS 41 among buyers whose sailing ambitions are oriented more toward weekends at the island than passagemaking, which is the vast majority of sailors these days. The galley is reasonable for a boat of this size. The sinks are a bit smaller than I would like but still usable.  Opposite the galley is a large head with the shower integrated into it. There is lots of counter space and storage room here. The main cabin incorporates a large and deep dinette to starboard and a short settee to port.

Large chart table, plenty of light and even a wine locker...very French.

I like the large chart table. That enormous monitor can display all the ships data, including navigation, radar, wind, etc. as well as movies. I like this new technology, but whats missing is a good sea berth. Forward of the main bulkhead is a private cabin with ensuite head, plenty of room and lots of light. Once again, this will be an inviting place to hang out when the boat is at anchor.

Dining table converts to coffee table.

The Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 41DS represents a growing trend in the sailboat market. Except for racing enthusiasts, sailors want a roomy, comfortable place to spend time with their families. They want reasonably good performance but not at the cost of comfort. I think the 41DS fulfills these requirements very well. I would add that given these harsh economic times, which are even more so for sailboat builders, providing for the needs of their customers at a cost they can afford is an extremely difficult proposition. Synthetics are replacing wood, square corners and modular structures are replacing handcrafted interiors, and closed molding is the method of choice for making fiberglass parts. The result is boats that are strong, lightweight and have the aura of styling by IKEA. This can be a good thing if your yachting taste runs in that direction.