High-Tech Yacht, European Sport Car Flair

Boat designer Andrew Hawley brought this sailing yacht concept to our attention. The aim of the design , he says, is to give the boat a "the super slick European flair that you might see in a high performance sports car." It does look nice, but you tend to care less about looks when meeting 20 knot winds head on in the open sea. For this, a canting keel moves to helps to properly weight and position the boat as it tilts sideways (does this prevent the boat's from completely turning up on its side?). A self-draining cockpit, with a gradually sloping down form from bow to stern helps draining.

For more info., see the jump page.

Source: Andrew Hawley

Here's how Mr. Hawley describes the boat design:

1. Self-Draining Cockpit. to encourage easy drainage a very wet working area. Free of any hard edges (save blocks etc..) crew can stand or lie as they please to tame this beast.

2. Reverse bow.* With a lower bow profile and enabling control of all for'ard gear via controls at the mast there's a fair reduction on bow weight and windage, but still enough of a plumb section to enable effective wave piercing. Full bow sections and hull shape promote buoyancy, and the ability to stack weight aft on 'batwings' counter any nose-dive inclinations as the weather gets heavier.

3. Canting keel* system, now frequestly used on race yachts, enabling up to 30 degrees leverage, with an optional daggerboard forward of the mast (in close buoy racing the daggerboard can be entirely removed, the keel locked in central-state and instead using more crew to keep the boat upright)

4. Gimbaled Bulb*. Hydraulically controlled bulb pivot to counter the bulb's profile distortion caused by canting keel to windward.

5. 'Bat' Wings. * Promote more effective distribution and provide better working area for crew.(also working on a carbon frame version with mesh inserts. Ideal for heavier conditions to reduce potential weather side windage as well as leeward drag and possible hindrance to righting moment once submerged).

6. Stingray Sides.* The side profile has little functional value, other than providing more freeboard in the working areas of the yacht, especially midships. Other than that they're a design feature drawn from the classic cars of the 50/60's, illustrating the machines purpose in a physical sense - speed and style. This thing looks fast just tied up at the jetty, let alone fully powered up reaching.

The F140 is at concept / design stage at the moment. Versions under development include water ballast assistance as well as fixed keel for a leaner budget and a more conventional sister ship design for fast cruising that features much higher freeboard fore and aft, but carries the same basic hull profile.