karlfnz - designphilosophy

Design Philosophy

A brief discussion and forum on aspects of yacht design

Steel yachts can look great- what makes an attractive vessel is very much a personal opinion of course but my point is this, it takes the same amount of material to make a good looking yacht of 'simple' design as it does to make an unattractive one. When building with steel, modern methods of constant radius topsides, chines and bottom plating can result in a 'look' indistinguishable from any other material and does not require the labour intensive methods used in some designs, used to get a 'round bilge' look.

Your cruising liveaboard yacht should be safe and give you peace of mind - by using steel a degree of safety is assured as it is such a strong material and joins (welds) done correctly are 100% the strength of the parent metals. When the chips are down, I would rather be in a yacht made of no other material and there are experienced yachties everywhere who would testify to this. I once came across the story of a steel yacht owner who whilst on a circumnavigation, had a foot taken off the the beam of his yacht by ending up between a ferry and a wharf... he completed his circumnavigation! A person I came across amused me with his opinion and I think (when considering steel) he more than validated steel as a hull material by saying "I don't know about steel, when sailing the Pacific Islands, you often see them on reefs" Dennis Ganley was a good friend of mine and loved steel as a construction medium as well. "One inch of good weld" he unforgettably told me one day ''will withstand 10 tons of strain" Next on my list of preferred materials would be aluminum which can be lighter than steel for near equivalent strength. The attraction of not having to paint inside or out, above the boot top, is very attractive, however with a hull of alloy, great care has to be taken to apply the appropriate amount of anodes, make sure electrical systems are 'above earth' (don't use the hull) and that the bilges are kept free of any foreign metals, particularly the odd copper coin! Even if you take the above precautions and more, there is the situation and cases where alloy yachts are berthed beside steel yachts or in marinas where there are stray electrical currents in the water, giving the result of turning the hull into the sacrificial anode. This can result in a rapid loss of hull thickness and loss of the paint system. Great care should be taken when buying a steel or alloy hull and where possible, the internal hull examined carefully. I prefer to fit out yachts with removable panels, particularly in the bilge areas so regular inspection and cleaning can be carried out. Given the proper preparation, paint and periodical checks, there is no reason why a steel or alloy yacht hull can't last indefinitely.

A steel yacht can/should be quick- the Fuller 50 yacht I designed and built the hull for, just returned to NZ from Fiji and with ease, under the right conditions a 200NM day is par for the course the owners found. Above maybe 10 meters, a steel yacht need not be heavier than other moderate displacement vessels of similar size, made of different materials. My Fuller 60 yacht I designed, built , sailed and lived on, would often average 10 knots when I regularly sailed to Great Barrier Island from Whangarei. In every aspect of the hull design and construction, if attention is given to keeping the weight down, the total weight savings can be quite significant with no compromise of hull strength. I like to design yachts that make the most of a relatively long waterline and go to windward well. I am a proponent of feathering propellers. I would say a fixed bladed prop can create lets say 1/2 knot of drag and in 24hrs that equates to 12NM and on a 9 day sail to Tonga, it equates to over a 100NM or half a day earlier you could be there.

It should not cost too much - while spending time in Fitzroy Harbour at great Barrier Island designing the Fuller 50, I gave this some thought. I was a little dismayed when arriving in Tonga for the first time to see many yachties instead of enjoying the local highlights, where beginning the frustrating process of ordering the many parts for the items that broke down at sea and it has to be asked, "were they all really necessary and worth the cost in the first place?'" Personally, I don't require a yacht fitted out with 'high technology' and can see the appeal of the Junk Rig which should sail in many respects as well as a Bermudan rig, but not have all the highly stressed fittings, so notorious for failing when least expected or wanted. It is obvious why insurance companies require the periodical replacement of the stainless steel rigging wire. There is a place for the Bermudan rig of course and I prefer a yacht that will go well to windward as it makes for safety on a lee shore and less reliance on the 'diesel'. As Junk rigs are better understood and applied to hulls that make the most of a yacht being able to go to in windward, there is no reason why they should not go well to windward. Keeping the yacht simple in every aspect sometimes requires a little extra work on a day to day basis but given the choice of being out sailing or working for the luxuries that are 'thought' to make sailing more enjoyable, I would personally go for the 'out sailing' option any day. The very serious reality is that although some technology is labour saving, when it does go wrong it is usually when you need it most and under those circumstances as often the case has been, your vessel my become 'unworkable' and a hostile place for human life. It is then that more than any other time, the KISS principle applies and simple, often low cost, reliable, proven and easily fixed sailing equipment becomes an invaluable investment. Being airlifted off a yacht is not cheap!

Environmentally friendly Yachts? - It could be argued that choosing a yacht that is 'just big enough' for your requirements would be a good start "less is more'' when it comes to serving the needs of a better future. Of course what hull material you use (energy required to make it and recycling considerations), what fairing and paint system is applied, all contribute to environmental impact. Maintenance requirements over the long term should also be considered. Often quality materials will last longer and need less replacing. Energy used on a yacht like anywhere else humans exist is a major consideration. Even if you have a yacht that you are prepared to sail wherever and whenever possible, there are domestic requirements and with not a lot of extra cost or indeed no extra cost given the long term connotations, a lot can be done to reduce if not eliminate the need for reliance on fossil fuels. A simple example is as follows; with 4 decent solar panels and a reasonable battery bank, the owners of a Fuller 50 design lived on board for 3 weeks with their two children, running a small TV, a fridge/freezer and many other consumers without any other power input apart from gas cooking and water heating. Fitting solar panels to the yacht in a way that works with the yacht design should be considered right from the beginning rather than an afterthought as is so often the case. Of course as many as there are humans there are different opinions as to the needs for living on board. For example in many cases foot pumps can adequately pump water instead of a pressure pump and it saves water. LED lighting can be used as well as adequate hatches and ports to let light in. Cooking and heating water is the biggest challenge in being being able to capture enough energy from the environment around you. It is hard to go past gas for these two requirements but the technology (but not always the environment) exists to heat water and collect enough solar energy to do both. Once again if the energy systems are allowed for from the beginning of the design, if the energy is stored and used appropriately then it is all possible. I fully appreciate that for many people, a combination of systems can be the best answer. There are those who would rather sail the seas without a fossil burner on board and for those of you with and interested or need for this, it is a field I have researched and am more than happy to look at the options with or for you.

Feedback - I am very aware that all of the above topics and my opinions and experiences will mean different things to different people and their own valid opinions and experiences. As I don't consider myself a 'Guru' on any of the topics and I would certainly value any contributions that can assist us all in understanding how to have 'better' yachts. If you find the time and interest, I look forward to hearing from you and will add to this page with your help.

Wishing you safe, satisfying and rewarding sailing!