FARR 37 - July 1982

 

This design evolved following interest from several yachtsmen in the Chesapeake Bay region for a very competitive Club racing yacht rating at the top end of Class B (28.4 IOR) with a clearly usable cruising interior and safe cockpit that is realistically a racer/cruiser with good resale prospects.

 

The design concept is of a yacht with moderate proportions of beam and displacement with very high sail area in relation to displacement and wetted surface to guarantee exceptional light air performance. In relation to the light displacement boats for which we are more widely known, this yacht is significantly heavier, slightly narrower and smaller in the aft sections - a more conservative approach to the Rule, but not extreme in the opposite direction as are many of today's heavy, beamy work horses.

 

There are not extreme rating features likely to be caught by future IOR Rule changes. The performance will come from carefully chosen basic proportions of length, beam, displacement distribution and sail plan, along with optimization of the rating measurement formulae without the use of Rule cheating gimmicks. The hull design carries DLF very slightly above 1.00, and the sail area incurs a minor SCF penalty.

 

Compared to similar IOR boats, the slightly narrower beam produces a more easily driven hull form which can attain higher speeds relative to its length and has less wetted surface area for light airs.

 

Our research for this design has convinced us that this approach produces higher all-round performance compared to rating than the present heavier, beamier forms. These proportions also produce a boat that will do well not only under IOR. They will work well with MHS and the design's refinement and good speed relative to size will ensure competitiveness under MHS and PHRF systems.

 

Construction will be carefully engineered and detailed in thick cored glass sandwich using sophisticated concepts and material to produce a very strong structure with no unnecessary weight in the ends to sap performance in sloppy sea conditions. We do not believe that, for this style of boat, super exotics are necessary, as the weight savings beyond a properly engineered glass structure are small and difficult to control, whilst the costs are significant.

 

The deck layout is clearly a compromise between racing and cruising. The long cockpit solves most racing considerations (and many cruising ones too) and while there are seats for cruising, the external coamings are low down to the deck for easy access while racing and comfortable seating on the weather deck.

 

The interior is designed to satisfy racing considerations and at the same time provide comfortable accommodation for short term cruising, with no pretense to being live aboard for long periods by large numbers of people.

 

Sail plan is straight-forward masthead rig with high aspect ratio and larger than normal mainsail which is proving to be faster as well as providing much better downwind control.

 

Overall, this is an attempt to produce a very competitive racing and cruising yacht that will also be a pleasure to sail in all conditions.