The Death of the Ketch ?

[GaryMayo]

Originally Posted by kbudd

Nothing looks better than a ketch flying a mizzen staysail or a mule.

That is a spectacular sail arrangement. One of the nicest I have ever seen. Thank you for posting this.

[GaryMayo]

Originally Posted by zeehag

my favorite one

summer in mazatlan, 2011.

Nice salty lines!

[zeehag]

ty gary.... some of the newer sailing designs do not have the sweet sheers and sweet lines that used to be a part of ocean sailing--i love those lines--the formosa/ct/hardin have them...some of the more modern boat designs have sweet lines but not many. most have the flat, straight edge influence, which knocks off the beauty and grace of the boat.

[sailing_jack]

I heartily agree. The sweet sheer and lines is part of tbe draw for me.
But I have also sailed.tall ship, and while most have sweet lines, some are very utilitarian.

Btw, I showed that AMEL 64.video to my wife, and she had a good laugh.at all the excessive automated stuff.
She asked if I would be up to fixing it all in the middle of nowhere. I would rip it all out before.any serious cruise.

[bobconnie]

I agree with Zee on looks ! I wish I could find out how to add a pic of our almost new to us Ketch ! a little more traditional style then some of the above ! but I have admit we bought it for the size, the condition and the Price LOL Im glad our money brought us to our Ketch !! I do prefer them !

[GaryMayo]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

I agree with Zee on looks ! I wish I could find out how to add a pic of our almost new to us Ketch ! a little more traditional style then some of the above ! but I have admit we bought it for the size, the condition and the Price LOL Im glad our money brought us to our Ketch !! I do prefer them !

Do you have pics posted anywhere on the net? Facebook? Flickr? If you do, just right click on the pic, choose copy and paste it here in a post.

[rolandgilbert99]

Originally Posted by sailing_jack

I heartily agree. The sweet sheer and lines is part of tbe draw for me.
But I have also sailed.tall ship, and while most have sweet lines, some are very utilitarian.

Btw, I showed that AMEL 64.video to my wife, and she had a good laugh.at all the excessive automated stuff.
She asked if I would be up to fixing it all in the middle of nowhere. I would rip it all out before.any serious cruise.

I'll be the devil's advocate here, but when one can afford a Amel 64, one is not concerned by costs of repairs anywhere in the world, one will probably never open a tool box and will call satellite to Amel to fly a technician with parts asap.

[sailing_jack]

All I can say is more power to them.
But I live in a different world

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by rolandgilbert99

I'll be the devil's advocate here, but when one can afford a Amel 64, one is not concerned by costs of repairs anywhere in the world, one will probably never open a tool box and will call satellite to Amel to fly a technician with parts asap.

You either learn to fix it - as most of us do - or hire it done and you don't care. Our 58 Camper has a lot of powered do-dads (yup old guy) but the loads are so big and the sails so heavy that for two of us to run the boat we need powered assistance. Electric furlers, centerboard, windlass, winches and hand held battery powered winch drive. Everything can also be run manually and everything comes to the center cockpit. All instruments stand alone even in the network is gone, multiple spare GPS and plotters.

[rolandgilbert99]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

You either learn to fix it - as most of us do - or hire it done and you don't care. Our 58 Camper has a lot of powered do-dads (yup old guy) but the loads are so big and the sails so heavy that for two of us to run the boat we need powered assistance. Electric furlers, centerboard, windlass, winches and hand held battery powered winch drive. Everything can also be run manually and everything comes to the center cockpit. All instruments stand alone even in the network is gone, multiple spare GPS and plotters.

That's the way to go and personally I make a point to be able to fix every essential system on my boat, but it is always possible to find a challenge bigger than you and that's why professionals are there.

[Bermuda Forte]

I love my yawl. Although, sometimes I wish the mizzen was just a wee bit bigger. The aft of the rudder position is just the perfect spot for it (Ketch my drift?). Sailed 4 hrs with just jib & jigger Saturday hitting 7 knots with 20kts of breeze. Perfectly balanced helm. Terrific!

Capt'n Q
S/V Aquila

[Bali Hai]

I have an Amel and with each boat comes a full time mechanic and French maid who does the cooking. Unfortunately I dont speak French and have to fix the boat and cook myself which is really maintenence and part of the fun. The Amels are fantastic boats for offshore voyages. And extremely reliable. Most are ketchs. Frankly, day sailing a simply boat is fun, but serving up a frosty beverage long after your ice has melted, is awesome. Pushing buttons to unroll the main and jib is nice, but the best is rolling them up (reefing) without risking life and limb at the mast. I dont even get wet in my vinyl villa. And I dont miss putting on heavy offshore foulies, googles at times, to take the the 4 am watch in 30- 50 knot breezes. been there, done that to many times Its a new world with ipods, touch screen nav, AIS, etc. Love it. I agree with Roland.

[GaryMayo]

Originally Posted by Bermuda Forte

I love my yawl. Although, sometimes I wish the mizzen was just a wee bit bigger. The aft of the rudder position is just the perfect spot for it (Ketch my drift?). Sailed 4 hrs with just jib & jigger Saturday hitting 7 knots with 20kts of breeze. Perfectly balanced helm. Terrific!

Capt'n Q
S/V Aquila

My mizzen has a 6' boom and a 20' mast. I am changing that to a 10' boom and a 27.5' mast. The other sails are also going up in size. We are calm day sailors and the best thing for a calm day is lots of SF of sails.

[sailing_jack]

Being a lover of traditionally rigged boats, I have been toying with the idea of adding sail area by using gaff mainsail, and/or mizzen.
That would move center of effort aft, so I could compensate by lengthening the bowsprit to move the CE of the jib forward.

Anybody got an opinion on that idea?

[Tony B]

Originally Posted by sailing_jack

......, I have been toying with the idea of adding sail area by using gaff mainsail, and/or mizzen.
That would move center of effort aft, so I could compensate by lengthening the bowsprit to move the CE of the jib forward.

I am a firm believer in never changing the original design of the boat. You probably will spend money to make your boat less efficient. There are lots of optional sails for ketch rigs that are specifically designed for ketch rigs.
A mizzen staysail will give you more sail area and greatly increase light air performance. A mizzen staysail will also give you a traditional look while under sail. The from there, you still have more optional sails.