Introducing the St. Francis 50 mk II: Wayfinder

[Latchdaddy]

I spoke with Duncan today here in Annapolis and Hugh is at the SA show.


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[Wakey]

They started the crossing 2 days ago, headed for St. Helena.


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[Steve_C]

Its been strangely quiet on this thread for a while?

I was looking forward to some posts now that a few miles have been put under the keel. Has anyone heard anything?

[ptulp]

According to his facebook page he arrived at 26 Oct and left 27 Oct in the evening to Brasil.

[Kajali]

Hi all, I had the pleasure of meeting Hugh at the CT Boat Show and seeing Wayfinder first hand. Firstly, I say 'the pleasure' of meeting Hugh because he is an awesome, laid back person that is very helpful and accommodating. His enthusiasm is contagious.

As for Wayfinder, it is simply stunning. The finish is exceptionally well done. St Francis Marine can be proud of the quality of their workmanship. The changes that Hugh has had done plus the larger saloon windows are awesome. I could go on for a while telling you about it but the truth is it needs to be seen.

Hugh left CT around the 17/18th October. He reported on his FB page it took 9 days to St Helena. They are en route to Brazil now.

Nic


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[Kajali]

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[udyy]

I also had the pleasure of meeting Hugh in CT and sailing with him while commissioning the sails. Since I am in the market looking for a boat, I have traveled to South Africa in order to look at the SFR 50 and visit the factory. I did it since I find the Lavranos design of the SFR 50 appealing. It is an able cruiser with lot of space and good tank holding capacity. The weight distribution is correct in my eyes, as most of it is under the gravity center. It also offers very good protection at the helm station. The boat sails great, better than most of the standard boats I have tested (Leopard, Bali, FP, Maverick..), in par with others and a bit slower than the performance boats (Catana 47, Outremer 51). Probably the correct mix. Wayfinder is a great boat and I admire Hugh, being an experienced and able sailor, for knowing exactly what he wants and then staying near the builder, feet on the ground during most of the building process, ensuring that he gets it while refining the small details. I believe his positive attitude and direct relations with the fine team of SFR, made this project successful so far. As he wrote me from St. Helena he is very happy with the boat.
I was also glad to meet so many fine boat builders in South-Africa. Having refining my view after visiting their factories, looking at their processes, meeting with owners eye to eye and getting a feel for their client orientation there is a pretty good chance that i will by my boat there.

[udyy]

Wayfinder vs CT

[Wakey]

Thanks for the updates..


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[monte]

It looks like Hugh is enjoying the new boat, with an earlier than anticipated haulout in SMX. What kind of stupid shark tries to eat a boat!?

Apparently the 12' mako kind...

[Pelagic]

WOW!! !
That is unusual as it looks like some committed bites.

Must have been a tasty looking hull .

I would consider painting bottom a sea snake stripe if it happened again.

[TOT]

I would suggest it was a BIG shark!


SV TOT
Wayne 😃

[rajsach]

I would check what electrical equipment is mounted in the hull at the bite site . Sharks are electro sensitive fish and are attracted by certain electromagnetic fields/frequencies


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[abstract.profor]

Was thoroughly enjoying this thread as I am in the market for a similar vessel. Horrified to return to it now to find that it has not been updated since October 2015. Just did a quick Google and found Hugh's blog where he is indeed posting from the vessel in 2016 yet this thread is dormant. I am leaning towards a Leopard and am undecided, this thread and the development of this new model number custom to Hugh held me off progressing until further notice. While all gung ho from the get go I sneaking suspicion is that Hugh might have experienced a "Paul" episode with Duncan and St Francis? I can't think of any other reason for fleeing this thread right after launch and arrival at the destination where the hard questions might be posed? I really hope not. Quite bizarre in my view unless there is something in this thread itself that has put Hugh off from returning.

[BlueBuddha]

Originally Posted by abstract.profor

Was thoroughly enjoying this thread as I am in the market for a similar vessel. Horrified to return to it now to find that it has not been updated since October 2015. Just did a quick Google and found Hugh's blog where he is indeed posting from the vessel in 2016 yet this thread is dormant. I am leaning towards a Leopard and am undecided, this thread and the development of this new model number custom to Hugh held me off progressing until further notice. While all gung ho from the get go I sneaking suspicion is that Hugh might have experienced a "Paul" episode with Duncan and St Francis? I can't think of any other reason for fleeing this thread right after launch and arrival at the destination where the hard questions might be posed? I really hope not. Quite bizarre in my view unless there is something in this thread itself that has put Hugh off from returning.

Hugh is very active on Facebook. He seems to be having a great time but there is very little talk about the boat there too. You could PM him here or there to find out if indeed his views of the st Francis have changed.


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