Fastcar, she looks brilliant. No doubt it will be a huge challenge to keep the
displacement within the design specs, but even if you are able to keep it close she should be a rocket! I do have a couple of comments/questions, however:
1. Steps down into bridgedeck accomodation: I understand that the
cockpit sole here will be open to
permit drainage (and I assume that the door is designed to be watertight), but have you given any thought to sloping the raised portion of the
cockpit aft to improve drainage (and to divert it away from the entry well)? In addition, how high is the lip at the bottom of the door?
2. There does not appear to be any dedicated chart table/nav station with seating. Have you given any thought to reducing the size of the
galley and to installing a forward facing nav station to the port side of the settee? This is really all that is required in terms of forward visibility from below (and it permits an inside
steering station through use of a joystick for the autopilot). Some of the area along the port side of the
saloon could still be used for
galley storage as you would need only a narrow walkway in order to access the chart table. This would be particularly true if a swing out stool was employed.
I disagree with those who are proposing a
single head in this design as there does not appear to be any way to separate the sleeping area from the heads. In my experience, people still want some privacy in their staterooms/sleeping area and this achieves it by providing two separate staterooms, each with their own
head.
If there is adequate
headroom forward of the existing head compartments, I do believe that the standard layout would benefit from the addition of a separate
shower stall. It should add minimal weight but would be a huge plus in terms of convenience and
marketing.
The lack of a dedicated workbench? Obviously, you can only do some much within the design parameters of a true performance cat in this size range. An alternative would be to provide a small wooden workbench (perhaps with a removable vice) that could be installed on the table
pedestal in the cockpit. Realistically, there are few occasions when one will need an enclosed workbench and you will have much more space/ventilation when working on
deck.
Finally, have you given any thought to installing articulated, fold-down
aluminum steps rather than the
aluminum extrusion from the front of the bridgedeck to the forward cross-beam? Yes, it would add a little weight (albeit, only a little). But the length here appears adequate to provide steps down to (or close to) the bottom when beached, or anchored close to shore. I, for one, consider this to be a feature which truly takes advantage of the
shallow draft of a cat. The steps (or platform when not deployed) would also provide a wider area for access to the
furling gear/dolphin striker when underway. Finally, if it were removable, it could also be used from the aft
deck as a gangplank to shore when med-moored.
My final question concerns the
interior finish. Glued on vinyl is, of course, extremely light. On the other hand, it will eventually discolour and, as the glue (inevitably) breaks down, it will also sag. Are all of the
interior surfaces either removable
panels or moulded frp?
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to comment and make imput into the finishing touches of such an incredible concept/design.
Brad