Fusion 40 Catamarans

[bruce allen]

Went to JERVIS BAY race late 07 finish 1st multihul home 2.45 hours tri 2rd about 3 hours and the 3 seawinds around 6 hour .the tri first on handcap in mult class. shellac 2rd ,shellac 6th to finish in fleet of 150 sports and keel boats , breeze 5 to 7 kts corse.,mostly work to wind and square return . 1160 seawind is slower than the 10 s .done lots miles on both,

[ireaney]

Hi Bruce, Nice to see you talking about Shellac, I have seen many pictures of her and heard great reports.
As you have probably seen I have a great interest in going for a Fusion 40 and be the first in the UK with one. I am currently waiting to see a finished boat in France just to confirm a few queries I have that can only be confirmed once I have climbed aboard.
I am not going to race mine but want a fast coastal/channel hopping cruiser, therefore I will not be loading her up with generators, A/C, surf boards, water makers, oversized engines, etc, I intend on using Dyneema for the rigging and lifelines, using light weight foam/epoxy for the interior fit out instead of Glass fibre or ply wood etc and keep her as light as is humanly possible without going over the top. I will probably go for a slightly taller than average rig but will have mini keels instead of dagger boards.
If you have the time I would love to have some pointers from you as to where you have saved weight, what deck equipment you are using, sail materials etc which is giving you the performance.
If you want to send me a private email please do via the site.
many thanks
Ian

[catty]

Bruce says.... "Went to JERVIS BAY race late 07 finish 1st multihull home 2.45 hours tri 2rd about 3 hours and the 3 seawinds around 6 hour .the tri first on handcap in mult class. shellac 2rd ,shellac 6th to finish in fleet of 150 sports and keel boats , breeze 5 to 7 kts corse.,mostly work to wind and square return . 1160 seawind is slower than the 10 s .done lots miles on both"



Thanks for the data points bruce. Its always nice to have some solid published data to show more of the picture.

From the jervis bay regatta web site one can see more of the story for the 3rd of nov 2007 race you entered . The average wind speed according to BOM was 7 knts. I see you were beaten home by a Farr 11.6 and a cavalier 395 (a fellow cruising boat). You did however manage to beat a buccaneer 24 (early 1970 design Late60s? ) by 3 minutes after almost 4 hours of sailing. Its difficult to be sure but I assume it was the 17.2 nm round the bay course which gives you an average speed of a little over 4 knts. Pretty good considering the light breeze.

Did the breeze lighten off latter in the afternoon? which would account for the apparent slowness of the standard rigged seawinds.

[44'cruisingcat]

For anyone interested in a Fusion 40 kit: I just received an e-mail from the cat factory saying that the basic F40 kit in Aus has dropped in price by nearly $20,000 Au.

This is due to them now being manufactured in Thailand instead of Aus.

[ldrhawke]

The first Fusion 40 to be built in the US is presently docked where I live in St. Augustine, under going some repair work. It was the boat that was supposed to be at the Miami boat show but the builder in Sarasota, Fl missed the schedule. I think that is why Fusion pulled the dealer ship from them and are presently looking for builders in the US.

From a looks and style view point I think the Fusion 40 is one of the nicest looking catamarans I have seen...slick and fast looking, like a sports car. I took a few photos and will be taking a bunch more for the owner to send back to the factory after the work is done and the boat is cleaned up.

The repair work was replacing all the wrap around cabin windows. The original installed windows had a lot of distortion, and the factory sent in glass windows to replace the acrylic. Glass is now an option. I would strongly favor glass over acrylic, the extra weight far out weighs the added life, scratch resistance, and clarity.

If any one is interested in the photos I placed them on my .mac gallery site.
.Mac Web Gallery

[Nordic cat]

Nice pics!

I am not so keen on the Australian style steering position,but have yet to actually try one. Maybe it's works better than one would think.

Can you tell me who makes the daggerboard winch? Looks like a nice solution.

Regards

Alan

[ldrhawke]

Originally Posted by Nordic cat

Nice pics!

I am not so keen on the Australian style steering position,but have yet to actually try one. Maybe it's works better than one would think.

Can you tell me who makes the daggerboard winch? Looks like a nice solution.

Regards

Alan

The 360 degree view of the boat thru all the windows is surprisingly good, and the position is well protected from sun and weather, where he had the wheel positioned. It's hard to see that fact in the photos.

I'm not sure who makes the winch, but I will get a close up photo with the name more clearly shown in the next photos.

The owner had to leave the boat and fly home to Canada in an emergency. The window removal and re-install should be finished by the time he gets back.

I only wish Fusion made a 45' to 50', which is the size boat I'm looking to buy. My favorite is still an Atlantic 48. I'm still considering the Fusion though and will meet with the factory man when he comes to the US in a few months to set up builders. I think this boat came in at about $450,000, which isn't bad for the quality of construction, which is 1/2 the price of having a new Atlantic 48 built.

Another cat builder I just discovered on the Web, Ballotta Catamarans , looks like a real bargain in comparison to both, but the company is just starting to build cats and looks like they have a lot to learn about building sail boats. I don't like the plastic laminate finishing inside or the use of carpeting, but that may be able to be changed. They are building Kelsall designs using an construction/assembly process similar to Fusion. They build a KSS-46' that cost less than the Fusion 40. I don't like the underside bumps of the KSS-46 for the bunks. It appears the 58' doesn't need them.

They will also sell assembled shells for owner build out. A KSS-46 shell is $80,000. They will even send a construction crew to your shed and build the boat for you. A few photos I've taken off their site on both the 46 and 58. I'm waiting for pricing on the 58'. Kelsall 58' and 46 under construction

[colemj]

The daggerboard winch is made by Antal

[ldrhawke]

I just finished taking this set of new Fusion photos.....including a close up of the daggerboard winches.

A very very nice cat. The owner has added a number of very unique and custom features.

]The centrally located power winch with all the mast halyards lead to a single location for single handed sailing. (like a Cantana)

A self tacking jib system.

A two wire electrical wiring system computer controlling all the switches.

A large swing up door to make for an easy access and open feel between read deck and cabin.

The guys you see working on the deck are replacing the acrylic cabin windows with glass. The glass looks super.

I published the Fusion here:
Fusion Gallery

[ireaney]

Great Pics, Thanks,

Ldrhawke, I am very interested in the F40 but if I build one I would try and keep it as light as possible, there appears to be lots of wood on Boomerang ie Doors etc, do you know if all the wood is purely laminated foam?
If so they have done a great job, I like the changes to the halyard arrangement like the Catanas and also the lifting door like the new Seawind.

[ldrhawke]

Originally Posted by ireaney

Great Pics, Thanks,

Ldrhawke, I am very interested in the F40 but if I build one I would try and keep it as light as possible, there appears to be lots of wood on Boomerang ie Doors etc, do you know if all the wood is purely laminated foam?
If so they have done a great job, I like the changes to the halyard arrangement like the Catanas and also the lifting door like the new Seawind.

I asked the same question. Light plywood was used. The owner priced doing all the interior laminated foam board and it was considerably more expensive. He didn't think the difference was worth the savings in weight and the money was better spent on other things on the boat.

As you can see by all the detail work, he was very involved in all the finishing stages and the purchase of all equipment for over a year. The builder contracted to build the boat became less involved because he said he was losing money.

[fastcat435]

A beautifully finished boat and a very nice entrance door. I wonder at what weight she came out , looking at the first picture of the transom shows she is a bit heavy compared with other pictures I have seen , My compliments for the workmanship.
Gideon

[ireaney]

Originally Posted by fastcat435

A beautifully finished boat and a very nice entrance door. I wonder at what weight she came out , looking at the first picture of the transom shows she is a bit heavy compared with other pictures I have seen , My compliments for the workmanship.
Gideon

Gideon, What is the weight difference per square metre of say light plywood (I assume 6 or 8mm) to say a similar strength laminated foam board (which I assume would be 10mm), as I too think it looked heavy.
Thanks Ian

[ldrhawke]

Originally Posted by fastcat435

A beautifully finished boat and a very nice entrance door. I wonder at what weight she came out , looking at the first picture of the transom shows she is a bit heavy compared with other pictures I have seen , My compliments for the workmanship.
Gideon

The owner is a life long multi-hull sailor and has owned a number of boats. He is well aware of the value of keeping it light. But, it is a live aboard cruiser with all the cabinets loaded ready to cruise.

It is probably sitting close to maximum load. One of the problems of cats 40' and is under is the greatly reduced load handling. It is probably sitting 2 to 3" deeper in the water than a new boat empty. The up side is you have a boat that you can raise the sails without power winches and it is easy to sail single handed.

Gideon, you should add the two wire electrical system to your boats that he used on Boomerang. A lot of heavy copper wire and excess weight is eliminated. There are several manufacturers of these very powerful and flexible electrical systems for boats.

[ireaney]

Originally Posted by ldrhawke

Gideon, you should add the two wire electrical system to your boats that he used on Boomerang. A lot of heavy copper wire and excess weight is eliminated. There are several manufacturers of these very powerful and flexible electrical systems for boats.

LdrHawke, do you kmow the make of the two wire electrical bus system he has used?
Thanks
Ian