St. Francis 50: "Wayfinder"

[Wakey]

My mistake on the rounded seat backs.. Originally they were rounded, you changed them to a squared back for comfort while underway...


Posted from my buggy iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum app

[Heath68]

Great looking boat Hugh, can't wait to see it finished. They seem to have made many changes to it, no wonder they're considering making it Mk2. Do you know what impact the changes have had on the overall weight?

[EllisElectric]

Are rudder stops installed on the St Francis 50? If so can you show picture of steering system?

[EllisElectric]

Another question posted earlier dealt with seeing light through the hull deck joint. So I'm interest in the sealing procedure and design of the hull-to-deck connection.

[Hugh Howey]

Originally Posted by Heath68

Great looking boat Hugh, can't wait to see it finished. They seem to have made many changes to it, no wonder they're considering making it Mk2. Do you know what impact the changes have had on the overall weight?

This is a great question, about the weight. My guess is that this boat will be slightly heavier than their previous hull. Some pluses and minuses:

• I went with Lithium Ion batteries, which are much lighter than lead / gel cell. But then I went with many more amp hours, so this might be a wash.

• The DC generator is quite a bit lighter than the regular AC genset. So some weight savings here.

• 24V power means thinner gauge copper wiring throughout, which probably saves quite a few pounds.

• This hull has a hand-laid deck. Future hulls might be infused (not sure if hull #2 or #3 will get this. That will make future boats slightly lighter than mine.

• The davit crane is probably 200 pounds. The in-boom system I'm not using was probably 100 - 120 pounds. So slightly heavier here.

• I'm going with a 13' dinghy. It's aluminum, which saves some weight, but total heft on this thing will probably be 800 lbs. That's quite a lot. But worth every pound in my opinion.

I can't think of any more serious weight additions or subtractions. The last hull from the Mark 1 line has the same dinghy / outboard that I do. So comparing between those two boats, I'd say my boat is less than 200 pounds heavier. Might not even be that much. I'm also making all my guesses in the direction of heavy, rather than be optimistic. For all I know, the genset and batteries make up for the davit, and this hull #1 of the Mark 2 line is the same weight or lighter than hull #18 of the Mark 1 line.

[Hugh Howey]

Originally Posted by EllisElectric

Are rudder stops installed on the St Francis 50? If so can you show picture of steering system?

Yeah, I'll try and get photos for you.

Originally Posted by EllisElectric

Another question posted earlier dealt with seeing light through the hull deck joint. So I'm interest in the sealing procedure and design of the hull-to-deck connection.

I can get more details on that. The joint gets glassed and bolted together. I have no concerns about this joint. I've been on a SF 50 in rough seas, and she was stiff as a board. These things are made not far from the Cape of Good Hope, and they're built to sail in the southern ocean. Even though they are swift (200 nm days are common, from the two delivery skippers I've talked to), they aren't made to be racers at the expense of strength. It's a great balance between the two.

[monte]

Hugh, I hope you can give us some technical performance data during the maiden voyage. Some statistics of wind speed, boat speed, point of sail etc would be interesting to see. Hopefully you will have mostly following wind and seas on the trip over. What's re your plans for downwind sails? Twin headsails/spinnaker/parasailor ? Hopefully catch up with you for a if you stop over in Grenada en route.

[Hugh Howey]

Originally Posted by monte

Hugh, I hope you can give us some technical performance data during the maiden voyage. Some statistics of wind speed, boat speed, point of sail etc would be interesting to see. Hopefully you will have mostly following wind and seas on the trip over. What's re your plans for downwind sails? Twin headsails/spinnaker/parasailor ? Hopefully catch up with you for a if you stop over in Grenada en route.

For sure. I'll be logging this for my own edification. I'll share everything I find.

Here's another walkthrough from earlier this week, with more of the interior put together. The flooring is so much better than I could've hoped.

https://youtu.be/WowuOqOUXmY

[gjorgensen]

Looks absolutely awesome! One question: What make and model DC generator did you pick?

[Hugh Howey]

Originally Posted by gjorgensen

Looks absolutely awesome! One question: What make and model DC generator did you pick?

Thanks!

The genset:

Fischer Panda AGT6000 (6kw)

PDF: http://fischerpanda.com/marine-pdf/AGT6000-DC.pdf

[Rugger]

Hi Hugh,

Congrats on Wayfinder! As all boat owners know, you are soon to have one of the happiest days of your life . I hope to put my order in in the next year. My layout discussions will definitely be based on what you’ve done with Wayfinder.

Love the DC generator idea and would love to know more. IIRC, you have 2 aircon units, as will I. Will the charger and generator keep up with the aircon’s draw on the battery bank?

I’m sure it will, as I’m just wondering how its set up.

Also, with a semi painless modification, shouldn’t your setup make it a little easier to use either 50hz or 60hz shore power? You’d just need 2 different battery chargers in that case, right?

I plan to have a pretty extensive electrical system which is why i’m asking all this.

Thanks!

-tom

[Hugh Howey]

Originally Posted by Rugger

Hi Hugh,

Congrats on Wayfinder! As all boat owners know, you are soon to have one of the happiest days of your life . I hope to put my order in in the next year. My layout discussions will definitely be based on what you’ve done with Wayfinder.

Love the DC generator idea and would love to know more. IIRC, you have 2 aircon units, as will I. Will the charger and generator keep up with the aircon’s draw on the battery bank?

I’m sure it will, as I’m just wondering how its set up.

Also, with a semi painless modification, shouldn’t your setup make it a little easier to use either 50hz or 60hz shore power? You’d just need 2 different battery chargers in that case, right?

I plan to have a pretty extensive electrical system which is why i’m asking all this.

Thanks!

-tom

You can use a battery charger that takes both 50 and 60hz. They're becoming more common. Most have a range of like 45hz to 65hz, to cover the spread. The DC output then keeps the batteries topped, and you run your appliances off the inverter, so your appliances and outlets all output 60hz.

Charger and genset will keep up with the aircons, but so will the solar panels. You don't even need the genset. I've got 2kw worth of solar going on the roof, and on days when you need the aircon, the solar is probably pumping out a lot of energy.

I've been on a lot of sailing cats over the years, mostly as a delivery skipper. I can tell you that this interior layout is the most functional I've ever seen. I'd copy it to a T if I were you. Tell Duncan you want a Wayfinder Special. I'll make him give me a kickback.

(I swear they should be paying me consultation fees for many of these changes. They've incorporated several of them into the mold already, so all future boats are going to come out looking like mine. Except I had to pay for the modifications; you lucky sods will get them for free!)

[salticrak]

She is a lovely thing mate.

[Rugger]

Originally Posted by Hugh Howey

You can use a battery charger that takes both 50 and 60hz. They're becoming more common. Most have a range of like 45hz to 65hz, to cover the spread. The DC output then keeps the batteries topped, and you run your appliances off the inverter, so your appliances and outlets all output 60hz.

Charger and genset will keep up with the aircons, but so will the solar panels. You don't even need the genset. I've got 2kw worth of solar going on the roof, and on days when you need the aircon, the solar is probably pumping out a lot of energy.

I've been on a lot of sailing cats over the years, mostly as a delivery skipper. I can tell you that this interior layout is the most functional I've ever seen. I'd copy it to a T if I were you. Tell Duncan you want a Wayfinder Special. I'll make him give me a kickback.

(I swear they should be paying me consultation fees for many of these changes. They've incorporated several of them into the mold already, so all future boats are going to come out looking like mine. Except I had to pay for the modifications; you lucky sods will get them for free!)

With the exception of an office aft in the Master suite, I plan to order a near copy of Wayfinder.

I'm wondering how a battery bank will handle a small dive compressor. Thoughts?

I also plan on an aluminum 13 ft dinghy. I dove out of one in Australia years ago. Definitely the way to go. Which one did you go with?

Duncan mentioned to me to keep that weight to 600lbs a couple weeks ago. Your 800lbs seems more like what i'd need capacity for. Cant wait to see pics of your davit system.

[Pelagic]

It is wonderful to follow a knowledgeable sailor from initial pipe dream, plumbed with endless research and the infectious strength of an owner's conviction that can inspire a great building team to both execute and improve on his custom ideas

That is what an Owner-Builder's relationship should be all about!

Thank you for sharing the birth of your 'pinchable moments' and I am convinced they will only get better!

Congratulations Hugh! :thumbup: