Beautiful yachts but..........

[Stemar]

Thank you

 

[fredrussell]

The boat builders I used to work for were specialists in 6 and 8 metre boats. I spent a fair few days long-boarding various examples. Absolute nightmare. Gorgeous things though.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Looking at a few yachts I came across these Spirit yachts, absolutely breathtaking and without doubt sail like the proverbial witch but could you comfortably live on one for an extended passage? The Spirit 111 seems totally impractical for anything but moderate conditions as far as venturing below or using the galley, the 65 DH seems a little better. I can only really imagine spending most of the time on deck or in the pilot house. I will leave aside the question of propulsion.

The Spirit 111 was, believe it or not, commissioned by a very rich gentleman as a day-sailer or weekender and was never intended for passage-making or bad weather.

The thing I actually like the least about the 65 is the vast expense of foredeck which is great in the sun but not what I want if I have to go forward to sort something out in a howling gale. I do like the way they haven't crammed in as many berths as possible and instead created one huge living space. How practical it would be on a long passage I don't know but it's a refreshing take for a boat that flits from place to place in the Med or Caribbean - it may work quite well then.

 

[Stemar]

If you want your perfect cruising boat and are prepared to pay the price and take your turn, I'm sure Spirit would be delighted to build it for you.

However, if I wanted a custom blue water boat, I'd be more inclined to talk to these people, and leave Spirit to build their fabulous day/weekenders

No, she isn't as drop dead gorgeous as a Spirit, but I suspect she'd stand up to the cruising lifestyle a lot better than all that lovely wood.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

She may not be all varnished wood, but nobody would call that boat ugly, would they.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

She may not be all varnished wood, but nobody would call that boat ugly, would they.

A vanilla boat several of the large builders build virtually identical ones.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

A vanilla boat several of the large builders build virtually identical ones.

As the owner of several non vanilla boats, I see that as much as anyone. Still, its not a bad looking boat, and it’s certainly a more practical proposition for cruising.

 

[Stemar]

I understand that they were designed by someone who couldn't find what he wanted in a blue water boat so he designed one, and enough people asked him that he went into business. Among his must-haves were, IIRC, a skeg-hung rudder, proper keel that's part of the hull structure, not a bolt-on afterthought whose attachment will damaged by a grounding, and enough displacement for a comfortable motion, but enough speed to get you places.

 

[doug748]

A vanilla boat several of the large builders build virtually identical ones.

As Stemar has pointed out, in terms of performance and build, the facts look rather different:


"Conceived as a true blue-water voyager, the Kraken 50 incorporates a host of features that set her apart from other cruising yachts:

One glance at the Kraken 50 tells you she’s unlike most modern production cruisers: you see no plumb stem, broad stern or twin rudders. There’s not even a bolt-on fin keel..

Features such as the Kraken’s raked stem, moderately proportioned stern, integral keel and single rudder on its full-length skeg are fundamental to the design... "

David Harding - Yachting Monthly.

.

 

[Tranona]

I understand that they were designed by someone who couldn't find what he wanted in a blue water boat so he designed one, and enough people asked him that he went into business. Among his must-haves were, IIRC, a skeg-hung rudder, proper keel that's part of the hull structure, not a bolt-on afterthought whose attachment will damaged by a grounding, and enough displacement for a comfortable motion, but enough speed to get you places.

Latest on a long line of similar stories. Most of them find that after selling a handful of boats, the next lot of punters say things like "love the boat - if only it were 4ft longer/shorter, had more/less draft, ketch/cutter/schooner rig" and so on the number of people who are actually in a position to pay that sort of money and whose "ideal" boat matches what is on offer is extremely small. Some designs hit the spot like the original Discovery 55 and run for several years, but they are few and far between and the builders usually fade away because they can't find a winning replacement.

 

[Tranona]

As Stemar has pointed out, in terms of performance and build, the facts look rather different:


"Conceived as a true blue-water voyager, the Kraken 50 incorporates a host of features that set her apart from other cruising yachts:

One glance at the Kraken 50 tells you she’s unlike most modern production cruisers: you see no plumb stem, broad stern or twin rudders. There’s not even a bolt-on fin keel..

Features such as the Kraken’s raked stem, moderately proportioned stern, integral keel and single rudder on its full-length skeg are fundamental to the design... "

David Harding - Yachting Monthly.

.

Bit of a Mandy Rice Davis quote. Of course it is different from "production" cruisers - but it is not in the same market and there have been many similar boats with those characteristics built over the years particularly in China (where this one is built), Taiwan and even Turkey, never mind the well established semi custom builders like HR, Amel, Oyster (in the past anyway), Discovery. Go back over the last 30 years and you will find many designs in the 45-60' range of "bluewater" boats built to the same brief from designers like Bill Dixon and Ron Holland that have been built in small numbers before the builders hit the kind of wall I described in post#110, often because a new "my ideal" boat comes on the market.

Not a criticism, just a reflection on how this rarified sector of the market works. The result is often a good supply of well designed boats coming onto the second hand market at a fraction of the cost of new. However if the first owner has really used the boat as intended, the refit costs after only a few years can be eye watering!