In Reply to: cruiser posted by nobby on January 23, 2002 at 14:30:30:
Ocean Cruiser... Headroom...What LOA works best...? There are a LOT of answers to these questions. Perhaps others will offer their opinion...Its hard to know where to begin. There are so many open water designs out there from the boards of: Atkin, Bolger, Benford, Bingham, Whitholtz, Mason, Griffiths, Gillmer, Chapelle, Miller, Garden, Scheel, Herrshoff, Warner, Watkinson, Oughtred, Wharram to name a few...
Adding in the headroom factor and the Bruce Bingham "Flicka" pocket sloop comes to mind (see above). This vessel's stats: LOA 23'7", LOD 20' (the real measure of a 'hole in the water' called a boat), LWL 18'2", Beam 8', Draft 3'3" (that headroom has to come from somewhere), Disp. 5,500lbs. This was (is?) a production glass boat by Pacific Seacraft of Santa Ana CA. USA, and many have been built. They are a stout craft and have sailed most of the oceans of the world. I have observed first hand their sailing characteristics--suprisingly 'fast' on all points of sail--livable accomodations, and lots of storage space for a small boat (had to get that in!).
At one time the dream was to take a small vessel like "Flicka" and go North from Seattle in early Spring (May). Spend the Summer working the fjords and nooks of the Inside Passage to Alaska--reading Cap't. Vancouver's Log along the way. Come early Fall fit out for the long haul, tie up to the bouys at the Sika Coast Guard station and wait for the 'back side' of a Pacific High to move through--then cast off for a 2,500 mile sleigh ride downwind all the way to Hawaii for the Winter...
Ahhh, the dreams...
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