Here is a beautiful new model from the Morris yard in Maine. If it has a familiar look to it that would be because this model is based upon a previous Morris boat designed by Chuck Paine. But this time the design credit goes to a team of designers. My e-mail from Morris says, "It (the design) is a collaborative effort, similar to the superyacht industry, where Morris's in-house design team worked with an interior designer, architect etc." That's fine. In-house designers often rely on out-house designers for the basic design.

Displacement is moderate with a D/L of 182. Beam is textbook moderate with a L/B of 3.52. The draft of 6 feet 6 inches feet is also moderate. This is a moderate design. But good old Chuckles has a way with hull shapes and there should be no doubt that this will be a fine sailing vessel.
There is enough rake to the stem to keep the anchor from banging. There is enough overhang aft to insure a nice clean wake in light air. The sheer is a bit flat but it looks just right to my eye. This will be a very handsome boat.

There are some advantages to the raised-saloon approach to interiors. But there can be disadvantages too. Note that with the width of the cabintrunk defining the athwartships area of the main cabin, you lose the volume under the sidedecks. It's not totally lost. It's there for stowage but you can't push the dinette and settees outboard to create the feeling of a wide open main cabin.

On the other hand, you can sit at the raised dinette and look out the big windows. The settee to port is also raised. The nav station is forward on the starboard side. Tucked aft are a head to starboard and a quarter berth stateroom to port with a large double berth.

Two steps down from the main cabin is the galley. It's a great galley with lots of counter space, and with the galley using both sides of the boat with the reefer to starboard it is a very effective layout. Forward there is the owner's stateroom with a centerline double berth and a head with a circular shower stall. Two couples will be very comfortable on this boat.

True masthead rigs have pretty much disappeared. Today's rig has the headstay dropped just below the masthead to leave room for an asymmetrical spinnaker or a code zero style sail for off the wind work. On this design the asymmetrical is tacked to the anchor roller fitting. Note that the actual headstay is pulled aft off the stem about 10 inches to help widen the gap between the luff of the asym and the furled headsail.

The spreaders are swept back 17 degrees. The headsail is on a hydraulic furler and is self-tacking. The single jib sheet is lead from the self tacking track back up the mast, then down the mast so it can be turned at the mast partners and lead aft conveniently. This is a lot of miles and friction for a single jib sheet but the raised house cabin makes leading lines aft a challenge.

The main has in-boom furling and midboom sheeting. Short tacking this boat will be a dream. The SA/D is 17.84 and while a higher number may be appealing this SA/D is perfect for family cruising. I'm sure you could add an overlapping genoa for more light air boat speed.
The Morris yard is known for its quality. I am certain that this new model will be another Morris head-turner and provide very pleasant sailing for the owner.