FairWind 46
2006 January 5
Bluewater cruiserr
The best I can tell from the designer's notes-I have no hull lines-is that the hull has been designed to be conically developed with shaped and radiused plates at the chine to give the boat the general appearance of a round-bilged boat. This is fine. It does tie the designer's hands somewhat because shape development has to be consistent with the limits of how you can bend large, flat plates of either steel or aluminum. That's what conic development means, i.e. all shapes are portions of a cone. While the designer says that either steel or aluminum can be used for construction, the displacement does not change and neither does the ballast. In my experience aluminum boats are far lighter than steel boats and this would mean that for a fixed displacement the aluminum boat would have more ballast than would the steel boat. Steel plate is 2.89 times heavier than aluminum plate. The drawings show a full-keel design with a cutaway forefoot. This is very traditional but the designer says that you can order the same boat with a fin keel if you prefer. That's a big change, kind of like steel or aluminum. The D/L of this design is high at 372.
Keeping with the Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors of this design you can choose from three basic layouts: deck saloon, center cockpit and low coachroof. Given the fact that this boat will be built basically as a one off with a set of hull frame molds it is possible to design any deck configuration you like for the hull. I think the designer is showing just three possibilities. I confine myself to the low coachroof version as I find it the best looking. The plan view of this design shows the max beam pulled well aft, maybe too far aft for my eye. The layout is fine. There are two staterooms with double berths and there is a pilot berth in the saloon. The nav station is spacious but I wonder why the designer has drawn such a narrow seat, then stopped it short of the chart table by eight inches. I would have the chart table lap over the seat, which would be 18 inches deep, by three inches. Check this out at dinner tonight. That's the way chart tables and seats work. I get the impression that Mr. Butler has not spent much time on this layout. Of course the builder can fix these details but I'd like to see them drawn with a better sense of accuracy. The same goes for the dining table. It stops about four inches short of the settee. I'm sorry, but I am picky with these details.
On deck the 46 has twin wheels aft and nice long cockpit seats forward of the helms. The mainsheet traveler separates the helm position from the rest of the cockpit. I love the look of boats with lots of flush deck and this version of the FairWind is very good looking if you like traditional styling. There is a short bow platform to get the ground tackle away from the stem but with that much bow overhang I wonder why go to the bother. One of the beauties of metal construction is that stem fittings can be so beautifully integrated into the bow. There are not many deck hatches on this design. I'd like to see each head have its own hatch for ventilation.
This has the beginnings of being a nice design.
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