Coastal cruiserr

Thayer reminds us that we tend to place the significant examples from our formative years on a near-sacred plane as we age. Those boats we admired as kids become icons. It's a trait I know I personally have to fight. "Well sonny, that Cal 40 was a real boat." I try to listen to Nine Inch Nails but they just don't do it for me. It's getting to the point where I feel I sometimes need to pry my mind open.

"Creeeeeek." That's the sound of my mind being pried open. Built by One Boats AB of Storebro Sweden and designed by Finnish designer Guy Lonnegren, the One 40 is not your father's cruising boat. The hull is very dish-shaped in section with a narrow BWL-8 feet, 6 inches-and a very fine entry. In plan view the hull is very broad with an L/B of 2.65. That's 14 feet, 9 inches of beam on a hull with an LOA of less than 40 feet. The D/L is 88.

The keel is a hydraulically controlled centerboard that hinges up to be carried below the canoe body. Board-up the draft is 3 feet, 1 inch. With the board fully down, draft is 9 feet, 11 inches.

I was not sure exactly what I was reading so I read it several times, but the promotional brochure says you can just drop your centerboard down into the mud when you want to take a break from sailing. The illustration shows jagged rocks, where the lowered keel will act as an "anchor." I bet.

There is an internal, sliding piece of lead that goes from side to side allowing the keel ballast to be reduced for a given righting moment. The brochure is sketchy on this feature, and I don't know what provision there is to make sure this sliding piece of lead is always on the weather side. There is also water ballast to increase stability: 170 gallons or 1,400 pounds, to each side.

A wide, flat boat like this has high initial stability but a low degree of ultimate stability. Combine that with the possibility of broaching with both the water ballast and the sliding ballast on the wrong side, and you could end up looking silly, wet and scared.

The interior is unusual and the styling looks similar to the interiors you might see on fancy Euro powerboats. The interior contours are all swervy, curvy, softened and rounded. The saloon is raised and visibility looks great.

The deck and the rig are fairly conventional once you get past the amorphous deck contours. There is a small sprit for the asymmetrical chute. Maybe you will need that keel for an anchor, because I don't see any sign of an anchor roller.

There is a tremendous amount of room in the cockpit, but I don't see much seating area. The small arcing cockpit seats may not be comfy when the boat is heeled over. Every single photo of the boat sailing shows the helmsman standing at the wheel.

"Slam!" that's my mind closing again. This is a strange and unique boat. It's hard to evaluate this design from our recognized benchmarks. This is one of those boats you would have to live with for a while to truly appreciate. For me, sailing is a hobby that speaks to a lot of different parts of my psyche. This design would not satisfy some of those deeply subjective needs I satisfy with some sailing boats. That said, I do appreciate the chance to look at such an innovative design, and I trust that this design will excite some of you enough to pursue some follow-up information.