Coastal cruiserr

Today, Tom MacNaughton of Maine is designing this big schooner for sailors with physical disabilities. This includes sailors in wheelchairs, sailors who are sight-impaired and any other sailor with mobility or medical problems. This, of course, brings to the design a unique set of challenges. I suppose the choice of a traditional schooner was made for aesthetic reasons. There are few sights more beautiful than a schooner under a full press of sail. The thought of giving physically challenged sailors the chance to enjoy the thrills of sailing a big schooner makes my spirit soar.

The hull looks long and narrow and the L/B is 5.56. I think this design is the narrowest I have reviewed using that formula. Draft is 14 feet and every effort has been made to get the ballast as low as possible to increase stability, a prime consideration for sailors in wheelchairs. I, however, would have taken another tack. I would have increased beam for an increase in initial stability. A narrow boat with a low center of gravity can still be initially tender. We wouldn't want the first 15 degrees of heel to turn this ride into the wheelchair X-games.

I would also have thought deck space would have been at a premium and this could have been greatly increased if the beam were greater. The keel is cut away in both ends and the attached rudder is well forward. I can't understand why you would put the rudder this far forward on any boat. Of course a lot of boats have rudders in this position, but 99 percent of them were designed before 1955. But enough of the nit-picking.

The relatively high freeboard of this design is intended to provide deep bulwarks for safety. The stern fairs to a shapely transom with marked tumblehome. The D/L for this design is 123. I think the listed displacement, considering the published ballast-to-displacement ratio of 40 percent, is on the optimistic side.

The rig is an "all inboard" schooner rig, i.e., there is no bowsprit and the main boom does not overhang the transom. The staysail is shown on a wishbone to make it self-tacking. The strange shape below the wishbone was a scuttle hatch, but that has been removed and replaced with a lower hatch. Using the total working sail area and not I, J, E and P-I get an SA/D of 26. With this proud spoon bow and the sweeping sheer this boat should be a real beauty despite the freeboard.

The accommodation plan for wheelchair sailors presents a special challenge. It's not the actual dimensions of the wheelchairs that are a problem but the turning radii they need to maneuver. Luckily there are well proven architectural standards that establish minimums for these clearances, and Tom has had the benefit of working closely with a wheelchair-bound architect to help refine these solutions.

Access to the accommodations will be via elevators forward and aft. There are four guest staterooms forward and some crew accommodations. There are additional crew accommodations aft, a large pantry and a captain's cabin. The saloon features three pilot berths outboard of extra-long, 23-foot settees. Twin port and starboard dining tables are very wheelchair friendly. This layout will be "transformable" so it can be tailored to the unique needs of individuals and groups.

Tom and his crew have the benefit of being able to build a 25 percent scale model of this unusual schooner. This will allow them to evaluate the design concept and if needed, even move the rudder aft on the big boat. The test "model" will be a 33-foot schooner. This model will also be taken on tour and used as a promotional tool to help raise money for the final project.