The yachting field is full of opinions on what constitutes the ideal long-distance cruising boat. Most of these opinions are based on personal experiences and generally with just one type of boat, but seldom also with a background knowledge of a wide variety of boats or boat design. For these reasons, such opinions, while valuable within a narrow sector, seldom offer an overview of long distance and offshore cruising encounters.

Here I must admit I am somewhat prejudiced towards my own designs simply because it is what I do for a living; design all kinds and types of boats. I have cruised long distances in all weather conditions on a variety of boats - sailboats, powerboats, and commercial craft - many designed by others. From these experiences, I have learned much - including most of the "dos and don'ts."

I have the advantage of having designed almost 250 boats of all types and sizes, from a seven foot dinghy to a 271-foot tuna clipper. These designs have been about one-third commercial, one-third pleasure power, and one-third sailboats and motor sailors - giving me a broad knowledge which I can share. Also, as a designer I am very critical of. all designs, including my own. For this reason, I readily admit having shredded hundreds of drawings for various reasons, as not suitable in our changing world, especially when it comes to long distance cruising.

New electronic navigation, sounding, and communication equipment have opened vast new areas to explore, and long distance cruisers are scanning charts of the Bering Sea, Siberia void of hostile politics, Antarctica, Patagonia, Baffin Island, and the Svalbard archipelago - just to name a few of the many unusual and sometimes very dangerous cruising destinations.

This has created demands far beyond what was normal in the past, and new designs must meet the severest of conditions. When they stand up to these conditions, boats are naturally suitable to go anywhere. So, when owners want to navigate a boat over open or dangerous waters and to far-away places, designs must include proper equipment and all of the following important criteria.

SAFETY

In the past, safety has been addressed mostly by concerned organisations called out to rescue those in distress. Yet the marketplace is full of false claims resulting in governmental regulations not compatible with free enterprise. As with so much else, buyers must be aware.

In general though, safety includes very strong boats able to withstand breaking seas, collisions with whales, logs, submerged containers and other debris, all while providing protection for propellers and rudders. Heavy aluminium plating is suitable as is steel which is gaining acceptance because new protective paints have reduced maintenance to an affordable level.

Another factor is excessive speeds, especially at night when obstacles which can cause large impact damage, especially on fibreglass and composite hulls, can't be seen. For these reasons, most of my designs have smaller than normal superstructures and built-in weights below the waterline.

There are, of course, a host of other safety items beyond the construction of hull, deck, and superstructures. Extra heavy duty ports, windows, and doors are major considerations - and a good designer will surely include all of these. Another major consideration is to include twin engines for safety instead of a single one fitted with band-aid "come-home" additions, often inadequate except during placid weather conditions.

STABILITY

In recent years, stability has become an important part of offshore boats and has been the subject of much discussion. The reason is that so many boats have been fitted with oversized superstructures that are excellent for cocktail parties, but dangerous offshore, especially in high winds and steep beam seas.

However, we should not include flopper stoppers or fin stabilisers as being part of stability. It must be an inherent part of the basic design, and not controlled by artificial additions of no value under extreme conditions.

ENDURANCE

This is directly tied to the cruising range - faster powerboats do not have it. Only heavier displacement types carry enough fuel for really long distances. Sailboats and motor sailors have the advantages of sails, reducing the need for fuel; but it is still important when cruising in areas lacking in fuel docks. It is also very desirable to have better hull forms, requiring less power and using less fuel to enhance endurance.

There are several other ways to do this. The simplest is the use of what I call "Delta-Wing" rudders, which have a properly shaped rudder blade and are fitted with a wedge-shaped large top plate-this plate acts as a permanent trim tab while also directing propeller wash aft instead of letting it run up to the surface. The gains are very large compared to the minimal cost.

Most boats have propeller slippage of about 35 percent, and sometimes on very poor designs the slip can be as much as 75 percent. The major causes are steep shaft angles, wide stem posts, and turbulent water ahead of propellers-sometimes created by open rotating shafts. Better designs can reduce shaft angles, making shafts level with waterlines for maximum thrust. Properly faired appendixes to house shafts will reduce this loss of power. On my designs, for example, propeller slippage ranges from about 18 to 25 percent, far less than average.

When using twin engines for long distance cruising boats, it is important to be able to run with only one engine and at the same time reduce propeller drag on the other shaft. Propellers should be of the feathering or controllable pitch type, and there are many models available to the truly serious cruiser. My Three-Keeler(tm) designs, both sail and power, can run on just one engine and hold course with minimum rudder correction.

While well known in the commercial sector, the use of Kort propeller nozzles is relatively unknown in the pleasure boating field. Generally, nozzles are used to add about one-third thrust to tugs and fishing trawlers. My new nozzle designs are excellent for use on long distance cruising boats, adding power without using more fuel, and therefore also adding to speeds and overall endurance.

PERFORMANCE

Performance is a tricky word because there are many differing opinions on what constitutes good performance. Let us just agree that the best performance is accomplished with the least effort, even with smaller engines. Good performance can be accomplished with better hull forms that cause less wave-making, and I have proven this over many years.

As an example, my 70-foot trawler, World Peace, had a speed of 11.1 knots or 5 percent over formula hull speed at a displacement of 282,000 pounds and only 249 hp fitted with both a controllable pitch propeller and Kort nozzle. Another example is the Albacore "64" schooner running at 1I knots, or 13 percent over hull speed with 235 hp on a displacement of 124,500 pounds. Neither boat had much wavemaking, the major theoretical resistance factor.

SEAGOING COMFORT

Comfort is extremely important during long voyages - lack of it causes fatigue and results in unwanted accidents.

Comfort takes many forms - such as an easy motion, reduced engine noises and vibration, and a layout that makes it easier to live and work. Also, whenever there are more than two persons aboard, separation of quarters is important to reduce personality friction, often common during long passages. This last factor dictates a minimum boat size of about 40 feet. With only two persons aboard, boats can be somewhat smaller; but to successfully cross oceans, I believe 50 feet or over is desirable.

Comfort also requires hull forms with reduced roll, and here my Three-Keelers(tm) are superb. In 1985, one Three-Keelers(tm) tug was caught by the 120 mph hurricane Elena. When the part owner-skipper was asked afterward what happened during the storm, he replied, "I don't know. I was off watch and slept through it all." A better testimony is hard to conceive.

SEAKINDLINESS

This is an almost forgotten word, perhaps because so many boats lack it. A hull must be compatible with nature, and, while light and fast boats are excellent on flat water and small waves, they are very poor when the winds get strong and the seas grow. On this subject, Chris Cornell, the former editor of Professional BoatBuilder magazine, wrote in 1990, "Hightech racing sailboats slam, sleek sportfishermen pound, and - yes - gorgeous megayachts agitate their owners like so much dirty laundry."

SELF-SERVICE

This becomes very important when cruising in areas lacking in marine services, such as those remote destinations mentioned earlier.

This is when we begin to ask what an ideal long distance cruising boat is and what it should be like. It is also an area where opinions differ and beliefs rather than fact seem to dominate, partly because if you ask a dozen cruisers for an opinion on one subject, you get 15 different opinions - most of them incorrect. This is because most boat designers and builders advertise and promote their own product as the best.

For these reasons I can only express my opinions based on a long design career and many cruising experiences, hoping to find an appreciative audience. But first, it should be made abundantly clear that I began designing fuel efficient full displacement boats over 35 years ago and have succeeded in producing advances mainly based on reduced wave-making. In the past, wave-making has been known as the major theoretical obstacle towards increased displacement speeds, and now it is finally being widely studied as an excellent solution.

THE CASE FOR THREE-KEELERS(tm)

Twenty years ago, I conceived the Three-Keeler(tm) concept, now available on both power and sailboats, widely used on commercial craft, and offering all kinds of advantages.

On Three-Keelers(tm) the centre keel is eliminated aft and substituted by twin husky aft keels-one on each side about halfway out to the waterline and extending from near amidships aft. The keels are so large that the engines fit partly into them, producing short level-with-waterline shafts for maximum thrust with minimum alignment and vibration problems.

The Three-Keeler(tm) concept reduces roll so much that artificial means to control roll are seldom needed. Course holding is enhanced, lateral drift largely eliminated, and only minor rudder correction is required even when running on just one engine. Broaching is virtually impossible since two aft keels offer double the resistance against steep quartering following seas.

On small boats, twin engine installations generally cost more than one larger unit, but this is not always true. On larger boats over 50 or 60 feet, two smaller engines cost less and, regardless of size, smaller engines together cost less to maintain. When pricing out single vs. twin engine installations, the analysis must include the whole power train with gears, shafts, seals, bearings, and propellers-or the comparison is worthless. As a example, one 36-inch diameter 4blade bronze prop lists at $3,029 in 1995, whereas two 24-inch units cost $1,562 together. Nearly the same comparisons are true for all other parts.

Having a single keel on centre forward and twin keels aft allow the boat to be beached at high tide, and to stay upright without damage. Any repairs or services required, such as clearing a fish net from a fouled propeller can be made; and when the tide returns, the boat is re-floated and on its way. With no cradles or supports needed, big savings can be gained during haulouts at marinas.

Interestingly, when wavemaking is reduced, as is the case with my Three-Keelers(tm), added weights become less detrimental than has been generally believed, and this also allows the use of smaller than normal engines. I do advocate deep reduction gears to permit use of larger diameter and more effective propellers to overcome strong currents, to push against strong winds and big seas, and specially to be able to escape off a lee shore in a storm.

In case a boat such as described here hits a rock or submerged container, the metal may get a dent and if the boat bumps into a coral reef, log, or other debris, nothing will happen to the boat, but perhaps a whale may get an everlasting headache!

Finally, the new Three-Keelers(tm) both power and sail, are performing better and neither type will rock or roll at anchor. They are, in my opinion, the ideal long distance cruising boats for the 1990's and beyond.

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