SVEN YRVIND CIRCUMNAVIGATION ON A 3m SAILBOAT

He is working on the boat with the help of some friends. The ones that never heard about Yrvin, a well known Swede,  will probably think he is crazy: He wants to circumnavigate on a home built 3.0m boat passing by the Horn on a 54000km voyage that will take 600days (at an average speed of 2K) taking with him as provisions 400kg of sardines and Musli. The water will be mostly rain water collected by the sails and funneled to an interior deposit. No heating, no instruments, except his own designed  mini sextant (image below).  He will take with him also 100kg of books to fight boredom.  http://youtu.be/pm79kH2BBMY

Sven's mini sextant 

Yrvind has a lot of sailing experience: he had accumulated it through 50 years of navigation (yes, he is 72 years old !!!!). You may think that age is a problem (well, at least it is to me ;-)) but just two years ago he crossed the Atlantic on a 4.5M sailboat (the one on the movie at the bottom of the post). Before that he made several always successful Atlantic crossings and one of them on North Atlantic, from France to Newfoundland, back in 1989.

 He says about him and his boats:

  "People have said it's a suicide mission...but a big boat is actually more dangerous than a small one. You've got bigger forces throwing you around -- a bigger engine, a bigger beam, a bigger deck...my small boat is like a little capsule -- nothing can happen to you. It's like throwing a bottle in the water -- it will capsize, it will pitchpole, but it will always come back up.

I need just half-a-kilogram of food a day and this will give me enough food for 800 days...In the beginning I will have fruit but obviously that will run out. I also have a friend in Melbourne with a boat who will come out with supplies.

On land, people are watching TV, driving cars in traffic, smoking, drinking it's not healthy..out at sea it's a cleaner environment -- mentally and physically. When I come back I will be a healthier, younger person. This will prolong my life, not the other way around."

A philosophy I am sure  will not be shared by many but I am happy that there are men as Sven who chose alternative living ways and the fact is that after my annual 120 days summer cruising I feel younger too, even if I do not sail months on end without seeing anybody and generally at the end of some days at sea I find a nice oasis on land for a coffee and a drink :-). I am sure that the sense of accomplishment that Sven feels after successfully  finishing his voyages is simply huge (and well deserved too) and that will give him all the reward he needs to keep going.

3D drawings Michael Tatschl

One who seems to express some doubts about this circumnavigation is the British Robin Knox-Johnston the first to make a nonstop circumnavigation in 1969. He says he believes Yrvind will have some real chances to make it but he adds: "One of the biggest challenges he'll face is when he's coming up against these massive 25 meter waves in the Southern Ocean. In a boat that size he's just going to be rolled around and around like he's inside a giant washing machine...he might also find he's using a lot more energy -- and will need a lot more food -- being rolled around like that.” Very British the irony :-) but the truth is that Yrvind is used to capsizes and pitch poles. He says about it:

“The boat will flip, not once but many many times. It will flip forward and sideways, but I cannot see how any damage can be done….I have experience of capsizing and of pitch-pooling. The first Bris had a 20 feet mast. She was capsized and pitch-pooled near Cape Horn and then once more capsized on Georges Bank outside Nantucket a stormy March night. The second Bris was knocked down to I am guessing 160 degrees near Uruguay after successfully rounding Cape Horn. Only the time when the boat was pitch-poled was there no sails up. During the two capsizes and the 160 degree knock down I had sails up. It was freak waves. The 19 feet long Bris II also had an 20 feet mast.”

Sven major concern has to do with  the mast not to be broken in  a capsize. He has studied a double mast set up that allows that, unless both masts hit the water at the same time, one mast will reinforce the other. With the two mast set up it was necessary to rethink all the sails that have to be adapted to that configuration (picture on the left).

The boat has a 3.0m length, 1.90m beam, a draft of 0.44m and will weigh 1500kg!!!. The masts will have 6.0m and the hull shape is reminiscent of the old Portuguese XVI century galleons. That shape will add a lot of stability but the boat will sail  with a lot of pitch. Those big rudders and the frontal board will allow it to sail against the wind without too much of a leeway. The boat has a cored hull and epoxy resins were used. I have no doubt that it will be a massively strong boat but with all that weight, a short LWL, I believe those 2K will be a  realistic speed...if he does not gets too many headwinds or strong contrary currents. It is going to be a very long voyage and a big challenge even for Yrvind. All the luck and fair winds to him, he will need it to succeed on this "madness".                    

 http://youtu.be/IRVEla0A-IU         http://youtu.be/GymdwhfXYX8  

XO 750 DAYSAILER

The last of Paolo Bua designs still being built at the Canthier des Ileaux, in strip planking and plywood with epoxy resins is a gorgeous daysayler with very good sailing performances: It weights 1000kg, 450 of them as ballast (45%) on a hydraulic swing keel with a max draft of 1.80M (0.25M up). That considerable draft plus a considerable form stability provided by a hull with 2.50m beam, all beam pulled back and a chine that will work with not too much heel, will give to this 7.50M beauty a big overall stability that will be translated in power by a considerable sail area: 33M2 upwind, beefed up by a code 0 with 22m2.Downwind it will fly 70M2 that should be enough to get it to planing speeds with some ease.

  Would love to have one of these babies to cheer up my sunny winter days while I wait for the cruising season. While I find a way to have money for two boats I guess I will have to continue with this blog ;-) but I really like it a lot: The mixture of old materials (wood) treated in a contemporary way (wood composites) with new materials (carbon rig) and cutting edge contemporary design with a classic flavor, that does not diminish in any way the boat sailing potential, seems just the right mixture for a boat that will always be beautiful.

http://www.chantierdesileaux.com/index.php/fr/bois-composites/nos-realisations/x-o

PAOLO BUA A YOUNG ARTIST

And we are happy he had choose to design boats since it seems to me that he could design anything as well as boats since his works are true work of art. I only found about him recently trough Rosso 28 one of his creations, a beautiful boat built by one of the most traditional wood French shipyards specialized in classic boats , le Chantier des Ileaux.

http://www.chantierdesileaux.com/index.php/en/presentation-2/the-company

Rosso 28

This association of a very old shipyard that regards boat building as an art with a young designer that regards boat design as an art could only give very interesting results. The chosen material is obviously wood, or better, wood composites, since the old shipyard is also modern and dominates contemporary techniques that can make wood composites has stiff and light as the best polyester composites and those are the materials used mostly by Paolo Bua.

Xo 7.50

Soon we are going to have a better look at some of his boats and we will keep an eye on Paolo Bua work. It is relatively easy to design a boat with classic lines that looks good but the performance will be compromised by the concessions to style over design efficiency. Bua seems to have made the impossible: Designing boats that have that classic charisma without given an inch to loss of performance. Chapeau to him :-)

Leggero

Opc - GARCIA EXPLORATION 45 AND 50

Have you seen the Garcia Exploration 45? Interesting way to integrate a doghouse type design. I really like the looks and feature on this one. 

Yes, I talked about it. But it deserves a better post with the story behind that boat:

Jimmy y Cornell is one of the more experienced cruisers around, have circumnavigated for 3 times with different types of boats, done more than 200 000NM, created the ARC and later the World Cruising Club.

 In his search for the perfect bluewater cruiser, his last boat, a 1998 OVNI 43 used on the last 5 years circumnavigation was by far the best of all and he didn't saved praises about it and its bluewater qualities. You can see the boat and what he says about it here. http://www.cornellsailing.com/resources/ovni-yachts-sailing-boats-faq/  http://youtu.be/WngLr7p9ztU

Cornell remained faithful to the aluminium but started to gradually leave OVNI and approached Allures that he started to consider better than the OVNI, more modern and with a  better design. So it was no surprise when he announced that had chosen Allures for making the boat for its  4^th circumnavigation (this time by the Northwest passage) but it was a surprise when Allures announced that they were not going to modify an Allures 45 to Cornell specifications but that they would take the opportunity to create a new boat, one following Cornell’s ideas about what should be a boat for extreme navigation. Instead of introducing it on the Allures line they decided that it would be a Garcia (a brand that belongs to Allures).   

The boat uses the Allures 45 hull and a deck saloon concept that allows for a chart table in frontal position and a joystick to command the boat from the inside. From the interior station there is a 270º view around. Besides that different interior concept the boat deck is made of aluminum (composite on the Allures) and certainly the hull is more reinforced since the boat weights considerable more than an Allures 45: 14100 kg for 11800Kg.
 That difference in weight has to do also with the option of making the boat all in aluminum (more weight and more need of ballast). The boat will have water ballast tanks and features a funny looking forward cabin “window” inclined the “wrong way”. That has as objective to protect the interior from the sun of the tropics a thing I am not sure it can be done since there is no way to prevent it from coming in by the side windows.

Certainly a very interesting boat and the proof is that even if it is a very atypical boat, Garcia is already making more three, beside the one for Cornell and they are launching a new model to join the Exploration 45, a 50, certainly using the hull from the Allures 51.

Personally, and having no intentions to cruising in very cold climates I would prefer the standard Allures 45 that I find better looking, has a bigger cockpit and it is certainly considerably less expensive. It is faster and also provides some (more limited) view to the the exterior. A boat more suited for a more mixed utilization, not only to voyage but to coastal cruise or even to cruise in hot climates.
There are also several Allures 45 circumnavigating and some (44 model) have done Arctic voyages. The one used on the movie, was fully equipped for a circumnavigation that is probably already happening. A great boat, at an unbelievable price, for an aluminum hull with a high quality interior. It is not surprising that OVNI has been experiencing some problems lately.

Now if you really want to make the Nortwest passage or even the more difficult Norteast passage not to mention Antarctic explorations, the  Exploration 45 or 50 it is with no doubt a more suited boat.


                                                     Opc:
                                                    

I've been perusing Cornell's website as the Exploration's build continues. I find it's looks very appealing and very much like the way they've designed the interior helm station at the front of the salon. I haven't seen a price yet on it. So, i'm interested in knowing the price difference between the Exploration and the Allure 45. I believe the latter is priced around $450k (base model).
 I actually think the decks of both boats are a combination of aluminum and grp. I vaguely recall seeing a picture where the aluminum deck extends a few feet in from the boats' perimeters all the way around. Then, grp covers the rest. Corrections welcomed.

Hi! Opc,
Actually no. TheGarcia 45 deck is entirely made of aluminium while the one on Allures line is made of composite (the roof of the Garcia 45 cabin is composite also). That is one of the things that explain the difference in weight. Having it in aluminium, that weights more and also the deck saloon configuration will raise the boat CG and that will demand a correction to lower it, trough more ballast to have a similar final stability, comparing with the Allures 45.

Sure, the boat will be more though all built in aluminium, but then it is always possible to make it more strong, but more strong in this case means heavier and the question is: It will be needed? An Allures 44 (previous model) sailed extensively in high latitudes and they never had any problem in any boat regarding that system. Probably it is justified on an exploration boat like the Garcia 45 but useless and detrimental for the sail performance on the Allures 45 or any voyage boat to be used on a more "normal"way, I mean to circumnavigate without explorations on high latitude in mind. In fact they had made that dual material building system one of their strong selling points when they presented the Allures line some years ago and they said that type of construction was on the base of the very good stability / sail performance of the boat regarding its weight. In fact one of the differences regarding the OVNI was that their reserve stability was better and they attributed that, partially at least, to the height advantages of this system. They say about it:

"Composite superstructures on an aluminum hull offer a number of advantages when compared to aluminum superstructures:

- lighter topsides;
- improved temperature insulation;
- better phonic insulation;
- elimination of any hazard of electrolysis due to rustproof topsides;
- comfort of smooth shapes inside the cockpit;
- elegance of a line drawn without any manufacturing constraint.

For all these reasons this solution is often adopted on larger yachts.. The composite superstructure/aluminum deck bondage is performed horizontally according to a sealing and riveted method.This bonding method was: 

- conceived by Berret-Racoupeau Yacht Design; 

- validated in theory by Tensyl (finite element method of calculation - ..with aircraft); 

- validated in practice by Rochefort-based CRITT ( the Regional Center for innovation and Technology Transfer who created the adhesives for the Queen Mary II). As is the case with cars, the adhesive was subjected - under extremes of temperature - to fatigue and ageing tests. 

The safety ratio of the bonding reaches as high as 10, i.e. this bonding is calculated to undergo a level of stress ten times superior to the maximum level of stress the yacht will actually have to bear. Tests on samples have proved that, thanks to both the materials selected and the geometry of the bonding, the dilatation due to variations of temperature are minimal - the more so since the expansion coefficients of aluminum (21) and the composite (17) can compare.  Finally, we have selected an adhesive which polymerizes in a damp atmosphere. Not only do the mechanical properties not suffer any alteration when exposed to the sea but improve as they age. Our research brought us an ANVAR award. Our process is patent-protected.

http://www.allures.fr/faq.html

Paulo,
I actually just went and looked at the two companies' brochures.
The Expedition brochure states, "hull, deck and coachroof structure in marine aluminum alloy."

The Allures 45 states, "hull & deck in marine aluminum alloy"
I guess I was wrong. But it looks like both decks are aluminum alloy. Any idea what the Exploration will cost? base price.

I checked out to see what was going on regarding that alteration of the building techniques/materials and you are right, looking to both files, in French and English they say that the deck on the 45 is in aluminium so I went deeper to see if they had altered their way of building and what I found was this: As you can see on the top of the page, on the 39 the  deck and the cabin as well as the cockpit are in composite. 

On the 45 the deck is effectively in aluminium but that really represents a very small surface, since the cabin and the cockpit are in composite. As the cabin extends itself forward, the difference is not much (see the picture on the right). On the Garcia Exploration all is in aluminium except the top of the cabin, a relatively small area. See the picture on top of the page.

Regarding price I have heard nothing but I am sure it will be a more expensive boat.

THE FIRST BRAZILIAN LADY TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE SOLO

Izabel Pimentel has just arrived at Rio de Janeiro this month completing a high latitude solo circumnavigation on the company of his cats. The idea was a non stop circumnavigation but his small 34ft boat was rolled by a huge wave and the mast rigging was damaged. She went to Easter Island for repairs. The Story of that capsize is told here by her, a very feminine description :-) It is in Portuguese but you have a translator installed. Very interesting read :

http://izabelpimentel.blogspot.pt/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=11
http://izabelpimentel.blogspot.pt/search?updated-min=2014-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2015-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=1

Izabel lives in France on her boat, an old aluminium Romanée, a design from Philippe Harlé (1973), a boat well ahead of its time and it was on this "oldie" that she circumnavigated:
http://pouvreau.romanee.free.fr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=2

Izabel is a system's analyst and a very experienced sailor having already made successfully a mini transat race. She is now in Brazil and will sail his boat and home to France were she lives and works. Here you can see some photos of his boat and voyage photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/112103410413959481318

ON DESIGN: SAPHIRE 27 VERSUS SEASCAPE 27

Saphier 27

Seascape 27

A first look at the boats, particularly to the large transom of the Seascape 27 would lead many to think that the Saphire 27 is a much narrower boat, and they would be wrong since the max beam of the two boats are very similar, 2.54M for the Seascape and 2.50M to the Saphire. So, this is not a comparison between beamy and narrow boats but a comparison between two types of hulls, one more along traditional lines and the other with all beam pulled back. Both boats come from designers very experienced with these type of hulls, both with winning racing boats, both successful sail racers themselves but while Sam Manuard was (is) mostly a solo racer, Claudio Maletto was a team player at least since he passed from dinghies (1978, world champion in 470) to yacht racing. As an introduction to different types of hulls let's look to a very interesting comparison (pity the Saphire is not there) but we can see the blue shape of the Seascape 27 over other well known fast boats and we can see quite well the differences:

The Seascape and the Saphire also have very different keels and rudders, the Seascape with a twin rudder setup (one on the Saphire) and both with variable draft but using the Seascape a swing keel and the Saphire a lifting torpedo one. Regarding draft the Seascape has 0.85/1.95M and the Saphire 0.40/1.70m. The ballast is very similar respectively, 600kg to 500kg and the Seascape is a bit lighter, 1250kg to 1300kg. The Seascape has not only a bigger draft as also a bigger B/D ratio (48% to 39%) a differences that the more efficient shape of the torpedo keel will not be able to compensate. The beam pulled aft as the superior RM from the hull will give to the Seascape a bigger overall stability.  It carries 45M2 of sail area upwind (with a jib) while the Saphire has 44M2 with a 106% genoa.

Let's have a good look at those two hulls and its differences, particularly in what regards the stern, and its influence on the hull design:

Even with similar beams we can see that the hulls are very different. Some would say that the hull of the the Saphire is like that on account of rating  (it has the shape of most ORC boats) and that the shape of the Seascape is better in what regards performance but more penalized in rating. The results of a test made by yacht.de, with both boats at the water at the same time, show that is not the case and that both boats (hulls) have advantages and disadvantages in what regards sailing performance.
Not surprisingly the results confirm what I have been observing for years regarding the performance of this type of hulls in racing (real times).

With light winds (5k), even being heavier and having slightly less sail area the Saphire was slightly faster and pointed a bit better. That can surprise many but I have seen similar typed hull boats, for instance the Salona 38, having a very good upwind performance in light winds, better than lighter but bigger stern boats that are faster on most other conditions. That has to do with a smaller wet surface due to a slimmer hull on the transom area. We can see that both boats have a chine but besides the beam all pulled back on the seascape (given to the hull a much more rounded shape) we can see that the chine on the Saphire is higher and will allow much more heel before entering in action. On the Seascape just with a small angle of heel that chine would be on the water, adding hull stability but also increasing drag.

Even so, while on the Saphire it is important to have weight on the bow to raise the stern (and diminish wet surface) on the Seascape it is more important to create heel and put the boat sailing on its chine. It seems a contradiction but it is explained by the difference in hull design and the way these boats with all beam pulled back seat on the water when heeled, being optimized to sail with less drag on an asymmetric optimal waterplan, with some heel. That gives them a bigger LWL and explains the advantage of two rudders (to have always a rudder centered with the waterplan). This difference is fundamental to understand the strong points and weak points of each type of hull. Finot explained those differences on an article some years ago (see drawings on the right).

In what concerns regatta the hull design and the single ruder of the Saphire gives it an advantage regarding not only maneuverability but also the acceleration out of a tack. Still regarding steering the one of the Saphire is more informative while the one of the Seascape is completely neutral. That neutrality is less rewarding while steering manually but it is an advantage while the boat is on autopilot, making it easier to control. These relates to the differences between the designers that have a reflex on the boat: the Saphier a better regatta boat, the Seascape a better short crew and offshore boat, not only by its superior overal stability but by the the superior easiness of control and less roll limited by the transom design that not surprisingly is the type of transom that we find on solo racers.

With a stronger winds (12/15K) the two boats go upwind at the same speed and  with the same pointing ability. Maybe in what regards pointing ability the superior draft (1.95 to 1.70m) of the Seascape is compensating what seems to be the better upwind potential of the Saphier hull. Anyway equal performance for both boats at least in flat water. Probably with waves the Seascape would be more slowed by a bigger wave drag and the Saphier would be faster, at least with 15K since this is the limit for the Saphire in what regards reefing. with higher winds the superior form stability and higher B/D ratio (that makes the Seascape a more powerful and stiff boat) could somehow compensate that drag disadvantage, passing the waves with more power (and less comfort). They did not had more than 15K winds but the impression they got was that the stronger the wind, the better the Seascape seems to go.

Saphier 27

They say that under geenaker the boats go at the same speed but don't say if it is downwind or at a beam reach. I assume it is on both situations but it seems clear to me that with higher winds, specially on a beam reach the Seascape would be faster since it is a more powerful boat and can maintain all sail up with more wind. Downwind with a spi in absolute terms it is hard to say but it is clear that the Seascape would be a much easier boat to sail fast even solo or with a small crew while the Saphire will require an experienced crew and a careful handling of sails and crew weight distribution.

Seascape 27

In what regards performance cruising and for all practical effects the Seascape would be a much faster boat downwind, just because it is much easier to sail it fast. The overall stability and easiness of use makes the Seascape a best offshore boat (not protected waters) and a better overall coastal cruiser in what sailing is regarded. In what regards accommodations they are a bit spartan on both boats but enough for a sportive kind of coastal cruising or for a week end with the family. Anyway regarding the interior you can see for yourself. In what concerns basic price the Seascape on the Standard version is about 20% more expensive, probably because of its hydraulic swing keel but that can be different after all extras are summed and that difference can eventually be smaller. The Seascape basic price is 63 900 euros and the one from the Saphire 49 000 euros.

Michael Tobler :

Just a quick update on the ORC weights for Saphire No 4: 1428kg and Seascape No 7: 1540kg. For the measurement they need to be equipped in the same way with engines, but without sails. As you know, overall weight has a big Impact on the stability of the boats. Unfortunately, there was only Little wind during the comparison and it will be a pleasure to see the two boats racing in strong winds.

Thanks Michael!

Congratulations for your lovely boat and the European boat of the year award. I saw it in Dusseldorf and it just looked great. Just for the record the weights I have mentioned were the weights stated by the builders, 1250kg for the Seascape and 1300kg for the Saphire 27. I believe by what you say that the boats were weighted before the test sail so the clarification his here. It seems that all of a sudden the "lighter" boat becomes the heavier boat ;-)

PHOBOS 22 / SAPHIER 27

THE PHOBOS 22S
The Phobos 22 was tested recently by yacht.de and they had posted some nice pictures and a movie:

http://tv.yacht.de/video/Phobos-22%253A-Sportlicher-Kleinkreuzer/b77cda1a60aba471a57441d2acfa56ae

http://www.yacht.de/service/heft_info/alles-nur-nicht-zum-fuerchten/a85551.html

 They found it fast, interesting and able to sail with gusting winds. the max speed registered on the test was 8.5K downwind (with Spi) and that is just great for a 22ft boat that costs 25000 euros, but it is good not to forget that this is a boat not much different from the Viko 22s even if with less freeboard.

These boats  are practically dinghies  assisted with some ballast and boats that upwind, except in very light winds will need the weight of the crew for counterbalancing heel. Not properly the ideal type of stability for a cruising boat, even a small one. I doubt this one will have a better final stability than the 22s. Strictly a lac or a protected water boat an even so, boats to sail with care in gusting situations. This type of boat is inexpensive to build and have in their price their biggest advantage. They may be the right and possible boat for many. Certainly will be much better than nothing on in land waters...and 8.5k speed seems fun to me ;-)

http://www.boatshop24.com/en/dalpol-yacht-phobos-22-sport-year-2013-/Sailboat/357766#

THE SAPHIRE 27

Both boats have in common to be easily trailerable and they have a not a very different weight but the similitude stops there. The Sapphire is not only bigger as it is a true sports boat with an adequate stability for a weekend cruiser due to a bigger draft, almost all ballast on a bulb (on the Phobos 22 most of it is on the bottom of the hull, inside the boat) and a bigger B/D ratio. The price is also completely different with the Saphire costing in excess of two times more. It is a boat thought for sheltered waters even if will not have a problem in coastal waters if not in very rough conditions.

 

Here you can see a Safier 27 going downwind and probably some of you are thinking: Another maximized boat to go fast downwind, well, not this one, quite the opposite. This is an upwind boat with a good performance downwind too. This was the boat elected this year as European boat of the year (special category) and it surprised all with its incredibly good performance in very light air, being faster than other much bigger performance cruisers. This is a relatively narrow boat (2.5m) with a lifting torpedo keel (0.45/1.70M) and a big B/D ratio (39%), a boat that is not designed to be solo sailed (even if it can be) but to be sailed in optimal conditions by a very small crew (2 or 3).

This is one of my favorite small boats and I find it perfect for racing, for weekend cruising or day sailing, specially in protected waters. Lot's of sailing fun and enough interior space for a family with two small kids. The other favorite is the Seascape 27, a completely different boat that has in common with this one the size, speed (with different strong points), the pleasure in what regards sailing and to be trailerable. On one of the next posts I will do a comparative between the two. It will be interesting since they are very different boats with different hulls and keels but both with a great sailing performance (even if with different strong points).

More movies and information here:
http://www.saphireboats.com/
http://de.saphireboats.com/system/files/60/50193ea976.pdf