Dehler 41 Review

About a year ago, when we were still searching for a new boat, I came across a beautiful 2005 Dehler 41 on Yachtworld. It had all the right gear and was well priced, but it had a teak deck and a couple of other features that made it unsuitable for us. But that is not to say that it was not a good boat. Quite the contrary, it was a fine cruiser/racer and we came close to making a bid on it in spite of all that teak.

Fast forward to February 2013...I've been eagerly anticipating the unveiling of Dehler's new 38 here in the States but not surprisingly, it's running a bit late. So while we're waiting for the new boat I thought it would be fun to take a look at the latest version of Dehler's 41 footer. The Dehler marque is not as well known on this side of the Atlantic as other German names such as Hanse and Bavaria, but the company has a long and admirable history of producing high quality boats for both cruising and racing. Unfortunately, Dehler, like many other sailboat manufacturers in the last decade, had a close encounter with oblivion, but was rescued by the Hanse Group. This German boatbuilding conglomerate owns the Moody line of yachts as well.

Back in the 1980's and '90's Dehler worked closely with the E. G. Van De Stadt design firm and produced such IOR classics as the DB1 and the Sprinta Sport, which some 35 years on is still going strong as a one design class in Europe.

DB1 Circa 1980.  A well balanced IOR design

For the Dehler 41, the builder turned to the firm of Judel/Vrolijk. Americas Cup aficionados may recall that Rolf Vrolijk was the chief designer for the winning 2003 Alinghi team. Friedrich "Fietje" Judel, the other half of the design team recently retired from active involvement in the office, but the J/V firm continues to produce extremely fast and good looking designs. Okay, enough history, let's take a look at the new 41.

Sleek lines and no chines

The D41 fits into that very competitive market segment that includes the Jeanneau 409, the Beneteau First 40, Elan 400 and others. With a Displacement/Length ratio of 152 and a Sail Area/Displacement ratio of 22.85 we can call this boat a medium-light and moderately high powered cruiser/racer. But the numbers don't exactly tell the whole story. Let's take a look at the drawings and photos of the boat to get a fuller understanding of the performance potential of the D41. Notice the plumb bow and longish stern overhang in the drawing above, then take a look at the proportions of the stern in the photo below.

Dehler 41. Notice the very powerful stern sections. 

Those powerful aft sections add about three feet of waterline length and change the D/L ratio to a much more competitive 125. Then notice the mainsheet traveler on the cockpit sole and the removable transom door. Add the deep keel with nearly eight feet of draft and suddenly the Dehler 41 looks like a dangerous competitor on the race course.

D41 Deckplan. Clean lines, spacious cockpit, conventional ergonomics.

Looking more closely at the deck, notice that the chainplates are located nearly at the sheer. This dictates non-overlapping headsails for upwind work. Again, this is something we find mostly on race boats but it also makes good sense on cruising yachts. The aft winches on the cockpit coaming are dedicated to the mainsheet. This boat is equipped with what is referred to as the German or Admirals Cup mainsheet system. It leads from the traveler up through the boom, then down to the deck from the gooseneck fitting and back aft under the deck to the winches. De riguer on grand prix racing yachts for years, this system is becoming increasingly popular among the racer/cruisers as well. In the plan view the cockpit coamings look rather hard-edged but in reality they are artfully shaped and look like a reasonably comfortable place to sit if you're steering or trimming a sheet on race day.

This is a nice racing cockpit, but what about cruising? The wide open transom, which is lightweight and functional, isn't necessarily the best thing for cruising, so Dehler compensated by incorporating a "tailgate". I'm not a fan of this arrangement because for cruisers there are ever so many reasons to step out on the transom while at anchor, in a marina or under way, and raising, lowering and generally fiddling with that thing is inconvenient at best. In my opinion a better solution would have been to extend the transom a bit and forego the tailgate. I also question the angle of the cockpit seats. They are angled aft about nine degrees. This is totally acceptable for racing because the crew will be on the rail most of the time and the trimmers will be perched on those comfortable coamings instead of on the seats. But let's say you're cruising and the crew consists of yourself and another person. When you are on watch you're likely to be sitting on those cockpit seats twisting your neck to see forward as your vessel plunges through the night toward your destination. In such conditions I think seats that are parallel to the centerline of the boat would be more comfortable. This is a small point in the overall scheme of things, but it's these details that separate a great cruising boat from a good one. On the other hand, notice that the halyard winches are on the cabin top and there is plenty of room between the helm, the mainsheet winches and the jib sheet winches. The D41 will be a more efficient boat to sail than those that have the halyards and control lines led aft, either inside or on top of the coamings to someplace near the helm.

Going below, Dehler offers a wide range of variations in the accommodations. On their web site I scrolled down until I found the one that works best for me. I recommend that you visit www.dehler.com and do the same thing. There is enough variety there to please almost everyone. Anyway, I chose the version pictured below. It offers two cabins, a relatively large galley and a single spacious head.

The Dehler 41 offers excellent accommodations for the cruising couple.

Beginning in the forward cabin, the V-berth is of modest but adequate dimensions, leaving plenty of space for a comfortable seat and a large locker. Aft of the main bulkhead we find a conventional main salon, with a "U"-shaped dinette to starboard and large settee to port that incorporates a nav table. Aft of the navigator's seat is the head, which incorporates a spacious shower. This will be much appreciated by those who cruise aboard this boat. The galley is of reasonable proportions and aft of it is a spacious quarter cabin. The boat is blessed with lots of storage capacity aft of the head and in the very large lazarette area. To me, the clean, simple styling of the Dehler 41 is evocative of a modern, or perhaps post-modern version of  the Bauhaus school of design. Straight lines, pure functionality and simplicity of form all work together in the styling of this boat.

I think Gropius or Mies van der Rohe would approve of the D41's styling.

This stylistic approach may not work for everyone, and I have criticized the Hanse 415 for being a bit too squarish for my taste, but I have to respect the quality of design in these accommodations. The same can be said of the deck design, with its softly curving coamings in contrast with the harder edges of the rest of the cockpit, and the sleek yet functional proportions of the cabin trunk.They all strike a nice aesthetic and functional balance that appeals to me.

Simple elegance combined with impressive performance potential in the D41

When I began to study the Dehler 41 I was prepared to find it unappealing, as I did the Hanse 415, but I think the designers and builder got it right on this boat. It is clearly a fast and powerful vessel, no question about that. But more than that, they found the right balance of form, function and performance. As I studied the photos and drawings of this boat, I got the sense that the D41 isn't a wolf in sheep's clothing, it's more of a wolf in wolf's clothing. I like this boat!

Americas Cup 2013

Anybody who has even the slightest interest in the Americas Cup competition has seen the video of Team Oracle's spectacular crash last October.  It is amazing that there was no serious damage to the boat except for the carbon wing, which was demolished. Until the crash, no one truly knew where the edge of the envelope was for these extremely powerful boats, so it was a learning experience for the crew of Oracle 17. The question now is whether they will overcome this setback in time to mount a competitive defense of the cup. The crash was certainly a serious bump in the road for them, but now they have a real, rather than theoretical understanding of how hard to push and, probably more importantly, that feeling in the collective gut of the crew of where the edge is. Anyone who has pushed a high performance boat, whether it's a 49er or TP52 beyond the edge of control, knows that feeling. Ironically, that experience, and the experience of quickly putting a broken AC72 back together, could turn out to be a winning edge when the big boats race on the bay.

Yesterday I visited the Oracle compound at Pier 80 in San Francisco and had a chance to see the nearly completely repaired 17 as well as the newest boat, which is still under construction in the same building. While there I also got a look at the newly delivered wing mast whose basic structure was built in New Zealand for completion in San Francisco. Here are some observations:
1. It wasn't until I was right up close to both the wing and the hulls that I could truly appreciate the power to weight ratio of this boat.
2. The hulls are beautifully sculpted shapes that hardly appear to be up to the task of supporting the vast size of the rig, until you realize that the wing, which towers about 130 feet above the deck, weighs only about 3,000 pounds.
3. I was impressed by the fineness of the bows of the hulls. These are almost delicate shapes that will be extremely fast in light air, but will be more challenging in a breeze. I say that because they are very fine, with commensurately little reserve buoyancy. When you consider that the center of effort in the wing is some 65 feet or so above the waterplane, with its center of gravity likely a few feet down from there, it's easy to understand that if the boat is at speed and sticks a bow or two into a wave, the chances of pitchpoling are significant. It's interesting to note that the boat that crashed didn't flip, that is, it didn't fall over sideways, it pitchpoled, or sailed over its bows. Clearly, sailing these boats will be more about power management than power generation in the conditions they are likely to encounter on San Francisco Bay.
4. The wing mast is a fairly simple shape in the profile view. It is a two-element structure, that is, a main element and a flap, and it appears to me that the real technology is in its structural design and control system.
5. Clearly the trick will be in knowing how to control the power in this rig. If there is much breeze at all during the actual races, the winner may well be the crew that has learned how to allow the rig to generate enough power without overpowering the boat and capsizing. As we have already seen, bearing off  an AC72 in a breeze will be tricky. The trimmers will have to be in perfect sync with the helmsman to ease the throttle as the boat turns away from the wind.
6. The course seems awfully short for these 72 foot boats. The marks appear to be set fairly close inshore so there will be little room on the left side of the course. The venue along the city front will make for spectacular viewing but the legs are only about 3 miles long, so these boats that are easily capable of 30 knots might take 15 minutes to get from the leeward mark to the windward mark. That doesn't leave much time for tactics, so I think the key will be to win the start and then don't crash.

Finisterra Update 1-13-13

We had been planning to spend the first few days of the new year at Catalina Island but the recent cold temperatures (highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's) made that plan unappealing. So instead I worked on a couple of winter projects. First I removed the old dodger and cut the frame down a bit. The old dodger was taller than it needed to be and was not the best design. The photo below is a 'before' shot, and I'll post some pictures of the revised dodger in a couple of weeks.

Finisterra's dodger is taller than it needs to be

This dodger is about eight years old and is showing its age. The new one will be about four inches longer along the roof-line and two inches lower, and it will have Strataglass instead of plain vinyl window material. I think Strataglass is vastly superior to other materials because it is doesn't wrinkle and distort your view, yet it is flexible enough to roll up when you want to. I never fold the dodger down so there is no value in the extra flexibility of regular vinyl. We'll replace the bimini along with the dodger. It is also showing its age and I want to tweak the design of it a bit as well. 

Another project that got underway this week was the new cockpit table. The first step was to remove the old one. I have a good deal of respect for the designers at Beneteau. They generally do a pretty good job with styling and ergonomics in their boats, but in my opinion they simply missed the mark with this table. I have tried to like it, and even encouraged others to do so, but unfortunately we could never quite get there. It's clunky looking, it's too big and it gets in the way of sailing the boat. It also makes the cockpit cramped for anything besides sitting and eating or drinking. So I took it out...Man, what a difference! We've got room to move now. 

The cockpit is almost four feet wide between the seats. 

With about 3'-6" of width between the seats, the cockpit now feels spacious. With this much room it will need some foot-braces which I'll install using the existing holes in the sole. I'll build a smaller table module and mount it just forward of the binnacle. It will include a dropleaf table, storage compartment, grab-rails on the sides and a housing for a GPS that will swivel so we can see it from anywhere in the cockpit.

I love the new-found space here!

Beneteau installs a clear plastic cover on hinges over the instruments at the helm. Nearly every Beneteau we've looked at, ours included, showed signs of the hinges coming adrift. Naturally they were installed with self tapping #6 screws which usually lose no time in working loose, so it's not long before those itty-bitty threads are stripped.  I took the plastic cover off permanently, and will do something creative with the leftover holes.

Here are a couple of views of the cockpit table. It's not pretty but with the drop-leaves attached, it makes into a large dining table in the cockpit. On our boat the leaves are beautifully varnished teak. 

The table is stoutly made with a nice welded stainless steel frame that includes a foot-rest.
The table comes with a plastic lid that fits loosely on top. 

The drop-leaves are attached to the table with slip-pin hinges, and the blue tape covers the forward one because it had an uncanny ability to grab clothing as you go past it. Beneteau used a RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) process to make this molded fiberglass part. This is a cost effective and environmentally responsible process that results in a strong, lightweight part with a smooth finish on both sides. I'm a big fan of RTM.

Here are a couple of photos of the finished ground tackle system. It includes a chain stop mounted on a teak block and bolted through the deck, which was reinforced with a large backing plate. The chain is 200' of 5/16" type G40 spliced to 150' of 9/16" nylon 3-strand rode.

The chain stop is mounted on the block to align it with the chain between the windlass and bow roller. Notice the shiny underside of the hatch. It was also made using an RTM process.  The waterproof plastic box holds the handheld windlass controller. 

Anchor installed. 

There has been considerable controversy in the last few years regarding anchors, with all sorts of accusations flying in all directions. For many years I used Danforths on my racing boats. They are relatively compact and fairly reliable anchors, and are a good solution for boats that don't get into challenging anchoring situations. When I began outfitting our last boat for cruising I chose a Manson Supreme. It is what I call a spade type, as opposed to a fluke type of anchor such as a Danforth or Fortress, and while there may be disagreements about which brand anchor is better, I think the spade type of anchor is superior to the fluke types. The Manson 35 we had on the Honcho is one of the few items I kept when we sold her. When it came time to buy an anchor for the Finisterra, I felt there was little difference between the Manson and Rocna units and chose a Rocna 25 (55 LB) mainly because it was a little lighter and less expensive than the comparable Manson.

In Mexico the holding ground is varied, and we anchored in sand, mud and rock bottoms. In the lagoon at Barra De Navidad, the bottom is more like a black slurry than proper mud. In Bahia Santa Maria we spent five days anchored over a sandy bottom while 25 to 40 knot northerly winds combined with a strong southerly swell rolling into the bay, making it quite a lively anchorage. All the while the Manson did its job perfectly and I expect that the Rocna will do the same.

Nautitech 441 Catamaran

There is a big, boxy-looking Lagoon 40 berthed on the next gangway over from us in the marina and it got me thinking about cruising multihulls and how they have evolved since the partnership of Rudy Choy, Warren Seaman and Al Kumalae developed the first offshore racing/cruising cats back in the 1950's. Back then catamarans were exotic, and were shunned by the offshore racing crowd. Today, thanks to those pioneers and countless others, offshore cruising multihulls are totally mainstream.  I did a bit of research on the Internet and came up with some interesting numerical comparisons for medium sized cruising cats and after reviewing three of the more popular models in that size range I decided to take a more thorough look at the Nautitech 441. But first, here are the numbers:

The squarish Lagoon 440 is a beefy boat with lots of accommodations

Lagoon 440 

LOA:  45.83'

Beam:  25.75'

Draft:  4.25'

Displacement:  37,265 LB

Sail area: 1,472 sq. ft. with square top main and roller furling genoa

The Leopard 44, designed by Morelli & Melvin offers more performance in a better looking package

Leopard 44

LOA:  42.56'

Beam:  23.75'

Draft:  4.18'

Displacement: 32,930 LB

Sail area: 1,270 sq. ft.

Nice proportions on the Nautitech 441

Nautitech 441

LOA:  44.18'

Beam:  22.33'

Draft:  3.92''

Displacement: 20,286 LB

Sail area: 1,055 sq. ft.

Each of these boats seems to emphasize a different aspect of cruising performance. At over 37,000 pounds, the Lagoon offers the most amenities. The Nautitech, at a little over half that weight should be the most fun to sail, while the Leopard falls somewhere in between. Of course it's never just about the numbers. Hull design, ergonomics, rigging and other facets of the overall design play important roles in determining the overall desirability of each of these yachts. I chose to take a more in-depth look at the Nautitech because of the three boats, it's balance of looks, comfort and performance comes closest of the three to what I think a good cruising cat ought to be. However, I should say out front that my ideal cruising cat would be lighter than all of these boats and be fitted with dagger boards instead of keels.

Efficient hulls, long and shallow keels and a short but wide rig. Most new cats incorporate  a square-top mainsail  instead of the one shown in the drawing.

N441 with square-top main sail

With all that said, let's start with the hulls of the Nautitech 441. If you visit the web sites for the Lagoon and Leopard boats you'll get a sense of how much bigger they are than the Nautitech. For the way we cruise, just the two of us with occasional guests, this boat has more than enough space. These hulls are relatively narrow compared with the other boats which translates to less drag. The Leopard hulls incorporate substantial chines above the wateline, while the Lagoon's hull are just plain beamy. These factors indicate that the 441 should be the better performer. All three boats have shallow fixed keels, so none will be particularly fast upwind, but that's not what these boats are about. They all have fairly large fuel capacity,  over 100 gallons in the 441 and 170 gallons in the Lagoon, so my guess is that the serious upwind work will be done mostly under power. The shoal keels will enable the 441 to venture into lots of places where deeper boats can't go, and also protect the sail drives from harm, but they don't help much in getting the boat upwind.

 The deck plan shows that not only are the hulls significantly narrower than the other boats, but there is less deck area and the deck house is relatively smaller as well. I like the wide open spaces on deck. Also notice that the anchor is stored on the port bow. I would prefer to see it mounted on a bow-plank along the centerline of the boat. The helmsman's perch is on the port side of the deck house and elevated so the driver can see over the top of the cabin. The photos show a hardtop over this area, I'd like to have a windscreen as well. It will be a cold helmsman that stands the midnight watch on this boat in anything less than balmy weather. The trade-off is much better visibility compared to helm stations located in the cockpit or at the aft end of each hull. The sail controls are also clustered in this area. This can be a good thing for the shorthanded crew, but it can make for a very busy helmsman at times and I question the ergonomics of this arrangement. Notice the locations of the jib sheet winches on the cabintop. There is a pair of winches at the aft end of the cockpit for spinnaker sheets.  The drawing shows a mainsheet winch also located there, but I think it has been moved to the cabintop along with the other sheet winches.

Unique deck arrangement lines on the N441

The helm station is set up with instruments and sail controls. A dodger would be a welcome addition 

The cockpit is smaller than the other boats but certainly large enough for a cruising couple and guests. I like the rounded contours aft that provides lots of space on deck. This layout doesn't provide as much shade as the more squarish designs, which would be noticeable in the tropics. Another difference between this boat and the others is the lack of a forward cockpit. The Leopard has a passageway from the cabin to that area while on the Lagoon there isn't one. These details account for some of the difference in the weight of the 441 compared to the others. I think the forward cockpit would be delightful on an inshore boat, but would find it less appealing for offshore work. One of the great things about all of these boats is their speed compared to monohulls of similar length. That translates directly to being able to do more of your passagemaking miles in good weather.

Nautitech offers the 441 in three and four cabin versions. I chose to focus on the three cabin version, which incorporates an owner's suite in the starboard hull and a pair of double cabins to port. The owner's suite is luxurious, with a large head and shower toward the bow, a desk and lots of storage space just forward of the passageway and a double berth arranged longitudinally aft. On the port side, there is a double berth way up in the bow, which will inevitably be converted to storage on most 441's. It is followed by a comfortable looking double cabin with an adjoining head. This head is also accessible from the main cabin. The aft stateroom offers more space and a private head.

Condo-like accommodations in fairly slender hulls

The main cabin works really well. The galley is large and the sinks, with lots of counter space, are located along the centerline of the boat. This makes them accessible from both sides, making the galley seem bigger than it already is. Opposite the galley is a large nav station with a large desk and plenty of room for instruments and all the other items I like to have handy when I'm navigating.  The forward part of the cabin is dedicated to a large wrap-around dinette that incorporates a circular coffee table.

Lots of hatches and light colored wood adds to the sense of spaciousness

There has been a significant migration of sailors from monohulls to multi's in recent years and it's not hard to understand why. Vast amounts of living space, sailing flat instead of heeled, more speed, and shoal draft all add to the appeal of catamarans. I think it's worthwhile to give these boats a look if you searching for a family style cruising boat.

Windlass Installation

 A few weeks ago I mentioned that the windlass was severely corroded and that I was planning to repair or replace it. When I removed it from the boat and got a look at the underside of it, the corrosion was as bad as I feared it would be. The screws that hold the gypsy assembly to the cast aluminum housing were completely frozen and no amount of PB Blaster could loosen them, and the corrosion around the mounting studs was severe enough to give me doubt about the entire base of the casting. One thing you don't want in your ground tackle is doubt, so last weekend I replaced the entire unit, and while I was at it I built a spacer out of StarBoard to raise the windlass up so that whenever there is water standing on its shelf in the anchor locker, it will not be sitting in it.

Using the paper template that came with the new windlass as a guide, I made a base plate out of StarBoard. 

It would have been a simple matter for Beneteau to mold a riser into the windlass shelf, or perhaps make the shelf slanted enough that water would run off, which might have made this project unnecessary. Anyway, once the plate was made I check-fitted it on the windlass. I also took the opportunity to back all the screws for the gypsy and back cover out and give them a liberal coat of Tef-Gel before re-tightening them, and did the same to the mounting studs before installing them. As far as I know, nothing beats Tef-Gel for preventing seizing of mating parts, including dissimilar metals.

This is what the base of the windlass look like. The housing that holds the gypsy and mounting studs is cast aluminum and the back cover, where the Lewmar sticker is located is composite material.

The unit comes with a rubber gasket that is about 2 mm thick, which isn't enough raise the unit up clear of any water on the shelf. On the old windlass, water had seeped between the gasket and the aluminum housing and worked its corrosive magic across the entire area of the base, especially around the stainless steel mounting studs.

Windlass with the gasket installed.

Woody checks the fit of the new base plate on the windlass.

After making sure the base and windlass fit together, it was time to mount the base plate into the anchor locker. I applied a bead of 3M 4000 around the perimeter and the holes, carefully pressed it into position and allowed it to cure.

Base plate is bonded in place with 3M  semi-permanent adhesive.

Now all that's left to do is bolt the windlass in place and connect the wiring. Of course it's never as easy as you'd think. The back cover of the windlass must be removed in order to make the connections, and there isn't enough clearance in the locker to do that with the windlass bolted in place, so that work has to be done before the windlass is bolted down.  If the windlass was mounted a couple of inches further forward you'd be able to get it off without removing the windlass.

Windlass installed.

The last step was to test the windlass. It worked like a champ. Now I can finish the job of rigging the boat with proper chain and rode and try out the new Rocna 55.

Tartan 4000 Review

A progressive cruiser from a venerable builder

Tartan Yachts is a time honored marque in yachting. The Tartan 37 and 41 set high standards for sailing yachts back in the 1970's and '80's. In more recent years the company has been buffeted by the economic storms we've all had to weather lately and I'm glad to see that they appear to be surviving, and perhaps even thriving under new ownership. The 4000 is their latest offering in the forty foot range. As you may know, Sailing World Magazine's panel of experts named it 2012 Boat of the Year, so I think it's worthwhile to take a good look at the boat.

Like all the recent Tartans, the 4000 was designed by Tim Jackett to be a wholesome and well appointed cruiser/racer, with the emphasis, in my opinion, on cruiser. Starting with the profile view of the boat I must say it is refreshing to see a new boat that hasn't been pushed to the far edges of the design envelope in pursuit of interior volume. The sheer is elegantly sprung and there is a nice aesthetic balance between the rake of the stem and the slope of the transom. Below the waterline the hull is relatively deep amidships and fairs into finer waterlines aft than we see in the newer boats from Europe. That raked stem has practical value beyond aesthetics. Cruising boats with plumb stems invariably accumulate scrapes and marks around the bow from the anchor chain or rode unless they have fairly long bow planks. Tartan refers to the keel as a 'beavertail'. It looks like a squished bulb to me, which is fine. It gets the weight low without excessive draft and should provide good stability for this well balanced boat.

The bulb is different looking, but it does get the lead down where you want it.

The Tartan 4000 is propelled by an interesting sailplan that they call a 'Cruise Control Rig' or CCR for short. The mast is carbon fiber as is the boom, which is V-shaped to capture the mainsail when it is doused, eliminating the need for a canvas stackpack. That's a nice arrangement that I think will work well. The boat is rigged with double headsails on roller furlers. The forward one is a genoa and just a few inches aft of it is an inner forestay that carries a small working jib that sheets to a thwartships track just forward of the mast, making it self tacking. The idea is that in light air you'll use the genoa and when the breeze is up you'll switch to the working jib. For cruising, this arrangement might be okay as long as you remember that when sailing under the genoa, it has to be rolled almost all the way in whenever you tack. On the other had, when sailing under the working jib, that rolled up genoa is right in front of its leading edge, spoiling airflow and compromising its effectiveness. I think a better solution would be a single headstay with a well made foam luffed 140% genoa on a reefable furler. You would save the weight and cost of the second furler and have equal or better all around performance.

Tartan 4000 Cruise Control Rig

In the profile view of this boat it's hard to fault the nice lines in of the deck. It's relatively low and well proportioned, with good clearances along the side decks. I've given up on criticizing mid-boom sheeting since my own boat is rigged that way. It's not optimal from a sailing perspective but it makes other things work better, so I grudgingly accept it. The cockpit on the T4000 is really well done. Halyards and control lines are led to a pair of winches on the cabin top and the coamings are wide enough to sit on. Notice in the photo below that the mainsheet traveler is mounted on the cockpit sole, which is a practical thing to do. It might take a bit of getting used to, but it opens up the cockpit and offers much better sail control than the standard mid-boom unit. The boat has twin wheels mounted on nicely designed carbon pedestals. The photos also show that the hull is quite beamy aft, but there is considerable flair in the aft sections of the hull. I think this is a nice compromise that will reward this boat with good sailing manners in a breeze while still allowing for plenty of room in the cockpit.

Nice cockpit arrangement. Cruisers will miss having a swimstep built into the transom.

The accommodations in this boat are a pleasant surprise. The layout is thoroughly modern, with a queen-size berth in the forward cabin and strategically angled bulkheads in the main salon. The galley is large and offers plenty of counter space and storage. The nav station is also large and well designed, and just aft of it is a good sized quarter-cabin. All of these spaces work well and the only missing item is a good sea berth. Aboard the Finisterra I've designed a lee-board to fit in the quarter cabin to make a snug berth for offshore passages and the same could be done with this boat. I think the designer was able to incorporate the nice open spaces into the boat because it has only one head. Personally, I think one head is enough for a cruising couple with occasional guests. Aboard the T 4000, they weren't content with building a nice spacious and practical head, they incorporated a circular door for the shower. It may be cute as a bug's ear, but I prefer to eschew such gimmicky features that are likely to give trouble at some point.

Nice layout and solid wood joinery make for pleasant living aboard

I really do like the nice solid wood joinery in this boat. It is a refreshing departure from the IKEA-like styling of the new European inspired boats I've been looking at lately. I saw one of these boats at a recent boat show and admired the quality of the furnishings. The engine is a 55shp Volvo with a saildrive located under the companionway. That many horses will push the 4000 along at hull speed in almost any conditions.  Back in my boatbuilding days we installed a good many saildrives, mostly Yanmars, and they work very well especially on racing yachts. But I personally prefer the trusty shaft and strut type for long distance cruising. I've seen more than a few boats having saildrives replaced in inconvenient harbors.

Traditional wood joinery makes for very pleasant accommodations

The Tartan 4000 looks like a sweet ride for local cruising and club racing, and it could easily be optimized for offshore passagemaking. It has some interesting features such a cast and polished fairleads for the mooring cleats that add a touch of class . My guess is that most of the time you'll bypass them, but they sure are pretty. I checked PHRF numbers for this boat and it looks like the rating is going to settle in the 72-84 range, which is quite respectable for this boat. I'm sure the good looks, build quality and  BOTY award will generate lots of attention for this boat. It's definitely worth a look.

Finisterra Update

In the last couple of months we've been sailing the boat quite a bit. The stackpack system works well. It's different from typical systems in that when we're sailing it can be rolled up and secured along the boom instead of staying deployed. It's a bit more work to roll it up but I much prefer the sail unfettered by the bag and lazy jacks.

Slick stackpack contains the full battened mainsail

Awhile back I mentioned that the autopilot was not working properly. After searching the Internet for ideas on how to fix it, I removed the linear drive and rebuilt it, then reinstalled it, confident that I'd solved the problem. But I was wrong. So I've ordered a new drive which should arrive next week.

The boat came with funky pleated cloth curtains on all the portlights. I suppose they're stylish in a 1990's sort of way, but they are eight years old and at the end of their useful life. We really liked the OceanAir shades we had on the Honcho so we ordered a set from Defender and installed them last week. These shades block out 100% of the sunlight and are good looking.

One thing I've wanted to change since we got the boat was to upgrade the ground tackle system. The original equipment included a 40 LB Bruce anchor, 40 feet of 3/8" BBB chain and 150 feet of nylon rode. The new system includes a 55 LB Rocna anchor, 200 feet of 5/16" G40 chain and 150 feet of nylon rode. This requires changing the chain gypsy on the windlass. To do that, I had to remove the windlass. This is a simple matter of four bolts. When I got it out of the boat I discovered a lot of corrosion around the base of the unit. I've noticed that the shelf in the anchor locker where the windlass is mounted is often wet, either with seawater or fresh, so it's no wonder the aluminum housing of the windlass is corroded. When I re-install the unit I'll make a mounting plate out of 1/2" StarBoard to raise it up so that it never sits in water.

My winter project is to go through the exterior canvas on the boat. I'll lower the dodger by an inch or two, make some changes to the bimini and have side curtains made for it. I'll also set it up to mount solar panels to it.