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Bump's World - February 2013
February 3, 2013
The interiors had to be designed to fit the hull shape, so again in a 40 footer there was a vee berth forward, forward head with hanging locker opposite, port & starboard settees in main cabin, nav station one side, galley other side and quarter berth.
The boats had halyard winches on the mast. Huge primary winches in cockpit and individual winches spread around for various other functions.
By the early 1980s roller furling head sails became popular and the beginning of in the mast furling system for the main sail.
As time went on the winches kept moving more and more aft. First from the mast itself to around the base of the mast. Then to half way from the mast to the cockpit. Then to the cabin top just forward of the cockpit. Now the winch locations are all the way aft just forward of the helmsman. Functions that were done by 10 winches are now done by 2.
First they were just winches, and then self tailing winches, and now electric winches.
2 electric winches one on each side just forward of the helm. 2 jammer banks handling all the lines. The helms man can just push a button for his adjustment.
By the mid 1980s, many of the quarter berths were now enclosed and the aft cabin was created. To get 2 heads you still needed to go to about 44 feet.
Features of refrigeration and heat were becoming common. Occasionally we did a windlass. So in 1980 if you had a 40 footer you needed a crew to go sailing or a very experienced captain. It was a lot of work putting the sails up and pulling them in and out. God forbid the wind changed and you had to change a head sail.
IOR died in the mid 1980s and IMS allowed for a much fuller hull form. Now a 40 footer had a 35 foot water line and the stern was made fuller so the interior volume about doubled.
By 1990 people wanted more features so we began to see TVs, DVD players, and microwaves . The inverter now allowed us to convert 12 volt power to 110 like we have at home. Now all our home appliances made their way to the boat. Of course we could not supply that much power so high output alternators were needed. Even with that we needed more power.
By the late 1990s people wanted more power and air conditioning. So generators were installed. Luckily the hull form continued to grow so we could fit the generator in.
In-mast furling systems got better, roller furling boom systems and furling headsails all were more efficient and made sailing easier. No longer do you need a crew of 8 to go for a day sail.
Many boat builders incorporated the self tacking head sail system which eliminated the need to release the jib when you tack and trim it back in on the other side. The head sail was also a lot smaller so again easier to adjust on all points of sail.
As people single and double handed these 40 footers it was still tricky docking or getting into a slip. The bow thruster came to the rescue. Some even went so far as to do a bow and stern thruster allowing the boat to go sideways if needed.
By the mid 2000s the hull form got even bigger with a 40 footer having a 38 foot waterline and the maximum beam carried all the way aft. This made for huge cockpits and lots of room for double aft cabins. There was so much more room that double heads were common on a 40 footer. In order to see where you are going and to reach your 2 outboard electric winches double wheels were installed.
So in 1980 to go sailing we did the following.
1. Take off mainsail cover and remove sail ties. Mainsail falls on deck eliminating visibility.
2. Drag head sail choice of the day up on deck, attach sheets and halyard. Attach head sail to head stay.
3. Get out into open water with lots of room.
4. Crew 1 jumps main halyard, crew 2 winches and crew 3 tails, crew 4 and 5 trim sail in.
5. After main is up repeat process with head sail careful not to drop in water.
6. Crew members in cockpit will trim sails. Crew members on deck will make adjustments to outhaul etc.
7. Tacking requires jib sheet release and grinder and tailor on new tack side.
8. Reverse process to get sails down and put away.
9. Anchoring requires dropping anchor and feeding line and chain. Back breaking process to pull back up.
10. Docking requires lots of hand to fend off and good insurance.
In 2013.
1. Unzip mainsail bag on boom.
2. Push button to raise main sail.
3. Push button to unfurl jib.
4. Push button to trim jib and mainsail.
5. To anchor, push down button on winless remote. To raise anchor push up button.
6. To dock, lower bow thruster and ease her in.
Sit under your dodger and full bimini. You can have a refrigerator in the cockpit for a cold one. Run your generator for air conditioned comfort below. Watch your wide screen TV. Turn on your blender and build me a drink.
Please mail comments to me at Bump@newwaveyachts.com
Bump Wilcox
Bump's World - February 2013
February 3, 2013
YACHT EVOLUTION
I started selling yachts in 1979. The hull forms were influenced by the IOR rule which encouraged short waterlines, pinched hulls at both ends, narrow waterline beam. A 40 foot boat would have a 32 foot waterline.The interiors had to be designed to fit the hull shape, so again in a 40 footer there was a vee berth forward, forward head with hanging locker opposite, port & starboard settees in main cabin, nav station one side, galley other side and quarter berth.
The boats had halyard winches on the mast. Huge primary winches in cockpit and individual winches spread around for various other functions.
By the early 1980s roller furling head sails became popular and the beginning of in the mast furling system for the main sail.
As time went on the winches kept moving more and more aft. First from the mast itself to around the base of the mast. Then to half way from the mast to the cockpit. Then to the cabin top just forward of the cockpit. Now the winch locations are all the way aft just forward of the helmsman. Functions that were done by 10 winches are now done by 2.
First they were just winches, and then self tailing winches, and now electric winches.
2 electric winches one on each side just forward of the helm. 2 jammer banks handling all the lines. The helms man can just push a button for his adjustment.
By the mid 1980s, many of the quarter berths were now enclosed and the aft cabin was created. To get 2 heads you still needed to go to about 44 feet.
Features of refrigeration and heat were becoming common. Occasionally we did a windlass. So in 1980 if you had a 40 footer you needed a crew to go sailing or a very experienced captain. It was a lot of work putting the sails up and pulling them in and out. God forbid the wind changed and you had to change a head sail.
IOR died in the mid 1980s and IMS allowed for a much fuller hull form. Now a 40 footer had a 35 foot water line and the stern was made fuller so the interior volume about doubled.
By 1990 people wanted more features so we began to see TVs, DVD players, and microwaves . The inverter now allowed us to convert 12 volt power to 110 like we have at home. Now all our home appliances made their way to the boat. Of course we could not supply that much power so high output alternators were needed. Even with that we needed more power.
By the late 1990s people wanted more power and air conditioning. So generators were installed. Luckily the hull form continued to grow so we could fit the generator in.
In-mast furling systems got better, roller furling boom systems and furling headsails all were more efficient and made sailing easier. No longer do you need a crew of 8 to go for a day sail.
Many boat builders incorporated the self tacking head sail system which eliminated the need to release the jib when you tack and trim it back in on the other side. The head sail was also a lot smaller so again easier to adjust on all points of sail.
As people single and double handed these 40 footers it was still tricky docking or getting into a slip. The bow thruster came to the rescue. Some even went so far as to do a bow and stern thruster allowing the boat to go sideways if needed.
By the mid 2000s the hull form got even bigger with a 40 footer having a 38 foot waterline and the maximum beam carried all the way aft. This made for huge cockpits and lots of room for double aft cabins. There was so much more room that double heads were common on a 40 footer. In order to see where you are going and to reach your 2 outboard electric winches double wheels were installed.
So in 1980 to go sailing we did the following.
1. Take off mainsail cover and remove sail ties. Mainsail falls on deck eliminating visibility.
2. Drag head sail choice of the day up on deck, attach sheets and halyard. Attach head sail to head stay.
3. Get out into open water with lots of room.
4. Crew 1 jumps main halyard, crew 2 winches and crew 3 tails, crew 4 and 5 trim sail in.
5. After main is up repeat process with head sail careful not to drop in water.
6. Crew members in cockpit will trim sails. Crew members on deck will make adjustments to outhaul etc.
7. Tacking requires jib sheet release and grinder and tailor on new tack side.
8. Reverse process to get sails down and put away.
9. Anchoring requires dropping anchor and feeding line and chain. Back breaking process to pull back up.
10. Docking requires lots of hand to fend off and good insurance.
In 2013.
1. Unzip mainsail bag on boom.
2. Push button to raise main sail.
3. Push button to unfurl jib.
4. Push button to trim jib and mainsail.
5. To anchor, push down button on winless remote. To raise anchor push up button.
6. To dock, lower bow thruster and ease her in.
Sit under your dodger and full bimini. You can have a refrigerator in the cockpit for a cold one. Run your generator for air conditioned comfort below. Watch your wide screen TV. Turn on your blender and build me a drink.
Please mail comments to me at Bump@newwaveyachts.com
Bump Wilcox