Am I Going To Die - Farr 44

[Kiwi.]

I had a Farr 38 for a number of years and did a number of passages. It was also triple skinned kauri with glass over. The boat seemed unbreakable but it could be very hard on the people inside unless you could slow it down in rough weather. So a trysail, storm jib and drogue are vital. The trysail should ideally be on its own track and ready go, the storm jib should be on an inner forestay if you can rig one. Resist setting up an inner forestay that goes to the same attachment point on the mast as your main forestay; this rig is known as a slutter rig being a cross between a sloop and a cutter. Its well named. We were half way to Fiji one night on a 36ft slutter when the leach cord blew out of the genoa and wrapped around the inner forestay. Because the two stays weren't parallel we couldn't get the sail down without someone going up on the spinnaker halyard and cutting it all free. I never sailed with that rig again.
Because you are planning a multi year cruise you have the freedom to choose when to leave port and when to stay. The worst storms I've been in have always been when I've taken a week off with a few friends to bring a race boat back from a Fiji, Tonga or Noumea. On those trips we had no choice but to set sail into whatever weather was there when we got off the plane.
A Farr 44 is a great choice as an offshore boat. They have successfully taken cruising couples all over the globe.

[kjdavie01]

Of course it's going to ride like a pig, so the trip will be mighty uncomfortable when the weather DOES kick up, but if you (and your crew?) are ok with that aspect, you'll likely be fine. Not my choice for a long-term cruise, but hey, to each their own!

[Weyalan]

Like (almost) any boat, having your boat (and yourself) well prepared and taking sensible precautions to avoid the worst of the weather is the key to avoiding trouble. Bruce Farr generally designs good boats (in my opinion, at least). With the technology for receiving good advance weather info on-board, you ought to be able to avoid encountering super-bad weather and with the correct sail choice it is amazing how relatively comfortable you can be in "strong" winds. Our boat is a similar style - being a relatively light, flat-bottomed racing boat, but with a storm jib and 3 reefs, 50 knots is not too uncomfortable.

[Burge]

Hi All,

Great responses and so far it appears the general consensus is on making sure the boat is structurally sound and well equip to deal with the worst conditions and then its all down to making good decisions and having sufficient boat handling skill.

So on the equipment side I do have removable inner forestay, storm jib, tri sail on dedicated track, a drogue and parachute style sea anchor, so I just need to practice actually using them now!

This is probably a ridiculous question but is there any inflatable masthead flotation devices on the market for yachts? I have seen them for dinghies etc but wondered if they were available for cruising boats. The GZ curve for my boat suggests it is more stable upside down then the right way up so it would be good to come up with some way to address this.

Also The Thunderbird suggested adding a torpedo ballast to the fin keel, I have considered this as my boat is very tender to sail and gets a decent lean on even with the faintest sniff of a breeze but have been deterred as I don't won't to naively interfere with a well design boat and upset the performance.

We are planning on going all the way round as long as the money lasts and my beloved crew member doesn't abandon ship after having the life scared out of her!

Thanks for all the Reponses so far.

Regards Anthony

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by Delancey

When I hear "low displacement" and "fin keel" I think modern. When I hear "heavy displacement" and "full keel" I think anachronism.

I dunno, I wouldn't want to be the one to inform Bob Perry that his latest design features a keel that is an "anachronism"...

:-)

[Ozwizz54]

Hi Anthony,

I've done Sydney-Hobart races in Farr 40's. The 44's are similar in many respects and you are correct in that they are tender in a breeze. They do have self-righting capability and I can attest to the fact that it does work even in harsh conditions.

The stresses and strains on a boat in race conditions are much worse than anything you should apply to your boat while cruising. The advice given earlier about reefing at sunset is good.

The big advantage is that the boat is quick and you may be able to avoid much of the nasty weather with speed, good information and wise tactics.

Beth Leonard, in her book "The Voyager's Handbook", points out that little of their voyaging involved winds in excess of 30 knots though that did alter a little once they got north or south of 25 degrees. If you haven't got a copy of that book, it's highly recommended that you purchase one. Pay the premium and get the lastest edition as much of the technology information has evolved especially in the last five years or so.

The Farr 44's are good solid boats if a bit tough on the crew in heavy weather. With liberal amounts of the smarts and good seamanship, you should be able to manage in most conditions without more than a healthy dose of fear.

Wish you the best of conditions,
David

[barnakiel]

Go to Opua mate and look up Webb Chiles boat. Then make up your mind on that Farr of yours. ;-)

Opua: 4; 50

I'd rather think if that triple skinned whatever will not shed her keel (or rudder) should you ever resolve to touch anything harder than a jellyfish.

I'rather think if my skills are up to whatever the adventure asks for.

Everything floats. And it is navigation that is necessary, not life.

Right mindset. Right hardware. Balls.

What are your options? Sell the boat get another? Not sail the adenture?

b.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by Jon Eisberg

I dunno, I wouldn't want to be the one to inform Bob Perry that his latest design features a keel that is an "anachronism"...

:-)

Where did that come from?? Looks like a modded British Channel Cutter! With a saildrive no less c/w funky rudder that probably has some bite to it.

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Where did that come from?? Looks like a modded British Channel Cutter! With a saildrive no less c/w funky rudder that probably has some bite to it.

Bob's latest project... The guy's design brief mandated a full keel, a transom hung rudder, and TWIN ENGINES... Thankfully, Bob was able to eventually talk the guy out of the latter:-) I really like his solution to the transom hung rudder requirement, very interesting... I have a fair bit of time running Chuck Paine's Cabo Rico 42, which features a similar underbody...

Oh, and the hull is gonna be built from CARBON... And, he wants FOUR of them built, to give to various members of his family and/or to stage at various places around the world...

My newest project - Cruising Anarchy - Sailing Anarchy Forums

To my eye, this looks like a boat that will have superb sailing and seakeeping characteristics... I don't have too much experience with full-keelers, but a few winters ago I had the pleasure of taking a Cape George 31 south, and around to the FL west coast... It was a revelation, an absolutely wonderful boat, and surprisingly sprightly under sail... Only serious downside is the liability for close quarters maneuvering, that boat could have used a bow thruster, which seems a bit ridiculous on a boat of that size... But like the CR 42, with that cutaway forefoot and the windage of the double head rig placed so far foreward, once you lost the bow to the breeze, it was all over... :-)

As always, different strokes for different folks, but I certainly wouldn't consider a full keel to necessarily be outmoded, but rather only less suitable for certain styles of sailing and cruising, perhaps...

[Mithril Bham]

Farr's are great boats and it sounds like you are a careful person. I would say your chances of surviving the voyage are very high and, at least, you will have lived life to the fullest before the end we all face. Follow the good advice above. Although weather patterns have become less predictable the technology exists to avoid most of the really bad stuff.
Good luck

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Where did that come from?? Looks like a modded British Channel Cutter! With a saildrive no less c/w funky rudder that probably has some bite to it.

Looks like the bloke who commissioned the design spent too much time getting **** scared by the bwb crowd on this forum.


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[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by hoppy

Looks like the bloke who commissioned the design spent too much time getting **** scared by the bwb crowd on this forum.

Well, let's see... The guy has commissioned BP to design, and Jim Betts to build - out of carbon fiber, no less - 4 of these for himself and family... That's probably gonna work out to about $1 million for each...

Sounds to me like someone who probably doesn't waste much time hanging around internet sailing forums :-)

He's apparently been sailing all his life... Bob describes him as "old and wise, with a very sure sense of what he wants..."

I dunno, anyone who insists on a tiller for a 40-footer sounds like The Real Deal, in my book :-) To each his own, but personally I love the look of the design, and will be looking forward to following the progress of the build...

[Mithril Bham]

Someone once told me that the most important part of a sailboat was the engine. Not necessarily true but a good thing to keep in mind. I have been in F12 in a 39' Southern Cross. Wasn't worried as long as the engine kept running. Take extra fuel and don't push it with the weather window. Most people I know who got in trouble (some sank) pushed the weather window going south from Victoria. Weather off Cape Flattery can be a challenge to say the least. Give yourself lots of breathing room. You will be fine. You will be surprised how easy it is to get used to 40kts.

[Gerrycooper56]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Double reef the main at sunset.. that way you've only the jib to mess with in the dark.

Reef early not when you Need to..

And Yes... you will die.. but a lotta fun getting there

Best advice yet


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[Delancey]

Neat boat. With a carbon build I doubt would hardly qualify as "heavy displacement" so in this respect hardly typical of the type. Point taken none the less. I always liked Bob Perry boats.

Nice thing about the volume of the keel, I would expect it is being used for tankage to keep the weight down low.

I have a tiller on my 40-footer btw, compliment accepted