Boat Plans Bateau | Farr 38 40

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No discussion of a Farr boat can avoid some discussion on Bruce Farr (O.B.E.) himself. Certainly I am out of my depth, and at a loss for words, when it comes to discussing this great man, clearly one of the most successful designers of performance yachts ever.

Born in Auckland in 1949, Bruce was an accomplished and keen Dinghy sailor. By his late teens he was designing and building very fast dinghies. By his early 20s he had a number of fast and light keelboats to his name. The Farr 38/40 reviewed here was drawn in 1978 - Bruce will have been 29 years of age.

A quick glance at the design list on www.farrdesign.com left me in a slight state of shock. There are literally hundreds of designs (I didnt have time to count them all) - but so many big name boats I hadnt known were his. For example Ceramco (early Whitbread maxi), the new Farr 40s, Transpac 52s, Mumm 36s, some of the super Maxis eg Mirabella and the big Wallys, many of the lead Volvo 70s, half a doxen Open 60s and Whitbread 60s - it goes on and on and on). Did I mention the Americas Cup yacht KZ-1, many of the recent Bavarias and Beneteaus? Anyway, the Farr 38/40 sits right in the middle of the list as a small "performance cruiser" if you dont mind! I had a good chuckle when I read the brochure, describing this as unashamedly a cruiser! 
See http://www.farrdesign.com/pdfs/172brochure.pdf if you dont believe me! Its an instructive read. Felt like I was laughing in church! Where I come from this is quite a mean machine. They go like hell, are capable of winning anything in our club classes and occasionally even line-honours amongst some large modern thoroughbreds. The local Farr 38/40 "Al" has been well campaigned and just proves the performance credentials of this design. As for a cruiser? - well think of taking the family on holiday in a four-seater Ferrari, instead of the Volvo this year. 

 HBYCs Faraway in fresh conditions off Hout Bay beach.

HBYCs Faraway in light conditions under Chapmans Peak.

Farr 38/40 Sailplan and Layout. Click for fullsize.

As a designer, Farr stands out as someone who really made the case for light boats, and safe, seaworthy, light boats at that. The yachting world was really quite shocked when his designs first appeared - refusing to believe that such relatively light boats could be seaworthy. I wouldnt say he was the first - even van der Stadt was doing this - but nobody popularised the case better than Farr. The other thing Farr seems to excel in is optimising the proprtions and dimensions of a boat for a given race or task. Ceramco (68) was such a yacht - skippered by Sir Peter Blake in the 81/82 RTW Whitbread Race. It weighed about 2/3 that of its main competitor, Flyer-2 76 (S&S, Conny van Rietschoten), yet they sailed almost within sight of each other around the world. But for an unfortunate dismasting on the last leg I think, Ceramco would have clearly won . . .

Farr 38 /40 Hull Profile. Note the bulb keel, deep high aspect spade rudder,

and the 2 sugar scoop on this one.

Back to the Farr 38/40. Unlike many of the others in this blog, Bruce Farr is not a South African designer (we make a very special case for Kiwis though!). However this design has been very popular here, as a very good offshore-racer, club-racer and class-racer. They are seldom campaigned under IRC as the ratings are just too punitive -  as this class was designed in a conscious departure from any rating systems.

You will note this class is often referred to as the Farr 38 (40) class. The original design is for a 38 footer, and the 40s have an extended sugar-scoop stern - presumably for downwind racing. The example I am most familiar with - viz. HBYCs "Faraway" has recorded consistent speeds at around 17 knots for extended periods on the Cape to Rio race - so clearly they can plane well. Notably, this boat was rolled 360 degrees by a large breaking wave near Saldnaha Bay on the return from Rio - it righted promptly, with only a broken vang, and a fair bit of mess down below!

"Faraway" - above - has tiller steering, running backstays, the sugar scoop extension, no lazy-jacks, and generally no roller furling. In my humble opinion, she is dam hard work, and the owner skipper - Chris Sutton, a hardy and wild old 72-year old (also our ever popular Commodore) show no sign of repenting on these matters, as long as he can muster 6-8 crew! This is not a good example for shorthanding, and single-handing is totally unthinkable. In truth - this is not actually what Farr intended. With suitable rigging, she would be dead easy to sail shorthanded, as indeed some are. She also sails beautifully under main alone. I am not sure whether she was originall drawn with a tiller or a wheel - both examples are common here - but certainly the tiller is great, and she sails like a dream. In the rough conditions around Cape Town (not to mention Hout Bays own horrific squalls), she is safe and quite forgiving, and always fast. In light airs she is also very impressive. This truly is a safe all-weather boat. The cockpit is ample and well suited to a busy racing crew, while also nice for cruising. The open stern and sugar scoop make boarding exceptionall easy. The accommodations are really basic on this example, but in many cases are very comfortable and well fitted below. Not huge for a 38 footer below - but certainly acceptable for a long downwind race.  . . .

This is Hocus-Pocus - also at Hout bay - a very clean example with

wheel steering and a single backstay. This is also predominantly

a racer, so no lazy-kacks and roller furling either.

Clean deck lines on Hocus-Pocus.

Design Specifications
	LOA: DWL: Beam: Draft: Displ: Ballast:	11.66 m/383" 9.50 m/312" 3.66 m/12 1.94 m/64" 4800 Kg/10600 Lbs 1850 Kg/4100 Lbs

Farrs own commentary, per their website:
Design #72 Farr 11.6/38
November 1981
The Farr 11.6 metre (38 ft) fast cruising sloop continues to gain popularity around the world. At present there are 85 boats sailing in 8 countries. Designed in 1978, the yacht was inspired by a trend away from the IOR Rule restrictions towards a pure design concept to produce a fast, comfortable, easily handled and relatively economical yacht. Changes to the IOR Rule in 1977 and 78 were obsoleting yachts the year following their launching as well as distorting hull shapes. It was time to look toward the one-design concept that offered security of invenstment and pleasureable sailing.
The Farr 11.6 metre has achieved these aims. It does not rate very favourably under IOR - but it was never intended to. It is simply a very fast cruising boat but will race boat for boat with the best of the 2 tonners. In general terms, the style is for a light (ish) displacement hull form, moderate beam by modern standards with powerful sections, a wide stern and fin bow. The powerful hull coupled with a good percentage of ballast set low in a high aspect keel with fine bow sections makes the boat stiff and ensures excellent performances to windward (particularly in rough water).
This rig is non-masthead swept spreader arrangement with no complicated runners. It has easy to handle headsails and a mainsail large enough to drive the boat by itself for nonchalant cruising. The boat has a high sail area-to-displacement ratio to ensure downwind speed.
The interior design is definitely cruising oriented. It features wide safe companionway steps, 2 or 3 double berths, big galley with fridge and freezer, separate navigation area, separate head and shower. There is an abundance of storage space in the main cabin area and in the wide stern. The boat can cater comfortable for up to 9 people.
Initially the boat was designed for 2 Auckland yachtsmen who previously had owned and competitively sailed one of Bruce Farrs first cruising yachts, and who wanted a fast cruiser/racer to compete in 2nd division Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron series. The first wooden boat, GOLDEN EAGLE, was launched in January 1979. By that time some 16 wooden boat plans had been sold and production for a one-design class yacht was underway in New Zealand and Australia, the first glass boat being launched in Auckland in August 1979. The Farr 11.6 metre was adopted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron as a class for one design racing. Hightly competitive racing has developed in New Zealand and Australia with yachtsmen crossing the Tasman to compete in events. Owners Associations formed in both countries control class restrictions and racing.

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Boat Plans Building | Didi 29 Retro!

Boat Plans Building

A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing!
I wonder if musicians can appreciate written music before they have heard it played? I guess they probably can otherwise how would they write it? Anyway - this is the first boat review I am prompted to do on a boat that has not actually been built yet. Its also the first one for which I have been prompted to include an exclamation mark in the name! Youll see what I mean . . . there will be more to come when we see it on the water.

This is an extraordinarily interesting design from a number of perspectives. When I first saw the outlines on Roy McBrides blog I responded with a short email commenting on the design which he immediately published, and the interest in this design has been immense.

Click on the pic above for an animated 3-D view on YouTube.

Note the planing underbody, powerful, high-lift keel, and the deep high-aspect rudder. Only the plum bow and the transom-sheer can be seen above water!

Classic topsides including the transom sheer, vertical cabin sides, classic bowsprit, and slightly raised bulwarks up front. Her moderately slender profile gives no further clues to the sportsboat lurking in her!

For all the world she looks like a classy and humble old gaffer. Originally gaff rigs had loads of sail (and sails) spread fore and aft on the hull as early technology couldnt support tall masts and high point-loads, or deep keels for that matter. So this rig is capable of hiding a vast sail wardrobe "at the ready" in a low-tech guise. Never mind the powerful assymmetrical on the 2 m bowsprit. Never mind the full roach gaff main, or the two headsails which can be used seperately or in combination, and sheeted right into the centre if desired . . . 

Space below is limited but practical and well used, with decent heads and galley. Headroom is limited at 4:3" - about the same as an RCOD or my Flamenca - but enought to get about in. Enough crew-berths for an offshore race, or family weekending at a pinch. Compared with say a Pacer-27 she is cavernous!

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When I first saw this hull it struck me of the old days when people placed V8s in a "stock standard" looking VW Beetle, and proceeded to blow the socks off the Ferraris of the day! While that is an unfortunately crude analogy, the element of suprise compares very well!

As you can see, the underbody of this yacht is pure sportsboat (without excessive beam and fat stern) - the flat planing sections at the back, long waterline, high aspect (bulb) keel and rudder, deceptively firm bilges, and quite easily-driven (slender) at that. Built from the well proven DiDi-26,  the dynamics are well understood, with the advantage of quite a bit more length. Construction from ply will keep it suitably light and very agile.

The topsides have all the styling cues of a proper old gaffer. Hahaha! This is where the fun really starts. Gaff-rigs, even in their old original form, are amazingly capable rigs. The well known sailing author Frank Robb wrote a convincing argument explaining his preferences for Gaff Rigs some years ago. In recent times, modern materials, technologies, and the IRC have made a clear winner of tall Bermudan Rigs with dominant mainsails however. Can this design change the state of play again? Probably not, but its going to be quite an interesting race in this example, especially if IRC is left out of the picture.

Off the Wind
Firstly, Gaffs are damn fast downwind, and in in all points except hard on the wind. Their centre of effort is much lower than a Bermudan rig, and the roach much fuller. They produce awesome power and penetration, whilst also being more controllable in very heavy winds - as the mast is far shorter -  so avoiding the instabilities of tall masts once they are over-powered or start rolling. More broach-resistant by far - which means you can drive quite a bit harder . . . On this 29 Retro, there is the small matter of a big assymetrical on that 2m bowsprit. Given the usual 25+ knots in the Mykonos race, I would be tempted to try it under the spinnaker alone. It will be astonishingly stable using just the bag, which is pulling far ahead of the centre of drag, whilst generating lift on the bow. As such, the rig is inherently stable, it shouldnt be able to broach at all . . . the planing underbody wont produce much argument from the hull, and the combination should be good for > 20 knots in the right hands!! Cant wait to see its first Mykonos race. Even with the main up, the gaff main is far more stable off the wind than its Bermudan counterpart, being far lower. Notice the spars are all carbon-fibre . . .

Light Airs
This rig offers a lot of canvass in many combinations. The hull is easily-driven and light. One tends to sail slightly looser in light airs anyway, so the gaff main will cope well. The two headsails could be flown in combination(s). It should be a killer.

Upwind in fresh conditions, Round the cans.
Established wisdom on gaffs suggest this will be its weakest point of sail, but I really suspect this is where this rig will offer its biggest suprise. Perhaps even the designer will be suprised! Why? Well typically, the fastest boats upwind are smallish, light and beamy, and benefit from generous crew weights on the weather rail. They generate huge power from the relatively high righting moment against the heeling force. L26s come to mind, and suitably crewed Pacer-27s, Melges 24s etc etc. Even Miuras are quite impressive in this role. But dont forget the RCOD. Its a slender hull, heels like hell, lacks power in the rig, but makes good angles and is easily driven. It moves nicely through a sharp chop on the water. Somehow they get to the next mark faster than you expect. This 29 Retro will do all that and more. The hull will track and point beautifully. The high-aspect (bulb) keel is good for plenty of lift, and its depth will provide good power at a fair angle of heel. The headsails can be sheeted extremely close as they dont clash with the stays. This gaff main is a very neat example - I dont see why it wont come in as close as a Bermudan main given the way the top-spar is fixed? The lower centre of effort is an obvious advantage. As a helmsman, in fresh conditions, I would optimise the headsail(s), use the main primarily to balance the helm upwind, and see how she goes. In lighter conditions she will reward a looser angle of sail favouring hull speed and this may be the way to get a good VMG. Some time with a GPS will be useful. One way or another, there is a lot more to this rig upwind than meets the eye.

All in all - this is going to be a very interesting boat to sail and own. There are many races she will do extremely well in, and will suprise the fleet in all circumstances. The beautiful looking traditional element is a joy to any yachtsman. She will dominate the bartalk, the press and the photo galleries. Having driven camera boats at various regattas I can just imagine Trevor Wilkins and Brenton Geach chasing after this baby, with or without the sponsors logos! I wouldnt want to be on the club handicap committee after the first race . . .
To add some further interest, I dont think this boat will need much in the way of winches - and the standing rigging will be very clean and simple. There is no need to get on the foredeck, and she will be easily handled by two people, making the element of suprise even greater!

This going to cause a lot of head scratching with sailors and designers alike . . .

Part 2 will come when we have seen her on the water - in 2013 I guess.
See Dudley Dixs Blog at http://dudleydix.blogspot.com/2012/06/more-didi-29-retro.html
See Roys blog at ckdboats.blogspot.com for details on the build as it happens, and the kits.

LATEST: Dudley has released a new rig for this design:

See more at: http://dudleydix.blogspot.com/2014/10/new-rig-for-didi-29-retro.html

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