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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Boden Boat Plans Australia | Cape Cutter 19 Cape Henry 21 Cape May 25 new Cape Charles 32 preview

Boden Boat Plans Australia

(See end of post for updates on Cape May 25 and Cape Charles 32)

Lovely pic of a CC19 as appeared on 

Small Craft Advisor

 "Tiptoe", Ian Allens beautiful CC19 in Picton, NZ

Note the generous protected cockpit, small outboard in the well.

 CC19s are ideal for gunkholing and getting in shallow beaches.

Pretty as a picture....

Standard hull with lifting centreplate, she rides easily on a trailer behind a fair size car.

Note the beautiful and traditional lines on the lapstrake (clinker) hull.

I have decided to cover the Cape Cutter 19 (CC19) and the Cape Henry 21 (CH21) together as they cover a number of variations on a single theme. The prospective owner or builder will doubtlessly spend quite a while mulling over these before choosing one!

Boats, even leisure boats, exist for different reasons - racing, cruising, liveaboard, fishing, etc - and they all have their place in the sun. Day boats however, are the most special kind, because they exist purely for the fun of being on the water, for gunkholing, picnicking, camping, and simply going out to clear your head. They are generally smallish, traditional and good looking, and in my opinion maybe the purest design form available - pure art really! The CC19 and the CH21 are both brilliant examples of this.

The CC19 was conceived by one Nick Voorhoeve - from memory about 1998? They were intended to compete in the "Cornish Crabber" market, popular in the UK and Europe. At that time the SA Rand was very weak against foreign currencies, and it was intended it would be built locally and exported in a 20 foot container. Dudley was commissioned to do the design - it is one of his own favourites and certainly one to be very proud of. See http://www.dixdesign.com/inspir19.htm for Dudleys own commentaries on this one.

The design is very traditional and practical at the same time. She was designed originally for GRP production (or wood) with a lifting centreboard. The hull has a lapstrake look, quite beamy with a traditional looking cabin top. The gaff rig is easily demountable, and easily handled from the cockpit.There is a very neat well for a small inboard (this is a great feature). Rudder hangs over the traditional transom. Below, the space is quite vast for a 19 footer, and nicely laid out. Very adequate for a few nights aboard.

CC19 Layout

CH21 Layout

Layouts are almost identical - the CH21 has slightly longer berths and a bit more elbow room. Note the option of fixed or bilge keels avoids the centreplate arrangement inside.

Galley

V-berth, looking forard

CH21 Rig and Profile

The rig is a gaff with two headsails, both on roller-furlers, to be flown either/or - it is not actually a cutter rig - but offers great flexibility and offers a very traditional appearance.

How do they sail?

In nearly all conditions, astonishingly well. In light airs they fly like dinghies. In moderate winds they handle well, and in strong winds they manage much better than youd expect.Lots of this is due to the very flexible sail plan, and the generous beam. 

While sailing a very large cat recently in Table bay, a CH21 crept up on us from a few miles behind. At first we couldnt see what it was, with many comments about how an old boat with a gaff rig could be moving that fast. Well in fact an old boat with a gaff rig simply cant go that fast - I then realised it must be a new boat and likely the new CH21 launched in Cape Town recently.  Well it was - I snapped a pic of it near Sunset Beach. This particular one was built by Peter Randle, and has bilge-keels. It was doing a steady 6 knots in about 10 knots of wind on the beam, and slowly it slipped past us!

It is in strong winds that I was most surprised however. I ran a cruising rally / race from Hout Bay to Cape Town a few years back - we left in very fresh winds (I departed under jib alone in fact), with about 30-35 knots and a fair chop. Some boats declined to leave. I was really quite surprised to see our resident CC19 joining the fleet - single-handed. Certainly it was quite well reefed, but managing without too much fuss in these wild conditions. It arrived in Cape Town quite safely, and not far behind the big boats. Going back to Hout Bay was also challenging that year, all upwind too, but again the CC19 arrived safely and in a respectable time. It is actually quite rare to be sailing in conditions such as those.... 

The Stability Curves for each of these boats show an A.V.S. slightly better than 120 degrees, which is really quite respectable, with plenty of reserve at 90 degrees. You can expect the bilge-keel version to be at least as good or better.

 

A number of interesting voyages have been undertaken by CC19s, not the least of which is a circumnavigation of England! Their ability in classic races is almost legendary, see news under http://www.capecutter19.com/news.htm

So which one to chose?!

The CC19

• Built up GRP boat from Cape Cutter Yachts at http://www.capecutter19.com/default.htm
• Plans from www.dixdesign.com, for D.I.Y. construction (kits are not commercially available for the CC19)
• Lifting Centreplate Keel
• Light Displacement 870kgs

The CH21

• Available for construction in lapstrake / marine-ply from CKD boats in South Africa, or many other suppliers worldwide - see http://www.dixdesign.com/kits.htm.
• The CH21 can be built with lifting centreplate or fixed bilge-keels
• Light Displacement 1160 kgs

CC19 has advantages where towing and trailer-cruising is the priority, or you want to buy a ready-made boat. Active association at http://capecutter19association.org/

CH21 has advantages in larger accommodation, challenging waters, and availability of kits for D.I.Y. The bilge-keel option may also be an attraction for drying-out moorings. 

So now you can make up your mind. Q.E.D. 

STOP PRESS: But now there is word on the street a 25 version may be on the near horizon..... what can I say - you first heard it here!   NEWS: See the Cape May 25 on Dudleys Website here....

STOP PRESS 2: News from Dudley is that the Cape Charles 32 is imminent - its at a stage where I think he would take an order? See the preview on Dudleys website. This one is substantially larger at 32 LOD, and will make a very decent and versatile cruiser. It will be offered with the option of a modern Marconi rig which looks quite interesting. 

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