Flash, 34ft. 6in. Fin-Keeled Sloop

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  • Flash, 34ft. 6in. Fin-Keeled Sloop
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  • Vessel Specifications and Comments

    • LOA: 34' 6"
    • Beam: 11' 0"
    • Draft: 6'6"
    • Displacement: 11,500 lbs
    • Ballast: 4,200 lbs
    • Sail Area: 661 sq.ft.
    • Construction: Cedar-strip core sheathed in fiberglass
    • General Comments: Of light displacement, with a tall rig and pared-down underwater appendages, Flash will require constant attention to sail her best. With her rounded sections and deep narrow keel and rudder, we have minimized wetted surface for good speed in light air. Wide beam with powerful quarters will give her the ability to get up and go when it blows.

  • About the Plans

    • Construction Method and Materials:

      Sheathed-strip planking over plywood bulkheads, full size plots for bulkheads, transom, and stem provided.

    • Number and Type of Drawings:

      • Lines and Offsets
      • General Construction
      • Full Size Construction Details
      • General Arrangement
      • Sail Plan
      • Spar and Rigging Plan.
      • Full size plots for bulkheads, transom, and stem provided
       

    • Study Plan:

      Tilikum 32 Profile and Arrangement PDF
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Extended Comments

From “Sailing Cruiser Design”: Of light displacement, with a tall rig and pared-down underwater appendages, Flash will require constant attention to sail her best. With her rounded sections and deep narrow keel and rudder, we have minimized wetted surface for good speed in light air. Wide beam with powerful quarters will give her the ability to get up and go when it blows.

Looking at her profile, we note very short overhangs and the almost vertical sheerline. Maximum waterline length was the objective in this styling, but I still couldn't bring myself to cut her off with vertical ends. The short overhangs make her look like a boat.

Flash carries a tall rig; Sailarea/Displacement ratio is 20.76 at her design weight of 11,500pounds. I considered three different rigs for this boat. The BOC type with masthead foretriangle, huge roach in the main, and no standing backstay, lacks durability. A three-quarter-sized foretriangle with jumpers and standing backstay is too finicky. My final choice was the masthead rig with standing backstay. In heavier winds the genoa is rolled up and the main reefed. With running backstays opposing the inner forestay, you can carry on under a well-stayed, short, and balanced sailplan.

In my view Flash is not an offshore or ocean cruising yacht. She does not have the dynamic or ultimate stability to quailfy as an "unrestricted offshore" class vessel.

Tad Roberts