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FPB: 360-Degree Views

FPB Series

Streaming Video!

A New Paradigm for Cruising

Why Are We Doing This?
Speed
After 25,000 Miles
360-Degree Views
A Different Perspective

Design Objectives

Heavy Wx Issues
Directional Control
Stability,Comfort, Capsize Resistance
Hull Shape & Pitching
Hull & Deck Structure
Hull Maintenance
Glazing
Comfort

FPB 64

On Deck
Interior
Storage
Hull Shape
Forepeak
Engine Room
Systems
Tankage
Range
Structure
Factors of Safety
The Team
FAQs
Update-Spring '08
The Next Step

FPB 83

FPB 83 On Deck

Flying Bridge
Tropical Considerations
Working on Deck
Jury Rig

Roll Control
Swim Step

FPB 83 Interior

Interior Layout
Galley
Saloon
Staterooms
Nav Station/Bridge
Ship's Office
Laundry Facilities

FPB 83 Systems

Drive Line
Electrical Systems
Refrigeration
Heating/Hot Water
Motion Control
Air Conditioning
Domestic Water

Passages

How Things Are Working Out

Operating Costs
Windshield Wipers?
Storage Mode
First Anniversary
Fuel Update Apr 08

Recent Press

Living With 360 Degree Views

We've been trying to describe what it is like to have the majority of our day to day experience aboard in an area with 360-degree views. It is one of the things which makes cruising aboard an FPB so special.

Whether we are standing watch,

working in the galley,

doing the laundry,

or just having lunch, there is always something lovely to look at outside.

On occasion it is ice we're watching.

Other times we're marveling at the sea-state and how comfortable we are.

We are a lot more relaxed under way knowing we can see what's overtaking us from astern, like this supertanker at the entrance to Prince William Sound on Alaska's Panhandle.

But of the many things we see out those big windows, it is the wildlife which gives us the most pleasure.

In our previous travels we've not seen a fraction of what we have noticed from the salon on Wind Horse.

Some times it is the splash of a breaching whale, like the gray above off Magdelena Bay in Baja, California (Mexico).

Or the spout of a feeding humpback, like this one near Glacier Bay in Alaska.

The whales seem as interested in us as we are in them. Perhaps we share a similar approach to hydrostatics (hull design). After all, whales are into efficiency, just like us.

Once we notice whales we will often shut down engines and electronics, and then drift. This invites inspection by our larger cousins, such as the orca who is checking outour props, rudder, and stabilizer.

Or this gray whale.

Here is a humpback about to swim right under us.

This is just a small percentage of the photos we've shot of wild life the last two years. Without the 360-degree views afforded by the "great room" layout, we would have missed most of these opportunities. If you would like to see more of these photos check out our cruising reports at http://www.setsail.com/s_logs/dashew/dashew.html.