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FPB SeriesA New Paradigm for CruisingDesign Objectives Heavy Wx Issues
FPB 64 On Deck FPB 83FPB 83 On DeckFPB 83 InteriorFPB 83 SystemsDrive Line PassagesHow Things Are Working Out |
FPB 64 The Next StepEvery now and then in yacht design, the thousands of details involved to produce a boat combine in a unique way, creating a vessel which performs substantially better than projected. We've known from the beginning of sea trials that something special had occurred with Wind Horse, the FPB Series prototype. She is so much more comfortable than any design on which we've been to sea, as well more efficient offshore than expected, that we wanted to have a firm grasp of design elements which led to this happy outcome, before pursuing the next step. Which is why for the past two years we've been hard at work testing Wind Horse. Given the thousands of hours of design work which went into Wind Horse, along with substantial efforts in the towing tank and with CFD analysis, you would think we had all the answers. However, we can tell you from long experience that there is nothing like using a boat full time to get a feel for what works, and what can be improved upon. Now, with more than 25,000 miles under the keel of Wind Horse since sea trials were completed, we have a handle on how (and why) this design works as well as it does. We've purposely searched out a variety of sea states to give our bodies and onboard instrumentation a chance to accumulate data (Wind Horse is fitted out with six accelerometers, along with roll rate and angle sensors). This has included head seas of various shapes and periods, confused head seas, confused beam seas in gale force winds, and surfing at high speeds. We have deliberately put to sea for thousands of miles' worth of the conditions that you would normally avoid, to see what Wind Horse could teach us. Of course our design tools (powerful portable computers these days) are always with us when we're testing a boat. And we've been constantly noodling away at a new FPB. We started with only one goal, to reproduce Wind Horse's capabilities in a more compact package. In the beginning we were not sure it was possible. We have looked at more than a thousand hull shapes, dozens of interior layouts, and more propulsion options than you can imagine. And after two years of work, the pieces started to fall into place.
The result of this detailed design study is the FPB 64. We are fully confident the FPB 64 will be as pleasant to cruise aboard in scale as her big sister. You will find this new design summarized below, and then detailed explanations of the various features on the sidebar to the left under the heading "FPB 64".
In terms of basic layout we found we could not improve on what has worked so well with Wind Horse. The FPB 64 has a similar flying bridge, and a large aft deck with space for two dinghies.
In profile, this new design is very close aesthetically to the FPB 83. The FPB 64 and 83 share the same freeboard, and house proportions are similar.
The photo above shows the FPB 64 (the image was created in Photoshop using an original image of Wind Horse in Glacier Bay, Alaska). The proportions of the FPB 64 hull, house, and flying bridge are accurate (although some of the small details will change). You can judge for yourself just how close the two boats are going to appear.
This is an "X-ray" view of the interior.
The "great room", where cooking, lounging, laundry, and watch keeping are all done with 360-degree views, is still the focal point of the interior. And we have been able to keep the basement area below the salon for storage and domestic systems.
Here is a view of the "great room" looking through the port house windows.
The galley is aft, on the port side. Salon seating is forward, with an L-shaped settee to port and couch to starboard.
There is a sumptuous owner's suite forward with an excellent guest cabin and separate sea-berth area aft plus a large office area. The large engine room is all the way aft, with excellent access to systems. The forepeak forward offers plenty of storage for ground tackle, awnings, drogues, dock lines, fenders, dock carts, life jackets, and the quantities of other gear cruising boats need. The great room has a wonderful galley, space for the full-sized washer-drier opposite, 20 cubic feet (560 liters) of fridge and freezer (with another eight cubic foot/ 225 liter dual purpose fridge/freezer in the basement). The salon area will seat a crowd, and the bridge desk forward has plenty of space for a complete array of modern electronics. The FPB 64 series will built in aluminum, to the same structural standards as Wind Horse, including 5,200 gallons (19,600 liters) of fuel and water carried in integral hull tanks, with two full and two partial watertight bulkheads, and our usual high factors of safety for structure. We anticipate smooth water range, including an allowance for hydraulics and electric generation, to be around 7,600 nautical miles at nine knots. Cruising speed will be between 9 and 10 knots, depending on sea state. These boats are being built to the same complete specifications, with systems designed around the approach that has worked so well for us over the years, and has proven itself yet again on Wind Horse. There will be no options except for dinghies and some personal gear. The boats will be complete right down to life raft, full spare parts inventory, awnings, even basic linens, spare anchors, drogues and warps, two sets of dock lines, and a completely outfitted galley. After our hands-on, onboard personalized training, just add crew and provisions, and you are ready to explore distant horizons. There will be no waiting around for months while you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on "options" that should have been part of the original contract. In order to maximize financial efficiency, you will be dealing direct. There are no brokers or middlemen. Just the client, designers, and builders. The production line approach to building these yachts produces a very high quality product at moderate cost - saving up to half of what a custom yacht of the same specification would run. There are significant sums to be invested in design and engineering, plus jigs and fixtures for production, and learning curve during the initial build cycles. Rather than amortizing this over a single custom yacht, these costs are being spread over a production run. The first four FPB 64s are now committed, and we are making plans for a follow on series. For a DVD on the FPB design process, tank testing, CFD simulations, and video of Wind Horse at sea, click here. If you would like to be part of this exciting new era in offshore cruising design, e-mail us and we will follow up with specifics. Drop us a line to ToddR@SetSail.com.
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