14m Sailing Catamaran

This 14m catamaran has been commissioned for a kiwi couple who are upgrading from their 10m. The build will take place in Mauritius and the boat will be sailed home to New Zealand.

Exceptional sailing performance will be achieved due to the light weight structures, large sail area, rotating carbon fibre wing mast and hydrodynamicaly optimised hull form and dagger boards. The sail plan features a 7/8ths fractional rig with no spreaders or running backstays and a mast-head asymmetric spinnaker flown from a bow sprit attached to the monocoque forward cross beam.

Twin helm stations provide excellent visibility of the rig and the vessel’s course. A primary winch is situated right at the helm position for main and jib sheeting. Dedicated traveller winches are located at either end of the arced track. All mast lines such as halyards, reefing lines and topping lifts etc. are led aft to a central winch on the aft beam.

The large wingdeck clearance has been defined based on the vessel’s offshore operational range. There will also be provision for large capacity fuel and water tanks for extended passage making. High cockpit coamings provide for a safe environment. All system weight has been concentrated as close to amidships as possible to make for a sea kindly motion.

Motoring simplicity and efficiency is achieved using inboard diesel engines and conventional shaft drive coupled to large diameter folding propellers. The engine rooms are accessible internally from the aft cabins to facilitate easy servicing.

Styling features a low profile coach roof, large open plan spaces and a single centreline tender davit to carry a 3.5m rib. The interior will be light and functional creating a simple, clean and Zen like ambience with frugal use of wooden trim and highlights.

Galley, dining navigation, communications and relaxing are up, with cabins and heads down. The port cabin is set up as the owner’s suite with a double cabin aft, a small office / workshop / living area mid ships and a dedicated head and shower compartment forward. The starboard cabin incorporates the guest accommodation and day head. With a double cabin aft, head and shower compartment midships accessed from either forward or aft end and a forward cabin with sleeping space for four adults in twin singles up on the wing deck and a twin bunk up forward. All cabins feature large floor areas, heaps of storage space and full standing headroom in excess of 2m. The extreme ends of the vessel are not used for accommodation or storage to keep weight centralised.

The cockpit features a large deck area aft of the cross beam / traveller track which is used for fishing, diving and relaxing.

Construction is from medium tech composite using pvc foam core sandwich, epoxy resin and stitched / knitted e-glass reinforcements augmented by carbon and aramid fibres in specific locations.