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General Concept

This little trawler concept was created for a round the world "race" of sorts, called the "Magellan Challenge."  The rules began with a limit of 22 feet LOA.  The idea was to be the first to circumnavigate under power in a boat this size.  Multiple legs of the voyage were intended of course.  As with many wild ideas, the Magellan Challenge never did take place.  Nevertheless... a very interesting challenge.

Having been imagined for the Magellan Challenge, the name Ferdinand was a natural.  The all aluminum "Ferdinand" shown here has been expanded to 24 feet of overall length in order to give just a little more room to the interior throughout.  This is a displacement hull form, which favors maximum carrying capacity and long range.  Extremely short overhangs maximize WL length and therefore vessel speed and accommodation space below, as will be essential for such a small voyager.

Average waterline length is 22.5 feet, depending on load.  Beam is 8.5 feet.  Displacement will be around 9,000 lb. light and around 11,500 lb. loaded.  Draft is around 3.8 feet depending on load.  Draft is mainly a matter of deciding the expected shoal water limitations versus the preferred propeller diameter for best propulsive efficiency.  Larger propellers are better...

Ferdinand is intended to be a truly "Trailerable Trawler" with a very manageable overall height for that purpose.

 

Power

The displacement to length ratio is fairly heavy, with a resulting displacement hull speed of around 6.5 knots.  At voyaging speeds of around 5 knots, with 200 US gallons of fuel, per the Beebe method the range is calculated to be over 3,200 NM, assuming a 10% reserve.   At this speed, power use will only be around 5 hp...!  At 6 knots, range would be something like 1,800 NM in the average load condition.  At this speed, around 12 hp will be used.

The preferred engine will be as light in weight as possible.  Approximately 22 hp will be sufficient for full hull speed, plus a little.

Tanks

 Looking inside at the Interior Cutaway view, the region you see below the pilot house is the engine space, in which there would be  integral fuel tanks on each side extending from the sole to the bottom, and from bulkhead to bulkhead.  Approximately 100 USG per side is the target.

Below the forward settees there would be integral water tanks.  Below the forward sole would be heavy duty polyethylene tanks for black and gray water.  It is possible there may also be a small clean fuel tank located there.

 

Interior

The proposed Interior Arrangement is so-far planned to be very similar to that of the Boojum 25.  Since Ferdinand has a large flush fore deck, there is an enormous amount of space in the forward cabin (for such a small boat).  Right forward is the head.  Just aft of that is a settee on each side much like a sail boat, and a table between.  The settees form the guest berths.  Just aft of the settee area is the Pilot House, having a seat to starb'd to accommodate the pilot and the galley.  The galley would have nearly enough space to  have a mild "L" or "U" shape.

Aft of the pilot house is a sleeping cabin, having a large double berth on top of a wide platform at about waist height from the pilot house.  Below that 'sleeping deck' will be a rather large sized storage locker for clothes, extra bedding, lines, fenders, paint, etc. i.e. all the stuff that inevitably finds its way aboard.  

What gives "largeness" to the interior is that the cabins all extend right to the edge of the bulwark.  The aft cabin is therefore wider than it is long.  There would be enough space to have a one foot wide (30cm) shelf on either side of the berth with plenty of storage inside - and... the berth would still be a full king size.  Now that is really something on a 24' boat...!

Please see the Interior Cutaway view to get a visual sense of this layout, and compare that to the interior of the Boojum 25.  The interior of  the Ferdinand is considerably larger in the pilot house and aft cabin than is Boojum, which is entirely due to the full width of the house.

If the boat were lengthened by around 3 to 5 feet, it would allow quite a lot more room in the pilot house area, which could then have a bulkhead at the aft end in order to provide complete privacy for the aft sleeping cabin, as well as a couple of good sized hanging lockers on each side.  To see how this would work, please have a peek at the interior of the Boojum 30.

As with the Boojum, heat would be provided by a Wallas forced air or circulating water system.  Alternate possibilities are Espar or the excellent Hurricane heaters.  Cooking would be on a two burner stove with oven.  My own preference for a vessel of this size would be to use kerosene.  Yet another option is to simply use a Wallas diesel range.  Though it does not have an oven, it is an excellent little stove.

With well-placed kerosene lamps, the interior would be very cozy indeed.

 

Design Summary

The intent of this design has been to fit the maximum accommodations into an ultra small cruiser of no greater than 24 feet LOA.  As always, the requirement for excellent sea keeping has encouraged keeping the cabins low. Additionally, with a beam of 8.5 feet and a "dry" weight of around 8k lb., the boat will easily be trailered from one cruising site to another, and then stored ashore when not actively cruising - a big savings in marina fees and storage yard rental.  Yet another benefit of this arrangement is that the boat when sitting on a trailer will function perfectly well as a camper...!

As a prototype, the Ferdinand design is as yet unfinished.  If this concept is of interest to you, please inquire for more information.

 

Trailerable Trawlers

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Direct Quote from an aluminum boat owner...

As an owner since 5 years of an aluminum boat I could not agree more with your preference for this material. She is a great boat and requires very little in the way of maintenance. I do a lot more reef snorkeling than the paint, polish, varnish and wax guys!

                                                        --Peter Kminek