The
Genesis of A Design Philosophy
Copyright 1995 -
2007 Michael Kasten
The Naval Architecture of cruising vessels, it seems,
has yet to be given its due. On our bookshelves we have thousands of
pages written on the subject of racing yacht design. Although there have surely been as many pages written about
cruising, those writings have mostly been created by voyagers. Very much opposite to the situation with
racing craft, a true formal analysis of
blue-water cruising boats has not been met head-on.
Before Naval Architecture really became a formal scientific undertaking, ocean sailing was done mostly for
fishing, trade, defense, and of course piracy. Those days have passed...
Since the days of 'working sail' have been left behind,
nearly all sailing vessel research has been focused in the direction of
competitive racing. All too often, it is the result of those 'racing
yacht' design efforts that makes its way into the market place. We are left with the popular notion we must "win races" at all
costs.
For voyaging however, perhaps we should re-consider our definition of
winning... Aboard a cruising vessel, "winning" means that you arrive at your destination;
you are rested; the ship is in good order; you have enjoyed life; you've eaten well and the expedition has been a success.
What more can one ask...?
Further, during the last several decades it is very apparent
that boat design has become seriously distracted from the elusive quality of "style." This is not to
say that "style" implies financial wealth or luxury. Nor do
we mean that 'style' refers to a passing fad.
What seems to have faded from many popular boat designs are the elements of style,
safety, and comfort. Not only is seaworthiness often ignored, it seems seakindliness
has been all but forgotten. For example, even though we may have made use of highly developed analytic methods
in order to squeeze another tenth of a knot out of our windward sailing leg,
we may find in the process that the crew has been forced into squalor.
For our cruising vessels, I think we must look beyond the mere achievement of speed, to the achievement of grace.
If we are to sail on the oceans of the world for the simple
pleasure of doing so, we must attend to the science of making those voyages as comfortable as possible. This does not at all imply that a vessel must be slow. It does
however very certainly shift the meaning of "performance".
A voyager's definition of 'performance' must necessarily include the concepts of comfort, ease, and grace.
By this, we do not mean to imply inactivity or laziness. Rather, we
simply wish to view our renewed quest for seakindliness as being in contrast
to the ultra-light, fin-keeled, spinnaker-driven sleds we have somehow come to accept as the "norm."
One point to be thoroughly understood is that the ultra
light racing sailboat
definitely has its place, as does the super-fast planing powerboat. That place
however is in the hands of a dedicated racing skipper, rather than those of a misguided voyager or family cruiser.
I view a cruising vessel as one's habitat, rather than strictly as a machine. A voyaging craft is
one's home on the water - a home in which one should feel at ease, and which should
always invoke good feelings.
Although the Naval Architecture of cruising vessels can certainly benefit from
the myriad performance advantages that have been developed by the racing community, the
design of ocean voyaging craft will necessarily also heed the thousands
of years of ocean experience gleaned by those who have made a living under sail.
In other words, we should not be too quick to discard the wisdom that we have been given for free by that heritage.
The 'boating public' is after all a relatively new concept in light of the long ages of seafaring. That
'boating public' has been to a great extent led by the bleating of marketing agents, and
has been bombarded with low quality, mass produced,
often unsafe and in many cases downright uncomfortable boats, which over time we have come to accept as the
norm...
In the end, strangely, we have even come to the point of aspiring to
the mediocrity handed to us on credit by those who measure performance and
efficiency with a profit margin!
In fact, this has gone so far that the brilliant C.A.
Marchaj has been compelled to write an entire book entitled, "Seaworthiness,
the Forgotten Factor."
Perhaps this point need not be beaten any further.
But now what?
In my view, it is precisely the historic perspective that is so often
found missing - behaviorally, aesthetically, structurally, or what have you. It falls to us
then to mold this historic wisdom into a new realization of its potential.
Although we can be aesthetically and functionally inspired by vessels of the past, we
now have an unprecedented chance to make use of what has been more recently learned
about new materials and the science of Naval Architecture. And,
unlike the working vessels of the past, we can indeed introduce the creature
comforts that bring us pleasure.
Our goal...?
It is simple: we aspire to achieve a greater degree of grace on the water.
'Modern Classic' Yacht
Design
What are the characteristics we seek? We should
specifically ask:
- What makes a boat beautiful?
- What allows her to behave well under sail?
- What permits her to return to port in good shape after a rough night on the briny deep?
- What makes her crew comfortable?
- What gives her the speed that makes her owner smile?
Style, grace, safety, comfort, speed... these are all predictable qualities.
The working water craft of the past have proven themselves
suited to their purpose, and they have plenty to offer to the design of modern in-shore and blue water
craft. This
is certainly so in terms of aesthetics, but also and in terms of form and function.
In addition to that, during the last century modern hydrostatics has given us a technical foundation for analysis,
with which we can much more effectively improve the safety and performance of our
boats. Since approximately the mid 1980's, with the ready availability of
highly capable software, our hydrostatic and hydrodynamic analyses have
advanced dramatically. Additionally, modern materials have given us a
terrific edge over historic craft, allowing us to provide far greater
strength with much less weight, and thus improve performance.
Within our definition of 'function' and 'performance' however, we must not
forget that a cruising vessel will become our habitat - our home on the
water.
Our aim will be to blend art with science... The
tools of the trade must therefore include an understanding of what makes a good boat; the
ability to predict stability and seaworthiness; an eye for aesthetics; and
must also include good 'boat sense.' Armed with these tools we will be able to
design vessels that are well suited to cruising
- not only in terms of their appearance, but also in terms of structure and function.
By this means, we will be able to
exercise good judgment in the design of our blue water craft, whether they
be motor yachts or sailing yachts.
Our overall goal will thus be to blend the modern with the
classic.
Michael Kasten
Port Townsend 1995
Metal Boat Quarterly #3 - Summer 1995
Editorial - Updated 2003 & 2007
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