Thanks Michael.
The new boat is certainly a departure for us, both in terms of styling and in the attention given to the motoring capability. I wanted to explain a bit more about the thinking behind it, and why I hope it will be an important new line of craft for us.
Here in West Wales, we have some of the best beaches in the UK. (Yes, I know lots of people say that, but we really DO!) However, we are constrained by tide, and one of our favourites, Aberporth, is 7 miles away. Sailing there with kids in the summer is a non-starter. They don’t all love sailing as much as me (weird), they want to spend more time on the beach than sailing there, and they don’t want to spend ages sailing “in zig zags”, or motoring at 5 knots getting home.
Say it quietly, but I considered getting a RIB. (The doctor told me it’s quite normal apparently, for sailors to have a “RIB phase”.)
But then I started thinking about the constraints on a sailboat under power, and why it shouldn’t be possible to have a great sailboat, that simply has an oversized engine. An outboard is by far the most efficient in terms of power to weight, but the weight needs to be mounted in the right place (hence moving it forward). However, the biggest issue was that simply over-powering a sailboat hull with a large engine causes the stern to squat for hardly any increase in speed. I considered all sorts of radical (and expensive) ideas for overcoming this but eventually I stumbled upon a relatively new type of trim control device used in certain power boats, at the Marine Equipment Trade Show in Amsterdam. The Wolfson unit at Southampton University helped me verify how these would work with a sailboat hull, using a number of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations, a process that the boat-geek in me enjoyed enormously.
The COAST 250 is the result. A boat purpose designed for me and my family, so that we can get to our local beach more efficiently!
I really believe there is a wider market than that for it though, and here’s why.
When I get to the beach, I can go sailing. I have hardly ever been sailing around Aberporth, because getting there and back takes up too much time. I went sailing down in Chichester Harbour, enduring a marathon motoring session against an ebb tide to get home again. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to motor a bit quicker? Our South Coast Dealer Nick, recalled a weekend cruise being spoilt for lack of wind on the Sunday, necessitating most of a day of motoring at 5-6 knots to get home. And whenever I was under engine with the kids, it was that simple, childlike question, “why can’t we go faster?” that always got me.
With the COAST, I can sail much further with my family, knowing I can get back in reasonable time if needed. I can stay out longer, knowing I can beat any ebb tide comfortably. I can motor to different sailing grounds and explore new places. All these points and more gave me the confidence to go for it, as long as we did not lose sight of one crucial point. She has to completely and totally sail perfectly. Every boat is a compromise of course, but we didn’t want this one having to compromise ANY sailing performance to motoring. After all, despite considering a RIB, I am still a sailing fanatic.
Matt Newland
