Preview: FRANCIS LEE: The Ultimate Sailing Machine, Part 1 – The Design Spiral

8 Responses So Far to “FRANCIS LEE: The Ultimate Sailing Machine, Part 1 – The Design Spiral”

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  Peter Pesce says:

  This is very interesting. I’m fascinated by these experiments. I still remember reading about Dave Hubbard’s Red Herring when it was built in 1980: https://classicsailboats.org/david-hubbard-red-herring/

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  bruce hanley says:

  The bird’s eye view of the hull outline looks very much like a cross between a performance surfboard and a big wave gun. What a weird beautiful inspired boat. How damn cool.

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  Thomas Dalzell says:

  This is a wonderful example of that type, often the yacht designer’s own boat, that is a long, lean, stretched hull. I have seen this so many times, in print. Newick’s Pat’s, Chris White’s Juniper, The Martin Energy 48, and many others. The idea being one could gain so much simple by stretching a design in one dimension rather than three. The oft heard complaint being that one picks up a lot of fees.

  Great to see a real example so well produced and fitted out.

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  Roderick Renard says:

  Very nice; we own a “modern” boat with lines that are currently conducive to a large interior volume. The photo showing the hull is breathtaking; the construction sequences are compelling in their simplicity. Can’t wait to see part two and hopefully see the real thing one of these days, thanks for taking the time to share.

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    Kim Bottles says:

    FRANCIS LEE has pretty reasonable interior volume……….for one couple. She is kind of like a narrow 40 footer with long drawn out ends.

    But she was designed for the pure pleasure of sailing (read that to mean speed through the water) while being easy to handle. She has been a huge success to that end. (Interior accommodations were never part of the design brief.)

    We would be happy to show you the boat if you ever make it to Blakely Harbor.

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  Kim Bottles says:

  FRANCIS LEE rates negative five (-5) PHRF. She often sails faster than her rating.

  I don’t know what a 240 is so I can’t directly answer your question, however we almost always sail well into double digits on a reach and up to 9 knots+ to weather at about 20AWA. She is very close winded and stiff due to her draft and B/D ratio. Her VCG is well below the waterline.

  We have seen 14.7 with just the main and non-overlapping jib on a reach and Bob thinks she will do 20 knots with the kite up in a blow.

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  Steph Smith says:

  Another excellent and inspiring video, this is exactly why I am a life time member, and cannot wait for the next video. Bravo

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  Robert Muir says:

  Since I had a 210 and they made a larger version how much different and how much faster is this boat compared to a 240 (?) with modern sails and rig?