A primary design consideration is always what you can see from various places on board. As yachts get larger the sight lines diminish, and you begin to rely on secondary input: usually crew members wearing headsets, calling distance off the dock or to another vessel, to the con. We’d rather see and judge for ourselves. Hence a rigorous study early, the results of which guide the ensuing design.

There are several different criteria we are looking to fulfill:

• When offshore and out of the shipping lanes, good visibility ahead and behind (the latter to avoid being caught unawares by an overtaking ship).
• A secondary offshore position which allows the watch to relax, feet up on a couch, yet have a good field of vision.
• In traffic, especially with small craft, the ability to see close in under the bow.
• With ice and debris, sight lines to low floating objects, near enough the bow to be able to take avoiding action.

The intro drawing and those that follow were created using Rhino 3D, with an early but representative version of the Wicked FPB. We have a “camera” to check sight lines, that can be adjusted in terms of lens length (zoom) and direction of view. By varying the apex of the view pyramid, and moving the lens as you would your head, we can look at various options. Each image is a montage of four views: upper left is looking down (plan); bottom left, side (profile), bottom right, body plan (bow); and upper right is a perspective view.

The lead image shows field of view from the as yet unnamed-deck helm position. Height of eye is 1.5m, or five feet. Note that you can see logs quite close if they are slightly off center.

The view close to the bow is even better if you walk to the forward section of the upper deck, as in the drawing above.

The same logs, now looking from the forward end of the great room.

Same position onboard, but here checking a dinghy visibility.

Back on top, checking a fleet of small boats.

Now a series on docking. First: looking forward.

And now looking aft. In both cases the watcher is standing to the side of the upper deck.

By normal standards this is excellent visibility for docking. Moving around a bit you can see folks standing on the dock and/or the pilings. But this is far from perfect, which is where the observation platforms come into play.

Let’s set the scene for what would be a normal unassisted (nobody to take a line) docking scenario.

Assuming a floating – and therefore low – dock, the stern is rotated in to allow the crew with a breast line to step ashore. The con must be able to see the dock/swim step intersection, or at least the hand of the person on the swim platform.

We’ve previously shown you this view from the helm position under the roof. Now let’s have a look from the docking wing.

You can see the camera has been set to look from just off the mast to the top of the pilot by the stern. You can see the dock running under the deck flare, which makes it easy to get the swim step near the dock.

Finally, looking forward from the same docking wing, this time with the camera aimed at the forward piling.

To make what you see a little more clear, there is a line drawn from a mast ladder rung to the top of the piling forward. Notice that this line does not cut through any structure. Neither will your eye.

Same logic, except this time the line runs aft from the mast rung.

Among the very first things we look at in designing a yacht is dinghy storage, launching, and retrieval. This design aspect is as fundamental to successful cruising as anything else aboard. We have had a simple and reliable system since the first FPB first launched seven years ago, modified only recently by the advent of deck winches that power out as well as in. With booms easily controlled by permanent guys, locked off with rope clutches if required, and the dink stowed at deck level, the process is easy enough to get into and out of the water that we usually stow it aboard each evening.

As simple as this is, we still consider this to be potentially the most dangerous job on board.

With the Wicked FPB we have refined the dinghy process to make it significantly easier and more controlled.

Let’s walk through the process. We’ll bring the dinghy back aboard as this is somewhat more difficult than launching. Step one is to grab the always attached lifting bridle with the boathook, snap on the halyard shackle from the three-to-one tackle, and put the halyard tail on the electric self-tailing winch. As the dinghy is lifted, its weight naturally heels the mother ship and the boom runs out automatically, until the afterguy stops its travel at a  pre-marked position.

Hoist the dinghy until it is high enough to clear the deck edge. Notice the life line section has been removed (remove two pelican hooks and remove one stanchion). Keeping the dinghy low like this, rather than lifting it over the life lines, opens up a series of new possibilities.

Next, we take the dinghy bow line through a snatch block on deck to one of the electric winches (there are six aboard). The remote control has buttons for these winches, and pushing the bow line winch pulls the dinghy and boom across the boat.

One of the keys to the process is the dinghy rotating around this after life line brace. As the winch pulls the dink and boom across the boat, the angle is constantly opening up around the turning stanchion.

The dinghy is now far enough onto the after deck that the pick point of the halyard is over the centerline of the storage chocks.

The dinghy is now trapped between the engine room air intake/BBQ structure (adjacent the steps to the boarding platform) and the life line system after brace.

If the boat rolls, the dinghy cannot travel to starboard as the bow line is locked off with the deck winch. If the boat rolls to port, the dinghy cannot go more than a short distance before the outboard motor catches on the rub rail.

Prior to removing the bow line from the winch, the afterguy on the boom is snugged down in its rope clutch. When the bow line is removed from the winch prior to rotating the dinghy and dropping it into its chocks, the afterguy keeps the boom from significant movement.

Release the dinghy bow line from the winch, rotate it in line with the chocks, and lower.

Tie off a few pre-rigged lashings, and you are ready to go to sea. On Wind Horse, this entire process would take two of us five minutes. With the Wicked new FPB we expect this to be even quicker. Wickedly simple, right?

It is, in calm conditions. But what happens when you have to get the dinghy back aboard and the mother ship is bouncing around? You know that this is going to happen in the dark, with a rising gale threatening what was once a safe anchorage.

Rather than a calm, stable platform, we now have a rolling deck with a 900 pound/400kg dinghy hanging from a pivoting boom. This is the scenario that all serious cruising yachts are going to face sooner or later. Your choices are stark: put to sea towing the dinghy and probably lose it, wait out the onshore gale while anchored and perhaps end up on the beach, try to get the dinghy out of the water and back on deck, or cut the dinghy free and then exit.

Boom control with those permanently rigged fore and afterguys, plus the new retrieval procedure that traps the dinghy to minimize its movement, greatly expand the conditions in which the dinghy can be controlled and brought aboard.

But much more importantly, the ease of launch and retrieval means there is no reason to leave the dink in the water in exposed anchorages. Bringing it aboard every evening is a snap. In which case, with the dinghy secured on deck, should a swell begin to sweep into the anchorage there is no hesitation in getting underway, to the security of deep water and the open sea.

We used to envy the folks who cruised with shallow draft for the benefits it conferred. There is the obvious, extending your cruising opportunities to areas like the Bahamas (above), but there other significant advantages as well.

Take grounding risks, for example: the shallower your draft, the more tolerance for navigation errors.

Shallow draft boats are easier to haul out, are able to make better use of tidal grids and are easier to dry out along a sea wall if there are high tidal ranges.

In heavy weather, shallow draft typically lets you slip more easily to leeward with wave impact.

What is shallow enough? We used to think that Beowulf’s 8 foot (2.4m) was shallow. but Wind Horse at five feet (1.5) has opened up a new world of possibilities. Today we’d say 4.5 to 5.0 feet is ideal, with 5.5 being the maximum with which we’d want to cruise.

The new Wicked FPB draws five feet / 1.5m

We have a problem gentle reader, and we need your help. The marvelous space we so prosaically call “Pilot Deck” is worthy of a descriptor more in keeping with the view of the world from this unique space.

Of course this is not an easy challenge when you consider its attributes. Certainly this area offers excellent piloting, is at the point of maximum comfort for pitching, and has good sight lines. But it also is a wonderful living space, unique in the way it will bring its occupants into contact with the world around them. Finding a two word descripton that takes into account the enhanced views provided by the totally open perimeter – with or without EverClear windows in place – be it ocean, fjord, or tropical atoll, is no small feat.

As the team on this end has been singularly lacking in creative nomenclature, a contest is warranted. Should your submission become the Chosen One, you shall be honored with a Music For Cruising CD, a combo pack  of Setsail’s famous cruising DVDs, and a 2012 FPB 64 calendar.

Good luck, and may the best two word entrant win. Note: the judges decision shall be final (unless they change their minds).

Above is a half time super bowl taken from the Arizona Deck.

Post Script: As of February 7, 2012 the Name That Deck Contest is Officially Closed.

The one universal rule of yacht design is to be clear about your goals. You may not always achieve them, but having a defined target at which to aim, as opposed to something random and always moving, ensures a better outcome.

Our goals for a navigation/piloting area have stayed the same over many years. On a macro basis they go roughly as follows:

• Good sight lines ahead and behind to watch for traffic.
• The ability to see close to the bow in areas with debris or ice present, and with small boat traffic.
• Efficient arrangement of electronics with an emphasis on functionality during high stress scenarios.
• The ability to see the bow, stern, and alongside when docking, with direct communications between crew and conn.
• Position consistent with minimizing motion.
• Ergonomic design that constrains body movement in heavy weather.
• An area in which the watch can sit, feet up looking forward, when out of the shipping lanes.
• Somewhere for the off-watch to comfortably snooze where they are handy if a second opinion may be required on short notice.
• Access to refreshments placed so that situational awareness can be maintained when away from the helm.
• A table or counter where charts, guides, and log books can be placed.

A pilot house can provide these functions. But pilot houses are typically well forward and therefore in an area that exacerbates motion. They are often up steep flights of stairs that are not conducive to transit at sea, or a quick trip to the galley for a snack. And because they open to the interior, enormous structure is required to deal with the loads that may be encountered in heavy going. They are also totally enclosed, perhaps with an opening door or hatch. Minimal shading means high heat loads and the need for power hungry air conditioning. And finally, your senses of the surroundings are dulled by being trapped inside, out of touch with the smells, sounds, and sights that are so much more acute on the outside.

A flying bridge keeps you in touch physically with your surroundings, but doe not have the ambiance of inside space, nor the usual array of electronics found at the main helm.

What if you could combine the best of the inside pilot house with a lovely open to the environment flying bridge? You would have the best of both worlds. And that was the starting point for the design concept of this new FPB.

The volume of the Pilot Deck is enormous: 6.8m/22′ by 4.4m/14′. That is as large as the Great Room on the FPB 83 Wind Horse. The layout is well aft and the helm, centered in the Pilot Deck (just forward of the masts) is directly on the projected pitch axis for minimum acceleration and maximum comfort (not that this yacht will feel much going uphill).

Coming from below the Pilot Deck is reached by an outside, but totally enclosed, set of stairs – keeping you under cover and out of the weather. The Pilot Deck itself is surrounded by an EverClear window system, similar to what has recently been installed on Wind Horse. This is significantly more clear than the 19mm/.75″ glass we use. These also block UV radiation and hinge open from the outside towards the interior. Cold rainy day, windows closed. Nice day, let’s open them (and if we’re in the tropics maybe they will all be open).

The layout for this area is both functional and inviting.

Imagine what you could do with the Great Room volume of the FPB 64 (or the greater space of the FPB 83), eliminating the galley, and designing for casual living and navigation, and you will start to see what has us so excited. Open those windows and this becomes an amazing experience.

The size of the Pilot Deck and its roof benefits the solar array above. There are eight 320 watt panels here in addition to the twelve on the main deck roof.

Sight lines are always a problem with larger yachts; often it’s impossible for the skipper to see his crew, the ends of the boat, or the dock. This results in tension, expensive and embarrassing operator error, and the use of those crew headsets. There are also the issues of ships creeping up from aft, and debris, ice, and small boats close in under the bow. Using 3D models we are able to simulate the view field from anywhere on the boat, and the layout of the Pilot Deck will give good visibility in almost all conditions. And if you are working in ice or debris strewn waters, walk 3m/10 feet forward within the Pilot Deck and you can see within half a boat length of the bow.

We are uncomfortable maneuvering a large yacht in tight quarters while blind in some sectors. And the concept of depending on two way comms for distance from another vessel, or the dock, leaves us cold. The answer is shown above: a piloting station outboard and almost even with the deck edge. This is also a wonderful photo platform. The rungs up the side of the mast give relatively secure access to the roof for maintenance.

We’ll discuss the Pilot Deck layout in more detail in another post.

The new Wicked FPB sports some hot angles, not the least of which is the glazing system surrounding the great room. There are numerous advantages to these outwardly angled windows.

Consider the following:

• Windows stay drier (from the overhang) and water slips off faster. This means less salt build up and better visibility.
• They are much easier to clean. Simply run a squeegee along the entire surface, rather than in and out of mullions.
• One size storm shutter fits all.
• Visual space on the inside is enhanced since your eye runs outward further.
• Window coverings lie on the inside surface of mullions regardless of motion.
• The air gap between window glass and shades -150mm/six inches – is a natural insulation barrier.
• In cold, damp climates a simple clear film seal will create an insulating air pocket and eliminate condensation on the window glass.
• The large overhang provides wonderful shading.

Outside, we have wider than normal side decks, with stanchions placed toward the outer edge of the rub rail (belting). This is to compensate for the outward push of the glass. Although the life lines are 1.1m/44″ tall, we want a hand hold system for going forward in adverse conditions. The solution will serve multiple purposes: there will be a “T” track fitted to the underside of the overhang over the center of the walkway. To this track will be fitted several sliding cars. If you need a handhold, grab a strap hanging off a car and slide it forward as you move down the deck. This can also be used with a safety harness. Furthermore, the straps can be used to transport heavy objects down the deck.

The only drawback we see is the cool – some would say yacht-like – appearance these windows convey. We prefer a workboat/military aesthetic, both to fit in better with commercial vessels and to give the bad guys pause. After struggling with this for a while we have come to the conclusion that the Wicked FPB’s combination of bare aluminum and hot angles will almost certainly cause those of nefarious bent to look for softer prey. And the commercial sailors? They’ll know what this design represents  and won’t be put off.

Throughout history, the most successful seagoing vessels have shared common attributes. Take, for example, the greatest warriors and travelers of their time, the fiercesome Vikings. When they sallied forth from their northland fjords, they employed high speed, extremely maneuverable, shallow draft designs to help them expand and conquer their world.

While the FPB series are different than the current market-driven norm, they are simply following a millennia long tradition of proven seagoing parameters.

From the Vikings to Donald McKay’s extreme clippers to modern warships, the same rules of hydrostatics apply. We may have refined things a touch, but we remain true to this seagoing heritage. The Wicked FPB is another step along a thousand year old evolution.

If you are a regular visitor to SetSail.com, you know we like fine rear ends. Flat buttock lines in particular arouse our instincts. With most yacht designs, there is a conflict here between comfort and performance (and this varies with different speeds, or more correctly speed-length ratios). Typically, you pick a speed regime and sea state and live with the results.

But if you stretch the waterline, keeping other design aspects constant, good things begin to happen.

For one, you get finer sections forward which allow the hull to penetrate rather than pitching up.

Of course this is just a rendering, but we expect this wicked new FPB to have an even softer ride uphill than the FPB 64s, while pitching less than Wind Horse.

What happens forward has to be balanced with what happens aft. Have a full bow and a fat rear has to follow. Fine forward means those coveted sweet buttock lines are possible.

And there is a bonus. Hull shapes like this have a wide envelop of speeds in which to perform efficiently. From speed-length ratios of 1.05 to 1.2 there is little penalty to be paid for getting there quickly. Crank up to 1.25 and the mileage drops, but not precipitously. The FPB 64s and the 83 regularly cross oceans at SLRs between 1.175 nd 1,22. We expect the new FPB to be more efficient yet.

Astute observers will note there is a difference between the stern sections of the FPB 64, 83, and the new FPB. Each is optimized for a different design environment. There is no magic design formula. Each hull is a special case.

We took the afternoon off, went for a drive, had a gelato, and enjoyed being outside in the harsh winter for which Arizona is known. We’re down to rechecking basic assumptions (again), finalizing deck geometry, and fine tuning the hull shape. This can be a dangerous time in the design cycle.

Having put in a series of 18-hour days going back to the start of this project, we are so wrapped up in the details, so close to every aspect, that it is easy to lose perspective. This can lead to overlooking something that we’ll later regret. We guard against this by subjecting various aspects of the design to outside scrutiny. We ask the scrutineers to challenge us; make us justify the decisions in a considered, understandable manner.

It helps to clear the fog.

We are somewhat surprised by the amount of comment induced by the post on the solar array, so we thought we’d update you to the present (things are moving quickly).

Earlier in the week it became obvious that the roof over the upper deck would benefit from enhancement. The negative was shading at some angles on a portion of the solar array.

So, why not add a couple of compensating panels to the upper roof? Indeed.

If two, then how about 12? Sure, these are significantly less efficient due to shading from the masts, radar, and whips. But they’d be at least 50% as good as below, and possibly better than that in some conditions. That’s a 50% increase in usable power. We are still working out the shading factors, but we expect to be in the 25,000 and 30,000 watt range before converting to DC for charging the batteries.

Now we have enough for the air conditioning on a modest basis and to take care of domestic loads in less favorable seasons.