Here is a look at the deck plan, with the profile view above for context. Only part of the middle and aft end of the bottom decks show as they are covered by structure above.

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One thing we have learned over the years is to allow more space than you think is required for the engine room as the equipment list often grows. The FPB 115 engine room follows this rule, and has space for future growth.

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We have up to three computers of our own, plus the Ipad, and occasional visitors all of which need an Internet connection. But there is a single 3G USB device, which makes sharing difficult. We now have a simple answer.

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Denied the capacity to fiddle with rig and sails, we have filled this void by experimenting with props. Our three bladed test being concluded after 8000+ miles of usage, we are back to the fours.

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There are two interesting points about this photo of the inboard end of the FPB64 prop shaft.

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Todd and Steve are sitting in a very warm Charleston, South Carolina wrapping up details on the FPB 112 and it is hard to relate to these winter photos from New Zealand. As you will see, FPB 64 five and six are rapidly taking form. These photos cover the first two weeks in June.

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Here is an interesting program from cruiser Bill Stockton that takes screen shots of Google Earth images and facilitates using them with a variety of charting programs.

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We now fully understand the appeal of the Intra Coastal Waterway as a cruising environment. It is quicker, and weather permitting, easier to go outside along the East Coast of the US . But if you are cruising the Waterway, as opposed to passing through on the way elsewhere, it has a unique appeal.

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Steve Suters, John Gowing’s FPB 64-4 captain, has been kind enough to fill us in on some of the details of their recent brush with storm force winds (55 to 65 knots), steep seas, and a breaking entrance bar crossing. We have included the photo above of FPB64-1, Avatar, as a reminder of boat scale versus the waves about which you will shortly read. A the end of the blog are two short videos.

As you go through the following keep in mind one key fact: this was taking place in an area of south flowing current, opposing the wind driven waves, steepening them and causing them to break.

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We’ve been going through the very short video we have posted on Osprey’s adventure, and found a few interesting waves. As previously mentioned, the steepness of the seas is a result of current opposing the wind. Note that these were taken before it started to really blow, i.e. the breeze here is 35 to 40 knots and it blew up to 65 later on, and that photos always visually shrink wave size.

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Bill and Sue Henry, owners of FPB 64-2 Sarah Sarah, are the first to make use of the threaded inserts on the house sides for kayak storage. If you look carefully at this lovely photo, sent in by Brian Rickard (as are the others), you will see one of the kayaks stored just above the windows.

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We have just found the perfect Father’s Day gift, Carol Parker’s new photo collection book titled Worlds of Possibilities.

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We look at photos of FPB 64s under construction typically on a weekly basis. And although we have seen this many times before, with older designs, and with the FPBs, we still get a buzz. The long time SetSailors amongst you will have been through this with us as well, but it has been a year or more, so we are going to post updates from time to time. If we are totally boring you, protest, and we will take theshowing under advisement.

Starting with the pointy end, the Circa fabricators are getting ready to tack on rolled plate.

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We are now into Georgia, anchored for the last few days off exquisite Cumberland Island. Nothing could better illustrate the pull of places like the Intra Coastal Waterway than the photo above. Miles of untouched wilderness, deserted beaches, interesting boats and their crew to meet, wildlife, and the occasional town, line the ICW in parts of Northern Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

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When we were building Wind Horse we could not find  an acceptable solution to having navigation data on the flying bridge. A 10″/250mm weather resistant monitor was close to $4000. So we decided to wait until technology came up with a better answer. We didn’t expect to wait six years, but now that we are equipped with an Ipad 2 we can say the wait has been worthwhile.

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There are large solar arrays on many of the cruising yachts we meet these days. A combination of high efficiency monocrystal panels and MPPT controllers makes it feasible to get most, if not all, of your systems power from the sun. Of course mounting space is always an issue.

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A couple of notes from the FPB 64s.

Pete Rossin (FPB 64-3) has a detailed look at his navigation station on the Iron Lady website. You can see lots of photos and read Pete’s comments  on how he is using  this gear by clicking here.

Osprey (FPB 64-4) has safely crossed what many consider the most dangerous chunk of ocean inside of 40 degrees of latitude, the Tasman Sea. As often happens, the forecast gale morphed into 55 to 65 knots (storm force), blowing against the South Australian current. And the Coffs Harbor entrance bar, which they had been told was passable, actually had a 12 to 15  foot break across the entrance. We’ve chatted with the crew and will have a detailed update once we have finished the debrief. Right now we know that the boat behaved as expected, and dealt with the conditions with aplomb.

The inlet for Saint Augustine, Florida has a well deserved negative reputation. Shallow, shifting sandbars, lots of current, and occasional strong onshore winds can make for a wicked brew. The detail on the entrance above, or rather lack thereof, is an obvious caution indicator.

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A couple of years ago we fitted these vacuum gauges to our Racor air cleaners on our little diesels. They give an indication when it is time to clean or change the air intake filters.

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One of the true joys of cruising is finding the odd gem of an establishment.  In the case of Cocoa, Florida, this takes the form of an ancient and wonderful hardware store, perhaps the most wondrous we have visited. S.F. Travis dates back to 1885, when an itinerant merchant, who traded the Florida waters in a shoal draft ketch, established the land based store.

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We have discussed the merits and demerits of wet and dry exhausts in the past. After much study, and dialog with commercial and pleasure users, we opted for a wet system on Wind Horse and saw no reason to change with the FPB 64s. Recently we were challenged on this subject, and after answering, challenged again, with the point (amongst others) that Nordhavn has been successful marketing dry exhaust systems. Which brings us an axiom we learned long ago. To wit, successful marketing and good results in the real world of long distance cruising are rarely synonymous. Rather, it is better to execute based on first principles and sound logic.

Since you already know which side we come down on, we thought it would interesting to share the opinions of two former Nordhavn owners, now FPB clients, who have lived with dry exhausts,

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If you carry an outboard larger than two horsepower some thought it going to have to be given to getting it on and off the dinghy. We have always used the spinnaker halyard for this where we were not carrying the outboard already mounted. But a davit or boom mounted on the radar arch (or on its own as above) makes sense as well. The key ingredient is going to be leading the tackle to a winch to make the hoisting and lowering of the outboard easier.

There are many ways to build a good spinnaker sock, and this one has an interesting rigging detail on the control lines. Check out the red and green colors, so you can easily determine which is the port and starboard side.

Barcelona’s Port Olimpico is home to many small and medium sized sailboats, all of whom spend their lives Med moored. Almost universally they have simple, light, and inexpensive passeral systems. The one above is  our favorite.

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Between a few Wind Horse projects, playing with our progeny, and ogling the Florida seascape and fauna, work on the FPB 115 has had competition, but going on none-the-less. We have been chatting with professional crews, visiting with vendors, even the recent derating of our engines relates.

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Water pump impellers, such as those on the engine or genset, are typically reliable. But they do wear, and old age takes its toll. We recently dug up a pdf file on inspection which is quite interesting.

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One of the items that should be in the ship”s stores is a filled epoxy that will cure in a wet environment. This has all sorts of uses from underwater leaks to fitting repairs.

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You are looking at the Circa computerized cutting table at work on the jigsaw of aluminum pieces that will shortly become FPB 64 number six. The production process  is rolling at Circa, and there are some details to share including a short video.

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We have been experimenting with high definition videos to run as background on our big screen TV (or on the computer monitor). In theory, you should be able to download these for viewing as well. This blog is a test and we would love to get some feedback on how the quality looks, and if simple background videos like this are of interest.

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We have just received a shipment of high definition DVDs filled with action footage of the first three FPB 64s during sea trials in less than ideal conditions. There are hundreds of photos as well. If you have wondered what these yachts are like offshore, watch this video and its more than 75 minutes of action. Available for just $12.95 + S/H by clicking here. Or, you can enjoy the fun by viewing online at SetSail.com

Better yet, order Sea Trials and  Off The Beaten Path (with 115 minutes of cruising aboard the FPB prototype, Wind Horse) together and get free shipping in the continental USA. Details are here.

We have put together a high res slide show of our favorite Florida Keys photos. To have a look click here.

Steve and Linda,
I’m a long term Setsail addict and I’d love to know what Beowolf has been up to since she was purchased from you. As well, it appears that a sister ship was never built. Is this correct, and why not if not?

cheers,

Andrew Hogg
in landlocked Calgary AB, Canada

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One of the lessons we learned long ago is to leave fishing to the experts. So when David Kaul came by with friends Sue and Larry Hamilton, and offered us an extra mahi mahi they had aboard, being polite required we accept.  Of course there is the issue of correct preparation, which Dave kindly offered to demonstrate. The photo series that follows shows the most masterful job of cleaning and filleting we have ever seen.

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Thinking we were a little short on kedging details in our recent post we decided to give it another whirl. You see before you a plot of our course as we came south from our overnight anchorage in Lake Sylvia. The turn off for the New River, where a side tie awaited us, is a bit tricky and we were past it before we realized the error. In the process of turning around we drifted out of the channel, and hard aground, in a falling tide.

TowBoats US was quickly on the spot and generously offered a discounted tow for US$1000. We declined in favor of trying to kedge off, the engines being unable to do the job on their own.

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[slidepress gallery=’cruising-the-florida-keys’]

Wind Horse has her bow pointed towards Fort Lauderdale for a quick stop, then we are headed north. We’re just off the 600 foot (180m) depth contour, riding the Gulf Stream making 13.5 knots over the bottom. Marathon treated us to a lovely sunrise as we cleared the deck for sea.

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With four FPB 64s + the FPB 83 prototype WInd Horse now cruising, the fifth boat under construction, and two more awaiting their start, FPB cruising news is starting to filter in. We thought a brief recap and some links might be of interest.

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We’ll start this tale with an almost impossible photo of the moon from the deck of a yacht at anchor. There isn’t much light, given the small amount of moon illumination, which means a slow shutter speed necessitating a stable platform. Add in that this is a 500mm lens with a doubler, i.e. the equivalent of 1000mm, and it gets even trickier. The answer lies in an unmarked wreck in the southwest corner of Marathon harbor, where we arrived back at dead low tide. We shall spare you the details of finding the wreck as we scouted for our old anchoring position. The interesting part is what happened after we became ensnared.

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Weve been anchored in a lovely channel amongst the Marquesas Keys west of Key West (off the NW corner of Boca Grande). There is good holding, a reversing current running at two to three  knots, and 15 to 20 knots of breeze to keep us cool. The direction of the wind, out of the east, holds us off a steep to shoreline (there is sufficient depth for us within spitting distance of the beach). We’d normally lie on three to one scope, but in this case, with the direction of pull reversing with the current, we are at six to one – 175 feet/56m in the  20 foot/6m deep channel.

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Storing dinghies forward of the mast as in the photo above has benefits and problems.

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One of the things that has long been overdue onboard Wind Horse is a glare shield for the three navigation monitors. Working with Greg Kelchner in Fort Lauderdale we fashioned a variety of mock ups from thin plywood.

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You see before you a reasonable looking, AC powered fan, that moves far more air than the smaller marine counterparts. As our previous fans, with their steel cages, were looking a little rusty, when we saw these in Home Depot, we picked up a cartful. Plugging in our Kill-A-Watt meter we found the following values:

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We have dragged these two oversized strainers around for the past 50,000 miles. Other than an end of season cleaning only once have they needed to be emptied – until today.

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The only reason we can see to cruise offshore in a multihull is speed. But if you go for the condo style cats the weight and windage will make you so slow that you will envy the daily runs of monohulls.  On the other hand with long hulls, minimal accommodations, and low windage, fast sailing will be your reward.

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I was wondering what the possibilities of placing a Pilothouse like the one on the FBP 112 on the FBP 64? Placing it forward in line with the lower house windows and then having a “porch” on the aft section.

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At the suggestion of a SetSail visitor we took of yesterday afternoon to have a look at Whiskey Creek.

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When we were working on the design of Wind Horse Steve Davis suggested a flying bridge enclosure. At the time we could not see the need, thinking we’d simply move to the great room if conditions warranted more protection. Six years and 50,000 miles later we understand the wisdom of his suggestion.

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We have been using the latest iteration of Coastal Explorer this spring. This is a clean, easy to use, and quite stable nav program.

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We’ve taken a temporary hiatus from the business of yachting to enjoy hanging out with daughter Elyse, husband Todd, along with Emma and  Ian (shown above).

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If you are running a Windows computer you may have encountered crazy mouse syndrome. This occurs when the computer thinks the GPS signal is a serial mouse. Here is how we have dealt with this in the past:

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We are hanging out with family in the Florida Cays. Lots of photo ops, and photographers to take advantage. To wit, the photo above by Ian Beveridge, age eight.

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If the sea trial photo above has you wondering how the FPB 64 handles heavy weather – say seas three times this size and 30 to 40 knots of wind – we have a couple of e-mails from Pete Rossin aboard Iron Lady, to sate your curiosity. Pete and Debbie, and crew Steve, are on their way north to the Islands. They left New Zealand with the intention of riding a bit of gale force pressure north, and getting in a few rides in the process.

There are three e-mails from Pete that follow. Read the rest »

Here are some more examples for the usefulness of radar trails. All of the photos have the trails in true mode, in other words, the actual track of the target.

This first example is coming in to the eastern side of the straights of Gibraltar. The targets without trails are not moving (in this case ships at anchor).

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Radar trails are a big help in interpreting what a target is and what it is likely to do.

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Vic Kuzmovich, NAIAD’s stabilizer guru, was out with us aboard Wind Horse today doing slow speed stabilization tests as a model for the FPB 112. There is a video link at the bottom of this blog so you can see the results for yourself.

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The fuel injection pumps used on diesel engines delivery precisely timed shots of fuel to the fuel injectors. The timing and volume of the fuel controls the torque and horsepower characteristics of the engine. Most engines also come with different ratings, which are typically related to the injection pump characteristics.

Our Deere 4045s on Wind Horse were rated M4, 150HP@2600RPM. M4 means Deere doesn’t want the engine to run wide open more than three hours out of 24. SInce we normally  operate between 1750 and 1900 RPM the engines were lightly loaded. At the other end of the rating scale is M-1 which allow full throttle 24 hours a day, and delivers 105 HP at 2300 RPM.

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On our sailing designs we have typically been able to avoid air conditioning by engineering good air flow at anchor. But with the FPBs the heat load on all of the glass makes air conditioning a necessity. Back aboard now in Fort Lauderdale, with the sun directly overhead, and temperatures in the afternoon at 88/90F (31/32C), we are putting this to use, and thought a few details might be of interest.

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We are happy to report Wind Horse is well rested after sitting in one location the last four months. Her systems are all operational, at least to the extent we can discern tied to a dock.

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The test of the high def video server has gone well, so we now have high def versions of more of the FPB 83 Wind Horse available online.

These videos include:

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We are headed back to our test bed, getting Wind Horse back into action. There are a series of trials to run with NAIAD stabilizer guru Vic Kuzmovich, to tie down a few things for the FPB 112 (it is nice to have a 2/3rds scale model!). And  bit of rest is in order (we’ve been burning the candle at both ends), before we dive back into the world of computer design.

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…when staying longer at the same place, for example when you left Wind Horse in UK during winter 2009? As far as I’m informed, VAT(possibly plus customs fees & extra taxes) is charged if you stay > 3 months in the EC. How do other countries deal with this? If you want to talk about it: was VAT actually paid for your ships, or is it possible to circumnavigate the whole problem?

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These photos show testing of Osprey’s swim step extension in dive mode. We have updated the post with a short video at the end which you may find refreshing.

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Hi Steve … I just read the Propellers section on the Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia, and got wondering: given the FPBs are such efficient machines, wouldn´t there be a case for controllable pitch props on them?

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We are in the habit of dissecting video of our yachts to study their action and reaction in various wave trains. There are a variety of video editing packages which facilitate this (these days we use Final Cut Pro). Slowing down and/or stopping action, and occasionally speeding things up, often tease out details that are missed by those onboard (ourselves included).

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The folks that “serve” our videos to the Internet have upgraded their system and we can now provide much higher definition images to you. We have to redo the output of our video editing software, so the process will take a while. The FPB 83 Wind Horse introduction is the first.

Updated Feb 9, 2018:

You can now simply view the video below, and see all our hi-def videos on our YouTube channel.

We have added to the collection of screen savers available to download. To check out the collection

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The FPB 64 awning support frame was engineered to simplify the installation of enclosure panels, and the fourth boat, Osprey, is the first to make use of this facility.

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Here’s a sight that would gladden the heart of anyone interested in cruising yachts. Two FPB 64s, Iron Lady and Osprey, side by side in Marsden Cove Marina.

While we were a little busy last week we still managed a few photos, which follow. At the end of this article you will find a link to a high res slide show which has full-sized high def images, of these and other details.

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While the Arizona Wildcats were thrashing Duke in basketball, we were out in the remnants of another New Zealand gale with Iron Lady. For company there were eighteen visitors from around the world (three parties of six). It had been blowing from the east for two days, so as you might imagine, the combination of  shoaling bottom, reflected waves, and river mouth currents made for an interesting mix.

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While we were busy marveling at how well Iron Lady handled the previously mentioned vigorous sea state, her owner, Pete Rossin, shot a couple of minutes of video.

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Landing at Whangerei International Airport news awaited that the long spell of pleasant New Zealand weather had finally broken down and strong gale to storm force winds with heavy rain were forecast, exactly what we had asked Circa Marine to arrange. As you can see from the lead photo, these new seas, onshore in angle and so reflected back, were steep and confused. A  perfect day for testing. Note: at the end of this blog is a short video.

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What we fear most  in the design cycle is getting so locked into a single concept that we miss a much better approach. That is why we drag out the preliminary end of the process, to try and make sure we look at all avenues. Although the previous riff on the FPB 115 was good, this is much better. And it is not just the aesthetics ( with which we are still fussing). Thanks are due to the previously mentioned prodder (can you imagine coming up with this after having started construction!) for asking the right questions in a timely manner.

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We have been studying the motion of FPB64-3, Iron Lady, with an eye on what we are doing with the FPB 112. The difference uphill, between this and the previous 64s which do not have the swim step extension gives us some wonderful data. We shall shortly see how this works for ourselves, but for now we have to be content with video.

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As we work on a new design we frequently refer to past projects. We used to overlay paper plots of lines drawings and compare how volume was handled above and below the waterline. There are the numeric values to review of course, but in the end, when you are talking about how a given shape is going to work at sea the designer has to visualize the hull in various combinations of waves. To aid in this process we would often scale the drawings so they were the same size to make comparisons easier.

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Hi,
We have a Yanmar 4 cylinder turbo charged engine of about 60 hp and would like to know the exhaust temperature range we should target when powering, as distinct from the Vetus cooling water alarm we have available to fit which will trigger at a relatively low temperature?
The boat is a Southerly 135(13.5 metres) of about 14 tonnes cruising displacement.

Appreciate your advice.

Terence

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