 |
| Builder: |
Holland Jachtbouw |
| Architecture: |
Hoek Design Naval Architects |
| Exterior Design: |
Hoek Design Naval Architects |
|
A schooner stirs the sailor’s heart with a huge sail area
spread the length of a vessel’s deck. It is a sail plan that urges a yacht to
make leeway. But when keel and rudder are engineered to compensate, a
schooner has unbeatable power off wind. Balancing these forces into fabulous
yachts is what Hoek Design and Holland Jachtbouw have done for 15 years, yet
Skylge
breaks ground as the first schooner with a lifting keel. A totally new design
developed with Frans Brandies Engineering literally locks Hoek’s dart-shaped,
35-ton keel into the hull in the down position to complete a structural
"circuit," obliterating forces that would turn a lifting keel into a wedge,
driving apart the hull plate. A brilliantly simple plan utilizing large pegs on
the rubber-flanged keel stock fitting matching holes in the hull frame creates a
rattle-free connection. The system has worked flawlessly since Day One, and the
helm is so well balanced—courtesy time well spent in the Wolfson Unit wind
tunnel—that 140-ton Skylge actually steers herself for long periods
upwind.
|
Email This
Printer Friendly Version
Reprints & Permissions
Most Popular Searches