We are fortunate this month to have this design included.  James S. Krogen designed this yacht for himself and is presently having it built in Taiwan.  Those of you who have followed yacht design over the years will be well acquainted with the work of Mr. Krogen.  His designs have always been amongst my favorites.  I think it is particularly interesting when a designer becomes his own client.  With a background such as Mr. Krogen’s, you can be sure that all the features of this design have been honed to near perfection over the years.  The intended use of this yacht will be weekend cruising and three-week summer trips in an area where obviously shoal draft is at a premium.

  Students of yacht design would do well to study the balance of proportions in this hull.  By this I mean the relationship between the freeboard forward and the freeboard aft, the relative amounts of overhang, the character of the sheer, and the subtle complex curves of the clipper bow.  Mr. Krogen demonstrates his good eye exceptionally well in this design.  There are no lines present that jar the harmony of the others and it should be recognized that the ability to turn out a design as handsome as this one is not learned in school.  It takes years on the working end of an eraser to train the eye to blend components into a cosmetically integrated design.

  The displacement to length ratio is 294 indicating a moderate displacement hull with the rather wide beam of 12’8”.  This beam will help with stability and offset the rather shoal draft of 3 feet.  Directional stability will be very good and the tandem boards will enable the helm to be easily balanced in any combination of wind and sea conditions.  This design is also offered with a standard keel.  Before leaving this brief discussion of the hull design, I would like to once again call your attention to the bow.  I think this is certainly one of the most attractive clipper bows I have seen.  Note the manner in which the profile curve reverses itself as it approaches the fiddle head.

If this design did not have tandem centerboards I might worry about weather helm, but the boards will take care of that.   The sail area to displacement ratio is generous at 17.5,  indicating to me that Mr. Krogen likes to sail fast.  The low aspect ratio configuration of this rig will make it quick on a reach, the one point of sail where the staysail can really do some work.  The benefit of this rather large rig is that it will enable the boat to move well in light air without the need for genoas bigger than 130 percent.  Remember that genoa overlap percentages are relative to the J dimension and on a cutter like this one a 150 percent genoa could be an immense sail.

  I suppose some of you have already eyed the athwartships double berth with some suspicion.  Remembering that this design is not intended as an offshore passage-maker is all the justification that this feature needs.  The entire accommodation plan is unique, and it should also be kept in mind that there is a centerboard trunk to work around.  The owner’s stateroom includes a large hanging locker, a long bank of lockers under a counter, and a convenient basin. The galley is close to the companionway but, unfortunately, puts the cook right in the flow of traffic.  Note, that there is another basin in the forward stateroom, but no basin is shown in the head.  The head does include a separate shower stall.  In studying the accommodation plan, it is hard not to notice the extra large lazarette.  In many production designs the lazarette gives way to extended interior accommodations.  This is fine, but where do you store the sails, crab pots, Zodiac, etc.?  Mr. Krogen’s design will have huge lockers aft.  Note also that the location of the double berth allows for a very handy engine location with potentially excellent access.

  You have probably noted that I seldom write on the gear and outfitting details of most designs.  These items are best left in the brochures and sales information.  I would rather occupy these reviews with design details such as the raised deck configuration of this design.  There is nothing better than a flush deck to set off a handsome hull.  Obviously, there are other benefits to the flush deck, or raised deck as it should properly be called in this case, but aesthetically it is effective.  There is a well deck forward and there are bulwarks aft.  The beam is carried well into the stern, which gives this design the room for a very large cockpit.  The raised deck configuration also facilitates leading the halyards and furling lines aft to make this design well suited for single-handing. 

  This is a very interesting design and I’m sure the designer is anxiously awaiting the delivery of the first finished yacht.