Seawind 1170

0 Views

For extra multihull opinions and tales, subscribe for free to Multihull Power & Sail

*At 39 toes, the 1170 is on the smaller finish of Seawind’s choices, and the boat has been optimally geared and thought by for newer ocean multihull sailors and for doublehanded crews.*

Picture&colon; Seawind Catamarans

After I confirmed up for the ocean trial of the Seawind 1170 proper after the U.S. Sailboat Present in Annapolis final fall, I used to be in for 3 surprises. One, they already had a passel of potential consumers onboard—a passel that means 18 different people on this case—which is hardly a typical sea trial association. I wasn’t in any respect positive how the catamaran would reply with all the additional ballast.

However my fear led to shock quantity two: No worries! The heavy load turned out to be a rounding error, and this 39-footer carried out remarkably nicely within the flat water of the South River, slipping alongside at 6.8 knots in simply 10-12 knots of true breeze on a beam attain with a full-hoist mainsail and the screecher on a steady furler.

Shock quantity three got here after we turned and headed upwind, rolling out the self-tacking jib. I pinched as much as 38 levels obvious wind angle (AWA), and never solely did we proceed to maneuver properly, we tacked by the wind simply. Cruising cats aren’t recognized for his or her pointing capacity, so this was spectacular, particularly for a ship with solely mini keels moderately than daggerboards. Our upwind crusing that day grew to become memorable and stayed with me even months after the ocean trial.

So, in the event you haven’t seen or sailed a Seawind currently, you’re in for a deal with. A lot of this helpful efficiency is because of a hull redesign; the Australia-based catamaran builder has introduced a up to date aptitude to their line, upping their sport with fashionable aesthetics and extra pleasing topsides. The most recent mannequin to obtain this remedy is the 1170, designed by Seawind CEO Richard Ward and on the smaller finish of their providing, which makes it simply manageable by a pair, but in addition constructed absolutely ocean-worthy as a CE Class A multihull.

*With the intelligent trifold door snugged as much as the hardtop, the cockpit and salon turn out to be shared house..*

Picture&colon; Seawind Catamarans

Sharp reverse bows clear the waterline at relaxation. They provide the design a positive entry and higher upwind functionality, whereas the laborious chine above creates larger inside quantity, particularly aft. Headroom all through has additionally been enhanced by this redesign.

All of the tooling is new, carried out on the firm’s Vietnam facility the place they’ve been constructing Seawinds for 13 years (though the 1170’s tooling has since been moved to the corporate’s new 56,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Izmir, Turkey, for all future manufacturing of this mannequin).

The vacuum-infused building is a mixture of vinylester resin with carbon fiber reinforcement in key structural areas. These sturdy however light-weight composites are the work of New-Zealand primarily based Gurit, which can also be liable for different fashions within the Seawind line.

The decks are clear with solely gradual degree modifications, and there are three deep lockers on the foredeck for fenders, strains, and different storage gear. The cabinhouse is low, which retains the middle of gravity near the waterline. It additionally signifies that a single step and an optimally positioned handhold make brief work of accessing the cabintop, the place the increase is low sufficient for even vertically challenged sailors to get full entry to the mainsail.

The home windows are extra fashionable, giving the small boat an aggressive profile, like she means enterprise. All strains are led aft to the cockpit so that you by no means have to depart its shelter it doesn’t matter what’s occurring on the skin.

*The spacious galley is amidships within the starboard hull, with cabins ahead and aft.*

Picture&colon; Seawind Catamarans

There are just a few pluses and minuses to the cockpit format. The helms are absolutely protected and have direct drive with cable steering for an excellent really feel on the wheel, though our check boat felt stiff to me. The hardtop has mounted hatches above every helm for clear views of the mainsail, or you’ll be able to poke your head out to the facet and see the headsail as nicely. The helm seats are extensive sufficient for 2, and the backrests swing ahead to create aft-facing seating when it’s time to loosen up.

The aft bulkhead home windows instantly in entrance of the helms are detachable and slide right into a devoted storage slot close by; as soon as they’re eliminated, the driving force can attain in and work together with the navigation show, which is mounted inside on a swing arm on the port facet. This has an additional advantage: When the boat is locked up, no person can attain the display screen, so it’s safer. The wheels are mounted on the aft bulkheads however they’re nonetheless near the transom so it’s straightforward to see again when docking in reverse. The helms are additionally near the salon for direct communication with the aid watch if wanted.

Visibility ahead is a blended bag. The cabinhouse has loads of home windows, however there are extensive expanses of fiberglass between them that may create blind spots. A trifold cockpit door compacts into one pane that’s winched up on a line to the hardtop the place it’s out of the best way and secured with a security latch. The unhealthy information is that the system is guide and wishes cranking; the excellent news is that the system is guide and isn’t prone to break or get caught mid-way like electrical variations of this idea discovered on different catamaran manufacturers.

*The proprietor’s cabin occupies the port hull.*

Picture&colon; Seawind Catamarans

With the door snugged up beneath the hardtop, the salon turns into part of the cockpit and vice versa. Inside on the principle deck is a slim outboard-facing nav station to port and a big central dinette that will also be made right into a mattress. Storage is plentiful beneath and behind the banquettes and outboard close to the home windows.

The format options three cabins and two heads. On port is the grasp stateroom ahead with a raised athwartship mattress and a great deal of stowage cubbies and lockers. A big head is aft with a separate bathe stall that additionally gives entry to one of many engine rooms.

Two visitor cabins are on starboard separated by the galley, which occupies the center of the hull. A double stateroom with a moist head is ahead, and a large single cabin is aft. This boat is compact, which ends up in two points. First, the beds within the two ahead cabins are literally over the bridgedeck moderately out within the separated hulls so there’s solely a skinny bulkhead wall between them and never a lot privateness. Second, the grasp head should be shared with each the occupants of the aft starboard cabin in addition to day visitors in the event you don’t need folks submitting by the visitor lodging ahead to succeed in the starboard hull’s head. Inside headroom has been elevated all through, with 6 toes 5 inches within the cabins and one other 2 inches within the salon.

The galley-down association is polarizing. You both find it irresistible as a result of it takes the galley out of the residing space, which opens up the principle salon house, otherwise you hate it as a result of the chef is faraway from the occasion. No matter your perspective, there’s no arguing that it’s a sensible resolution that retains the cook dinner low within the boat and safe with a lot of bracing factors.

The sailplan features a self-tacking jib and a screecher on a steady furler. You’ll be able to add an asymmetrical spinnaker hooked up on the carbon fiber sprit that extends from a strong longeron. The mast measures 61 toes 7 inches, so it’s ICW-friendly. The mainsail traveler is on the hardtop with a helpful winch built-in into the arch so the cockpit is saved clear.

Our check boat had 900 watts of photo voltaic panels built-in into the hardtop, which can maintain the batteries topped up even with most methods working. Outfitting choices embrace air-con, a watermaker, a washer, and outsized alternators mixed with a lithium battery financial institution to get rid of the necessity for a generator.

*The portside helm with the window eliminated. Notice the chartplotter, which may be turned and introduced out for full entry on this configuration.*

Picture&colon; Wendy Mitman Clarke

Base batteries are gel, however Mike Rees, Seawind’s worldwide gross sales and advertising and marketing supervisor, says anybody who’s planning on crusing greater than coastally is choosing a lithium bundle, which the boat is about as much as settle for simply. “Once we do the lithium financial institution, we bolt on an extra excessive output alternator which is 120 amps that goes by the regulator and to the home lithium. So you have got two instances 120 amps popping out, which is large,” he says. “You don’t want a generator.”

The Seawind 1170 is powered by twin 29-hp Yanmar diesels with saildrives. The engines did a positive job on flat water, however as a result of the bridgedeck clearance is barely 26 inches, it’s laborious to say how these motors would carry out pushing 20,000 kilos of displacement into sloppy head seas. At extensive open throttle and a couple of,900 rpm, we motored at 8.9 knots, however we discovered a extra economical cruising pace at 2,400 rpm and 6.5 knots.

The bottom worth of the Seawind 1170 is $510,000 and as examined, it was nearer to $630,000. That’s a cut price for such a handsome, beachable, and slippery multihull cruiser. Rees says that whereas many people who find themselves simply moving into multihull crusing suppose they want bigger boat to cowl ocean miles, the 1170 is a smaller cat that’s constructed to ocean-crossing requirements however makes extra sense by way of price, upkeep, and dealing with.

“This can be a nice boat for a pair to tackle. It’s manageable financially, its manageable by way of the dimensions,” Rees says. “Why do you want 45 toes? It’s good, however in the event you haven’t obtained the abilities and are simply moving into it, that is what we’re saying you ought to be beginning with.”

A lot of the options aboard are immensely sensible, so {couples} in search of a compact however agile offshore cat ought to put this mannequin on their shortlist. And, with eyes extra firmly on the U.S. and European markets, Seawind’s new location on the Aegean Sea creates a customer support base out of Europe, in order that house owners can decide up their boats and instantly be in terrific cruising grounds with entry to a wide range of marina services.