Fast Eddy, 35ft Aluminium Adventure Cruiser

 I drew Fast Eddy in 2017 for Seaforth Expeditions in Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada. Her purpose is adventure cruising in the desolate wilderness waters of Eastern British Columbia. These waters are mostly sheltered by the many islands but can be wild and treacherous, with strong tides and unchartered rocks. They are also known for the massive logs that litter the shores, having escaped from the logging companies. Those that have not yet found a beach are a danger to boaters, particularly when they are nearly waterlogged and floating vertical, with only a few inches of one end above the surface and very difficult to see. Ready to punch a hole in a hull right at waterline, they are known as deadheads.

Gaff schooner sail plan

Aluminium was chosen for this boat as the best material to survive potential collisions with deadheads or rocks when far from any rescue services. As an added safety feature, most of the space between hull and deck is foam-filled for flotation.

The hull is the same family as my lapstrake plywood Cape series of designs and we decided to keep the lapstrake format, for the character that it adds to a classic hull form. That meant that between the builders and myself we had to work out construction details that would look good, without excessive welding that aggravates heat distortion. Built by John Dearden of Gibsons BC, helped by owner Tom McPherson and his dad, they did a beautiful job of the build.

Aluminium Fast Eddy hull on turn-over day.

The work for this boat after launch is taking charters into those wilderness waters for adventure camp/cruising, nature photography touring, youth training, corporate team building and similar activities far from comfortable civilization. It is work that needs to be done with absolute minimum disruption of nature and zero destruction of the places that they visit. To that end, this is a sailing and rowing boat, with a backup outboard motor stowed in a locker and only used as a last resort.

The cockpit takes up most of the length, with four rowing positions on each side. Under the seats are personal storage lockers and between them are insulated food lockers. Insert panels convert the individual seats to long sleeping platforms. Forward of the cockpit is a bow cabin with enclosed heads, galley and V-berths.

The sailing rig is gaff schooner, basically a cutter rig forward, with the normal boom replaced by a wishbone boom and stepped in a tabernacle to fold aft. Another identical mast and sail, without headsails, stands aft. This one is also stepped in a tabernacle but folds forward. The pivots are rotated 2 degrees off centreline so that the masts pass each other and each rests in a cradle on the tabernacle of the other.

Primed ready for paint, tubes still to be completed as masts.

This boat is a  maxi trailer-sailer, at 35ft long and only 8'3" wide.  It is very slim, with extremely fine bow. This makes it easily-driven for rowing and for sailing in light breezes. Sailing reports are that it is very quick as long as there is some breeze. She competed in the R2AK event in 2019, averaging 3.3 knots in mostly rowing conditions but recorded 13 knots in the stronger breeze of the finishing stretch.

Launch day.

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Cape Deseada 36TC, Lapstrake Plywood Family Cruiser

 Our Cape range of lapstrake cruiser designs started with the Cape Cutter 19 about 20 years ago. Commissions came in periodically, always pushing upward from what we had before. They grew to the Cape Henry 21, Cape May 25, Cape Charles 32 and now the Cape Deseada 36TC.

So, why is this one titled a "TC" and not the others? This one has a trunk cabin deck configuration, whereas all of the others have a raised sheer and flush deck. It was commissioned by two amateur builders on different continents but both wanting similar features in a bigger boat than we could offer with the Cape Charles 32. Overall they wanted a larger version of the 32 but with trunk cabin and side decks to give more secure footing when working on deck in rough water.

Cape Deseada 36 with Marconi rig.

This initial version has a Marconi rig with squaretop mainsail, a powerful and efficient rig for performance with a small crew. The working sails are mainsail and an inboard jib tacked to the stemhead on a furler. A Genoa, code 0 and asymmetrical spinnaker can be set flying on top-down furlers from the end of the bowsprit. A gaff rig will also be completed when a builder wants that version.

Accommodation layout of the Cape Deseada 36TC

Interior layout is much like the 32, with some differences. The main benefit is that all berths are more than 2m in length, the aft double being 2.3m long. The offset V-berth in the forecabin has a chain locker under the head of the port berth, fed by an anchor windlass on the sunken foredeck. The chain pipe is a reinforced rubber hose to stop the chain from rattling crew out of their sleep.

The layout plan might be described as boring but it offers safety at sea rather than party space for lying against a marina dock. Everywhere that you go inside this boat you will have things to grab onto or to lean against when needed on bouncy water. 

Deck plan and profile of the Cape Deseada 36TC

The hull has a long waterline and fine bow, for easy motion and performance in a wide range of conditions. The lapstrake hull is skinned with plywood over stringers and bulkheads. Construction is within the capabilities of a reasonably skilled amateur, it doesn't need professional boatwright skills. The ballast is bolted through deadwood and the rudder is transom-hung for simplicity. The skin in the ballast area is glass-reinforced inside- and out, with the glass wrapping over the plywood internal structure of backbone and floors as well.

Midship section of Cape Deseada 36TC

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CC19 Dayboat, Family Daysailer & Camp-Cruiser

 I designed the Cape Cutter 19 in 2000, as a little GRP production trailer-sailer for Cape Cutter Yachts. A few years later I added a plywood version for amateur builders, now with nearly 90 plywood boats in 28 countries. Since then I have been asked a few times for an open day-sailer version. Here it is, the CC19 Dayboat.

This is more than a basic day-sailer though, the cockpit is proportioned for up to 6 people to sleep comfortably on airbeds on the cockpit sole and seats, as a camp-cruiser. That space also means that a family of 6 or more can all sail together for day-sailing and picnic cruises rather than taking turns.

Gaff rig of CC19 Dayboat

The Cape Cutter 19 has a great reputation for surprising speed in light to moderate breeze and seaworthiness in strong winds and big seas. Those same characteristics are passed on to this version. In line with that seaworthiness, the cockpit is above waterline and self-draining, with any water from a boarding wave exiting via two routes, through the engine well and the centreboard casing. The 16 independent buoyancy compartments under the cockpit and seating further increase the safety.

Deck & cockpit layout 

 The forward seats fold down to add floor space when needed. Under the foredeck is a small lockable cuddy for safe and dry storage. At the other end, the outboard engine sits in a well, with a dam around it to contain oil spills. The motor is covered by a hinged hatch over the top and a door in front. The motor sits just ahead of the balanced transom-hung rudder, for quick helm response when motoring in tight spaces.

The sail plan is the same as the Cape Cutter 19 and should be sailed the same way. There are three headsails, Genoa, Yankee and staysail/jib. The Genoa should be used with the main in light to moderate breeze for best speed. For those who prefer a true cutter rig, use the Yankee along with the staysail and mainsail. For strong winds use the staysail as a working jib along with the mainsail, reefed as needed for the wind strength.

The mast is stepped in a tabernacle for easy raising/lowering and the bowsprit folds aft. The main forestay goes to the stemhead, with the staysail either hanked or on a furler. The Genoa or Yankee can be on a soft furler or top-down furler.

Section through centreboard casing

The centreboard is glass-sheathed plywood, ballasted with a lead insert. Primary ballast is internal, in the bilge and glassed over to secure it in place. My client for this design chose to keep the solid ballast of the Cape Cutter 19 rather than change to less effective water ballast.

This boat can be built from plans, which include full-size Mylar patterns of the bulkheads, backbone and transom. We also offer Mylar skin patterns as an optional extra. A plywood CNC kit comprising bulkheads, backbone and all skin panels can also be supplied.

See more of this and our other designs on our main website or our mobile website.