| USA. Far Harbour 39 first cruiser designed for container-shipping to debut at Newport Boat Show |
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| Monday, 11 September 2006 | |
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Boat show news: The Far Harbour 39, the first cruising sailboat designed to be container-shipped, will debut at the Newport (R.I.) International Boat Show in mid-September. The prototype of Container Yachts’ FH 39, named InBox, was launched at Schooner Creek Boat Works (Portland, Ore.) on August 29. Designed by Robert H. Perry, the 39-foot motorsailer was designed to fit inside a standard shipping container so owners can transport the boat economically to cruising destinations around the world. Perry started with a strict envelope of physical parameters that dictated the boat’s overall length, beam, rig height, and other details. But after initial sea-trials in light air, it was clear Perry had used those parameters in a masterful way to produce a comfortable pilothouse cruiser with strong performance characteristics. “I fell instantly under the spell of InBox the moment I saw it in the slings ready for launch,” said Perry, after sailing on the boat for the first time. “There is just something about this boat that makes me immediately relate to it. I feel at home in the interior. It performs in excess of my expectations, and I find it exceedingly good looking ... This is the very first boat of mine that I have wanted to personally own for a long, long time.” InBox had its initial trials on the Columbia River before being trucked to the East Coast for the fall boat shows. In the light-air conditions, the boat met the design’s theoretical projections for speed (VPPs). Under power, the crew saw speeds of 8.3 knots. Under sail, in 10 knots of apparent wind, the boat reached under spinnaker at a speed of 6.7 knots and beat at 4.7 knots. The crew tiller-steered the boat from the cockpit (there is a second steering station in the pilothouse) to get a sense of the helm: as Perry said during the trials, "The boat felt right." The Far Harbour 39 has an overall length of 38.9 feet (11.9m) and a 7.4-foot beam (2.3m), to fit inside a standard shipping container that measures 40 feet by 8 feet. The cost of shipping a container is a fraction of what it costs to ship a yacht of similar size. The routes for shipping yachts are also limited to certain ports and the schedules are rigid, but containers can be shipped at any time, anywhere in the world. The boat’s unique concept has garnered worldwide press attention, and the public will get its first look at Container Yachts’ Far Harbour 39 at the Newport (R.I.) International Boat Show, which takes place September 14–17. The boat next moves to the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis (Md.) from October 5–9. The first production models of the FH 39 will be available in the first quarter of 2007. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 11 September 2006 ) |
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