Principal Characteristics:

                                            LOA:   60'-0", 18.28 m
                                            LWL:   55'-8", 16.98 m
                                            Beam:   12'-7 1/2", 3.85 m
                                            Draft:   7'-10", 2.39 m
                                            Displacement:   26,300 lbs., 11.93 tons

 Written in 1987.

Steelstar has been a long dream, born 35 years ago. Of necessity, the concept has remained continually on my mind ever since. It is at odd moments that the urge to pursue the matter overwhelms me, and to put a stop to this strange obsession, I have decided to bring Steelstar out of the drawer and see if the whole thing makes any sense.

I say 35 years ago because that is when I was introduced to some different and very interesting small boats, Black Soo by Van de Stadt, the Thunderbird by Seaborn, and the Faraman by Amiet. These hard-chine speedsters--light and fast--held a definite appeal, especially to me. The proof is in the numbers. Hundreds were built.

Then came Infidel (now Ragtime), my all-time favorite; the ultimate approach to the hungry, mean, long, thin downhill racer-chaser. What a boat! Twenty-two years later, she is still at it--faster than ever. I love her. My conviction is now to come up with Steelstar, the embodiment of all my feelings grown from watching these rags-to-riches kind of boats.

I have been fortunate to have developed a certain reputation myself for some very speedy sailboats, and therefore, I understand what makes a boat go fast.

Now with fast, there is also all the nonsense going on about the rating rules and their total state of confusion. I may as well consider Steelstar a cruising boat and work from there. This is not a cover-up. I fully expect Steelstar to be the fastest cruising boat of her size, but not a racer. Maybe she will be the closest thing these days to the old ideas of a cruiser-racer.

The other contradiction I have is about the construction material. I have chosen steel. Well, if I consider Steelstar the ultimate go-fast cruising boat, why not consider the ultimate cruising-hull material? But more about that later.

The Lines:

That was the evolution; now these are my thoughts. When I begin the design of a boat, I usually start with the lines. In most of my work, I am given a free hand, and this leads me to consider the lines first--the shape and the envelope of it all. Ever weight-conscious, the body is the answer to displacement, and volume is what it's all about.

The shape is simplistic, but don't be fooled by it. A hard chine is the answer with powerboats; they all are faster than sailboats, therefore, why not adapt something faster for a sailboat hull? I believe that if the beam is kept narrow, the single chine is excellent. Not only that, but also the answer to part of the philosophy of our concept--simplicity. However, simplicity does not come easily, and I must have spent more time on these lines than on any other boat I can remember.

The bow is elevated and sharp. The hollow waterline is dictated by the straightforward shape. The stern will knife through the water while the fullness above the chine will keep the deck dry. The V-shaped bow is kept for up to 30-percent of the waterline length, and then the flatness of the midship action takes over. Allocating two feet for hull depth, the section shows hard bilges and moderate deadrise.

The Deck

A platform for life above, the deck is a very important aspect of any boat. Leaving aside the condominium part down below, we are now on the playground for work and play - all the same time hopefully.

Earlier I set the cockpit in the middle, we know why already. However, in addition to affording greater privacy to the two cabin areas, the midship location helps to centralize the sailhandling systems and provides convenient access to the "nerve-centers" of sailing (mast, boom, and sails). Notice that all winches are placed either on the mast, the forward coachroof or the aft cabin. With the good height of the coachroofs, I did not see any point in placing winches on deck.

With the coachroof extending forward of the mast, access to the mainsail and spinnaker pole fittings is a little easier and permits one to reach a little higher. Further forward, on centerline, there is a fitting for the babystay, the staysail stay, and further yet, the headstay. A bow roller and two cleats complete the picture. A vertical windlass is a nice addition and can double up for sailhandling as well.

Aft of the cockpit we have turning blocks on either side with stoppers for jib and spinnakers, and further aft a couple of cleats and a stern roller for an anchor aft. You will notice the number of hatches is kept to a minimum (three), and there are no opening portholes. The idea is to supply air by numerous solar-powered, mushroom-type vents, a much cheaper and more efficient alternative to the ventilation problem.

I want to mention something about the aft deck - what a wonderful place to put a picnic table with a few chairs around it. This space also makes a good spot to stow a 10 or 11-foot dinghy, or with a mattress set around the central latch, it would make a fine tanning salon. All in all, lots of possibilities, and the main reason for the clean, long spread aft of the coachroof.

Engines and Systems

"Under the cockpit" area is what has previously been referred to as the "nerve center" or the boat - the engine. Actually this space is a real engine room, on the principle that the only time you really want to see an engine is when it needs fixing, and when they are found to need fixing, marine engines need fixing in a hurry. This engine room, therefore, is spacious enough to enable work to be done without ripping the boat apart and enables all the systems (and their weight) to be centralized in the boat. The engine of choice for Steelstar is the 44-horsepower Yanmar 4JHE, a lightweight diesel with all of its routine service points on the starboard side. The drive is through a straight shaft, to keep weight down and to provide complete access to all the drive-train components. As with the rest of the boat, simplicity and reliability (both eventually leading to light weight) are the key words in this set-up.

Alongside the engine are the batteries - 3 of them. One is reserved for starting purposes, and the other two for "house" use. The main distribution panel is next to the chart table, requiring a short wiring run from the power source and remaining fairly central to the system. Electrical appliances have been kept to a minimum without sacrificing the usual creature comforts, and there is ample space to install shorepower units or a small independent generator.

The plumbing system is designed along the same lines as the other systems aboard - simplicity and reliability are uppermost. With any three units requiring a water supply, and one of these (the head) requiring only salt water, the complete system is very simple indeed. Both sinks are close to the centerline and drain through a common fitting (thus keeping through-hulls to a minimum). The water tanks are of the flexible type, thus again keeping weight down, with the added attraction that they can be removed during the winter for cleaning or repair without the need for dismantling the saloon.

Rig, Mast, and Sails