I'm currently involved in designing a long, narrow passagemaker that we will have built in Turkey. My current boat is a 68' steel Defever we've sailed for 30 years with an 18.5' beam that displaces 160,000 lbs. The new boat is 85' in length with a 16' beam and will come in at less than 120,000 lbs. I have significant offshore passagemaking experience on power and sailing vessels and have some strong feelings at this point. In my opinion, if people had the experience of comparing vessels of similar displacement and varying length to beam ratios they would pick the long, narrow design every time without question. In comparison, there is absolutely and unequivocally no compelling reason to pick one of the current production offerings. The long, narrow hull is far more comfortable and more fuel efficient and safer in adverse conditions and you can build a custom boat for less money than it would cost to purchase a production vessel. I think that the passagemaker industry is in its infancy. The idea that if long narrow passagemakers were better someone would be in serial production is inaccurate. In virtually every industry history is replete with examples of the "lemming mentality" where competitors copy one another and buyers purchase their offerings because there aren't any alternatives and few buyers have the erudition to know the difference. Right now, there are very few offerings in the production passagemaking market and the vessels that are available are strikingly similar. The majority of the people interested in the passagemaking lifestyle want to purchase a production vessel and get on with it. They don't want to go through the trials and tribulations of choosing a designer, selecting a yard and overseeing construction. They want to depend on a builder with an established track record to provide them with a vessel that meets their perceived needs and most are willing to pay a premium to make that happen. The custom boat buyers either want to 1) get more for their money, 2) get precisely what they want in a vessel based on experience or preconceived notions and/or 3) be involved in the creative process for the satisfaction that brings. Steve and Linda Dashew have more than 250,000 miles at sea to their credit and they've managed to make a good living while doing it while not having to answer to anyone. I have a great deal of respect for what they've accomplished. I belive their primary source of income has come not from selling books, but rather from selling boats based on their original prototypes. I'm a fan of the FPB they are producing and plan to visit them in New Zealand in April to experience the FPB first-hand. This is simply from interest and for the benefit of the book on passagemaking that I am currently writing. The truth is, I can't afford an "unsailboat" as the price of the second boat without electronics, finish fabric/hardware, safety gear and dinghies is just about $3 million and the 4th boat will be $3.7 million. As a counterpoint, a couple of years ago I got a quote on George Buehler's Ellemaid 81 (80' x 14' @ 101,000 lbs) from Seahorse Marine in China for $600,000. I expect my 85' passagemaker to come in at about $1.2 million. It will be built from steel with a more substantial aluminium superstructure as opposed to all aluminium, have a deeper draft and will displace 15,000 lbs more than the FPB, but I view these differences as advantages. I think that a production builder of long narrow hulls could gain great market penetration into the existing passagemaker market and I hope to contribute to that effort. All the best... Bruce -- ======================================================================= L. Bruce Jones U.S. SUBMARINES, INC. President POSEIDON UNDERSEA RESORTS LLC Tel: 208/687-9057 Fax: 208/441-7478 E-mail: bruce@ussubmarines.com http://ussubs.com http://poseidonresorts.com "Design, engineering and construction of submarines and submersibles" "Submarine related consulting, sales and operations." =======================================================================