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IRC 50ft "Snow Lion " - A
prominent New York based owner approached us with a very particular
brief. With IRC making major inroads into the United States regattas
and after experiencing first hand the blistering performance and
devastating competitiveness of the Sydney-Hobart winning Ker 55
‘Aera’ whilst racing against her during various regattas, he decided
it was time to raise the bar and commissioned a one off
Cruiser/racer to replace his aging converted race boat.
The design brief was unusual, but Ker and his
team rose to the challenge - a cruiser/racer that could be
easily sailed two handed, with a fully fitted and comfortable
interior with 7`(2.13m) bunks through out, twin heads but to be
highly competitive round the buoys, offshore and be suitable to race
the 2007 Daimler Trans Atlantic Challenge. One particular
requirement was un-paralled impact resistence, as with the aim of
racing hard trans-oceanic the Owner wanted to reduce the chance of a
problem to a minimum.
Built by New England Boatworks in Newport, Rhode
Island, she is constructed from pre-preg Kevlar and E-Glass/epoxy
over a closed cell foam core to ensure that not only is she light
and stiff but also has unparalleled impact resistance. A hull
sistership to "Magic glove" but with a different deck and interior
layout, fitting exactly the brief from the owner.
In her first major competition, the 2006
Newport-Bermuda race she earned a 1st in IRC Division 9.
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IRC 50ft "Magic
Glove" (Now renamed Cracker 2 under new
ownership) - The Owner of "Flying Glove" came to us for
his next Cruiser/Racer, which came with the brief of being
truly dual purpose but high competitive under IRC for racing,
ie. like his last yacht but bigger and better! Following from
the very successful 39 footer we developed a 50 footer, with 3
cabins, 2 heads and a very comfortable saloon with a 21" flat
screen TV.
Built by Latitude Yachting in Cape Town,
South Africa, the 50 is built of Carbon fibre/epoxy and closed
cell foam to produce a very light but stiff structure. She has
been equipped with a Trim Tab on her deep keel to maximize the
potential of this moderate displacement design.
With her hull shape derived from the same CFD
and Towing Tank study that all the 2006 series boats benefited
from she is designed for all-round competitiveness, with her
large assymetic spinakers and non-overlapping jibs being both
easy to handle yet efficent and powerfull.
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| Photo: James
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She has the same sleek, stylish deck design
first developed with the Ker 39, but she is equipped with a
pedestal grinder to facilitate easier gybing of her asymmetric
spinnakers. She also has electrically powered backstay and
outhaul systems, to make the adjustment not only easier and
faster but also to remove the clutter of the hydraulic panels
out of the cockpit.
The interior is fully fitted out, with all
the cruising luxuries such as hot and cold pressurized running
water, a flat screen TV and fully equipped galley with a
proper oven though can also sleep up to 8 whilst cruising and
4 to windward in proper sea-berths/pipe cots whilst racing
offshore. A heads just aft of the dedictaed Nav station aerves
as both a day head but also a wet storgae locker for sailing
gear whilst cruising. |
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IRC 37ft "Jump Juice
" - A development of the Ker 36 "Software Mistress",
the Ker 37 was developed for an Irish client who wanted to
compete in the 2006 Rolex Commodore's Cup and then race/cruise
in home waters off the South of Ireland.
Based on a development of the Ker 36, she has
a similar layout, though with a trim tabbed keel to maximize
her IRC competitiveness and take her to the top of the rating
band for Class 2 in the Commodore's Cup. Built by Vision
Yachts in Cowes she has a lightweight E-Glass/epoxy/foam
structure though with a comfortable, fully fitted interior
comprising 2 double cabins and a large head with a shower and
wet storage.
For the 2006 series design Ker undertook a
detailed hull design study, by commissioning a CFD study of
various hull forms followed by towing tank testing of 3 of the
most promising hulls at 1/3 scale in the America's Cup testing
facility in Bulgaria. It is this consistant striving of design
optomisation which sets Ker Design apart from the rest.
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IRC 46ft "Fair Do's
VII" - Developed at the same time as "Software
Mistress", the 46 has the same heritage, but with a different
design brief. The Owner, who had already successfully
campaigned various yachts under the Fair Do's name (including
a Ker 11.3, his previous yacht to the 46 and a charter of the
Ker 32 for the 2004 Commodore's Cup which lead to a class win)
developed his ideas for a yacht that is biased towards
offshore racing and cruising, with a Trans-Atlantic trip to be
done in 2007.
The design was to be suitable to cruise with
his family, or race competitively under IRC. A length of 46
feet was chosen to fulfill the requirements, including cabin
heating, a watermaker and hot and cold pressurized water. She
has the proven deck layout developed from the Ker 39 which is
comfortable to cruise while being efficient and functional
whilst racing.
Constructed from E-Glass/foam/epoxy
laminates, she is designed to ABS rules (as are all our
designs) using the same ethos as the Ker 55 "Aera", which won
the 2004 Sydney to Hobart race overall in extreme conditions
with no structural problems. Built by VMG Racing in Hamble she
is again a moderate design aimed at being competitive in all
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A set of aluminum keel floors distribute the load from the
deep 'T' keel, which along with a deep carbon rudder give the
boat great upwind performance that is matched with her large,
yet easy to handle, asymmetric spinnakers to give excellent
all-round performance.
With her 3 cabin, 1 head layout she can sleep 8 in comfort,
whilst still sleeping 4 to windward whilst racing offshore in
proper sea-berths/pipe cots. The large and airy saloon, along
with Nav station and galley means that cruising will be both
quick and comfortable.
She recently represent England in the 2006 Rolex
Commodore's Cup on the GBR Red team and earned not only a
Class 1 win but also top boat of the regatta overall.Along
with other top 3 results this seaon she is going from strength
to strength. |
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IRC 36ft
“Software Mistress ” – A logical development
of the successful Ker 39 " Flying Glove" , the Owner
came from the background of a successful 36´foot production
yacht that was racing in Class 8. He had decided to have a
similar sized custom boats built, suitable for racing both
inshore and offshore with aim of qualifying for the English
Team for the 2006 Commodore's Cup.
The brief was of a true dual purpose yacht,
with a modern and comfortable interior that would lend itself
to both racing and cruising whilst having the performance and
competitiveness under IRC to win on the race course. Built by
Ritchie Faulkner Composites of Hamble she was aimed squarely
for the middle class for the Commodore's Cup, the 36 went on
to win the trials and represent England on the GBR Red
Team.
With the same style of clean, functional yet
stylish deck and interior as the Ker 39, she is a pleasure to
either race or cruise. Her interior has a double cabin forward
and aft, with a large heads aft on the port side. Thus she can
sleep 6 in comfort whilst cruising but has proper sea berths
for offshore racing. She also has a dedicated Nav station and
fully fitted galley |
| Photo: James Boyd/www.dailysail.com |
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IRC 39ft
“Flying Glove” – An IRC design, and for a
well known Irish owner making this a high profile commission.
Given the uncertainty surrounding the future of Grand Prix
race rules the owner requested that the yacht be a
cruiser-racer to ensure it would have an extended life racing
under IRC and better re-sale value.
The yacht features a fully-fitted interior
with a forward cabin and heads/shower compartment. A saloon
with adjacent galley to port and a dedicated nav-station to
starboard. Finally twin aft cabins are found to port and
starboard.
On deck, cockpit seats provide useful storage
lockers and small coamings make for a secure seating area when
cruising. The cockpit sole and seats are decked in teak for
both styling and comfort. The open transom has a dedicated
liferaft locker and also incorporates the hydraulic backstay
which is neatly led below deck. There is also an anchor locker
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The rest of the deck layout is incredibly
clean with all halyards being led below deck to a bank of
sunken clutches at the hatch way and the mainsheet too being
led under deck. The result is an array of clean curved
surfaces forming the decks, coamings and coachroof, even the
windows are curved to emphasize this modern style. But it is
not just about style, the clear deck areas make this an
extremely ergonomic boat to race with plenty of space for all
maneuvers and a clear coachroof for the crew to cross during
tacks.
The yacht is rigged with a high-modulus
carbon rig and composite boom. The boom has an internal
mainsheet and clew-end cut-away maintaining the yacht's sleek
appearance and saving some weight in the process.
The yacht first sailed on the way to the
startline for the UK IRC Nationals where she was the lowest
rating yacht in Class 0 by some margin. She finished the 2004
Rolex Commodore's Cup as top boat in Class 2. She then went to
class wins the 2005 Red Funnel Easter regatta, UK IRC
Nationals and Cowes Week |
| Photo: James Boyd/www.dailysail.com |
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