Henning 4148
07-08-2007, 05:28 PM
Recently, we had the chance to sail one of these on the baltic - not one of the early full wooden ones, but one of the later ones with a hull made of the material which shall not be mentioned here. Mind you, the interior, the cabin and the cockpit were all wood, a warm reddish mahogany. Wooden mast, wooden boom.
Nice boat. Or better: A really nice tourer for 2 - 3 (max 4) people that does feel safe when the wind pipes up. Traditional long keel. Passage maker. Comfortable motion.
When maneuvering in a harbour, a long keel has real advantages. Ok, the turning circle is a bit bigger, but as the boat is not drifting all over the place, you can do your maneuvers dead slow. And turn the boat on a penny, if you use the prop walk.
At 3 tons, an engine of just 8 hp might be considered as on the small side, you won't be able to push into gales and storms, but then, you don't have to, as we found out. The boat behaves very well in strong winds once you have reefed down a bit and does go to windward very well in force 7 gusts (albeit with little swell) and probably also even stronger winds, clocking well over 7 knts once bearing away a little bit under these conditions.
The performance in light winds - is something I shouldn't write about too much as the mainsail was not fitting very well on the boat we sailed, the leech biting when close hauled and not reefed, but even with well fitting sails I would doubt she is a flyer in light winds. And she doesn't have to be. When she comes into her own, many of the light wind flyers reach their limits, become uncomfortable in a seaway where she stays a solid plattform for the crew, just healing a bit more in the gusts but staying well under control and then picking up some more speed.
So: Strongly recommended for cruising in windy weather. And against the rain, you can always put on decent oilies.
Nice boat. Or better: A really nice tourer for 2 - 3 (max 4) people that does feel safe when the wind pipes up. Traditional long keel. Passage maker. Comfortable motion.
When maneuvering in a harbour, a long keel has real advantages. Ok, the turning circle is a bit bigger, but as the boat is not drifting all over the place, you can do your maneuvers dead slow. And turn the boat on a penny, if you use the prop walk.
At 3 tons, an engine of just 8 hp might be considered as on the small side, you won't be able to push into gales and storms, but then, you don't have to, as we found out. The boat behaves very well in strong winds once you have reefed down a bit and does go to windward very well in force 7 gusts (albeit with little swell) and probably also even stronger winds, clocking well over 7 knts once bearing away a little bit under these conditions.
The performance in light winds - is something I shouldn't write about too much as the mainsail was not fitting very well on the boat we sailed, the leech biting when close hauled and not reefed, but even with well fitting sails I would doubt she is a flyer in light winds. And she doesn't have to be. When she comes into her own, many of the light wind flyers reach their limits, become uncomfortable in a seaway where she stays a solid plattform for the crew, just healing a bit more in the gusts but staying well under control and then picking up some more speed.
So: Strongly recommended for cruising in windy weather. And against the rain, you can always put on decent oilies.