Nordhavn 56 MS

[yipster]

one eye at the tv i see the movie U 571 with rudders real close
looking them up they seem a little under a chord lenght
minimum for bi-planes, shaft and prop question clear again

[Pericles]

The subject of twin rudders here reminded me of something I saw when a kid in New Zealand 1949-53. The Wanganui Riverboats had tunnel hulls with thin, long twin rudders mounted either side of the tunnel. There are pictures of this shallow draft arrangements about 2/3s down the page. The Wairua Story.

http://www.uniquelynz.com/whanganui.htm

I was in Ranana (means London in Maori) for the summer holidays and that's why I noticed the rudders.

"After many hard years of service, the SS/MV Wakapai ran aground on rapids near Ranana at the end of January 1951 and although holed, was salvaged and taken to Pipiriki. The old vessel was later taken down to Wanganui where it was stripped of anything useful and laid up on the slipway. A few months on, the Wakapai was sunk beside the Wairere at the foot of Quick Avenue to protect the riverbank from erosion."

http://www.riverboatsnz.com/Wakapai.html

It's surprising what we can remember years later!

I wonder whether the tunnel hull concept is quite as new as we thought? I'll post the question elsewhere.

http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthr...t=tunnel+hulls

Pericles

[Tad]

The folks at Nordhavn are a humble group. Their latest ad in Cruising World for the 56 Motorsailer states; "Possibly the greatest cruising vessel ever designed" .........impressive!!!

[Pericles]

Tad,

No bets for guessing where they got the idea.

http://www.visit4info.com/details.cf...9044&version=6

More here.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Car...ient=firefox-a

Warm regards,

Pericles

[marshmat]

Guess my car's rather on the young side by the standards of the forum.... eight-year-old, third-hand Korean station wagon with a bit over 200,000 km on it. Nobody re-engines cars in Ontario, really.... they salt everything so heavily here that well-built and well-maintained cars die of rust (or of getting run over by an SUV) long before the engine craps out.

Nordhavn certainly do seem a bit cocky about the 56 MS. Personally, I don't much care for the style, or the layout. (Mech spaces really broken up, big island berths that look great for harbours but no sea berths, etc.) Whether she makes sense by the numbers depends on your cruising style. Nordhavn's prices seem to have been climbing for a while as they appear to be concentrating more on larger boats geared for rich folk who are buying their second or third Nordhavn. They never were affordable, I think, but there is a current focus on luxurious space and custom wood joinery that may be starting to trump the line's original focus.

We seem to have lost the original poster.... maybe he'll be back soon to steer the thread back on track?

[Finlander]

Wow, I'm surprised that some of you don't like the 56MS. Until now, I thought there is universal agreement within the boating community that this is an awesome craft!

Well, perhaps I'm the only one here who really likes it. Oh well...

Interior

That interior is so voluminous that I'm sure it could be modified to suit anyone's personal taste. Hell, if you're spending that much on a vessel, then what's a little redesign? What might be attractive to many people is that the main living area and aft deck are on the same level. That means less climbing for the knees. Someone who sails single- or short-handed might even want the galley up there.

Power vs. Sail

The whole idea is to run at near-constant hull speed while churning a mere 1000rpms or less. That means it would actually be FASTER than a pure power cruiser, which couldn't even cross an ocean at that speed due to all the fuel wasted. Perhaps a pure powerboat could do it more directly, but I still think this boat has far more advantages to offset taking a direct route every time. Just think of the reduced noise and vibration of lowered rpms.

The added sail power would also ensure stability and a more natural sea motion (IMO). I find powerboat motion somewhat fatiguing; however, I've never been on a power trawler with an ant-roll outrigger setup (or whatever it's called). But I have motorsailed--plenty.

Regarding cost, I'll bet that a significant part of the sailing rig's expense would be negated by the need to buy one of those outrigger setups. It even looks much less expensive than what's found on performance sailboats of similar length. Plus, you won't need to buy an extra get-home engine (although someone did mention having a little mast and simple rig just in case; but isn't that almost what this is?). To boot, the 56MS's rig looks easy to handle due to its small size.

Outside Steering

I guess it's in front of the wheelhouse because... where else would you put it?--In the aft cockpit? I guess it's there to make the boat more versatile--you know, an extra place to sit for the kids. Or a place, outside the boat, from where you can view your destination rather than origin. But if having a wheel there seems weird, then I'm sure they'd agree to omitting it if you ask. Then that space could be used for its real intended purpose: a hot tub

[FAST FRED]

I'm surprised that some of you don't like the 56MS. Until now, I thought there is universal agreement within the boating community that this is an awesome craft!

If by the "boating community" you mean the house writers for magazines that get $15,000 a page for advertising , PLEASE ,

when have you seen a bad writeup? EVER?

FF