Olsen 40

[Willallison]

Can anybody tell me anything about a boat called an Olsen 40? Designed by Gary Mull, made of GRP by Hyundai Ship Building.....
As seen here.. http://boatpoint.ninemsn.com.au/mark...1&txtKeywords=

Brother-in-law is looking for a boat to cruise sth pacific initially, then world maybe......

[Paul B]

That is not an olson 40. The Olson was designed by George olson and built in Santa Cruz, CA USA.

The boat in the photo looks more like a Kalik 40, which I believe was a Mull design.

[Willallison]

hmm.... thanks Paul, I'll pass it on.
If it's a Kalik 40, do you know anyhting about its reputation...well-built, good rough weather etc etc?

Yep, the Olsen 40 was a Mull design, very different from the Olson 40. The OlsEn was also known as a Kalik 40, and a Mull 40 in New Zealand. I think build quality was good and I think it was a good heavy weather boat. I think the NZ Mull 40s were a different builder, same design.

Not too slow from what I've seen; shape's OK for the style of boat. Most of the ones that raced here (Australia) have been badly sailed, but the PHRF handicap they have in NZ indicates they're not too doggy.

They've done Sydney-Hobarts and I think finished with no damage AFAIK.

[Willallison]

Ah...it's all in the spelling....
You wouldn't know where I could track down specs on the boat by chance?..... the specs supplied by the broker suggest a displacement of just 3.8 tons, which I find rather unlikely....

[Paul B]

I've only seen a Kalik 40 at an indoor boatshow once, lang ago. Can't tell you anything more.

Here is a listing on Yachtworld.

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi..._id=19144&url=

If you go to Yachtworld and do a search for Kalik there should be a couple available.

[Tad]

Will;

I have some numbers from adds & reviews.

LOA 39'6"
LWL 31'10"
Beam 12'9"
Draft 6'10"
Displacement 16,600 lbs
Sail Area 766.5 sq ft

nothing on ballast or tanks.

[Willallison]

Thanks Guys - its a good start - enough to know whether the boat's worth looking at. One more query, the broker says it has a hung rudder - any idea whether it would hace a skeg in front of it or not?

[Paul B]

Skeg? I would hope not. There is really no good reason to have a skeg on a modern sailboat.

[Willallison]

yeah...skeg....like this, for impact protection...

[Paul B]

Originally posted by Willallison
yeah...skeg....like this, for impact protection...

Yes, I know what you are referring to. I will again state that there is no good reason to have a skeg on a modern sailboat.

The loss of performance (not only speed, but also steerage) and the engineering problems related to building a real structural skeg makes it a relic of the gingerbread past of yacht design.

[Willallison]

hmmm - sorry Paul, didn't mean to sound derogatory - just wasn't sure if that's what you'd call it!

My brother-in-law is looking at this boat to sail the world - surely the increased protection would outweigh the performance loss for that (and if you knew him, you'd realise that he WILL hit something!! )
Personally, I think he should buy something bloody big and heavy - with a pilothouse - but hey, there's just no telling some people

[Paul B]

Didn't take it as derogatory, and didn't mean to be either.

I think you'll find that most skegs are not what they appear. If you want to add a potential problem, a skeg is a good place to begin.

If you don't clunk something with the keel first you're probably not going to hit it with the skeg or rudder. If you do hit it with the skeg of most "heavily built cruisers" you might be surprised about what happens.

Big, heavy, slow, and ill handling are the sort of things that will get a neophyte into the most problems. They are better off if the boat responds when they point the tiller toward trouble.

You're a powerboat guy, right? How many powerboats put big skegs in front of the props and rudders? Don't they go a lot faster than sailboats, with no keel in front to run interference?

Finally, that Pilothouse will give some nice big windows to get destroyed by the breaking waves the big, slow piggy can't steer around in.

But on this subject there really is no telling people. All the books are written telling the opposite story.

[Willallison]

you're right of course Paul - though most serious passagemakers have good protection for all the running gear. I don't think he needs to have ill-handling in order to have heavy and comfortable. And there are ways to protect windows from waves - for me there's nothing worse than sitting inside a cave with no natural light and no way of looking out at the beautiful view that you've just sailed 1/2 way across the world to see.
Then again - as you say - I'm a powerboat guy - so what would I know!!

My family owned a Kalik 40. It was built in South Korea. It is typical Far Eastern construction of the time - mediocre fiberglass work and nice woodwork. It is an IOR-derived design, especially with respect to the rig which has a large genoa and a small, high-aspect ratio main. The teak decks were a pain to maintain and the gel-coat got chalky quite easily. Systems installations were sub-par with non-tinned wiring and cheap plastic tubing and plumbing fittings. Deck hardware, except for the winches, was mostly no-name stuff and would require replacement with modern ball-bearing blocks.