Stowaway 8.5

Hi New here and new to sailing . 4 hours on a Catalina 32 and 10days Chartering a Seawind 1160 in the Whitsundays. Will be there again this coming July, Covid Permitting
I would like to discuss the Stowaway 8.5
Seems like it would do what I want , the perfect boat!
However , it could be too good to be true.
I live near the Tweed River northern NSW
I would like to coastal cruise up and down East Coast in about 5 years time when I retire .
Perhaps Circumnav Australia.
Staying on board for extended trips a month or even longer
Also weekends on the Tweed and hops to Gold coast and other local anchorages for a few days.

No real Sailing on the tweed , too narrow mostly so motoring 90% of the time
Boat would need to sleep 4 but would probably mostly be 2 on board.
Prefer a cat for stability at anchor and no heel sailing
This boat looks like about the smallest that would do the job with standing headroom
can fit in a mono berth.
Access to hulls from Saloon
Shallow draft of about 600mm ,good for shallow coastal rivers and estuaries
Can cruise at 15 kn. Thats why Im in the motor sailer section.

I want to be able to motor at a decent speed when I want to or need to .
This is more important to me than pointing ability , or pure sailing performance.
Down wind sailing is fun , beating upwind at 45* to TW at 6kn and covering 3kn over the course you want ,in short coastal chop is not really fun. Did that for 4 hours on the seawind 1160 just to see what its like. You would do it if you had to, but realistically, Im no Salty dawg sailor , and neither is my family .
Also running up and down the 9nm to the Tweed River bar from hardstand would be nice to do at faster than 5kn. Motoring back home from a distant northerly destination with 3 women on board into a SE when everybody is "over it" sounds a lot more relaxing than the upwind sailing battle. We can Sail downwind getting there

Can we not start suggesting other boats like trimarans on this thread. I would like to stick to discussion on the Stowaway.
As you can see in the links below ,somebody has built at least 1. photos from 2018
I have contacted Spirited designs about the finished boat but no reply. Thats a worry , you would think they would be proud to show off a finished version.
Will the boat do what the designer states?
Will it be stable enough in short chop along the coast?
Will it do the speeds stated?
Will it sail downwind and abeam OK.
Would it motor sail with one engine OK
Will it Motor at or below hull speed with very low fuel consumption one engine?

I did get some good technical points from Sidecar in a Sailing Anarchy thread I started.
eg Directional Stability should be good but diffcult to Tack. and other things ,the rest were suggesting other boats or telling me to re assess my speed under motor priorities.
Hardcore sailors there.

I am aware of the Mac26, Jarcat 6, Imexus, Hunter edge,
I may change my attitude toward speed in a few years , but for now this is what I want

Power-Sail Catamaran Kits and Construction Plans | Stow-Away 8.5 https://www.spiriteddesigns.com.au/stowaway8_5

https://0j.b5z.net/i/u/10210102/f/MHW_151_StowAway.pdf

Spirited Stow-Away Under Construction in NZ - Multihull Design Australia https://www.spiriteddesigns.com.au/news/view/2234/spirited_stow_away_under_construction_in_nz___multihull_design_australia

Thanks for taking the time

 

Don't have much to add save it looks like a catamaran version of the McGregor 26.

A local fellow has a 26 for sale here, was looking at it the other day.

His quote "all the romanticism of sailing without the inconvenience of actually having to sail." Realized when he repowered with a bigger fuel tank and 115 suzuki he considered pulling the rigging it might be time to move on.

Something to think about

 

Yep. Plenty of Mac26 owner on the mac forum motoring and sailing their macs for years too. Some sell and go power boat, some sell and go sail boat while others keep the boat for years and use it in the way it was designed. Motoring around and sailing in the best conditions. Practicing and improving.
Some people buy a boat but did not really think through how they will really use them. Big sailing yachts sitting at a berth because owners dont have the time, or when they do get time, conditions dont allow comfortable sailing.So they perhaps should have bought a power boat or no boat and charter one instead. Others sell because they want a bigger or smaller boat. More performance or chance of hull type. Some people swap modes after years of one mode. Take Richard Woods for eg. Years of sailing around then ,, decided motoring might be more pleasure as he got a bit older.
With a semi displacement cat hull the rigging can be removed and gain speed /economy while used as a motor boat. No need to sell if motoring is the preferred mode after much use.If the sailing bug is strong after years of use then time to get a real sail boat.
Is there any technical or design fault you can see with the hulls or concept ?

 

Nothing to profound. It's a tough size to do a cat that makes it feel roomy. Under 10m its though to get a cat that can swing sails overhead and still have the big volume benefit in the cabin. It's not a fault of this design per say its just a reality. Until the sponsons get to a certain size it's tough to take real advantage of the livability aspect of cats.

As to the hull design. It would be easier to build than many. The designer appears to prefer large flat surfaces, maximizes volume but can add a slap characteristic to a boat. We have a side of the island I live on that gets a lot of chop and the real slab sided cats are not a fun ride in it due to the chop slap and jerky motion. They do pretty good outside of that environment.

 

Excellent points.
I am the tallest in my family at 5'7 " 170cm Cabin could be Built to 6' 180cm. Only 100mm Less windage. Perhaps lower with a Pop top Hatch like his smaller versions of this design.
Build it to my shoulder height
looking over the cabin standing while at the helm ,when upwind ,and pop the hatch up when at anchor, or downwind. Roll down canvas /clears around the hatch at anchor.

I Imagine the sail plan would be conservative due to cruising and 4m Beam .
I did scale off the drawings on the website and about 850mm wide hulls ,from memory .
maximum volume would also help to float the 220kg 500lb of outboards and 220kg fuel
But slower sailing due to surface area, deep v not helpng with that either.
I did mention concern about hull slap on the Sailing Anarchy Thread titled same as this one.
I was more concerned with noise at anchor, but I can see how side on chop would slap into a vertical hull side and jiggle the boat around.
Seems the only solution would be to change the design or turn into or away from the side slap chop direction

I have the 6.5m Study plan and the planing strakes are about 50 mm 2" wide until the rear .
DWL on 6.5m is about 50mm above planing strake.
Richard woods has a 28ft 8.5m x 4.2m Skoota power boat that he and His wife cruise on . Seems to be plenty of room for 2 on there . He does not use the hulls for berths as he has no need. His 32 ft Version does use the hulls for 2 extra berths.
This design is probably the absolute bare minimum size for 4 adults for no longer than a week , and Good for 2 for months longer.
2 Berths in one hull with a dividing solid wall each side of the steps creating a small entry way into standing headroom berths may help with privacy for 2 young adults, thats if they want to be there!
Appreciate the time spent on your replies

 

Almost ready for launch, a 7.8 metre powercat 3.5 metre beam. The smallest berths in some of the marinas in queensland are actually 8 metres long and3.5 metre beam. Everyone involved in this boat currently owns a 40ft plus sailing catamaran. We are also enduring the same hideous disease as everyone else on the planet colloquially known as ageing. We are contemplating a future on the water where the trials and tribulations of large sailing rigs will become difficult to manage both physically and financially. We tend to only have one couple on each boat with the occasional visitors so we designed a smaller boat with this in mind.
The cat has one massive cabin with a full domestic size king bed. We can use two king single matresses which makes it a lot easier to make the bed. The head is similarly large for such a small boat. The saloon has a lounge dining area that folds down into a double, suitable for short term visitors. A large galley and small domestic size fridge freezer round out the saloon. The cockpit is gunwhale to gunwhale with a lounge in the rear beam. It is powered by twin 30hp tohatsu outboards for ease of maintenance. With this arrangement we are hoping for around the 14 knot mark very economically. The wheels can run between the hulls or on the outside as pictured. With a 3.5 metre beam and the wheels on the inside between the hulls the boat can be loaded onto a tilt tray and travel as a wide load without escort and a lot of tilt trays have permanent type wide load permits which make it cheap to move and store at home rather than marinas etc. The boat has 1.9 metre headroom through most of the vessel as I am not a fan of hitting my head or getting a kink in my neck. It is a foam glass boat and very light with a 150mm draft. The boat can be pushed around quite easily on the wheels and they are simple to remove in the water or on land. Its a different and somewhat original idea at lowering storage and maintenance costs we hope. The costs of on water storage and maintenance in queensland can be prohibitive in marinas and moorings in good and convenient locations are difficult to obtain. A different approach to cruising without sails. Retired and definitely not in a hurry, we are happy to wait for calm weather or head downhill if needs be. I imagine that a boat this small wont have the ride quality that we have enjoyed on our larger boats for many years but it should be very good for the size. It will definitely be cheaper to build, run and maintain. The spirited design is along the same lines without the rig but with some of the same benefits

 

That looks really awesome sailhand! Any more info or pictures?

Are the wheels just fixed to short axles / pins that fit into tubes in the hull? Can you pull the boat around gentle corners like this?
Do you see any advantage of being able to pull the boat up on some remote beach like this?

 

You can move the boat gently around wide radius turns on loose surfaces but that wasnt really the aim. The boat is stored on a waterfront property with a long shallow fetch so it will basically be wheeled straight in and out. It may also be trucked to some of the inland rivers in Australia on a tilt tray truck. I would not really use the wheels on a remote beach as it would be too difficult to store them onboard. Its more about replacing the trailer in a minimalist way. This thread is more about the stowaway boat. I simply wanted to highlight the advantages of a boat this size as a good small pocket cruiser on the queensland coast in Australia. I would prefer to sail however the economics of rigging a boat nowadays versus the operation and maintenance of small outboards is no contest. I would have to use the boat a lot for many years under sail to recoup my costs versus operating simple small outboards. This would also depend on the size and complexity of the rig of course. Dont forget the additional build cost of rudders daggerboards chainplates mast beams prodders winches etc etc etc. I love and prefer sailing any day but as I age both money and muscle tend to disappear. A boat around this size might keep me on the water another ten years. The stowaway is a good size boat for that purpose. Small easy to handle yet just enough for a couple to enjoy. The boat hasnt been launched as yet so I might post more information about it after sea trials on a new thread.

 

Good stuff Sailhand.I like the king sized bed idea!
Thanks for the pics.
Good to see, what that sized boat can fit in.
Looks almost ready to use. Make sure to include a pic on the water.
In NSW you can tow up to 3.5m wide with a free permit during daylight hours and no flags needed. Excluding some areas in major centers.
Good size for storing on hardstand.
I plan to keep a pocket cruiser (maybe stowaway 8.5) on the hard 10min drive away. I reckon The Stowaway 8.5 would be about max I would want to drag out of the water with my Subaru Turbo AWD. 2500kg Empty displacement (I am guessing that is the correct weight for a foam Stowaway 8.5 )then add 500kg motors and fuel etc



Have you got an empty weight ? and payload .
Is there a build thread here?
Photo from the bow end?



Here is a pic of Richard Woods Skoota 28. motor boat......I assume you are aware of the boat. Similar Ideas behind both yours and his design.. However he needed it it motor the Pacific NW in rivers with minimal wind. He managed a wider beam by being demountable. Good for bringing on the hard like yours and transporting cross country. More work to pull apart and re build obviously.
It is similar in dimension to the Stowaway 8.5 x 4m vs 8.5m 4.2 for Skoota 28 .
Yours is similar to the 7.5m Stowaway which has a 3m beam . I assume it could be built to 3.5m beam.

Hulls are not used on the Skoota 28 as extra berths were not a requirement I believe. The 32ft version has the hulls used as accommodation etc

Seems plenty big enough for 2 to live aboard and by using the hulls 4 adults for shorter periods.

 

What a beautiful boat! I am really impressed of its design solutions which, I figure, in many parts build on the experience from the development of the Magic Carpet dinghy. I have two questions though: Assuming a max waterline width of about 700 mm, a draft of only 150 mm and a flatbottomed hull shape would only allow about 1300 kg total loaded displacement for the boat, is that correct? Even with a light build it seems very little to me for allowing for people and stuff (and you indicated a weight north of 1000 kg), but looking at the video you posted elsewhere on this forum it looks adequate. My second question is about the sea keeping of the stems. It looks like the flat bottom is more or less continuing all the way to the stem, doesn't it slam in the waves? I remember Groper said that the only design choice he regretted with his power cat was that the stems weren't made sharper. Please post more pictures and videos of this boat, along with your evaluations.

 

Elgato thanks for your kind words, lm glad you enjoy the design and hope you find some inspiration there. As you quite rightly pointed out Groper, amongst others, including some very famous and experienced designers have used sharper bows for seaworthiness long before me. I have also followed this philosophy to a point, pardon the pun, to allow for a smoother quieter ride in a decent sea. There is a compromise here though as there is in practically every aspect of boat design. Too fine in the bows and the bridgedeck, carried well forward to supply room for a cavernous bunk, would slam in short steep head seas.
More buoyancy forward helps prevent this, especially if aided by a judicious easing of the throttles. However the penalty is a harsher ride at speed. I have tried to find the happy medium here and feel that the current design is fit for purpose. That being said, who doesn't like a tweak or two. Isn't that how we constantly improve boat design.
Throttles can actually be pulled back to a respectable 7 knots and l have taken her through a bar at that speed with no bridgedeck slamming apparent. I am sure l could get it to slam if l tried, however l really don't mind 7 knots with a lure out on the odd occasion l may find myself in this situation. Very occasionally a suicidal fish crosses paths with my lure at said 7 knots resulting in lime juice and red curry coconut fish, this is a hardship l am willing to tolerate.
If l ever do another l may implement a wide flat chine above the water line forward tapering out slightly aft to allow both finer bows in the water and the extra volume required to prevent both bridge deck slamming and spray higher up the stem. The hulls are quite sharp at the bow and taper to a flat keel at around 2.5 metres from memory. I am in Chiang mai, Thailand at present so measurements are a little difficult. I do not expect the keels to see air aft of this point, with just twin thirties and some common sense they should stay firmly submerged.
You are also correct about the displacement, it is closer to 200mm. The boat got wider, longer and heavier as the build progressed and l was constantly back on the computer redesigning throughout the build. 150mm was the original design draft for a 7 metre by 2.5 metre beam single engine boat, obviously too many coffee breaks and redesigns scribbled on ply temporary frames and hey presto, it grew out of control. Not sure on the final displacement as we did a few short sea trials and jumped on a plane to Vietnam.
Cheers

 

A few more pics

 

And a couple more