Atalantas racing at the 50th aniversary meeting in the Hamble
Although these boats meet the definition of “classic yacht” (designed or built before 1960) they seem to be too modern for “real” classic boat enthusiasts. They are not made from planks of wood in the traditional way.
Key features include:
- Rounded bows (but not as extreme as the latest micro racing yachts)
- Light weight wooden construction (an 8 metre yacht weighing only 2 tons!)
- A series of curves taking advantage of the shape strength (think of an egg)
- Minimum windage from curved edges and aerofoil toe rails
- Fully self righting with keels fully lowered
- Self righting to 90 degrees with keels fully raised
- Monoque construction, hot moulded, vacuum bagged, and pressure cooked in an “autoclave”
- sail handling from within the hatches
Lets explore some of the advantages in more detail