Mathew Flinders 246

[Jknight611]

Hi all, at the 2018   Messabout, Graham mentioned his design of a 24 foot cat ketch that would be blue water capable.   We were instantly interested!  Our CS20.3 is a fantastic boat, quite seaworthy,  fast, fun and easy to trailer about, but I am a big guy and the cabin of our Southern Express was “kinda tight” for me. We have a blue water boat that I thought would be a maxi-trailerable but after several very expensive moves I realized.......missed my goal.

 

So, I have the pleasure of introducing.....

 

Mathew Flinders!!

[Jknight611]

A bewildering heap of materials,  we started building on June 24.  The stub keel is 7/16 solid fiberglass, with a lead keel attached below later in the process.  We had some concerns with the heat in the shop, so the layup took 3 work periods. And after one of the embarrassing phone calls to Alan, we are standing bulkheads today.  The keel is supported by a very substantial jig, then the hull strakes are formed over the bulkhead structure.   

[Mark Baumgaertner]

I'm jealous! I'm also a big guy at 6'5" 230 lbs and I'm building a CS 20MK3 hoping it will be big enough for my wife and me, probably more me than her (hehehe).  Time will tell, I've had bigger boats and wanted something that was easily trailered and stored for the winter, yet still provided some protection from the elements and seaworthy enough for some coastal sailing.  But this new design sure looks sweet! would love to see more drawings and will be watching your build closely.

[wasserboot]

That looks interesting! Whats the designs name? Mather Flinders? Can´t find anything on B&B website. Do you have more drawings and specs?

[Jknight611]

Mark, I am sure the CS20.3 will work perfectly for you.  My wife an I have spent  as long as 2 weeks  on ours and it worked out pretty well sailing the coastal area.  My sailing instructor told the class “ sail the smallest boat you can afford” .  Took me a while to figure that one out but he is absolutely correct.  The CS20.3 has proved to be quite seaworthy, our sailing area is the GOM and I have never had the slightest concern about our boat. 

 

The Mathew Flinders is a Graham Byrnes design.  Mathew Flinders was a English cartographer in the late 1700s that charted the Australian coastline,  Graham’s  homeland.  Alan has done a magnificent job converting the design to the huge pile of parts, that so far fit together perfectly.   Boy there is a bunch of parts!  We are standing bulkheads now, and I’ll post some more pictures in the next day or so.

[Steve W]

Jay,

 

That is a beautiful looking displacement design. Do you have an expected weight? Any interior details? Trust me, "Skeena" (launch possible Sunday if all goes well) is probably going to have to keep me happy for awhile unless I want a divorce, but building is almost as fun as sailing.

 

Take Care,

Steve

 

 

[Joe Anderson]

I spoke with Graham a year or so ago about the Matthew Flinders design.  Graham told me that while working on the CS17 MK3 design he became interestied in the design challenge of building as small as possible while preserving performance, safety and function in the class. The CS 17MK3 and CS 20 MK3 are winners in their class so I was intrigued when I heard that Graham and Alan had begun to focus on a live aboard. I have long dreamed of owning a live aboard but whenever I have sailed one they have not seemed right. They felt to big. 

2 hours ago, Jknight611 said:

“ sail the smallest boat you can afford”

That seems to fit perfectly.  I am very pleased that you and Carol have taken the lead on this project. I know it may at times seem overwhelming, but from what I have seen you two are more than up to the task. I hope you will keep us posted. 

 

It has been long enough since my last build that I think I am ready for another.

 

Joe

[AmosSwogger]

7 hours ago, Mark Baumgaertner said:

I'm jealous! I'm also a big guy at 6'5" 230 lbs and I'm building a CS 20MK3 hoping it will be big enough for my wife and me, probably more me than her (hehehe).  Time will tell, I've had bigger boats and wanted something that was easily trailered and stored for the winter, yet still provided some protection from the elements and seaworthy enough for some coastal sailing.  But this new design sure looks sweet! would love to see more drawings and will be watching your build closely.

 

If it makes you feel better, our family has been sailing our CS 20.3; we are two adults (I'm 6') and we have a 6,9, and 11 year old.  Even with five of us on board, the boat doesn't feel small.  The cockpit is really big.

[AmosSwogger]

Jay, this is exciting news. 

 

I have a long list of questions about the build, but I'll try to be patient and I'm sure they will be answered in due time.

 

Please keep the pictures coming.

[Designer]

I have been designing the Mathew Flinders for myself for more than a decade off and on, long before we did the Mk3's. What I was trying to achieve was to design the ultimate small voyaging boat that could easily be trailed behind a reasonable size vehicle and yet be be capable of crossing any ocean. She had to be built tough and live well for two people with room for a third person. She is not intended to replace the mk3's as they are great boats, but for anyone who wants to go up to the next level.

 

I went through hundreds of iterations till I finally got it and I am very pleased with final outcome. As you can imagine I am really excited to see her come to life with Jay and Carol.

 

I started at 22 feet and it finally grew to 23'4" as I massaged the ergonomics. When Jay ordered the boat, I did a lot of thinking about his comfort plus I had some interest from people who are a lot larger than me so at the last minute I scaled her by 5% to give 6'4' headroom with the final length at 24'6". If anyone has to have 6'6" headroom they can raise the cabin sides.

 

The trailing weight will be around 4000" depending on how they load it. I am still planning to build the 23'4" version.

 

One of the things that I worked hard on was the range of stability. She has positive stability to 180 degrees which more than meets the EU ISO rules for ocean sailing. I have attached one of the many stability curves that I made with the red and blue curves showing a best and worst case vertical center of gravity. That is to allow for builders to make their own modifications and still meet the high range of stability. I was also able to calculate the Flicka A well known small cruising boat, @ 20 degrees for comparison.

 

[Paul356]

really terrific.  congratulations, graham, on a great design, and congrats, jay, on building no. 1.

[Mark Baumgaertner]

I sure love that you thought about us big guys Graham !!  

[Pete McCrary]

Jay and Graham -- Just the boat I've dreamed of building since my "Outcast" (an 11' 1" plywood sailing dinghy) was built in 1963.  I will have much vicarious pleasure watching your progress.

[Kennneee]

No, I am not building another boat! No........ beautiful! 

[Jknight611]

Ken, you can come to Mississippi, nice and warm here and “do” my woodwork!  Your boat is beautiful! 

[Kennneee]

Jay- What a nice offer. Let me think about that. Come Winter up here it might seem even better. Maybe when every detail on ROSIE is done. Inhale and hold:).

Ken

[Ken_Potts]

   Woo!  If I remember correctly, Graham, you're taller than my 5'8" so I'd probably be as happy as you with the 23'4" design.  Does it have standing headroom for you?  It's hard to believe you've managed to get that much headroom into an attractive boat of that length - That tumble-home really does the trick to keep things in proportion.  My 20 foot keelboat barely has sitting headroom!  And is that a dagger board or a centerboard? Either way, with the board up it would be easy to anchor in the shallows and walk ashore.

   What's the air draft? I've got to get under a ~7 meter bridge to get to the ocean.

[smccormick]

Beautiful boat, good luck with the build.  Maybe you could get Ken and Dutch OB to come over and help.  They seem to be able to knock these builds out in no time.  Done by Christmas.

[Designer]

Ken,

 

No Ken, you tower over me by an inch. There is just 6' headroom in the 234 version under the cabin crown line, so you should be okay. The bunks are 6' 6" long. The 246 version is naturally 5% larger in all dimensions.

 

The air draft is 28' 4" so you will have to lower the masts to pass under the bridge which is not a big deal with them both in tabernacles. 

[wasserboot]

On 7/3/2019 at 5:00 PM, Designer said:

I have been designing the Mathew Flinders for myself for more than a decade off and on, long before we did the Mk3's. What I was trying to achieve was to design the ultimate small voyaging boat that could easily be trailed behind a reasonable size vehicle and yet be be capable of crossing any ocean. She had to be built tough and live well for two people with room for a third person. She is not intended to replace the mk3's as they are great boats, but for anyone who wants to go up to the next level.

 

I went through hundreds of iterations till I finally got it and I am very pleased with final outcome. As you can imagine I am really excited to see her come to life with Jay and Carol.

 

I started at 22 feet and it finally grew to 23'4" as I massaged the ergonomics. When Jay ordered the boat, I did a lot of thinking about his comfort plus I had some interest from people who are a lot larger than me so at the last minute I scaled her by 5% to give 6'4' headroom with the final length at 24'6". If anyone has to have 6'6" headroom they can raise the cabin sides.

 

The trailing weight will be around 4000" depending on how they load it. I am still planning to build the 23'4" version.

 

One of the things that I worked hard on was the range of stability. She has positive stability to 180 degrees which more than meets the EU ISO rules for ocean sailing. I have attached one of the many stability curves that I made with the red and blue curves showing a best and worst case vertical center of gravity. That is to allow for builders to make their own modifications and still meet the high range of stability. I was also able to calculate the Flicka A well known small cruising boat, @ 20 degrees for comparison.

 

Beautiful design!
Reminds me a bit of some keel centerborder that are used here on the german and dutch north sea coast where you have to deal with the shoal waddensea and the deeper  but sometimes rough north sea.
Do you intend to put her on your website with some more specs and drawings? Are plans available?
Could be a perfect boat for the time when retirement comes near…