Shuttleworth 47

[Nordic]

I was lucky enough to be invited for a test sail on this wonderful boat in Cape Town in February 2007, just before she left for Hawai.

This is a one off build by 2Oceans Marine in Capetown. (see: http://www.2oceans.co.za/).

Design is by John Shuttleworth for the owner Mark van Niekerk,there is some more information here: http://www.john-shuttleworth.com/New.html

A boat test here: http://www.john-shuttleworth.com/Shu...-Boat-Test.pdf

The day I was on board we had about 10-12 knots of wind, the owner is a very conservative and safe sailor, so we had 1 reef in the main, and only the jib. The boat was fully loaded, or actually overloaded with all provisions fro the transatlantic trip, including nearly 2 tons of water and fuel!

In 12 knots of wind she still managed around 9 knots which I found impressive.

During the test sails they had the boat doing over 18 knots...

This boat is setup as a long distance cruise and dive boat, with a dive compressor etc. so she is not extremely luxurious, rather a comfortable cruiser that can sail.

I spent lots of time on the boat going through it as part of my backround search on the builder, and I must say the workmanship was great.

There were a few things I would not have chosen to do, but taste is not something we can agree on The builder builds what the customer wants.

I have plenty of pictures of the boat, and have posted a few in the photo album.

Anyone interested in more information on this boat, just ask...


regards

Alan

[taifun]

I really like John Shuttleworth's designs and this 47' is indeed a wonderful cat. Unfortunately the owner of "Life is a Dream" has had a few unexpected problems trying to leave Hawaii for Tahiti. It boils down to poor boat building quality in some areas. For further informations see the last two entries in the owners blog http://unemployedsailor.blogspot.com/ .
In my mind this raises a big question mark about "2Oceans Marine"!

By the way.... this Shuttleworth 47 is now for sale http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...&pbsint=&ps=30

Thomas

[Nordic]

I know about the steering issue as well as the daggerboard casing issue he mentions.

The steering is an Edson wire and pulley system, but set up very tightly, you really neede force to turn the wheel. When I questioned this, the owner and builder both said it was how John Shuttleworth had asked for it to be set up. John S was down there for the sea trials. I would not use exposed wires and pulleys under the bridgedeck where you can not get to them!

As I said above there are certain features on this boat I would not have chosen..... this is one of them.

The daggerboard:

I know they hit a sunfish in SA doing around 12 knots, I also saw the board being repaired at the yard, and has a look at the daggerboard casing.
The board was repaired as the owner requested, there were no leaks in the boat, and no cause to do more before they left Cape Town. If a leak appears more than a year later, after just such a collision, I doubt I would feel responsible if I was the boatyard I'm not defending anyone, just trying to evaluate the situation in a neutral manner.

That they had to cut open the side of the boat to repair the daggerboard casing, that's an issue for the designer not the boatyard! A boatyard builds to the design, and on this build John Shuttleworth himself was down a few times to follow the build.

The kick-up rudders that JS is so fond of, is another thing that I would definately not choose, it adds a lot of complexity, and expense, as well as splitting the transom steps down the middle and making them more akward to use. As far as I remember, the rudders kick-up and can break off the aft bit of scoop if they need to come up further, so the scoop has to be lightly attached, and it is just a "cosmetic fairing"

Has the rudder ever kicked up and hit the scoop? If it did was it inspected afterwards? Many questions will probably remain unanswered.

I don't think that the owner is being completely fair to the builder on the daggerboard casing issue which is the only one where he points a finger at the builder.

Having looked at many designs, I have found that the real difference in the way the different designers work is in the way they do the details. Some designers don't consider the ease of repair and maintenance afterwards. Some being competent builders themselves, think nothing of having to cut and then re-epoxy stuff back in place again....to do a repair, as it is easy for them but maybe not for the average owner.

I like the Shuttleworth hull lines, as well as others who use the large flare to get more space in the hulls, increase bouyancy and stability etc. But there are other things that I don't like.

The key is to understand these subtle differences between boats and designs and build methods to ensure you get what you want at the end of the day.


Regards

Alan

[taifun]

Hm... interesting background. Thank you for the information.

Thomas

[BigCat]

The steering is an Edson wire and pulley system, but set up very tightly, you really neede force to turn the wheel. When I questioned this, the owner and builder both said it was how John Shuttleworth had asked for it to be set up. John S was down there for the sea trials. I would not use exposed wires and pulleys under the bridgedeck where you can not get to them!

[Me, either.]

As I said above there are certain features on this boat I would not have chosen..... this is one of them.

That they had to cut open the side of the boat to repair the daggerboard casing, that's an issue for the designer not the boatyard! A boatyard builds to the design, and on this build John Shuttleworth himself was down a few times to follow the build.

[Why wouldn't you cut from the inside? I wouldn't cut the hull unless it were damaged. Maybe the hull was damaged?]

The kick-up rudders that JS is so fond of, is another thing that I would definately not choose, it adds a lot of complexity, and expense, as well as splitting the transom steps down the middle and making them more akward to use. As far as I remember, the rudders kick-up and can break off the aft bit of scoop if they need to come up further, so the scoop has to be lightly attached, and it is just a "cosmetic fairing"

[My BigCat 65 design uses kick up rudders just like a dingy's in a shoal draft version. But I gave access to the aft platform from inboard between the hulls, instead of from straight aft. Maybe not quite so go-fast as Shuttleworth's approach, but much more cruising and user friendly; and it solves the problems you mention.]

[wcm268]

I was lucky enough to be invited for a test sail on this wonderful boat in Cape Town in February 2007, just before she left for Hawai.

This is a one off build by 2Oceans Marine in Capetown. (see: http://www.2oceans.co.za/).

Design is by John Shuttleworth for the owner Mark van Niekerk,there is some more information here: http://www.john-shuttleworth.com/New.html

A boat test here: http://www.john-shuttleworth.com/Shu...-Boat-Test.pdf

The day I was on board we had about 10-12 knots of wind, the owner is a very conservative and safe sailor, so we had 1 reef in the main, and only the jib. The boat was fully loaded, or actually overloaded with all provisions fro the transatlantic trip, including nearly 2 tons of water and fuel!

In 12 knots of wind she still managed around 9 knots which I found impressive.

During the test sails they had the boat doing over 18 knots...

This boat is setup as a long distance cruise and dive boat, with a dive compressor etc. so she is not extremely luxurious, rather a comfortable cruiser that can sail.

I spent lots of time on the boat going through it as part of my backround search on the builder, and I must say the workmanship was great.

There were a few things I would not have chosen to do, but taste is not something we can agree on The builder builds what the customer wants.

I have plenty of pictures of the boat, and have posted a few in the photo album.

Anyone interested in more information on this boat, just ask...


regards

Alan

------------------------------
Alan,

I would like copies of the photos you have please, I'm just about to try and buy her.

Regards

Barry Parkinson
www.whichcat-multi.com

[dennisail]

I love this design. Sucks about the few issues it had. With them all fixed it would be close to my perfect boat. With a few colour scheme changes!

Im pretty sure it sold.

[Ozmultis]

It is showing as sold on the Shuttleworth website.

Nice boat, I haven't sailed on it but have been aboard her at Bundy when tied up next to it one time.

[dennisail]

You get around