Steve P wrote:
Construction?... how is she built? I ask because if I recall corectly
Bombigher would sometimes specify scantlings that I would consider too
light. For example 3/4" plywood lapstake on a 40'ish footer.

No its wood composite but he used a wood strip method with a minimum 1.5
inches of wood in multiple layers and several layers of fiberglassing over it.
He also uses some impact compartments just in case (waterproof sections that
can flood and stil not sink the boat, I may have the wrong name here). I was
very curious because I really like his designs and may one day want to build
one but I wasn't sure about safety and reliabilty, so I asked the guy that
currently sells the designs. He sent me a letter from some people that
sailed on one of these completing a circumnavigation and having hit some
fairly rough weather without any problems. I was impressed. According to
them, even in high winds and bad weather the boat didn't heel much, they had
no knockdowns and it went much faster than they thought it would. They also
stated that in the cockpit, they never got wet unless it was raining and they
couldn't get the side of the deck to the waterline no matter how hard they
pushed.

Herve Coutand, the designer that now supports Bombighers designs, has alot of
confidence in these boats. They aren't as fast as a sleek sloop and dont
point as high but are far more comfortable and very strong.

Sorry for the long rant but I have been asking about the Bombigher boats on
here and everyone seems to think that they are desgined poorly and are not
safe. I didn't want to just take hearsay so I asked the source and honestly
I think they getting sold short. I have heard a lot of things like "they are
poorly built" and "they are impossible to handle with a small crew" but this
just doesn't seem to be the case. If a middle aged couple can comfotably do
a two year circumnavigation in one of these designs, then I think have a hard
time thinking a crew of several proffesionals is required. Also, out of
about 230 completed boats out there, not one of these designs has sunk. I
realize there are other considerations but I really think that people are
looking at the Bombigher designs with a biased eye.

End Rant.

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P.S. I have been looking at the designs more and more and I think the Barrel
is a propane housing. The box on the wall that the pipeing runs into below
the barrel is a wall mounted space heater.

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