Athena 38 & Farrier F-28R

 

When considering the purchase of a cruising catamaran one should clear the mind of prejudices and start with a blank mental spreadsheet.

Do you value performance and stability? Check. Is no-fuss handling important? Check. Shallow draft? Check. Is deck space desirable? Check. Does a spacious saloon with panoramic views appeal? Check.

And if you appreciate 'spaceship' styling, then something like the Athena 38 has a great deal going for it. Unfortunately, though, many yachtsman never get past stage one, because years of yacht club bias and a misplaced desire to round Cape Horn have brainwashed them into favouring monohulls. The Athena 38 is one of six models built by Fountaine Pajot in France, the sizes ranging from 35 to 75 feet. The company is headed by Jean Frangois Fountaine and Yves Pajot - both former Olympic champions - while Joubert-Nivelt are the predominant designers. Cruising catamarans are all they build, and accordingly they're the world's number one marque. It was for this reason that Sydney-based European Marine became the sole importer for Australia.

The Athena 38 was sold for a cool $480,000 (in survey) on the strength of the brochures, going to a charter yacht investor who anticipates a 10% annual return on his investment. It promptly joined the Sunsail fleet in the Whitsundays and is commanding up to $4500 a week. It may be the first of many, for Sunsail anticipates that cats may one day comprise up to 60% of their fleet. From a charter aspect, they sail well, are comfortable, can be easily cleaned for quick turnaround, and have bullet-proof systems. The Athena has the capacity to daysail with 15 passengers and bareboat with eight. In both hulls there are private double cabins fore and aft plus enclosed shower/head compartments amidships. The vee berths are particularly generous for this type of craft, while the all-important crossflow ventilation for the aft cabins is catered for by an overhead hatch and side port, boosted by a 12-volt fan. Full headroom is provided throughout. Best view in the house comes while sitting on the head in either compartment - a glass escape hatch enables you to stare at the fish! The saloon is dominated by a semi-circular dinette that seats six (or eight if you add stools). A stylish nav station with cherrywood chart table is incorporated to port, the L-shaped galley is to starboard where the cook can enjoy the convivial company.

Twin sinks, two-burner stove, separate oven, large eutectic fridge and under-bench storage are incorporated in the galley, plus there is reasonable bench space. Lacking, though, is headroom. A commanding view is afforded out of the saloon and, as an example of French flair, there are drains to prevent rain from running down the windows. Also, the peaked coachroof helps keep sun off the windows, minimising the need for curtains. Outside in the cockpit there's a dedicated steering station, complete with pedestal-mounted seat, small leather-bound wheel, engine controls and instruments. From here the helmsman can attend the starboard primary (a Lewmar 44 self-tailer), which means you need only one other crewman attending the port winch. A bench seat sweeps around the rear of the cockpit, safely ahead of the aft traveller, then rounds up to a port-side table. Clear access is provided to the transoms, which in turn have steps leading to boarding platforms. There's easy transition forward, too, around wide sidedecks. For'ard you find a recessed locker with room for the electric anchor winch and 60m of chain, plus halyard bins and sail/rope/fender storage. The rest is netting. Sail handling is simplified by the use of roller-furling for the genoa, and lazyjacks for the fully battened main, the latter running on mast cars and being captured by a boom bag. Twin Yanmar 18hp 2GM diesel saildrives provide auxiliary power through fixed props. These give sufficient grunt to manoeuvre the Athena in confined spaces.

Our test sail began in a gentle five knots of breeze, so we kept the diesels ticking over to help us motorsail upwind. Eventually, however, a 20 knot southerly swept across Sydney Harbour and the Athena lifted her skirts in response. Speeds of eight to nine knots were unravelled with ease on a vigorous reach, and some of this bubbling enthusiasm began to be conferred through the helm. Previously it had been decidedly dour; not ill-mannered, just insensitive. It was at this point that the refreshments were cracked and the sushi platter handed around, so life rapidly improved ... Lifestyle, in fact, is what the Athena 38 is all about. It may not appeal to the yachting purist who wants to point at 300 and tweak the cunningham, but it will certainly suit the average enthusiast who enjoys sailing with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of luxury.

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FARRIER F-28R
THE test of Ian Farrier's newest multihull creation, the F-28R, came with an unexpected bonus - a rare meeting with the designer himself.

Farrier, an expat-Kiwi and adopted Aussie, now resides in America's Silicon Valley where he develops Internet sites. Naval architecture has taken a back seat, though he still works on demand. His current commission, surprisingly, is for a large sailing catamaran and one of the reasons he came to Australia was to investigate the burgeoning twin-hulled scene. Having him on site also helped to educe the design nuances in the F-28, which embodies his latest thinking in trimarans.

As a replacement for the pioneering F-27, of which 438 are sailing worldwide, the 28 represents more than a significant upgrade - 'There's 13 years difference between them,' explains Farrier, 'so really it's a total design refinement'. The 28 is lighter, faster and more powerful. Gone is the pokey aft cabin, replaced by a larger cockpit which will appeal more to monohull converts. For'ard is a retractable carbon bowsprit that flies either an asymmetric kite or 'screecher' headsail. Many of the 28s have been sold with a carbon fibre spar, being favoured as much for their ease of raising as any performance benefits. The other major change since the F-27's days is square-topped mainsails, which exhaust and depower automatically. Although it would seem an intimidating task to erect 11.7m of wingmast, the rigging process for the F-28R has been greatly simplified through engineering excellence. A mast raising pole helps control the spar, while simultaneously the foot is lifted over and onto the mast base. The latter resembles a tow ball, upon which the spar rotates.

Shrouds attach to the folded sponsons, with customised highfield levers providing the necessary slack to allow the floats to be hinged out, then being employed to gain rig tension. This is a neater solution than the former block'n'tackle system and has the advantage of allowing the boat to be fully rigged on trailer and berthed or dry-stored with a beam of only 2.5m. Pushing the floats out to their full width of 6.84m is ridiculously easy, the precisely engineered A-frames working with silky precision. They're then bolted in place using a car wheel brace. The integrity of the folding system has been proven by countless ocean crossings (for example, an F-28 was sailed singlehandedly across the Pacific from California to Hawaii) however Farrier stresses that these are still small boats to be tackling such intrepid passages. Singlehanding is quite common among Farrier's owners, though, so sail handling is configured to suit. All major controls lead aft to the cockpit. The jib is hanked on, while both the mainsail and screecher are roller furled. Harken #40 self-tailing primaries handle the downwind sails, while a 6:1 (with fine tuner) mainsheet tames the fully-battened main. We had a bare 5-10 knots for our test sail on Moreton Bay, yet the F-28 skipped along at up to eight knots on a shy spinnaker reach. Pointing ability was excellent, although somewhat offset by the inherent leeway, and it tacked like a dinghy. It was completely nonchalant in its performance, finely cleaving the water and leaving little wake; hence the photographs look less than spectacular. It simply begged for more breeze and greater distance.

Small, lightweight tris such as these tend to have a jerky motion upwind in a sharp seaway; downwind, though, no monohull can hold a candle to them. Speeds in the realm of 25 knots are feasible. As a racing boat the F-28R offers nominal accommodations. The galley, to port, comprises a single sink and portable stove; the remainder is settee seating/single berths leading to a cosy double vee berth. A portable loo wedges in beneath the starboard settee, adjacent to the centrecase. Full headroom is provided by a pop-top, which can be left raised while sailing in calm conditions. If desired, a more comfortable and comprehensive fitout can be specified. But then the price is already hovering around $175,000 (subject to exchange rate), as tested with 8hp outboard and locally-made sails and trailer. Only someone with a penchant for racing and an appreciation of high-performance thoroughbred design will find that amount of 'folding'.

There are more details, as you'd expect, on the 'net - contact www.farriermarine.com

Story by Mark Rothfield.


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