Sydney 38

I should probably make something clear right at the outset. If I was in the market for a new yacht and had at least $350,000 to spend, I would look very seriously at a Sydney 38.

This boat scores highly on my own personal approval register for lots of reasons. Not only is it purpose-designed and built for racing, from class regattas to club twilighting to IRC handicap events, but it looks as though Sydney Yachts really is giving the one-design concept a decent shot, with class rules and an owners' association in place. With 17 boats already produced and 12 more on the order books, (including 20 for Australian buyers), according to the company, the class is quickly reaching critical mass as far as fleet racing is concerned.

The boat is fast and nice to steer both upwind and down (at least in breeze to 20kt, the most I've experienced onboard the Sydney 38). It's a manageable size, and getting a crew of eight people together for a weekend race is probably manageable, too.

The swept-back spreader rig looks bulletproof and user-friendly without being a telegraph pole. I'd prefer a carbon-fibre rig, but maybe that's just Farr 40 One-Design envy, and then we're jumping up into another price bracket altogether, out of my (imaginary) reach.

I can imagine having a lot of fun with one of these boats, giving much bigger boats a hurry-up in club twilight races, having a good chance of finishing in the money in the IRC division of events like the Sydney-Mooloolaba Race, Sydney-Gold Coast Race and Hamilton Island's Hahn Premium Race Week, and taking on the challenge of one-design racing at the Sydney 38 class titles, sailed for the first time this year as part of the Hog's Breath Race Week off Airlie Beach. I can also imagine using the boat for more relaxed social outings, pottering around Pittwater or wherever with family and friends.

It's not hard to imagine all of the above because it's a brief summary of how the first Australian buyers have been using their boats during the past six to eight months.

I'm not sure if I'd paint the Telstra Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race into my own personal picture for the Sydney 38, not because of any concern about the craft's integrity or performance characteristics, but rather because it's a small boat for the big race, and that large, open cockpit and low profile coachhouse - so well-suited to around-the-cans racing or northern passage races - could leave you feeling pretty exposed in tough and cold conditions.

But there is talk of one or more of the Sydney 38s entering this year's Sydney to Hobart Race, including hull number 17, the latest to roll out of the Nowra factory on its way to Melbourne yachtsman, Lou Abrahams. Having already competed in 37 Sydney-Hobarts, most of those as owner/skipper, Lou could be expected to be discerning in his choice of entry, and prudent in his decision-making. And after all, a bad weather forecast on Boxing Day could always be the prompt to wait until January 2 for the start of the Strathfield Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Race.

MODERN TIMES
The apparent demand for the Sydney 38 reflects the international trend towards one-design offshore racing yachts with class rules requiring owner/drivers and restricting the number of 'professional' crew members.

The Farr 40 One-Design which embodies these principles has proven a runaway success in both the US and Australia. The Sydney 38 is a local, more budget-conscious answer, resulting from collaboration between the Pittwater-based yacht designers Murray, Burns & Dovell, professional yachtsman Ron Jacobs of Performance Boating Services, who played a key role in the design brief for the 38, and the Australian production-yacht builder Sydney Yachts, also known as Bashford International.

According to Martin Thompson of Sydney Yachts: "No-one wants to do the Saturday races any more; people want to club race in the twilights and go more one-design." He calls the Sydney 38 "the Year 2000 version of the J35" and says: "We're finding that people like the aggressively-styled wheel, the big cockpit and they want an interior that presents well."

Studying actual patterns of boat usage among local club fleets in this size range, plus Sydney Yachts' closest established models, the 41 and the 36, has led to some sensible decisions with the 38's layout. For example, Thompson says: "We could put a V-berth in the front of the boat and no-one wants to use it. So we have made that area all for sail storage."

Because the boat was not designed primarily for IMS handicap racing, Thompson says a more user-friendly keel shape with a thicker, rounder bulb carrying all the ballast low, rather than distributing some of the lead in the bilge, could be incorporated in the design.

SURVEY STANDARD
Construction is all "to survey standard from day one", Thompson says. (Actual survey certification is an optional extra.) Construction is in accordance with the American Bureau of Shipping classification for offshore racing yachts.

The hull and deck laminates are cored using PVC foam and end-grain balsa and the hull is laminated with vinylester and polyester resin, using E-glass unidirectional and biaxial fabrics.

A one-piece GRP laminated structural grid incorporates the keel attachment, mast step, engine mount and rudder bearing. Bulkheads are vacuum-bagged composite and ply.

ON DECK
The anodised aluminium Whalespar mast is set up with double swept-back spreaders to support the fractional rig without running backstays or checkstays. Control of the rig while sailing is via the topmast backstay, which is adjustable using an hydraulic system controlled with a lever on the front of the wheel pedestal.

The mast is keel-stepped, with discontinuous Dyform standing rigging. The aluminium boom is also custom made by Whalespar, with a Selden solid boom vang. Running rigging is good quality throughout in Vectran, Spectra and braided polyester.

The mainsheet system is the tried and tested 2:1 version which uses a Lewmar traveller system mounted on the cockpit floor, and runs the double-ended sheet forward along the boom, down to turning blocks at the mast base and back aft to Lewmar 44 two-speed self-tailing winches on either side of the cockpit.

The primary winches are two-speed 46s, while there are a pair of two-speed 40 self-tailers at the aft end of the coachhouse for the halyards and control lines, which are locked off in banks of Spinlock jammers.

The headsail sheets are led through jib cars, which are adjustable from the cockpit using block and tackle jib car pullers. All spinnaker gear is also supplied, including running rigging, the pole and a 3:1 butt lift system for raising the inner end on a mast track with RCB car.

DOWN BELOW
The boat we looked over was Blowfly, hull number 3802, owned by Pittwater yachtsman Barry Moore who previously raced the J35 Locomotion.

A DeLonghi Aria dehumidifier was running on shore power in the main cabin when we climbed below at the marina. First impressions were of a clean, functional layout, with the warmth of wood and soft furnishings in an attractive suede-look green fabric.

The interior is uncluttered without being sterile; you could hose it out after a passage race and, to my mind, that's a good thing. The less fuss the better on a boat like this.

The timber joinery is well executed, with teak panelling along the hull sides, teak-and-holly veneer floorboards and attention to detail in the double-groove motif carried around the edges of the dining table (an attractive feature with its pattern of radiating teak veneer panels), the navigation table, bunk surrounds, and the fiddles around the galley and on top of the engine box under the companionway (providing a handy storage space for sail ties, etc).

The companionway is a simple, light double frame in anodised aluminium, with moulded fibreglass steps.

Forward of the main bulkhead is an open area with the forepeak given over to sail storage and a Jabsco marine head to port with handbasin alongside, supplied with fresh-water via a foot pump.

Behind the head is a storage compartment for toiletries with mirrored sliding doors. The head's workings are exposed, so you don't have to grope around in the back of vanity units, etc, trying to find the seacocks.

Opposite to starboard is a hanging locker which saves weight by dispensing with a door - access is via an oval cutout in the fibreglass moulding. Ahead of this is a narrow hanging space for sheets, braces, etc. Above is a round anodised aluminium opening hatch which provides minimal snags for spinnakers.

The main cabin has an L-shaped saloon to port and a settee on the starboard side which doubles as a hinged sea berth with a rigid- based berth below. The cabin is fairly low profile, with wide sidedecks, and I found myself banging my head on the coachroof when I got up from the settees. (Hopefully something you do only a few times before learning avoidance tactics.)

The galley runs along the starboard-side of the main cabin, forward of the settee, and is set up with the essentials including a Maxie double burner metho stove and griller, icebox and small sink with freshwater supply via foot pump. There isn't a lot of storage space for food and utensils, apart from the small cupboards above and outboard, which have sliding perspex doors for easy access.

The aft end of the port settee doubles as the seat for the aft-facing nav station, which consists of a chart table plus space for navigation equipment and electronics. Facing backwards probably isn't a bad idea; as the navigator can have direct eye contact with the cockpit crew through the companionway.

Aft of the nav table is a small bench seat which would be a handy spot to sit and pull your seaboots or wet weather gear on or off, or simply unwind and annoy the navigator at the end of a watch during a longer race.

Outboard of this seat is a six-compartment storage area for personal items like sunscreen, sunglasses and caps, as well as boat gear like winch handles, tools, etc. Another handy nook for hardware such as change blocks, VB cord, etc, is under the chart table.

Blowfly's nav station was set-up with Seiwa GPS chartplotter with C-MAP NT charts, the standard electrics panel, Clarion marine CD player with AM/FM radio and Wagner SSB radiotelephone. Wind and performance instruments were Brookes & Gatehouse. (The other boat involved in this test, Obsession, had Raytheon instruments and chartplotter plus an Icom VHF and Codan marine radio.)

Aft to port is the master cabin with a large double quarter berth, which has split bunk squabs so you could add a leecloth down the middle for racing offshore. On the starboard side is a single quarter berth and a pipe cot.

Standard engine is a Yanmar 3GM30 diesel engine with saildrive and 80 amp alternator. The seawater-cooled wet exhaust system discharges through the transom. The control panel with rev meter and on/off switches is on the engine box, while the throttle control is at the helm position.

PERFORMANCE
We sailed on Sydney yachtsman Michael Jones' Obsession, brand-new at the time of this test. The occasion was a Wednesday afternoon club race with the Royal Prince Alfred YC.

There was an all-star cast onboard, involved in tuning the rig before the boat embarked on racing. Obsession's North Sails wardrobe included grand prix 3DL main and three headsails, plus a Dacron delivery/cruising main and headsail. We were sailing with the 3DL main and the dacron headsail.

According to North Sails' Michael Coxon, onboard for this sail, the three racing jibs are all around 109 per cent, with the No 3 being smaller on the hoist and with a hollow leech.

The Sydney 38 class rules prescribe strict limits on sail wardrobes and the number of sails which can be replaced each year.

We did not get to experience any thrilling spinnaker rides, this being a no-extras race, but upwind the boat happily sailed at 7.3-7.4kt in a 20kt breeze and proved very stiff. When a stronger gust arrived, the boat would heel fairly quickly onto its bilge and then sit happily at that angle and power along without wanting to round up or overloading the helm.

The class rules propose a maximum total crew weight limit of 720kg, and in one-design racing every bit of movable ballast will no doubt be valuable in a breeze, but because the boat is so stiff, you certainly won't need that sort of weight on the rail to enjoy the sail.

The recessed carbon fibre steering wheel is very big (and very bright green on Obsession) and steering was an absolute pleasure, with fingertip control all that was required upwind and down, and comfort for the driver either seated or standing.

The cockpit seemed huge for a yacht of this size and was easy to move around, while the transom area aft of the steering wheel provided a clear space for less-experienced guests.

When we returned to the marina, Michael Jones looked thoroughly pleased with his new yacht, while Michael Coxon declared it "a good family boat, with gear you can handle". Also onboard was Victorian yachtsman John Savage, whose background in one-design keelboat racing includes a World championship win in the Etchells 22 class. His approval of the Sydney 38 translated to an immediate decision to buy one.

Initial race results since the date of our test give an indication of the Sydney 38s' capabilities in mixed fleet racing. At the Hahn Premium Race Week at Hamilton Island in August, sailed in mostly light conditions, the four 38s sailing with an IRC time correction factor of 1.1060 placed second, fourth, fifth and sixth overall in the fleet of 20 IRC entries. (The smaller Sydney 36 Sport, Pamela C, which hung onto us doggedly during our sail on Obsession, took out the IRC division at Hamilton Island sailing with a TCF of 1.0610.)

The three 38s competing in the Sydney-Gold Coast Race - two of them brand-new - placed seventh, ninth and 16th.

THE CHARTER OPTION
Although most of the Sydney 38s launched to date have been ordered for private use, six have been ordered by Pittwater Yacht Charters (Team Sail) with three delivered to date, for use in corporate racing and team-building programs as well as being available for charter for fleet and match racing championships.

A similar option is on offer from the charter company Sunsail in conjunction with Hamilton Island Ltd and Sydney Yachts. Under this plan, investors are being sought to launch a fleet of 10 Sydney 38s, to be based for most of the year at the Hamilton Island marina, and to provide an attractive feature for conference groups visiting the Whitsunday Islands resort seeking alternative team-building exercises, as well as opening new avenues for high calibre, national or international one-design regattas. The yachts are for sale to investors through Sunsail's local yacht investment program, which the company says has been used to sell yachts to 55 yacht investors during 1995-1999.

Benefits to investors include yacht charter and resort accommodation as well as first right of refusal to use their Sydney 38 in Hamilton Island's annual Race Week.

BUILDING FLEETS
Sydney Yachts has so far built nine 38s for export, with six going to a group of Chicago Yacht Club members, two more to private buyers in the US and another to Hong Kong. The Australian dollar's low rate of exchange could well attract more overseas orders; good news for a local yacht producer which has already carved out a strong export trade.

The good news for local buyers, meanwhile, is the steady growth of fleets in Sydney and Melbourne. The Sydney 38 is a fun boat to sail, and true one-design racing will be the icing on the cake. For this to work in the long-term really depends on fleet numbers, the lack of which has tripped up many promising production boats in the past.

The Sydney 38 looks like it could clear that first major hurdle, as the Farr 40 One-Design has already done, presenting local yachtsmen and women with two very appealing - and quite different - options for offshore one-design racing.