| Falcon's Specs |
| Falcon's hull was designed by a man named Hans Otto Horne in Florida sometime around 1952 or 53. He made a mold and pulled about three hulls out of it and reportedly did a bit of cruising with his family. The hull was based on Joshua Slocum's 'Spray', perhaps the most popular and notable little cruising boat in history, most notably because it was the first to be sailed singlehandedly around the world. The trip took place between 1865 and 1868 or 69. Mr. Horne 'improved' some of the lines and ratios of the old Chesapeake Bay fishing boat and also made her a bit smaller and lighter. Spray was 36 1/2 feet on deck with a 14 foot beam and about four feet of draft. There's probably no real telling what she actually displaced. The Horne's version is 32 1/2 feet on deck, 12 1/2 feet in the beam, and 4 feet 7 inches in draft. She was set to be 17,500 pounds displacement with 5500 pounds of concrete and boiler punchings ballast. The two small deck houses were similar to those on 'Spray', the deck was recessed about 10 inches below the sheer and she was rigged as a ketch with solid, round wooden spars. I have changed quite a few things. Falcon is a schooner. She has an 8 foot bowsprit and 3 feet of boom overhang for a total length of 44 feet, though the hull is a 33 footer. The additional ballast has bumped the total displacement up to about 22,000 pounds. Right now she has about 8600 pounds of ballast, but I'm taking some out to lighten her up. Always easier to chuck it overboard than get it when you need it. All the ballast in Falcon is cast-in lead. I removed 900 pounds of lead ballast directly below the engine to compensate for the 100 gallons of fuel capacity. It looks like I could remove another 1000 pounds - more forward - and still have plenty of ballast. It appears I might have been 'overly enthusiastic' about 'ballast ratio' numbers. The boat - now that most of the interior is complete - is heavy. |
LOD 32.5 feet
Beam 12.5 feet
Draft 5 feet
LOA 44 feet
Displacement 25,000 pounds
Ballast 7700 pounds
Sail Area 750 sq feet
Mast Height (mainsail down) 33 feet
Gaff Height (mainsail up) 37 feet
Main Boom 18 feet
Main Gaff 12 feet
Fore Boom 10 feet
Fore Gaff 10 feet
Fuel Tanks 2 @ 50 gallons each
Water Tanks 4 for a total of about 120 gallons
Batteries 4 8D Gels
2 4D Gels
Power 4 Cylinder 52 HP Pathfinder Diesel
with Hurth 3:1 Gearbox
Steering Edson large rack and pinion
aft facing
Sail Handling Garhauer
Autopilot Autohelm 6000
Prop 18 x 15 RH 3-blade
Windlass Ideal Dual Direction Vertical
w/ Capstan & Gypsy & Remote
Ground Tackle 45 Lb Spade w/200 Ft 5/16
BBB & 225 ft 5/8 Nylon
35 Lb Delta w/200 Ft 5/16
BBB & 165 Ft 5/8 Nylon
25 Lb Danforth HT w/10 Ft 5/16
BBB & 165 Ft 5/8 Nylon
22 Lb Delta w/25 Ft 5/16
BBB & 160 Ft 5/8 Nylon
Solar Panels 2 @ 205 Watts Each from
Sun Electronics in Miami
Solar Charger Outback MX60
Inverter AIMS Power 2500 Watt
I will keep adding to this page as I sort out more
information, such as individual sail areas.
Beam 12.5 feet
Draft 5 feet
LOA 44 feet
Displacement 25,000 pounds
Ballast 7700 pounds
Sail Area 750 sq feet
Mast Height (mainsail down) 33 feet
Gaff Height (mainsail up) 37 feet
Main Boom 18 feet
Main Gaff 12 feet
Fore Boom 10 feet
Fore Gaff 10 feet
Fuel Tanks 2 @ 50 gallons each
Water Tanks 4 for a total of about 120 gallons
Batteries 4 8D Gels
2 4D Gels
Power 4 Cylinder 52 HP Pathfinder Diesel
with Hurth 3:1 Gearbox
Steering Edson large rack and pinion
aft facing
Sail Handling Garhauer
Autopilot Autohelm 6000
Prop 18 x 15 RH 3-blade
Windlass Ideal Dual Direction Vertical
w/ Capstan & Gypsy & Remote
Ground Tackle 45 Lb Spade w/200 Ft 5/16
BBB & 225 ft 5/8 Nylon
35 Lb Delta w/200 Ft 5/16
BBB & 165 Ft 5/8 Nylon
25 Lb Danforth HT w/10 Ft 5/16
BBB & 165 Ft 5/8 Nylon
22 Lb Delta w/25 Ft 5/16
BBB & 160 Ft 5/8 Nylon
Solar Panels 2 @ 205 Watts Each from
Sun Electronics in Miami
Solar Charger Outback MX60
Inverter AIMS Power 2500 Watt
I will keep adding to this page as I sort out more
information, such as individual sail areas.
