
| 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. |