Tartan Ten Thoughts...

[Ol' Coot]

Norm,

Per your questions about the T-Ten:

The sailing qualities of the boat are what keep my interest.  I love the way it accelerates on a puff; the way it will ghost along in 2 knots of breeze when other boats are sitting with sails slatting.  I hate turning on the engine at the end of the day to get home.  It will handle wind into the 30s without undue strain, although I've not done this with short crew.  More on heavy weather sailing below.

The T-Ten is in a lot of ways a huge dinghy...  Competition in the Chicago-Mac and recent Bermuda races not withstanding, the boat was NOT designed for extended offshore work, and the boat that sailed the Bermuda 1-2 was, as I understand it, very heavily modified.  Anything more than a good weather window dash offshore, I think would be foolhardy.

Not to say that is a huge issue for me.  I will be quite happy to make a series of coastal hops, within weather windows, if things work out for me.  I can't see any reason that a coastal cruiser can't make limited jumps outside going down the east coast from the New York area, to Delaware Bay, to the Cheaspeake, etc.  Eventualy you would reach the Keys or the Bahamas.

My issues with extended offshore work and / or heavy weather? 

-  Large cockpit.  It's over 10 ft long, and if swamped would probably take over 5 minutes to drain under the best conditions.  This is in spite of the fact that I have an additional drain beyond that supplied by the factory. 

-  No bridge deck.  I've thought about changing that, and I would pick up over 4 cubic feet of nicely positioned in-cabin storage by making the modification.  But due to the flush deck, I'd also make egress from the cabin somewhat more difficult at the same time.  A toss up at best.

- I haven't been able to to figure a way to rig a dodger over the forward end of the cockpit.  I'm willing to let the tiller-pilot drive for me.  I'm not willing to leave the deck for extended periods and there's no way to shelter from extended foul weather while on deck.     

The interior (or lack there-of) could be a big issue.  I know there are lots of small boat sailors who cruise without standing headroom, but I'm getting a bit older and a bit less flexible.  I can't get comfortable with the idea of never standing inside the boat. 

The Ten has a "work-around" for this.  The main companion way can be opened a little at a time until an almost 6' by 2' area is open.  On either side of this opening are 15" high rails which can support a "convertable top" of sorts, and this allows standing head room in normal conditions.  I've sailed with the companion way open and the soft top rigged in over 20 knots of wind and rain.  I've used the top in worse weather "in port" and it provides good ventilation. 

If it got to worse weather under way, I'd make sure the deck was closed.  I have confidence in the closure arrangement in anything short of a wave breaking directly down on the deck, and it would not be difficult to beef up the hatch if necessary.  I could "button up" for a couple of days of bad weather if necessary.

I think most of the other issues with the cabin can be dealt with.  More solid bunks, additional counter and storage space, more hand holds, etc.  At least, I think I'll have fun working on it.

Kevin