| SEDATION 4 is my permanent
floating home and R&D facility,
thus her amenities include a lab/workshop, gourmet kitchen, alcohol-
and espresso-bar, audiophile sound system and other "necessities"
appreciated at the hacienda in Dallas. At 6' 3½" tall,
there were no appropriate production cruising catamarans available with
sufficient headroom to prevent me from repeated head-bumps (heaven
knows I've incurred enough already :) so a custom-built yacht was
the only alternative. Accommodations include queen-size
beds
and large showers for both the master and guest staterooms. Both
bathrooms have "home size" heads
in private compartments with reading lights and flip-down laptop desks.
Countertop heights are
optimized for me based on ergonomic
requirements
for the respective activities.
The Caribe DL-15 rigid-bottom inflatable tender (launch, dinghy, whatever) can safely transport 8 persons, or LOTS of cargo, quickly and safely. Carrying such a large auxiliary vessel is unheard-of on catamarans even twice the size of SEDATION 4, however it seems pretty silly to see a 65' luxury cruising catamaran fitted with a 9' inflatable dinghy only capable of holding 25% of the yachts' occupants! This catamaran's unusual flat-transom configuration facilitates storage and access to the dinghy via custom-designed davits and boarding platform. The full transom
and tall deckhouse are, admittedly, about as aerodynamic as a pregnant water
buffalo, but form-follows-function in this vessel's design so
compromises must be made.
All these amenities are heavy ... VERY heavy ... so the vessel is
fabricated
using Nida-Core™ honeycomb
composite
construction which significantly reduces weight. |
| |
| Most on-board
systems, including refrigerators,
ice maker and deep
freeze, are 12 Volt DC. Inverters
satisfy the few 120 Volt AC requirements (printer, scanner, chargers,
espresso machine, power tools, shop-vac etc.) therefore SEDATION 4 carries a formidable bank of
deep-cycle marine batteries. Each propulsion engine will
have an independent starting battery which is maintained by the
engine's dedicated charging circuit. The generator will
maintain a bank of 6 "house batteries" automatically, supplemented by
both
solar-panels and wind-generator(s). If needed, a
manually-operated paralleling system will enable switched "jump
starting" of discharged batteries from other banks. Specified on-board
systems are very energy-efficient resulting in negligible fuel
usage to maintain the 12V supply. |
| The sailplan for
SEDATION 4 is
a "Hoyt Balanced Rig"
(patent pending), conceived by the renowned Garry Hoyt,
which is similar to an AeroRig®
on a self-supporting mast. This type of rig is optimum for
single-handed cruising but imparts significantly greater loads to the
hull and deckhouse. Extensive reinforcement of the pilothouse
roof
and bridgedeck floor (underbelly) with additional stress-dispersal
bulkheads is required. Presently, an AeroRig® is about twice
the price of a comparable masthead sail installation but the Hoyt
Balanced Rig should cost less. This will be the first ever
... hey
... somebody has to be the guinea pig ;} |
| Air Conditioning is specified for the vessel if I ever desire it. Hot water will be provided by heat exchangers on the generator plus electric elements. The 12V-to-110V inverters also works in reverse to supply 12V power and charge batteries when (if) plugged-in to shore power. SEDATION 4 will not spend much time in-port so typical marina-based features like phone & cable TV hook-ups are NOT included. E-mail, FAX, telephone and Internet services will be handled via Single Side Band (SSB) radio and satellite connection. Most time will be spent on-the-hook (at anchor) with extensive use of the launch for exploring, visits ashore and provisioning runs. Two fold-up bicycles will be carried to facilitate land activities; another reason for the large tender. |