As revealed in my ‘bio’ section, I met Chele, my wife and soul mate, in Texas. The joke goes that I was recently divorced and had a couple of children in tow and she was recently divorced and had a 40ft sailboat. There's no doubt that sometimes the way ahead can be clearly marked!
But Chele’s boat – a Bill Lapworth designed Cal 40 – was an eye-opener for me. Slender and light, a bit like a big dinghy, her performance totally outshone keelboats I had sailed before. So, it was an intriguing prospect: not quite the vivid performance of a thoroughbred multihull but much better than the sluggish keelboats I had previously sailed, and hopefully a much friendlier welcome when I checked into those marinas.
Since we were returning to the UK where mooring space is at a premium, I decided on a shift in direction for my designs which I have pursued without regret ever since.
'Spook'
Designed in the mid-1980s as a compact ocean cruiser, at 30ft LOA, Spook was the prototype for the series of related designs that followed.
The characteristic stepped sheer increases the utility of both the cockpit and the space below it – a feature I've never found the need to change. The hull has quite a pronounced tumblehome, which will reduce her inverted stability if you're unlucky enough to roll. Her flush foredeck is a delight to work on and the unobtrusive doghouse gives virtually all-round vision from below.
Spook's hull and deck are of GRP sandwich construction, cored respectively with Airex and end-grain balsa – a structural combination which is both light and very strong.
‘Alacazam'
Owned by Dick McClary and Mary Swift, the 38-footer Alacazam was built in the UK but is now based in the Caribbean. She can be sailed either as a sloop or cutter – the latter being an ideal rig in trade wind conditions where reaching is the most common point of sail.
Her hull is of epoxy/glass sheathed cedar strip with a marine plywood deck (also sheathed) and ply and cherry trim interior.
She is fast and weatherly and extremely easy to handle. In appropriate circumstances, she carries water ballast, which increases her stiffness and decreases heeling. Her ballast ratio is sufficient to make her stable without it – but to be able to crank up the stability when you need it is very useful.
Despite her internal volume, Alacazam has only 5 berths – two of which are for occasional guests. Light and airy below, she makes a comfortable floating home for Dick and Mary.
'Vlad the Impaler'
Another cedar strip 38-footer, but this one designed for flat-out racing. After a career ‘around the cans’ in the Solent area and elsewhere Vlad’s itinerary became focused offshore where she competed in three successive Three Peaks Yacht race, winning two of these gruelling events and coming a very respectable second in the third.
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‘Shindig'
Shindig is our boat – by which I mean Chele's and mine. She is currently in Corfu, Greece, having sailed there from the UK.
Her hull is both narrower and finer forward than Alacazam's, indeed, it was derived from Vlad’s, though is not quite so extreme. Again, the hull is cedar strip, but this time has a layer of khaya (African mahogany) veneer beneath the epoxy sheathing.
However, her deck and most of the interior structure is of lightweight Herex cored composite, using vinylester resin in the deck laminate for improved strength and durability.
Shindig also has water ballast, though less than Alacazam, since her slightly deeper draft gives her a little more inherent stability.
A somewhat 'retro' feature is her lowish aspect ratio rig, designed to reduce the heeling moment while still giving lots of drive. An easy boat to sail, she is both quick and comfortable – not always the case with faster cruising yachts.
Boat Designs 
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