Perry Design Review: Schock 50
The ultimate, single-handed racing weapon
Today, the emphasis is on raw boat speed.
We are lucky to have Bruce Marek's 50-footer, built by Schock in California, to review. This boat is intended to be an all-out campaigner in singlehanded events. Needless to say, this is a specialized, ultimate weapon.
This focus gives the designer a wide-open hand in laying out the general shape parameters. Marek's 50 is a narrow boat, at 12 feet, 10 inches of beam, and long on the waterline. The D/L ratio of this design is 80.26, and when filled with its 280 gallons of water ballast, the D/L ratio is 91.27. Ballast is 8,350 pounds. This includes 2,600 pounds of solid steel fin, with the rest of the ballast located at the bottom of the very deep, vertical-leading-edge, non-tapered fin. Draft is 12 feet. Bulb shape is a cylindrical NACA foil. The rudder is derived from Il Moro's, veteran of America's Cup campaigns.
The hull construction is conservative, with a thick outer skin over a balsa core and trapezoidal stringers bonding the two skins together forward in case of any de-lamination. Layup is with vinylester resin and biaxial fabrics.
Il Moro's contribution to the project extends into the rig. The spar is a leftover from Il Moro. It is carbon-fiber, with spreaders swept aft at 12 degrees. This lends some initial stiffness to the rig, but doesn't end up fighting the backstay loads like rigs with greater sweep angles to the spreaders. Asymmetrical chutes and symmetrical chutes will be carried. The SA/D ratio is 28.1 when the water ballast is included.
The interior includes a comfortable double berth back under the cockpit where the motion will be minimized. There is a head with a shower and a reasonable galley. There is a navigational station and what most of us think of as a main cabin, with settee berths and pilot-style adjustable pipe berths. The keel trunk extends to the overhead and divides the main cabin forward.
More than just a survival pod, this is the ultimate, singlehanded racing weapon.
Boat Specifications
| LOA | 50' |
| LWL | 46' |
| Beam | 12'10" |
| Draft | 12' |
| Displacement | 17,500 lbs. |
| Ballast | 8,350 lbs., water 280 gals. |
| Sail Area | 1,290 sq. ft. |
| SA/D ratio | 28.1 water ballast included |
| D/L ratio | 80.26, 91.27 with water ballast |
| L/B | 3.9 |
| Auxiliary | Yanmar 38-horsepower diesel |
| Fuel | 50 gals. |
| Water | 55 gals. plus water maker. |
This story originally appeared in Sailing Magazine, and is republished here by permission. Subscribe to Sailing.
