Morris 48.6: Reindeer Games

Every now and then, the stars line up just right and a truly remarkable boat comes on the scene that seems to be enhanced by its compromises, instead of being reduced by them. Such is the new custom sloop Reindeer that Chuck Paine designed and Tom Morris built for longtime high-latitude voyager Newbold Smith, a design that is the basis for the new semi-custom Morris 48.6.

The client was the driving force here, for Smith is a veteran buoy and offshore racer, CCA member and noted cruising sailor. His book Down Denmark Strait, relating a high-latitude cruise he made 15 years ago on an earlier Reindeer is a classic sea tale told in the matter-of-fact tone of an truly experienced blue water sailor. He has sailed everywhere and raced against the best skippers afloat for nearly four decades.

It goes without saying, then, that Newbold Smith had a good idea of what he required in his new 48-footer. The boat had to be light and fast enough to win drifting matches around the buoys in Chesapeake Bay. It had to be seakindly and fast enough to conquer IMS racing and cruiser/racer divisions in offshore event like the Newport-Bermuda Race, Halifax Race and Transatlantic Race. It had to be strong enough to survive a crunch with an iceberg — indicating a plan for more high-latitude cruising. And it had to be comfortable enough for Smith and his family to live aboard for extended periods while cruising in Europe and the Caribbean.

A tall order — requiring exacting compromises between sailing performance and cruising amenities.

The Design

The boat that Chuck Paine drew for Smith, incorporating all of the above and more, is elegant in its simplicity on deck and comfortable and beautifully laid out belowdecks. The boat is a real head-turner. Every detail of the design reminds us of the many sea miles Smith has sailed and the vast experience Paine has creating good, seakindly offshore boats.

The most obvious feature of the design is the raised saloon. Popularized by recent Oyster designs, a raised saloon admits more light into the interior and provides extra tankage space while allowing those in the galley and nav-station to see out easily. The raised cabin Paine created is stylish and modern. One especially attractive detail is the 12-degree angle bent into the heavy glass windows at the front of the raised house, a simple feature that speaks volumes about the care and thought that has gone into the whole boat.

The hull is long and lean and light. Because Smith will be racing under a variety of rules, the only approach was to make the boat as fast as possible in a wide range of conditions, without making specific concession for the IMS, PHRF, or Americap formulas. Thus the waterline is long and the overhangs short, the hull shallow and fairly flat under the water, and the keel and rudder have high-aspect profiles that will produce a lot of lift with as little drag as possible. Yet part of the cruising compromise has been to keep the draft to eight feet, deep by conventional cruising standards, but far less than the 10 or 11 feet you might find in a flat out racing machine.

Reindeer's numbers indicate that she will be fast on all points of sail and will be able to maintain very high averages on long offshore runs. With a displacement of 22,217 pounds on a waterline of 41 feet, 8 inches, giving a Displacement/Length Ratio of 137, the boat is no ultralight sled. She was conceived as a capable seaboat, and her displacement — light by cruising boat standards — is very solid when compared to stripped-out racers like the ID 48s that have become popular in the past few years.

The deck layout is clean and simple, with mainsail control lines led aft to the cockpit. Because the raised saloon is low and streamlined, a dodger fits neatly over the companionway, so those on watch in foul weather will be protected the wind and rain. But the cockpit is deep and comfortable enough so that even when things get wet and rough at sea, the crew will be secure.

Visibility from the wheel is good; the helmsman can sit comfortably either to leeward when sailing close to the wind or to windward when power reaching. The main traveler is just forward of the binnacle, and the sheet is led forward along the boom and then back to the cockpit winches on both sides so that crew can always play both the sheet and the traveler while sitting to windward.

The triple-spreader carbon-fiber rig on Reindeer is large and powerful, and its racing sails will require constant trimming to gain maximum benefit. With a Sail Area/Displacement ratio of 21.87, the boat has plenty of power and should perform well in light airs. In his first race aboard the new Reindeer last fall in Annapolis, Md., Smith smoked the competition.

The Morris 48.6 will be 14 inches longer than Reindeer, will weigh 1,600 pounds more and will draw only 6 feet, 4 inches. In other words, the new Morris will lean more heavily toward the cruising side of the racer-cruiser compromise.

Construction

There is nothing traditional about Reindeer's hull and deck, which are constructed of highly engineered E-glass and Kevlar cloth vacuum-bagged into a post-cured epoxy laminate over a closed-cell foam core of CoreCell. The hull is built over a male mold and reinforced with structural laminates in high stress areas. Interestingly, chainplates are all molded composite material and integral with the deck. The final product, then, has to be fared on the outside and painted with linear polyurethane paint. Epoxy construction can be tricky, so the choice to go to Mark Lindsay at Boston Boatworks for the hull and deck was a sound one. Lindsay has wide experience with exotic epoxy laminates and has build a range of grand prix racers and America's Cup boats.

The hull/deck joint is a solid laminate, so that the whole hull is essentially monocoque. With bulkheads tabbed into the interior, the hull becomes extremely stiff. One of Smith's requirements for the new boat was to have it be competitively light but strong enough for long-term and long-range cruising. The CoreCell and epoxy hull, with the integral deck, provides a solid solution.

Accommodations

Reindeer is a pure offshore sailor's boat, with four excellent sea berths that can be left made up, a handy wet locker, a large chart table, and a galley for cooking in a seaway. When BWS first visited the boat in Annapolis, we were struck at once by the seamanlike interior. Just aft of the main companionway is the owner's open cabin with two large single berths. These will be snug and comfortable at sea, although the sound of the crews' feet overhead or the running engine will be noise factors.

The raised saloon has the galley to starboard and the chart table and aft head to port. Under the raised floor are the large tanks and stowage areas for spare parts, gear and supplies. Down one step going forward is the dinette to starboard and a bench settee to port. Outboard of these are the two pilot berths, which will be comfortable in any conditions with a lee cloth cinched up tightly.

The forward cabin is a crew's cabin with pipe berths and the forward head. Aboard Reindeer, this cabin will only be used in port, we suspect, and will act as the main storage locker for sails and racing gear. On a cruising version, a standard V-berth can be fitting into the space.

The interior in Reindeer is finely finished cherry, which has a pleasant warm honey color and looks like fine furniture. The fittings below were tasteful and suitable for a couple or family cruising. In fact, sitting in the dinette, you would not suspect that you were aboard a light, thoroughbred racing boat.

Performance

Reindeer feels very solid underfoot as you climb aboard. But once you get under way and feel the quick, nimble response from the helm you realize that the boat is designed to perform well. Under power, it is pleasure to steer and even with the two-bladed folding prop — the least efficient style - the boat shoots ahead smartly in response to the throttle and comes to a quick stop near the dock when thrown hard into reverse — hard in order to get the blade to open positively when you need it.

Under sail, Reindeer sails close to the wind and with a real turn of speed. We hoisted sail off the mouth of Back Creek and sailed out into Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, the wind was dying, so as we ran east wing-and-wing, we very nearly ran out of breeze. That did not stop Reindeer, however, as we overtook several boats ahead of us and kept her running along at five knots in about six or seven knots of true wind.

In search of the shore breeze in the mouth of the Severn River, we gybed around, turning very nearly within the boat's length, and hardened up. The apparent wind climbed to 12 knots and we were able to maintain 6.5 and 7 knots through the water while sailing at 23-degree apparent wind. The touch of the helm was sure and light, and the boat, when trimmed well, felt as though it was virtually crawling to windward as the lift on the keel and rudder kicked in. Again, we steamed by the boats to windward of us, sailing both higher and faster than everyone else out that afternoon.

As a passagemaker, we suspect the Morris 48 will be a real star. Even with cruising canvas on her and shortened down to keep her motion easy, the boat will maintain very high averages and should have no trouble knocking off 200- and 220-mile days in the trades or running before the Westerlies. We can easily picture ourselves running before a rolling trade-wind sea under a cruising chute and single-reefed main, knocking off 10s and 12s as the autopilot or wind vane steers.

Conclusions

A boat designed to be a cruiser-racer, the Reindeer is a compromise boat that actually does what it is supposed to do extremely well. Given Newbold Smith's extensive experience — and his desire for a boat that will be stylish as well as fast and comfortable — the new boat turned out to be the best of both worlds.

The moderately light hull and high-aspect keel and rudder are examples of just where the art of cruising boat design and construction will be going in the next decade. Composite construction with foam or balsa core is here to stay, and tall, carbon rigs reduce weight aloft while adding power.

A good passagemaker should, by definition, be a good sailing boat. These days, it is no longer necessary to think of our cruising boats and passagemakers as load carriers because we no longer need to carry tons of supplies from port to port. Groceries, fuel, propane and so forth are available just about everywhere on the planet, and you can buy what you need with a credit card ... even in Borneo.

So, the choice to go light, go fast, and sail well is the choice that some veterans are making as they build new boats which to follow their love of the sea. That's true of Newbold Smith. And the Morris 48.6, which spins off the custom design, is a boat that will fit the bill as well. Built as a semi-custom boat, Morris Yachts is prepared to build the 486 in series and can offer a wide range of custom features and interiors.

	Morris 48.6	Amel Maru	Taswell 49	Oyster Lightwave 48	Hans Christian 48
LOA	48"6"	48"0"	48"10"	48"0"	47"10"
LWL	42"0"	35"8"	40"10"	41"8"	41"4"
Beam	13"9"	13"4"	15"0"	14"4"	14"4"
Draft	6"6"	6"6"	6"10"	6"0"	7"0"
Displ.	24,458 lbs.	28,440 lbs.	32,500 lbs.	27,000 lbs.	44,000 lbs.
Ballast	10,700 lbs.	8,820 lbs.	13,000 lbs.	9,450 lbs.	14,700 lbs.
S.A.	1,080 sq. ft.	1,302 sq. ft.	1,064 sq. ft.	990 sq. ft.	1,350 sq. ft.
D/L	151	278	214	167	280
SA/D	20.51	22.4	16.7	17.6	17.3