RUDDER:
The debate about spade versus skeg is never ending. We chose a semi-balanced partial skeg design for three reasons: Three oversized, self-aligning bearings support the rudder post - not just two. The rudder is supported, and thus strengthened, over 2/3 of its length, with only the bottom 1/3 truly vulnerable. In a grounding situation where rocks or coral reef may damage the rudder, the bottom 1/3 becomes a sacrificial segment, which will reduce damage to the upper 2/3's. Yes, a partial skeg creates more drag and will have a heavier helm, but, alternatively, provides better directional stability in following seas. We chose the more conservative path and designed the rudder with such a massive shaft (and extended it up through the hull so an emergency tiller can be attached at deck level) that a special steering quadrant had to be fabricated to fit. The bearings and rudder post are sized well in excess of ABS requirements.

DECK LAYOUT:
The deck is designed for single-handed sailing with the main halyard and reefing lines led back to an (electric) winch in the cockpit, where a convenient coaming box tidies up the excess line. Primary winches are less than a step away from the helmsman, with the secondaries a full step away. In the event the crew needs to access the foredeck, grabrails extend far forward on top of the cabin trunk (a feature not found on flush deck cruisers). Most importantly, eight deck-accessed lockers (watertight to the rest of the hull) provide dedicated storage for extra storm anchors, outboards, gasoline, propane, fenders, roll-up dinghies and sails. The rule that "nothing is on deck while sailing offshore" is easily followed. All lockers can be locked to foil thieves while you are on shore.

GROUND TACKLE:
Our standard ground tackle is a propbably larger than most inexperienced cruisers imagine they might ever need. Experienced cruisers will undoubtedly appreciate our equipment choices!

• FX 55 Fortress with 40' of 3/8" Acco hi-test chain and 300' of 5/8" 3-strand nylon line. This anchor is compactly nested together in one side of the double stainless steel anchor roller at the stem and can be raised and lowered using the Maxwell 2200 vertical electrical windlass with a footage counter. (Serious world cruisers will want to upgrade to the Lighthouse 1501 horizontal windlass). Additional storm anchor lockers are located just aft of the windlass. These lockers can each hold a disassembled anchor such as the Luke or Fortress and 600' of 5/8" line.

SAIL LOCKER (Expedition model):
4' long, 5' deep, and an average of 4'6" wide, this locker has watertight bulkheads fore and aft and its own bilge pump. Access is from a deck hatch. This 100 cu. ft. compartment will accommodate two roll-up dinghies, 3 sails, 2 Dahon fold-up bikes, 2 sets of Ping golf clubs, an Easy Rider two-man take-apart kayak, and still have room for a small workbench and vice.

SWIM PLATFORM:
Not just for warm water use, this platform is great for dinghy boarding or hauling an MOB on deck. Liveaboards will love the fact that they can stack ten grocery bags on board before they even leave the dinghy. Gracefully shaped, the steps provide bonus storage for scuba and snorkeling gear. We keep our Yamaha outboard locked up in there. Yes, the swim ladder reaches 3' below the water. A hot & cold shower inside a small locker makes the platform a luxurious experience. Grabrails extend the entire length of the steps and are easily reached while swimming. This swim platform is not just a token "sugar scoop," but a delightful base for warm water play and socializing.

SPARS AND RIGGING:
Robustly designed aluminum extrusion with strong cross sections, the keel stepped mast is supported fore and aft with twin stays. Double spreaders swept aft prevent mast pumping in high winds. Inboard shrouds permit tight sheeting while sailing to weather and produce good pointing ability. All rigging is oversize 1x19 316 SS wire with Norseman compression fittings. Forward and after inboard shrouds eliminate the need for a babystay, and make the running backstays unnecessary except in really heavy weather. With a 63' bridge clearance mandated by the ICW, the Explorer has an ICW sail plan that has a lower aspect ratio than is normal. This is detrimental to upwind speed, but enhances down wind and off-the-wind speed. Since most Caribbean and world cruising is conducted in the trades, this low aspect ratio increases over-all performance. For sailors primarily sailing on the East Coast or in northern latitudes, a tall rig with high aspect ratios is available. Chainplates are 1/2" thick SS thru-bolted to FRP bulkheads. Each chainplate is engineered to support the entire weight of the boat and is designed with a 2:1 safety margin (shock load versus rated breaking strength).

The standard mainsail has 5 full battens with Harken Batt-Cars and a full elliptical roach to produce a powerful sail, however, most couples are ??????????? in-???? ??? in-???? electric ?????? main sails. The standard genoa is a 115% sail with a foam luff and UV protection. This sail will hold its sailshape to about 70%, and with the trouble-free Furlex roller reefing is easy to furl. An optional additional forestay for a light air gennaker or reacher can be attached to the extra stemhead fitting provided. A separate track for a storm trysail is attached to the mast and an optional inner forestay can be used to hank on a storm staysail. A self tacking jib is an option for the inner forstay.

This is the short story - see Specifications for thorough details.

THE HULL:
The hull form and its sailing characteristics have been carefully developed by Chuck Paine in the eight previous designs in his Bermuda series. These designs range from 45' to 65' LOA and have been built in the finest yards in the world, including Concordia, Kanter, and Able. The raw speed potential due to long waterlines, the high range of positive stability of 125 degrees, and sufficient bow overhang to deflect boarding seas prove to be an excellent combination of design ingredients. The Apogee 51' (which won Cruising World's 1993 Boat of the Year [and was designed by Chuck Paine]) with only a 2'0' longer DWL has proven sustained 11-knot speeds while reaching. All of the Bermuda series have proven to be easily handled by a couple, even the 65'.

The construction of the Explorer takes advantage of the inherent strength of end grain balsa sandwich construction in the deck and above the waterline and is hand-laminated in a one-piece female mold. The builder uses vinylester resin exclusively on the outer two layers because of its superior resistance to osmotic blistering, abrasion and puncture. All fiberglass is unidirectional stitched as opposed to woven roving with all areas of possible impact additionally reinforced with Kevlar. End grain balsa as a core material has twice the shear strength of comparable density foam cores, and vinylester resin fails at the same tensile elongation length as fiberglass, thereby providing a maximum overall strength structural sandwich panel. The forward centerline of the hull - the keel/hull joints, the hull below the waterline and the bow sections are solid fiberglass reinforced with Kevlar to create the strongest structure where possible high collision loads may occur. The core material is omitted in all areas with backing plates and through-hull penetrations, and extra FRP is added to create an area of solid glass. The Explorer Expedition model comes with 3 watertight bulkheads, the Traditional model with 2. Though the fore and aft chambers created by these bulkheads will not provide sufficient flotation to prevent sinking if the center chamber is penetrated, they both protect the center chamber from rupture from the logical points of penetration. In the event of a collision with floating objects while underway, the forward watertight bulkhead will contain water until repairs can be made. The Expedition model has a second watertight bulkhead 4' behind the first, hence providing secondary insurance in the event of a major full-speed impact with another vessel. All through-hull fittings have Forespar Marelon seacocks for corrosion-free service, and all hoses are double-clamped with stainless steel hose clamps.

CENTER COCKPIT:
The two primary disadvantages of a center cockpit are that it's difficult for the helmsman to see sail shape and the helmsman is closer to spray sweeping aft from the bow. The Explorer alleviates these two disadvantages by pushing the helm very far aft. The helm location is almost exactly 3/4 of the LOA behind the stern, whereas most aft cockpit boats place their helm at the 7/8 of LOA position. Thus, an aft cockpit in this boat would place the helm only 6' further aft. The advantages of better visibility, safe location (a full 12' between the helmsman and following seas), and less pitching outweigh the disadvantages and make this center cockpit a better choice for offshore cruising. The bonuses are a huge interior (same interior as a 52'-55' aft cockpit boat) and the tranquillity of a much better steering location for maneuvering in tight harbors. A canvas dodger is standard, a fixed Lexan dodger/deckhouse is optional.

The cockpit is huge but the actual well is small Two transverse walk-through steps in the coaming insure that when waves come aboard only 26 cu. ft. of water will stay in the well. Two 1 1/2" diameter hoses quickly drain this. The benches are more than 7' long, 20" wide and have 15" tall, raked seat backs with built-in lumbar support. The cockpit will seat 9, sleep 2. Cockpit bench seats are 24" apart with a chamfered edge, permitting a good foot purchase while cross-bracing from the windward side.

KEEL:
The keel is a relatively short fin keel by traditional cruising boat standards, but is still twice as long as most current racing keels. Length provides directional stability which means less stress for you or your autopilot at the wheel. With a long external lead bulb providing an extremely low center of gravity it serves as a perfect grounding shoe. The bulb looks like a long flattened lead submarine and has small wings. The long lead ballast is attached to the fiberglass sump of the fin with keel bolts, spread well apart to distribute grounding shock loads. The keel/bolt structure is designed to significantly exceed ABS requirements. Because the lead takes up only the bottom half of the fin, the top half is left open for extra chain, tools, or the optional heavy-weight "traction batteries," which then serve as additional ballast.

OFFSHORE EXPLORER 4750 TRADITIONAL 3-STATEROOM ARRANGEMENT

This traditional 3-stateroom layout is used by many of the US East Coast boat builders and designers and is a favorite with grandparents and charter boat companies. With 2 heads, each with a shower stall, this layout provides real comfort en-suite for extended living aboard. It comfortably sleeps 6, with sleeping accommodations for as many as 9. The aft owners' stateroom with 6'5" headroom, two hatches, operable ports, and 2 cowl vents, together with its queen berth, vanity, tall hanging locker, 14 drawers and 7 storage bins and en-suite head is an exquisitely comfortable master stateroom. An optional washer/dryer or large clothes hamper is built into the separate shower stall. The forward stateroom with its queen-size berth and en suite head is a truly luxurious guest room with 2 large hatches, 2 operable ports and a cowl vent for excellent ventilation. Of course, it includes a bureau, hanging locker and bench. The port cabin features an oversized sliding door, as well as a passageway sliding door opposite the mast, that, when closed, provides complete privacy between the head and port cabin. For liveaboards, with a minor redesign of the berth, this stateroom can serve as an office as well as a cabin for occasional guests or grandchildren. It has a large hatch, 2 operable ports and a cowl vent for ventilation.

An optional interior helm station may be inexpensively added now or later, (together with 2 helm chairs and athwartship chart table), in place of the starboard settee and forward facing chart table. A nice option to have to extend your cruising year. The interior is designed with dedicated spaces for all the modern hi-tech appliances so that these conveniences can be added in the future as comfort and luxury become more important for extended living aboard. - Nigel Calder has designed the systems in a stair-step building block approach so that these luxuries can easily be added.

Offshore considerations have not been forgotten in this interior: 31 grab rails, grab bars and grab holes throughout the interior; 3" high fiddles keep the coke cans from tipping; positive push button latches on storage lockers and positive locks on sole panels; Velcro on cushion backs; Lee cloth attachments; lock-in boards for refrigerator, freezer, and bookshelves; gimbaled stove with safety rail in front; deep center-line sinks with extra fiddle across the middle of the countertop; 1" fiddles on the edge of the chart table; watertight collision bulkheads forward and aft; 1/2" thick acrylic windows; dorades that can be closed off from the inside; a wet locker in the aft head and over the engine, so foul weather gear can be dry and warm for your next watch; and batteries that are strapped in place. - As many as eight 8D batteries can be located at the boat's center of gravity, with a dedicated engine start battery high above the bilge.