I’m glad that the qualities of the Boreal (and the team) were so impressive, and wish you well with your 44.

The question of self-steering is one of those ones that run and run, but to me it’s not a question of either/or, more that both have their benefits. I’m sure that the Boreal is well balanced, and the ability to trim the boat with the two daggerboards is a valuable asset that will take the loads off the autopilot, but surely that’s equally true with a self-steering system? To me the major question is one of reliability, and I have to say that my experience with autopilots is far from a happy one. The current generation seem to have a multitude of functions (that I don’t need) and are no more reliable than the older generation. And I’d swop all of the gizmo’s in the world for an AP that was simple, robust and reliable. And for that reason alone, I’d always want a self-steering system for offshore work.

The Windpilot is a great piece of kit – we have one, and it matches our boat very well. Equally, the Hydrovane comes highly recommended by other Ovni owners, and, operating via a different principle, has less string to clutter up the stern. We’re currently planning to convert our Windpilot to work with a small autopilot, having heard good things from others who have gone down this route.

In simple terms, if you’re intending to sail short-handed, you need the best that both systems can offer – in my view.

I can appreciate your point re the chart table, but personally I’m not entirely a fan of a heads forward. We altered the spec of the standard Ovni to do away with the forward head and shower (right in the bows), largely because we wanted the space for other things, and we don’t like becoming airborne from the heads when under way! But as the forward heads in the Boreal is installed further aft, then maybe this could be a viable option.

The screen door sounds like a good idea. Our boat is very much dual purpose, and we’re still sorting out the final changes to make her more suitable for the tropics – we know she’s good in the cold. Ventilation is critical, and keeping a through flow of air seems to be the ultimate goal. As Boreal fabricate the door, I’m sure they will be able to come up with a good working solution along your line of thought.

Best of luck with the build, and keep us posted as to how you get on.

Best wishes

Colin

Just want to thank everyone for contributing to this post – it’s been very interesting.

Unlike others here, my limited experience leads me to probably prefer a single rudder protected by the keel than dual rudders. The last time I sailed offshore was during the Sydney-Hobart yacht race a few years back. Unbelievable to me was the amount of things we hit as we raced south (including a sun fish which stopped us dead in our tracks; and some other unidentified thing). When we got to Hobart and pulled the boat out of the water the lead keel was full of dinks, scrapes and gouges (all of them new!).

My conclusion? Thank god the keel took the force of these small-ish collisions. Surely an unprotected twin rudder would have been disabled by either of these hits.

As has been noted above, a single rudder is a compromise (especially when you’re scooting downhill in 30 knots!) but it’s one that I’d be willing to make.

Cheers,

M.

Thank you for your comments…
And Colin’s explanations do sound so much more English than mine.

A few items :
- Gracia : According to me Colin is right…
- Ovni 445 : Colin is right : two vertical rudders pretty close to each other…
- Boréal : I’ll send a picture of the rudders/daggerboards to John and Colin; They might be able to add it to the site.
Going to windward : as soon as you have more than 10-12 knots of wind you start lowering the downwind daggerboard. When a puff arrives the boat goes to windward and the boat heels more, immersing more of the daggerboard and bringing the boat back on its initial course… The system works : when the boat is well trimmed she can goes windward for minutes (read sometimes 30 min) without you having to touch the rudder. And in rough conditions you can see its impact on easing the work of the pilot by checking the ampere meter.
Going downwind: in windy conditions you lift pretty much the keel, moving backwards the anti-drift center. And you lower the two daggerboards… The boat is like on rails.

Best regards,

Jean-François

You’re right about bad weather on a boat, but in this case it’s ‘better to be in here wishing you were out there, than out there wishing you were in here’.

As far as I am aware, all Garcia yachts now have angled twin rudders, with no daggerboards. Alubat seem to be going down the same route for the OVNI’s, for example, the 445 (that replaced our older 435) has twin rudders, but unusually they are vertically aligned.

You can see an image of the older OVNI rudder system that we have on our 435 in Part I of the Aluminium boats ‘In depth” section on this site. For my money it’s a strong, dependable system that has a lot going for it.
Best wishes
Colin

Sorry I have been unable to answer your queries, but have just crossed Biscay to cruise the coast of northern Spain – and it’s raining worse than Scotland!

Re rudders – the OVNI lifting system works very well, and is supported by a full skeg to the hinge point, which gives it massive strength and protects the prop. Like every system it’s a compromise, but for us, so far so good.

The older Garcias (Maracuja, Nouanni, earlier Passoas) all have the single daggerboard ahead of the rudder (which is very shallow). I haven’t sailed one, but owners like them and I’ve only heard good reports. The Boreal set-up is very different, and there are twin (angled) daggerboards. The rudder was impressively strong to my eyes and is well protected by the skeg, although the skeg isn’t attached to the heel of the rudder. Both daggerboard systems are reckoned to be great for balancing the boat.

Richard – glad you’re enjoying the series – the 3rd part will be along very soon.

Best wishes

Colin