Perry Design Review: Bristol 44

Dave Pedrick has given us a nice string of consistent designs over the last 10 years and one of his latest is the Bristol 44 center-cockpit model. Dave's office has been involved with several highly competitive design efforts and this has put him in good position to lead us along to new design ideas.

His newest pet component is the Whale Tail Keel. I like it. It certainly sounds better than the "Dog's Nose Keel." I've picked a shape or two from nature before and if we are going to drag it through the water, a whale's tail makes sense. Let me refer you to some recent papers on foil and planform behavior. Try AIAA-90-0300, Wind Tunnel Investigation on the Effect of the Crescent Planform Shape on Drag, by C.P. Van Dam, P.M.H.W. Vijgen and B.J. Holmes from the 28th Aerospace Sciences meeting, or perhaps keels and rudders with Highly Swept Tips, by C.P. Van Dam, P.M.H.W. Vijgen and C.J. Obara delivered at the Sailtech-89 meeting at Stanford University will pique your interest.

Both papers refer to the highly sweptback tip or toe of the keel and the pointy heel of the keel. Neither paper specifically refers to the whale's tail type, but you can quickly make the connection. There are several other supporting papers available, but you get the idea. These papers are not light reading. They do agree on the drag associated with bulbs and they also agree on the need to sweep the tip and point the heel.

I read all these papers with a high degree of skepticism. This is probably because I have difficulty in understanding them or maybe it's because we can always seem to come up with equations and graphs to support any technical stand we choose to put forward. If you look back at the variety of keel shapes we have seen in the last five years you might get an idea of what I mean. It is still difficult to come up with a shape that solves all the problems. However, in the world of wings, bulbs, winged bulbs and bulbous wings, the Pedrick style keel seems a moderate and logical synthesis.

This general hull shape is moderate with a deep, half skeg in front of the rudder. The counter is nicely elevated to prevent dragging in the quarterwave and there is lots of camber to the transom. The beam distribution is moderate by today's standards, still leaving us a big broad stern with plenty of room for a recessed ladder in the transom.

Velocity predictions show the boat to be a good performer. The 44 is available with either shoal keel drawing 5 feet 6 inches (don't tell Clark Mills) or the standard deep draft model at 7 feet 6 inches. It appears we are slowly becoming acclimated to deeper draft. I like the bold sweep to the sheer of this design. The D/L ratio is 252 with a 39 percent ballast-to-displacement ratio.

Pedrick calls the rig a 15/16ths sloop. This reduces headsail size and puts the mast in a very convenient location for the interior layout. It also looks very smart. Fractional rigs are prettier than masthead rigs. The spreaders are swept aft to eliminate the need for runners. The SA/D ratio is 17.52 which should be more than enough to satisfy the performance minded cruiser.

The Bristol 44 has the option of being available in an aft cockpit model also. The center cockpit interior features aft stateroom and V-berth area for comfortable cruising for two couples. Both sleeping areas have their own heads and the aft head has a large adjoining shower stall. The navigation area is spread out with lots of room for the gear we like to have today. All in all, the interior is pretty standard but carefully laid out for successful cruising.

I like the deck design of the Bristol. Center cockpit boats are always a challenge and there is plenty of competition out there to be held up against. This is a clean and trim looking yacht.

Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we are now in the 90s. Lest you forget, I'll give you a gentle reminder. Before you leave the dock with your well outfitted Bristol 44, including all Brookes and Gatehouse electronics, 150-watt Sony sound system, ice maker, microwave, pillows, shams and spreads, designer taps and mixers and three-bladed Max prop, you will have to write somebody a check for $398,435. And they say you can't buy happiness.

Boat Specifications

This story originally appeared in Sailing Magazine, and is republished here by permission. Subscribe to Sailing.