Robert Perry, Robert Perry , Robert Perry. The man is every where I look lately. Practicle Sailor, he’s in that, Cruising World, he’s in that, Sailing, he’s in that. We spoke to Capt. Thom Burns at the Minneapolis Boat Show recently, he has/ had an Islander 32, also a Bob Perry design. The final straw, my one and only copy of Nautical Monthly, he’s in that too. So it is official, I am hereby declaring this February, 2010, as Robert H. Perry Boat De Jour Month. Maybe I should elaborate.

First off, I’m new to sailing and am only beginning to understand how much there is to learn. So, I am also just learning about different designers and their works. Robert Perry is the first naval architect I came to follow, as he is the Technical Editor for the magazine Sailing. Our current sailboat, a Precision 18, was designed by another naval architect, Jim Taylor, who’s work I also admire. The premise for this blog however, is that we are dreaming of our next sailboat and trying to sort out what exactly that might be. The sailboats in this article probably represent the sailboat after the next one though. I am the perpetual dreamer, if you haven’t guessed by now. The decisions are many and Bob Perry’s designs keep showing up in my research.

In my February copy of Practical Sailor, there is an article about the Union 36, for which he got the short end of the stick, by the way, as he received no royalties for his design work on which the boat was based. It is however, a beautiful double-ender, for which I seem to have a liking. It has a very salty look about it to my eye, I am a little hesitant,(read very hesitant) about all the teak. I would estimate that there is more teak than fiberglass, from the pictures in Practical Sailor. It is 36’8″ over all in length with a beam of 11’4″. Displacement is 22,000 pounds. It compares well to other craft like the Tayana 37 and the Crealock 37. Oh, and I bet you’ll never guess who designed the Tayana 37, that’s right, Robert Perry.

Previously, I wrote an article about the decision I was trying to make about whether or not I prefer internal or external keels. One of my concerns was that with the internally molded in keel I had read that repairs could be much more expensive, but what I did not know was what the problems might be. Now I know of at least one potential problem. Namely, with the aforementioned internal iron keel, if the iron gets wet it can swell and crack the fiberglass. Practical Sailor does report that they are unaware of that happening with any Union 36’s, but I wonder what other sailboats do have that as a common issue.

So on to the next Perry sighting. The January issue of Cruising World magazine has an article about a couple who were setting sail on a sabbatical from Ohio to the Caribbean aboard their Lafitte 44. Again, another Robert Perry designed double-ender. One notable difference between this boat and the previous boat is that while the Union 36 had a full-length encapsulated iron keel, the Lafitte 44 has an 11,300 pound lead, low-aspect fin keel. The Lafitte uses 13 stainless steel 3/4 inch bolts to attach it to the hull. At least one can inspect the bolts to make sure there are no issues going on under the floor boards.

My one and only copy of Nautical Quarterly, the Summer 1985 issue, also has an article about the Lafitte 44. I should mention that the person most responsible for me buying a sailboat is also the person who gave me this publication. Thanks Mark, you know who you are. The article is very lengthy and explains amongst other things, that the name Lafitte came about while the principles of the young company were drinking some Chateau Lafite to celebrate the birth of a son to one of the members. In recognition of the fine quality of the wine and to aspire to equal quality for their new sailboat design they voted to use Lafitte for the name. An extra “T” showed up some how, in the name however. The article did mention that several bottles had been consumed, so it’s possible there might have been some double-vision issues.

A quick search at www.yachtworld.com turned up three LAfitte 44’s which are for sale, one listed for $169,000 the other two at about $195,000. I wonder what they sold for back 1985. A sailboat as an investment perhaps… I just wonder… maybe… do you think the admiral would believe that argument, yea, me either?

Next, we have the magazine Sailing, I know what you’re thinking, Bob is in every issue of Sailing. As their Technical Editor for the past 22 years, he has accumulated enough articles to publish four books, titled Sailing Designs, Volumes 1-4. What, to me, makes this issue germane to this article is that Mr. Perry has a new design he is currently working on. This new design is a double-ended motorsailor. Given that I am a new sailor I feel it is my duty to abhor anything that is not pure and chaste and in keeping with the finest traditions of sailing. But I will allow that Bob has a right to make a living, I guess. Kidding aside, the new vessel, the Sawyer 48MS, keeps some of the traditional lines of his double-ended cruisers and adds a modern keel shape amongst other things. It even has a fat-head sail on the mizzen mast. More information about Robert H. Perry Yacht Designers, Inc. can be found at his website, www.perryboat.com.

Last but not least, is the Islander 32 for which I’ve recently learned is also a Bob Perry design. It is a beautiful sailboat of the 70’s, there is a gorgeous one listed for $24,000 that I would really like to own and it is at a marina only about 1 hour 45 minutes away. Oh well, we are not ready yet, skill wise, and I am seeing that there are lots of sailboats for sale, so that when we are ready the right one will appear.

So with out further ado, let this month of February, 2010 be forever known as Robert H. Perry Boat De Jour Month.