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Southerly 110

Beachable yet able to navigate open-ocean waters, this swing-keel vessel offers versatility, if not a lot of horsepower..

This picture is worth considerably more than a thousand words. It’s the image of the Southerly 110 nearly high and dry, with it’s bow up on a beach, the boat surrounded by nothing but shallow water and sand. The photo is eloquent testimony to the unique and remarkable capabilities of the vessel’s swing keel, and the go-anywhere, two-and-a-half-foot-draft-with-beachability concept that has gained a devoted following for the Southerly family of unique cruising auxiliaries built by Northshore Yachts, Ltd.

Self-proclaimed as “world leaders in swing-keel yachts,” the Chichester, England-based company has been building “variable-draft cruisers” since 1975. Well over 750 are extant. Via transatlantic crossings and circumnavigations, as well as gunkholing, the boats have proven eminently successful.

The first Southerly (the 28, designed by John Bennett,) was introduced in 1975. In 1978, Northshore commissioned American designer Dick Carter (at the time one of the most sought-after racing boat designers in the world) to refine the swing keel concept. “I remember,” Carter said recently, “first discovering the joys of cruising the harbors and bays of Brittany…until the tide went out. I’ve been to the Bahamas and was drawn to the shallows there…Being able to explore them all made tremendous sense.” Working with Northshore, Carter developed the 105, the flagship 145, a 48-foot ketch introduced in the early ’80s, and several robust and well-accepted models in between. They all had single, shallow-draft rudders on the centerline, afforded interior as well as exterior steering stations, and carried hefty, wedge-shaped keels.

When the company changed hands just over three years ago, Rob Humphreys—another designer known best for his success on the race course—was tapped to work with the Southerly line. Beginning with a retrofit of the S135, he created a dual-rudder system. This was a crucial enhancement because the shallow centerline rudders necessitated by minimum-draft hulls on the older boats couldn’t develop enough lift to be efficient in heavier air when sea conditions tax steering control. Humphreys also sculpted the keel into a higher-lift, foil-like configuration in addition to thickening it at the bottom into a bulb-like shape that aided the boat’s sail-carrying capacity.

The S110, the 35-footer that appeared in the U.S. for the first time early in 2005, is the first Southerly that Humphreys has done from scratch. “When Brian Moffatt sold the company to Lester Abbott, the new owner, he brought some changes with him,” Humphreys explained. “The focus now is much more on performance. The boats used to be sort of motorsailers. They are still well-built, but now we want them to be good all-round sailboats, too.”

Design The heart of the S110 is her hydraulically operated swing keel. It differs remarkably little from the original mechanism that the boats of the ’70s and ’80s were built around. The assembly includes a large cast-iron housing, the keel itself (also cast iron), and the machinery to raise and lower it. According to Humphreys, “North-shore has evolved the lifting-keel system from the beginning, and we’ve stayed with it.” With the S110 (and the Raised Saloon 35, a sister design introduced subsequently), the plate is eight feet by four feet, three inches deep and weighs 4,455 lbs. The keel weighs 2,310 lbs. This gives the boat (which weighs just over 15,000 lbs.) 6,765 lbs. of ballast. The S110 is thus on the heavy side for a cruiser of her size, but enjoys a very high (45%) ballast/displacement ratio.

Curmudgeonly though it may seem, at PS we harbor a deep-seated mistrust of massive movable underwater weights and the systems necessary to control them. Pry, poke, poll, and investigate as we could, however, we unearthed no evidence of a Southerly keel system failing. One owner testified: “I got beneath the boat, undid the nuts, and had the boat literally lifted off her keel after five seasons…no wear on the pivot pin…no problems at all.” Said another, “I’ve heard of people renewing the Spectra pendant every five years or so, but that’s about it.” The hydraulic system (through-bolted to the grounding plate) is rated “robust” and “durable” by other owners. On the S110, it are operated by an electric pump, but there is a manual backup. (“It takes about three minutes to bring the keel all the way up by hand.”) Clearly, a big part of the Southerly’s success comes from a swing keel that does what it’s supposed to, reliably and well.

But a two-ton keel is somewhat obtrusive—accommodations are certainly affected. And there are definite requirements in the shape of a hull that’s designed to sit flat on the ground when the tide goes out. The steering, powering, and sea-keeping ability, along with the volume distribution and virtually every aspect of the S110’s design revolves around her unique, retracting keel.

Superior sailing performance has long been a big part of Humphreys’ design objective. “When you calculate the ratios, you’ll find that the S110 has perhaps less sail area for her displacement than the average American cruiser,” explained Humphreys, “but when you think in worldwide terms, I believe that she is slotted about right for pure cruising. Her smallish sailplan means that you need not reef so early and makes her more manageable and pleasurable to sail.” The S110 has a standard masthead rig with an overlapping (110% or 135%) genoa. Humphreys added: “We’re also particularly pleased with the alternate rig configuration offered first on the RS 35 (and soon to be available on the S110). In that sailplan, we’ve lengthened the mast, enlarged the mainsail, and married it to a blade jib that is self-tacking. We’ve seen real gains in pure performance and certainly appreciate the gains in maneuverability and tacking ease.

“There’s no doubt that the dual rudders work well.” Humphreys continued. “As the breeze comes on, the lee rudder becomes increasingly vertical and thus gains efficiency. There is some slight parasitic drag from the dead rudder to windward at lower speeds, but overall we’re very happy with the result. Combined with the capacity to change the trim and center of lateral resistance by raising the keel, the new Southerlies offer helming feel and control that are exceptional.” A byproduct of the twin rudders is the elimination of “prop wash” as a maneuvering component under power. Many owners have specified bow thrusters, even in boats as small as these 36-footers, as a result.

Both the S110 and the RS 35 (“I’d choose the interior of the 110 with the rig of RS 35,” Humphreys told us) share some of the same characteristics: They have positive righting moments (keel down) to a remarkable 150°, for instance. The boat’s high ballast/displacement ratio plus the form stability derived from her virtually flat-bottomed midsection make her very stiff as well. When the keel is extended to its full 7′ 2″, the righting arm achieved gives her remarkable sail-carrying capacity. Still, when the keel is retracted fully, her generous ballast gives the S110 stability that is remarkably close to that of a conventional fin keeler. Said John Hiltunen, Northshore’s U.S. sales manager, “Sailing the boat on the wind with the keel up is quite possible. Normally the degree of heel is no more than five to 10° greater. You make considerable leeway, of course, but it’s a nice feature of the boat to have should you need it.”

Humphreys describes the S110 as having a “relatively high prismatic.” By “filling up the prism” described by her length and width, she tends to eliminate hydrodynamic curves and “corners” that can make for irregular water flow and squirrely behavior in a seaway. At the price of some added wetted surface, the designer has sculpted a boat that is at her best at the top of the wind speed range. Her relatively high sides also help keep her deck and cockpit dry. Then there is her rounded entry—Humphreys’ remedy for pounding in head seas. Minimal rocker makes the S110 quite easy to turn. Though she’s obviously at home in shoal-water locales, this 36-footer has also been bred to be at her best where the water is deep and the breezes strong.From the beginning, the Southerly aesthetic emphasized function and substance rather than style. With the S110, Humphreys has moved the boats in a more contemporary, sprightly direction. Gone are the double rows of ports that gave an apartment-block look to the older boats, replaced now by a single band of stylized hull ports and a modern expanse of (semi-tinted) house windows. The house silhouette is streamlined and low, the stem and stern angles purposeful, the sheer just-sprung and virile; the Southerlies look like motorsailers no longer.

On Deck The Southerly 110’s cockpit affords its inhabitants substantial protection. It begins with high coamings and continues with a large bridgedeck where one could perch comfortably in foul weather, snug beneath the dodger with legs dangling in the companionway.

A central opening in the transom facilitates boarding as well as the use of the small (10″ shelf) swim platform. This opening is spanned by a hinged fiberglass helm seat that sits just aft of the Whitlock steering pedestal. The cockpit seats are long enough to be used for sleeping because they extend into the bridge deck.

All sail control lines from the mast are led aft to line clutches in front of twin cabintop winches. For the headsail sheets, Lewmar 44 primary winches are mounted on the coaming, but at somewhat of a stretch from the helm.

The mainsheet traveler is mounted just forward of the pedestal, so it does divide the cockpit in an awkward fashion, but also provides a better sheeting angle for performance.

If there’s a flaw in the deck layout, it’s the lack of space on the side decks, especially just outboard of the bridgedeck. This is the price a designer pays to incorporate more volume within the coachroof.

Accommodations Compare the S110’s accommodation plan with a standard fin-keel cruiser and you’ll bump up against one of the larger drawbacks of the swing keel—it takes up living space. Northshore and Humphreys have done a good job of arranging the S110’s interior so that the space hogged by the keel box is minimal, and so that the integration between the trunk and a galley counter and settee divider is as seamless as possible, but it’s not hard to envision more elbow room and better traffic flow were it not there.

The 110’s deep, high-sided hull and house afford better than 6′ 4″ headroom, which is nice. However, her raised galley with athwartships counters houses some awkward corners. Still, the area seems sited well to serve cockpit and saloon and to enjoy the freedom from motion afforded by being at the boat’s longitudinal center. The head, located at the bottom of the companionway, is generous, double-doored, and contains both an efficient shower and good oilskin stowage. Countertops in both head and galley are fashioned from Nordstone, a Northshore product available in a range of colors, none of which appear to be found in nature.

Forward and aft cabins are designed and executed along the lines of those in many modern cruisers of this size. In addition to the generous double berth, the aft cabin includes a vanity and stowage enough for a cruising couple to make this their base. But the sole opening port signals a serious lack of ventilation. Forward, there are options for two, or three single berths. The port berth in the latter set up measures 7′ 2″.

The primary casualties of space due to the swing keel come, not surprisingly, in the boat’s midsection. There you have a cramped and awkward settee to port and the minimal navigation station to starboard. Though the table pivots nicely to admit people into the settee and functions as well as fixed furniture, the space given over to this social center of the boat is not enough to assure elbow room and relaxed comfort. While we don’t favor over-sized nav areas in boats under 40 feet, the S110 has a chart table barely big enough for half a chart, and the instrument display cabinet lacks space.

Because the boat is cut in half at this point by the trunk, spaces on both sides suffer. One antidote was Humphreys’ use of a deck beam girder in the mast step area to avoid the use of tie-rods and chainplates and thus open up some interior space. The plan works, but we wondered why a tie-rod for the aft lowers was added.

The midships stowage afforded by the S110 was excellent. We especially applaud the elegant ingenuity of her built-in wine rack.

An additional problem with the S110 is ventilation. The companionway hatch plus the aforementioned opening ports in the cockpit and two small cabintop hatches (plus two overhead Dorades) are the sole openings aft of the mast. While the deck vents work well at sea, the breezes they admit cannot be called “tropical.” Boats built in the UK rarely evince much thought given to airflow; and the Southerly is no exception.

It’s reassuring to know that Southerly builds just 30 boats a year. This means that each boat is an “owner’s boat,” and that the company works with individuals, helping them choose the features, woods, fabrics, and options that will go into their vessel. “We have standard elements, but most owners enjoy picking and matching to create their own boat where they can,” explained Hiltunen. “The biggest change (since the new ownership) has been in the use of unusual woods: American cherry, English oak, Japanese maple, etc. We’ve also paid much more attention to electronics. The nav-aids and conveniences aren’t just bolt-ons, we’re doing our best to build them in. When we started sending boats to the U.S., we learned that shore power and a holding tank made little sense as options. We’ve changed our thought on that and made them standard items.”

Most owners are happy with the finish and function of their boats, but there are some glitches. “These are just niggles, but we are unhappy with some of the gaps in the joinery and carelessness in the sealing around the windows,” one owner told us. Said another, “I looked for the longest time for a mysterious leak only to find the bolts holding he anode to the hull eaten away.”

Performance When we sailed the Southerly 110 (with a tall rig) in Miami, the most breeze that we experienced was 12 knots of true wind. For a boat that’s “at her best in 20 and above,” it was not an ideal trial. However, we were able to answer some of our questions. The steering is a brilliant success. Even in light air the feel on the S110’s helm was sensitive and accurate to an impressive degree. The vessel was responsive when we made repeated tacks, retaining control despite progressively losing way. She is an easy boat to turn.

However, even with the tall rig we sorely missed the sail area that would have enabled us to make the most of those lightish winds. A drifter and a gennaker (along with a removable bowsprit) are available as options for the S110. Unless the prevailing breezes in your local waters are strong or your plans involve nothing but passagemaking, you would be wise to invest in the additional light-air sails necessary to add some life to this heavy boat.

We did try beating with the keel retracted. In the benign conditions of Biscayne Bay, the difference was remarkably slight when we put the boat on the breeze with her keel fully lifted. She tacked through 100°, accelerated well, and made leeway that was hardly noticeable. More breeze and bigger waves would sap this performance, we guessed, but we were pleasantly surprised at how mannerly the S110 was, even sailing upwind, in the shallow-draft mode.

With her keel deployed to its full 7′ 2″, the helm was lighter and it was no problem to bring the apparent wind to less than 35°. Footing like this seemed to put her at her best in light air. Steering up close to the wind the boat felt “pinched” and lost much of her drive. Hultinen offered some perspective: “We’ve done test sails, quite happily, in 35 knots.” Given her robust construction, smallish rig, and potent sail-carrying capacity, we could see that North Sea breezes might show the S110 to better advantage than Florida zephyrs. Humphreys has designed a nimbler, more modern Southerly, but one whose sail area still appears a bit small for her considerable displacement.

Conclusions There’s more to performance with a Southerly than tacking angles and boat speed. The boat’s shallow draft capabilities move her into a whole different realm. Many dinghy hassles go away when your boat is, in effect, her own dinghy. The anchorages to explore, the navigational ease to enjoy, the safety and convenience to exploit, and the special features to relish, all of these are unconventional benefits when you have no conventional fin-keel. Of his rock-hopping in Finland, one owner reported that, though he hadn’t missed them all, the rocks had left his keel without a mark because of the shock-absorber effect of a keel that bounces when others crunch. “And if you run aground at speed,” he said, “that safety factor extends to keeping the rig in the boat.”

Another owner who deemed himself a “lifelong fan” of his Southerly perhaps captured it best: “I have the boat to go where others dream to go but can’t.” Despite being a bit cramped downbelow and a bit undercanvassed above decks, the Southerly 110 compares favorably with a number of “normal” cruisers. She is not cheap (priced at just over $213,000 at the current exchange rate) and, despite work on a new plant (which will double yearly production to around 70 boats), she is currently hard to get. Still, she offers significant and worthwhile cruising capabilities that you really can’t get in many other production built monohulls.

Contact – Northshore Yachts, 941/351-4222, www.northshore.co.uk .

Also With This Article “Southerly 110 In Context” “Construction”

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Southerly 47: A solid voyager with swing keel flexibility

Northshore Yachts Ltd. in the U.K. has been designing and building rugged variable-draft voyaging yachts that have proven themselves both in sailing performance and seakeeping ability since 1971. The boats have proven themselves not only as racers and coastal cruisers, but also as bluewater passagemakers and able circumnavigators.

Today the company’s fleet ranges from 32 to 67 feet and produces about 60 boats a year at its factory in Itchenor, West Sussex. The yard’s newest launch, designed by Stephen Jones and the Northshore Design Office is a superb example of a modern yacht that has all the characteristics of high performance and offshore ability with variable draft, thanks to a unique swing keel. For precision helm control the yacht also sports twin rudders — a hallmark of Northshore Design.

The Southerly 47 evolved from the yard’s earlier 45-footer, flagship of the Southerly fleet.

The 47 features a fractional rig with a self-tacking jib and large fully-battened mainsail for powerful performance. Dacron sails are standard, with the upgrade to laminates as an option. There is an asymmetric gennaker that can be flown from an optional stainless steel bowsprit in light air. As an option, owners can choose a double headsail (jib and overlapping genoa). A storm jib on a removable inner stay is available as is an in-mast or in-boom furling. The headsail has a Furlex headsail reefing system as standard equipment.

A crew of two The fractional rig is by Selden and has double swept back spreaders. Spars, including the Park Avenue boom, are anodized aluminum.

The boat is designed to be sailed by a crew of two and as such all sail controls are led to the cockpit. The mainsheet track traverses the coachroof with sheets led aft to each of the twin helm stations. This provides for ease of handling from either helm and keeps the cockpit clear. All winches are by Lewmar. The cockpit itself is deep and secure with ample seating for guests and a centerline table for entertaining. In addition to the dedicated helm seats there are also teak bench seats mounted on the stainless steel stern rail. There is also a fold down transom door for access to a large stowage area that is perfect for a dinghy.

The fore deck is clean thanks to a very low-profile cabin trunk. The pilothouse profile is equally sleek and European in its styling and has unparalleled visibility due to its low profile.

Belowdecks, the interior space has been configured to maximize space with the raised saloon to port and additional seating to starboard and below. The galley and the navigation station are opposite each other, one either side of the companionway for ease of access. Navigation electronics are at the owner’s discretion — Northshore Yachts recommends Raymarine ST60 wind and depth instruments.

The galley is fully equipped for living aboard or for long-range voyaging. It has two stainless steel sinks, pressurized hot and cold water with mixed taps, Corian type Aspen Glacier countertops and a three-burner gimbaled range and oven. The reefer/freezer is a front-loading stainless steel unit.

Three-cabin layout The yacht has a three-cabin layout with a spacious owner’s cabin, centerline bed and en suite head and shower. There is a port midships cabin with over and under bunks which also can be used as an office or study. An additional head and shower are immediately to starboard and are shared with the forward cabin, which has a double vee berth. All cabins have large, deep hanging lockers and additional built-in storage. Interior joinery is either solid cherry or mahogany and marine faced plywood. The cabin soles are teak-striped non-slip laminate.

The hull is constructed of heavy GRP, laid up using Northshore’s Nordseal laminating system which incorporates multi-axial and unidirectional reinforcements. The keel box runs the entire length of the hull layup and sandwich construction stiffening runs the entire length of the hull topsides. All bulkheads are bonded to the hull during layup along with additional transverse frames and longitudinal stringers. The decks are GRP sandwich construction with stressed areas reinforced with unidirectional glass.

For power there is a Yanmar 4JH4-TE 75-hp four-cylinder fresh water cooled marine diesel turning a three-bladed bronze propeller. Bow thrusters are optional. To protect the propeller when the vessel is dried out, a very substantial skeg has been fitted to the centerline. Auxiliary power comes from three heavy-duty, alternator-charged batteries. Fuel tanks are non-metallic and carry 130 gallons. Water tankage is 110 gallons.

Twin rudders standard Semi-balanced twin rudders have been standard on Northshore’s Southerly yachts. They offer precise control, directional stability and the security of an extra rudder. The twin stainless steel cockpit wheels drive the rudders with a Whitlock steering system. An emergency steering system has also been installed.

Perhaps the most unique feature of the Southerly line beyond the twin ridders is the unique swing keel. The concept was first developed for the Southerly 33 in 1978 and has continued to be employed by Northshore ever since. The swing keel has satisfied many owners’ idea of a perfect yacht — deep draft for powerful performance and shoal draft for convenience, safety and versatility. For deep draft performance the cast iron keel offers greater stability due to an increased righting moment. According to Northshore Yachts, the boat is stiffer and works to windward with great efficiency. The keel’s aerofoil shape also reportedly allows the boat to point high, at least 30 degrees, with minimal leeway. Raising and lowering the keel is done with an electrically-activated hydraulic pump backed up by a manual system.

When retracted, the cast iron fixed ballast, which is recessed into the hull, acts as a grounding plate allowing the boat to rest on the plate in complete safety and “dry out” in an upright position. The boat can literally be berthed on the beach with confidence.

With such flexibility, plus its other attributes, the Southerly 47 is a boat worthy of serious consideration by any voyager.

By Ocean Navigator

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First test of the new Southerly 480

The disappearance of Southerly Yachts’ swing keel range of boats was keenly felt. Now the manufacturer is back and first off the production line is the 480. Sam Jefferson checks her out

  One of the dominant features of the UKs coastline is the simply phenomenal tidal range and if there is one thing I have learnt from a lifetime of misadventures exploring its shallower corners is that it really pays to have a shallow draft and be able to dry out. It was for this reason that, when Southerly Yachts was wound up for the second time in 2014, its loss was felt very keenly among a certain section of sailors. There are other options out there when it comes to swinging and lifting keels but they are surprisingly limited. To my knowledge, only French manufacturer Feeling offers a GRP swing keel cruising yacht of any size and to be honest I don’t know what Feeling are up to these days. After that you’re into the distinctive and highly Gallic Alubat ‘expedition’ style boats which are great but not to everyone’s taste. So Southerly had essentially cornered a market and then somehow managed to self destruct. Impressive. It was therefore a great relief to many of us when Discovery Yachts – now operating under the name of The Discovery Group – salvaged the brand.

Anyone who hasn’t been following the shenanigans at Discovery’s Marchwood factory has missed a treat. The manufacturer had made a name for itself in creating high quality blue water yachts but was at a crossroads in 2016. With a new CEO at the helm the decision was taken to expand aggressively and the result has been a range that has ballooned beyond recognition to the point where it can get quite confusing. Anyway, the Southerly 480 is one of the first results of all this feverish activity and I was fortunate to be one of the first to test the new boat.

I had been impressed by the sensible business values that seemed to have underpinned Southerly’s resurrection but stepping aboard was  the moment where you finally thought ‘well, are these guys for real?’ The fear was that what I was going to see was a rather dated rehash of the old Southerly 47 – first launched in 2012. The hull is essentially exactly the same, after all. Well, I’m always happy to be the bearer of good news and this wasn’t the case. I wasn’t worried about the hull as I knew that looked good. She was designed by Stephen Jones – perhaps best known for his work with Rustler Yachts – and a man renowned for penning a sweet line. No – I was more worried about the general feel in the cockpit and the interior. I need not have worried. Discovery Yachts always had a fine name for quality workmanship and it was immediately evident here. I would say there has been a bit of a step up in terms of quality. Meanwhile, the deck mould is all new; slightly higher than it was on the original 47 and with a big wraparound windscreen she looked strikingly modern; more aggressive than the original version and – whisper it – a little bit flashy. Anyway, it worked, and visually she was impressive. There is an option for an arch over the cockpit for the mainsheet but the test boat did not have this.

At this point it’s probably worth discussing the keel as that is one of the key selling points of the Southerly. The beauty of resurrecting the brand is that their swing keel system is thoroughly tried and tested. Southerlys have crossed many oceans and completed innumerable circumnavigations. The principle is not like a lift keel which retracts vertically into the hull. Instead, the swing keel operates like a giant centreboard in a dinghy. It’s raised and lowered by combining a hydraulic ram, high tensile rope and pulley blocks. The benefit of this system is that if you touch the bottom, the cast iron keel is simply nudged up a tad. No damage done. The entire mechanism is easily inspected by lifting up a couple of floorboards in the cockpit. The yacht also features a ballast plate weighing in at four tons keeps her upright with the keel up and this plate also provides reinforcement when the yacht to is on the bottom when drying out. Twin rudders angled and built into the rocker of the hull aft provide yet more stability when drying out.

The cockpit feels familiar and is reassuringly enclosed while also being pleasantly sociable. I dislike the use of the word ‘ergonomic’ but it does apply in this case as the cockpit seats were all very thoughtfully angled in a manner that made them supremely comfortable for lounging on. Most of the running rigging is led under the deck to a pair of electric winches on the coachroof. The sail controls are led aft to a pair of primaries within reach of the helmsman and there are a secondary pair of winches just forward of these. The rig features a powerful mainsail and self tacking jib with a second larger headsail set outboard of the self tacker on a sprit. This is a good versatile set up for blue water sailing – and coastal sailing for that matter – certainly for boat testing it means you can throw the yacht about without really thinking about it. Heading forward there are plenty of good handholds plus a substantial double anchor roller.

Discovery has been refining the concept of deck saloons for some time now. Many manufacturers have to be fair. I do recall that a lot of the early DS yachts actually rather screwed it up by having the windows slightly too high. So there was a lot of light but you were constantly craning your neck to confirm that the view was really there. This was partially the case on the old 47 and the new design has rectified the issue by raising the coachroof just a tad and dropping the windows down a touch. This means that when you step into the saloon you are greeted with excellent panoramic views.

Sam’s verdict

The return of the Southerly is a welcome one. If you are cruising highly tidal areas you are missing out on about 50% of the action without a shallow draft. Yet by the same token, the 480 is a proven blue water performer and the new boat has certainly been carefully thought out. She also looks good and sails well. The quality of Discovery Yachts handiwork also shines through in the fit out and finish and the general feel is that the old 47 has been improved and refined. Of course, lift keels are not for everyone but they have a lot to commend them and the return of this old favourite should help to win over a few more converts.

Specifications Overall Length: 15m  (49’0”) Length Waterline: 13m (42’8”) Beam: 4.46m (14’6”) Draft Keel Up: 1m (3’3”) Draft Keel Down:  3.1m (10’2”) Displacement: 17,256kg (38,043lbs) Sail Areas Main: 58m2 (625ft2) Self-tacking jib: 45.6m2 (490ft2) Furling Genoa: 72.5m2 (780ft2) Engine: Yanmar 80hp

Price: (sailaway) £695,000

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See the new Southerly 32 sail

• May 8, 2008

Exclusive video of the new lift-keel cruiser on test

The June issue is out today – Thursday, 8 May.

Included in a jam-packed issue is great advice on getting afloat for under £5,000 and using a PC to navigate at sea.

There’s also a test of the new Southerly 32 – the exciting new lift-keel cruiser.

Buy the issue to read the YM verdict and click on the frame below to see the Southerly 32 under sail during the YM test.

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Southerly 42RST

• By John Burnham
• Updated: October 14, 2008

Word of a new 42-foot deck-saloon design isn’t breaking news among cruising sailors, but having inspected and sailed the British-built Southerly 42RST (raised saloon, twin wheel), I promise you, this one is different.

Based on my experience, the 42RST sails to windward well, handles easily, could go offshore capably, and can sail or even park in the shallowest of waters quite nicely. As with all models in Northshore Yachts’ Southerly line, the distinguishing trait of this design is its cast-iron lifting keel, which presents an efficient shape when lowered for closehauled sailing and retracts flush with an iron grounding plate when raised. As I learned, you can stick the tip of the keel in the mud when the depth sounder reads 2.3 meters (7 feet 6 inches), then engage the hydraulic lifting cylinder and quickly come free. I could also raise the keel completely in 50 seconds (it went down in 40), and if we’d had the time and inclination, we could’ve floated into less than 3 feet of water and let the hull sit comfortably on the bottom as the tide went out.

Rob Humphreys designed the 42RST hull with extremely broad stern sections, a skeg protecting the propeller amidships, and two short, semibalanced rudders angled outboard, all of which allow the boat to operate safely in water that’s shallow and sometimes disappears altogether. I was surprised and pleased to find that this arrangement meant that when heeling as we sailed upwind in puffs over 20 knots, the windward rudder came clear of the water and the leeward rudder, now vertical, did its job efficiently. The steering didn’t have a lot of feel to it, perhaps due to the extra linkages, but even in the strongest puffs and when heeled well over, I always had good steering control.

Notably, with the keel down, I was able to spin the boat in a circle that measured less than one and a half boat lengths in diameter. When I tried this with the keel up, I couldn’t tack without falling into irons.

Thanks to the narrow sheeting angles made possible by the self-tacking jib, the 42RST made excellent time upwind. We’d put two reefs in the main and were sailing in flat water at 6.3 to 6.7 knots, tacking through 85 degrees. For a cruising boat, I found this extraordinary; clearly, Humphreys’ experience as a raceboat designer of similarly wide-transom, twin-rudder, open-class boats has had an impact here.

The 42RST, which is a makeover of the earlier 42RS, has a new deck mold designed by Stephen Jones that splits the helm stations and opens up the cockpit. When I went sailing in the harbor at Chichester, England, on a breezy spring day, I found it easy to brace myself in the cockpit. The table is a molded fiberglass unit with a grabrail that means business.

In a narrow part of the harbor, Northshore’s Robert Hughes demonstrated one other unique benefit of having twin rudders and a centerline prop: The 42RST steers remarkably well in reverse. If backing up is a maneuver that occasionally causes you embarrassment, this craft just might rid you of that concern.

Innovation by necessity explains the unusual features of the 42RST’s interior. Because of the notably central position of the lifting keel and apparatus, sailors won’t mistake the main saloon for their living room. The nav desk, to starboard, and the settees and dining area, to port, are more elevated than is normal for a deck saloon-style cruiser, with water and fuel tanks located centrally, beneath the raised cabin sole. Access through the companionway is quick, with only one step down, and from either settees or nav station, you’ll find pleasing, 270-degree outboard views.

Moving forward to the in-line galley, on the starboard side, means taking a couple of more steps down. Plenty of natural light reaches the galley through the large saloon windows and a portlight in the hull, but for those who don’t like steps and want a wide-open space incorporating the saloon and galley, this won’t be an ideal setup. Yet each space on its own struck me as comfortable and functional, particularly when the boat would be sailing offshore. In the galley, I can easily envision using the centerline keel trunk to brace myself effectively in rough going.

If you’re looking for a large aft cabin in a 42-footer, it’s hard to imagine finding a bigger one. Humphrey’s wide-transom scheme works with the two rudders, and it works even better in creating a master stateroom with centerline berth, port and starboard seating, outboard hanging lockers and storage areas, and ample lighting through portlights. My favorite element is an overhead space created by the molded-in cockpit table. There’s an opening port in the aft section of it, and there’s even a louvered Oceanair blind to cut out the light when sleeping. The aft stateroom has its own head to port.

The 42 I sailed had two staterooms forward, a V-berth where one would expect, and a bunkroom to port, across from the forward head. Buyers can specify a two-cabin version with a bigger head and more spacious galley. If you like the tradeoffs in the interior and don’t mind keeping track of whether the keel is up or down, this midsize cruiser offers remarkable shoal draft, easy sailhandling, the performance but not the skittishness of a racehorse, a good view from the saloon, and the biggest master stateroom you can buy in a monohull of this size.

John Burnham is CW’s editor.

Southerly 42 RST

LOA 42′ 2″ (12.85 m.) LWL 36′ 5″ (11.10 m.) Beam 13′ 3″ (4.04 m.) Draft 2′ 9″/8′ 11″ (0.84/2.72 m.) Working Sail Area 793 sq. ft. (73.7 sq. m.) Displacement 24,802 lb. (11,250 kg.) Ballast (including keel) 8,091 lb. (3,670 kg.) Ballast/D 0.33 D/L 229 SA/D 14.9 Water 64 gal. (290 l.) Fuel 74 gal. (355 l.) Mast Height 61′ 5″ (18.7 m.) Engine 56-hp. Yanmar Designers Rob Humphreys/Stephen Jones Price $550,000 Northshore Yachts Ltd. +44-1243-512611 www.northshore.co.uk

• More: 2001 - 2010 , 41 - 50 ft , Bluewater Cruising , Coastal Cruising , monohull , Sailboat Reviews , Sailboats , southerly
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Introducing

Deep draft performance without compromise.

A key benefit of the variable draft keel is not only shallow draft opportunities but also enhanced performance from a deep high aspect ratio keel when fully lowered.

In practise, the boat is stiffer as a result of the improved righting moment, therefore carrying her sail better than other yachts and carving her way efficiently to windward in a seaway. The keel’s aerofoil shaped cross section, with weight concentrated at the tip, is optimised for sailing to windward, allowing you to point as high as 30° apparent with minimal leeway.

The variable keel geometry allows the keel to be set at any position between fully raised and lowered, enabling the keel to be set and optimised according to your point of sail.

An example of this is having the keel fully raised when sailing downwind.

EXPLORE WHERE OTHERS CANNOT

Southerly’s trade mark variable draft keel enables the draft to be reduced to as little as 0.84m (3 feet). The opportunities are endless for accessing and exploring remote anchorages, harbours and inland waterways worldwide, without the draft restrictions imposed on other yachts.

Shallow draft capabilities can save precious time when entering or leaving locked marinas or even crossing a shallow bar in some harbour entrances. When approaching shallow waters, the keel can simply be raised to avoid grounding, and killing time for a safe height of tide.

Design Dimensions

Length Overall 13.30 m 42 ft 7 ins

Length Waterline 11.11 m 6 ft 5 ins

Beam 4.03 m 13 ft 3 ins

Draft – Keel Up 0.84 m 2 ft 9 ins

Draft – Keel Down 2.72 m 8 ft 11 ins

Displacement 11,341 kg 25,003 lbs

Ballast Weight 2,100 kg 4,630 lbs

Keel Weight 1,570 kg 3,461 lbs

Total Ballast 3,670 kg 8,091 lbs

Air draft 18.50 m 60 ft 7 ins (not including whips)

Main Sail 44 sq m 477 sq ft

Jib Area 31 sq m 334 sq ft

Optional Code 60 sq m 645 sq ft

Engine Yanmar 57hp

Fuel Capacity 310 L 82 Gal

Water Capacity 325 L Min 86 Gal Min

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