The racer/cruiser seen here is a Frers 74 recently started construction at Brooklin Boat Yard. In fact, the first layer of planking on this cold-molded sailing yacht was completed last week.
The Frers 74 is designed, of course, by Germán Frers. She’s among the largest yachts built by the family-run Brooklin Boat Yard since it was founded in 1960. (The late Joel M. White established the yard, and his son Steve now operates it.) Nearby Front Street Shipyard manufacturered the yacht’s carbon fiber keel frame and delivered it to Brooklin Boat Yard last month. As for the planking, the inner material is Western larch wood. Outer planking is Western red cedar and a thinner layer of Western larch. Furthermore, Brooklin Boat Yard is employing Western larch and okume for the deck. All of the wood has already been cut and milled regardless of ultimate location. “The sawyer believed it was the best run of material he had seen in a decade,” Steve White explains.
The Frers 74 is intended for private voyages and racing alike on the U.S. East and West Coasts plus in the Caribbean. With an LOA of 73’9” (22.5 meters) and a beam of 18’10” (5.5 meters), the sailing yacht has a bulb keel. Draft is 12’5” (3.8 meters). Upon delivery in 2015, the Frers 74 will be fitted with push-button handling for the 1,016-square-foot (approximately 94.4-square-meter) sailplan, complementing a small crew.
In contrast to her classic construction method, the Frers 74 is also thoroughly modern. The mast, standing rigging, and boom are all being made of carbon fiber. A bow thruster and 170-hp Volvo Penta diesel will aid maneuvering in port. Ten lithium-ion phosphate batteries will be fed by a 10-kW genset for the hotel load.
Particularly noteworthy, reinforced glass will curve outward from the hull sides and deck. They’re hard to describe, but they’re anything but windows, more like mini works of art. The photo here, from the Brooklin Boat Yard Facebook page, gives you a hint at what all nine will look like. These “daylights,” as the yard terms them, will be reinforced with carbon fiber, too. They’ll spill some interesting light patterns inside the Frers 74.
Speaking of inside, the Frers 74 will be quite contemporary in design from the saloon to the guest stateroom, master stateroom, and other spaces.
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