SIROCCO 45
The Sirocco 49 is designed for serious blue water cruising. She is a large heavy boat, with a traditional full keel. The displacement to waterline length ratio is low for this type of boat and provides good performance without the liabilities of weak rudders, wrapped lines around the propeller, and poor tracking. When you add steel construction, groundings and blistering problems are eliminated. Ballast is internal lead, poured directly into the steel keel. The keel is a NACA 63 foil, 24" wide at the root and 18" wide at the tip. The lead is contained in the lower 10" of the keel, allowing a very large bilge volume for fuel, water, batteries, and other storage.
Construction is semi-hardchine steel, built up side down, over male forms. The forms (6) are welded up and aligned, then 2" diameter tubing is stretched over the forms longitudinally at each chine and the centerline, and tacked in place. The skin plates are then welded to the tubing, resulting in a smooth, fair 1" radius, and additional stiffening at each chine.
The hull is turned right side up and fitted to the keel. Steel bulkworks are welded above the shear tube, which becomes a shear clamp for steel deckbeams on 24" centers. The deck and house are fabricated from three layers of 1/2" plywood, bolted to the shear clamp and deckbeams, and fiberglassed. Steel floors are installed and plywood primary bulkheads fitted. Interior details are conventional wood construction.
A sloop rig is shown. With modern furling gear, the boat should be able to be handled by a couple, however a ketch rig is also an option.