Tommy
Tommy is named for our
nephew “Tommy two thumbs”, who came into the world with three thumbs. We all
found this quite interesting since his great grandma only got one. The doctors
sorted it out, which is good for Tommy, but unhappily they couldn’t return it to
great grandma who still only has one. This has nothing to do with anything
really, except that Tommy grew into a real rough and tumble monster of a boy
with absolutely no fear. So the six tonne Tommy was born.
Inspired by the Tracey, Tommy is a bit narrower and carries a slightly smaller rig. It is designed to have twin 30hp diesel engines and is the kind of go anywhere cruising cat you see around from time to time, making passages efficiently. No boat with twin engines can hope to achieve the same light wind performance as one that can retract its engines and eliminate the drag. Having said that, a boat this size needs some serious power and “what you lose on the wheel you gain on the round”. The result is a powerful motor sailor that will still sail the pants off most of its competition given 15knots of breeze, but also be a pretty awesome motor boat before you even raise the sails. This can be a very nice feature in a distance cruiser.