see Interview
Pt I
Windchaser Yachts (WCY) - Onto Bravura Yachts
- This seems like a fairly radical concept in light
of what some other companies are doing - What is your
ultimate goal with Bravura Yachts, and in particular,
the Bravura 29 ?
Lief Beiley (Beiley) - I did a fair amount of market
research before actually committing to the “SUV”
concept. I knew it was going to be ahead of its time,
but the idea is beginning to catch on now.
One thing that is just now beginning to affect the
sailing industry is the fact that women are participating
more than ever. More and more women have broken through
the economic and social barriers that had previously
kept them from participating fully as owners, skippers
and key crew in large numbers. More women are financially
capable of owning their own boats and they are definitely
not settling for playing the part of deck fluff anymore.
So I wanted to do a boat that not only fulfilled the
traditional requirements of men, but was also geared
toward the needs of women. Therefore, the Bravura Sportster
29 was designed so that every job on the boat is geared
so that a person who is 5’2” and weighs 120
pounds can handle it. Winches are powered up, vang and
backstay tackles have a little more purchase, etc. We
went through the whole boat while it was in the development
stage with several accomplished women sailors and made
a multitude of small changes that make it easier and
more efficient for them to sail. The net result was
a boat that is easier for everyone to sail. People are
usually astonished at how smoothly all of the gear works
and how easy it is to make the boat go fast. The surprise
is that the guys like sailing the boat more too.
On the inside, we gave boat 5’6” of headroom
so that the average woman can stand up in it. This makes
the boat a bit taller than I would have liked but it’s
a small price to pay for women to be able to stand up
in the boat. It also has an enclosed head, which was
really the only non-negotiable demand made by the women.
Lastly, I designed the cockpit with seats forward, low
coamings to keep the area dry and wide open aft for
lightness and racing efficiency. The rest is pure racer.
It has a very tall rig with non overlapping headsails
and a carbon bowsprit. The keel is a deep cast iron
fin with a lead buBeiley and we offer it in three depths;
shoal, deep and real deep. I built one for myself last
year and I love it. We spend as much time daysailing
and cruising it as racing, and you can find it on a
mooring at Catalina nearly as often as on the starting
line. It’s turned out to be a great little cruiser
as well as a racer that rates 72—78 in PHRF. In
light air we go about as fast as a Schock 35, and a
bit slower in a breeze. Last year I sailed my boat from
Alameda, CA to Newport Beach, a distance of over 400
miles in 57 hours. It would have been quicker but the
wind died about 75 miles out, so we fired up the diesel
and motored the rest of the way. I don’t know of
any 29 foot boats that are equipped the way ours are
and still rate in the 70’s.
WCY - The Bravura 29 seems like a very unique
yacht, in many respects it reminds me of a modern day
version of the Laser 28 - How would you best define
what a Bravura 29 is, and who should be buying one ?
Beiley - Well, it is a unique boat, and of course
it’s risky to take a chance on a product that is
not exactly mainstream. But it is the result of a lot
of thought and I think people who really want to be
competitive AND want their boats to be “family
friendly” will find this boat to be a very good
answer to their needs. The other builders are beginning
to see this market niche as well. The Farr 395 is very
much along the same lines as the Sportster 29. There
have been quite a few people who think of this boat
as being sort of an updated Laser 28, but I didn’t
think about that boat at all while I was designing the
Sportster. Although I like the 28, it’s a very
good boat.
WCY - In light of all of your design work, what
features have you incorporated into the Bravura 29 that
you are most proud of ?
Beiley - All of my designs have been good all around
boats but I did place more emphasis on light air performance
in the Sportster 29. I guess you could say I am proudest
of how well the entire package came out. It’s a
very sweet handling and forgiving boat that is easy
to make go very fast. I really like the fact that I
have raced and cruised this boat with only three sails…pretty
inexpensive to operate that way. As I mentioned before,
a lot of thought went into the ergonomic design of the
boat and I am proud of the fact that people are constantly
commenting on how comfortable the boat is.
WCY - From a racing standpoint what conditions
does the boat seem particularly suited to ?
Beiley - Well, it is geared for light air and chop,
something we have a lot of here in southern California.
We have a lot of downwind point to point races here
and I gave the boat lots of sail area and very large
kites, partly to be competitive, but mostly because
I love to go fast. The hull shape is part of my design
continuum of light boats that are fine forward, full
sectioned aft with lots of surfing potential.
WCY - On that racing note are there some fine
tuning areas still under development ? For example whould
the chainplates allow for overlapping headsails, or
would you see any benefit to a hardcore racer ?
Beiley - There aren’t any areas of the boat
itself that I have been fine tuning, but I am still
not 100% happy with our sails. It is hard to get the
sailmakers to make the main flat enough, but we are
beginning now to zero in on the optimum mainsail shape
and I expect our next main to be a significant improvement
over the one we’re using now. The aspect ratio
of the jib (I= 43.00’ J=10.00’) makes sheeting
it a little bit tricky too but once you learn that the
lead has to be adjusted along with the sheet, you can
really control the power in the sail by adjusting how
much twist you have. As far as overlapping headsails
are concerned, I don’t think I’ll ever own
a boat with a genoa again. These new rigs are just too
fast, too easy to sail and actually more economical.
One thing you learn immediately is that a boat like
the Sportster 29 is extremely fast out of a tack, and
you begin to use that speed tactically against boats
that have to grind in a genoa on each tack. If I were
to buy another sail for my boat it would be a code 0
for those times when you’re reaching but it’s
too close to carry a kite. I am also a big fan of asymmetrical
spinnakers and I foresee the day in the not-to-distant
future when we won’t even carry a conventional
chute in the inventory.
WCY - From a marketing standpoint, where do
you see the competition for the Bravura 29 - what yachts
are you up against , and how does your boat compare
?
Beiley - There aren’t any boats right now that
compare with the Sportster face to face. The J/105 is
pretty close, performance-wise and has roughly equal
accommodations, but it weighs almost twice as much,
it’s about 4 feet longer and costs in the neighborhood
of $50,000 more, but they both rate about 72 in PHRF.
The Quest 30 was also similar, but I believe it rated
in the high 80’s to low 90’s. I think the
Sportster probably offers more pure boatspeed than the
other 29 foot boats with similar accommodations.
WCY - Assuming the success of the 29, what would
be next for Bravura Yachts ?
Beiley - We have several new projects in the works
that I am not at liberty to talk about just yet. The
most exciting project is our new 52 foot racer. I can’t
say too much about it right now, but it will be more
like a B/25 stretched to fifty two feet, call it a B/52.
We have a continuing business in selling used B/25’s,
I think we’ve sold 3 this year, so I am thinking
about possibly an update of that design. We also do
considerable business in upgrading existing racing yachts,
design and performance consulting, and fabrication of
high tech composite components such as rudders, keels,
chainplates, etc.
WCY - Every designer has certain characteristics
they become known for, what traits would you consider
to be yours ?
Beiley - Well, my best known boats are all racers,
although I continue to design cruising boats as well.
I personally like boats that are clean, straightforward
designs that are not tweaked around a measurement rule
like the MORC or IMS rules and I think that theme runs
throughout all of the boats I’ve designed and built.
WCY - When it comes to creating a new design,
what are your biggest challenges ?
Beiley - With the computing power we now have available,
it’s possible to tailor a boat’s performance
to a very specific set of circumstances. A good example
is the Volvo Round the World Race. You start with a
careful examination of the wind and sea conditions you
expect to find during the race, then tailor the design
to those conditions. In the case of the Volvo it consists
mainly of long periods of close reaching in moderate
conditions, punctuated with short periods of blasting
down the southern ocean. Each of the boats in that race
is tailored to what the designer and weather guru think
it will encounter. Hence a Whitbread 60 has no chance
against a 60 foot sled in the Transpac race, and visa
versa. So the designer’s job is more complicated
these days because we are pushed to know more and more
about the effects of sea state and weather on the design.
It means long hours and lots of money spent on computer
modeling and velocity predictions. The days of a racing
yacht designer doing a complete design in house are
over. We have to use specialists in composite engineering,
structural engineering, computational fluid dynamics
and other specialized disciplines to be competitive.
The other guys are doing it and if we don’t…we
lose. Of course money is the key to it all.
WCY - Experience being such a key conponent
to the design process, if you were to go back and re-draw
the B25, what would you change based on today's thinking
?
Beiley - It would be a simple matter to design a
25 footer that is a LOT faster than the B/25, but will
it have the longevity or versatility of that boat? I
like the comfort and ease of sailing it . I like the
fact that a couple can spend the weekend in a B25. I
like the way it looks. So the changes would be subtle
in terms of refinements to the hull. I would give it
a bit more sail area, masthead kites and a bow pole.
I would definitely go for a lighter, stronger composite
interior instead of wood. I would also eliminate all
the wood from the exterior. In 1999 I designed a new
rudder for the boat. It’s deeper, thinner, lighter
and made of carbon/epoxy composite, so it’s quite
a bit faster. We sell the new rudders to almost all
the buyers of used B25’s because they are so much
better than the old rudders. I would also update the
keel. The goal would be to make the boat better in all
ways without sacrificing the things about it that we
really like.
WCY - Recently you did an outstanding job resurrecting
Merlin - on a much smaller note, we just resurected
an old Wilderness 21 with some success - Do you see
more of these projects being undertaken due to the success
of Merlins Reatta, and the ability to make an older
boat competitve again ?
Beiley - Merlin was a unique project because of
three factors: First it was an extremely successful
and popular boat, and had the potential to continue
to be a first to finish boat in a lot of races. Secondly,
the new owner, Al Micallef, could see the potential
of the boat, could afford to do a first class job, and
made a firm commitment to see it through. Third, Bravura
Yachts was willing and able to do the design and construction
within the time frame necessary to get the job done.
We did the whole job, including all the design work,
in a span of about five months. It took a total commitment
on the part of everyone at Bravura Yachts to make that
project happen. Without the commitment of the guys in
the shop, it certainly would not have turned out as
well as it did. I don’t think that set of circumstances
is all that common. On the other hand, there are a lot
of boats out there that could be rebuilt and given a
new lease on life if the circumstances are right.
WCY - Lastly, where do you see the sport of
sailing headed in the future, especially as it pertains
to design ?
Beiley - These days almost all boats are designed
in the computer. I have found in my own work that if
you understand and master the computer, you can still
infuse your designs with the artistic quality that once
flowed from the designer’s brain through his pencil.
That’s vital, and it’s missing from many of
the boats produced today. In the future that will be
a significant challenge for upcoming designers who never
had the opportunity to design a boat by hand. The other
inescapable fact is that we are continuously making
progress in materials and processes. This will translate
to faster, lighter and stronger structures with the
end result being boats that are safer and more fun.
As a sport, the level of intensity in sailing continues
to increase. Training, practice, commitment to excellence;
these are all prerequisites for anyone who wants to
win, even at the club level. I don’t foresee any
change in that.
Editors Note - Windchaser Yachts would like
to pass on a huge and sincere thanks to Mr.Beiley for
his time and efforts in this interview. The editor can
say very truthfully he would be very happy to have a
Bravura 29 parked in his slip on "Y" dock.
We wish Bravura Yachts all the best with the 29, and
are very excited about the new B52 - what a concept
! Hopefully we can do a future article on that one.
As always we bid you all good sailing, and good day.
- See The
Art of Design Pt I
