Tuesday 20 January 2015

KD 650 Review

I have a done more sailing and cruising now with the KD650 and can report more good things about the boat.

It can sleep 2 adults and 3 children! Was a bit of a squeeze but it worked.

I have added a prod to help manage the jib and hold the jib when it is lowered (a furler would be good if I had the money). Also I have found a good spot for holding the inflatable dinghy up front (might look a bit strange but much nicer than having it on the tramp).

The bows feel quite boyant, I have done some down wind sailing in waves, it surfs waves very well (fun) and the bows never felt like digging in, though the leeward bow has punched through a few bigger waves it felt safe, I think this is helped by the hull flare in the inner sides. The boat feels very stiff with no noticible wracking.

Highest speed under sail to date is 9.6knots (using main sail only on a reach) haven't really pushed it yet or been in winds stronger than about 15 knots. I have been effectively sailing it single handed and taking it easy.

Those rudders work very well even when not fully down. At anchor I pull the rudders all the way up and the boat does not sail around at all, in fact the motion also at anchor is nice for such a light boat, I'd say this is another advantage of the slim hulls.

I have a couple of videos to share also.
First video is sailing with just the main sail averaging 8 knots https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEtMfhBKsg.

And second video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-WSbz8jymk with main and jib, finally! Please excuse the slack jib halyard, I tightened it after the video was taken but still in the video the boat is matching windspeed of about 6 knots.

And finally a picture which speaks for itself :)