Summary
Launched August 2006, this light-weight, custom racer-cruiser is something that we had wanted to build for many years. With our continuing advancements in technology, we are one of the few that have mastered the SCRIMP process using carbon fiber and epoxy and we were ready for this fantastic craft. Designed by the innovative west coast firm Reichel/Pugh, BARAKA is capable of going anywhere fast. A truly modern cruising boat, BARAKA is equipped with an elaborate hydraulic system set up for shorthanded sailing so her owner can take her on extended cruises by himself or with a very small crew. Her luxurious interior includes two guest cabins under the large cockpit, great galley and main salon, and a large forward owner’s cabin. This boat has all the systems that one would expect in a custom cruising sailboat, but with an ever present eye on weight. The hull mold was cut by Janicki’s C&C router in Seattle and shipped to us in Maine. Her construction of a carbon fiber composite using Corecell infused with epoxy resin made this an exciting project. Infusing the carbon and Corecell composite solves many of the problems the very light and thin-skinned boats are having. The epoxy adds the resin strength that a thin-skin needs. The infusing process provides a direct link between inner and outer skins and no air in the laminate. Normally a boat of this type will have a stiffer Nomex core with pre-preg carbon laminate. The present thinking is to add flexibility to the composite structure to gain some strength when pounding up wind for long periods of time. Using Corecell, a foam core with epoxy resin, gives us the flexibility we needed for repeated stress without de-laminating. The multi-hull sailors are proving that thin-skins need some flexibility and we have to be careful making skins too stiff. This has been a very exciting project for us.
