Copernicus is coming- Radford Yachts

by Media Services on 10 Dec 2007 ‘Copernicus’ a Radford 12m due for launch at the end of this year will certainly turn a few heads on the water this summer. Named after the sixteenth century Polish astronomer who became famous for his revolutionary theories about the cosmos, the yacht is designed by Graham Radford and is currently being built by Dillon Boat Works for owner Greg Zyner.

Greg Zyner is a well known Sydney yachtsman and Offshore Race Director of Manly Yacht Club and has recently competed in the Lord Howe Island Race and in various blue water events. His current yacht 'Morna', a Cavalier 35, will be an entrant in the 2007 Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race.

Morna was the smallest boat in this year’s Gosford to Lord Howe Island fleet with many of the boats reporting tough race conditions.

'We had winds of 40 to 50 knots for six hours, forcing us down to a heavily reefed mainsail and storm jib. It pushed us to the south-east at a time when we had been going well in the race,' said Zyner.

He plans to use Copernicus for harbour and offshore racing plus weekend and eventually long term cruising.

‘I like the Radford 12m because its low centre of gravity, narrow beam and long water line length are some of the features that make it a very seaworthy blue water yacht. It has sufficient comfort for long distance cruising as well as a high level of performance to achieve, in the right hands, good results in offshore racing.’

Copernicus will join Manly Yacht Club’s thriving race fleet which already includes the first Radford 12m to be built: a cat rigged cruiser/racer named ‘San Toy’. While San Toy’s owners opted for the cat rig, Greg and Leanne Zyner have chosen to go with the more traditional fractional rig with asymmetric and standard spinnaker options. As the two hull and keel shapes of these two boats are identical it will be interesting to compare their performance during harbour racing.

Flexibility is inherent in the Radford 12m design with a choice of rig, accommodation and keel options depending on the vessel’s intended usage. These options include the previously mentioned choice of cat or conventional rig and a 2.45 metre performance keel, lifting keel or 2.1 metre cruising keel with accommodation layout varying depending on the rig and keel selection.

These distinctive and highly recognisable Australian designed and built yachts will stand out from the norm of currently available mass market production yachts, with San Toy’s sharp good looks and progressive cat rig already attracting significant comment on the harbour. Designer Graham Radford said that he chose to work on projects that reflect his commitment to producing boats with good sailing characteristics and sound offshore handling performance.

‘The reality is that I try and design boats that I want to design and not just say ‘well the market wants a certain style of boat, therefore I’ll design it.’

Over the years Radford has established a reputation for designing blue water capable cruisers and racers characterised by vee sectioned hulls and good performance in rough water and ‘moderate to fresh’ winds. He commented that he knows how to design hull shapes optimised for light air and smooth water but chooses not to do so. His cruising designs prioritise an effective hull shape over a high number of cabins and upwind handling over an enlarged vee berth.

‘A cruising boat should be a good offshore boat, it should be able to sail and handle choppy or rough conditions and strong winds. That for me is the starting point of a good cruising boat.’

‘(My designs have) relatively long water lines and they’re aimed at being more of a sail boat than an accommodation boat…In general terms, I reckon that the more volume that you have for a given length, the more you detract from the sailing ability of the boat. I like a boat that isn’t too big for its length, and by big I mean volume.’

Radford said that his distinctive style of design was what seemed to attract most of his clientele ‘what I do is not typical of what’s available’, with many overseas buyers appreciating the cost savings potential of his kits.

‘They like the idea of the aluminium kit boats because I can supply all the design, I can supply all the cutting details, and they can go off and get all the components cut. They get really good value, in terms of the design fee, because they get so much work done before they even start building. The savings they get in construction time more than pays for the design.’

Copernicus is being built by David Dillon of Dillon Boat Works in Taree, New South Wales. Radford and Dillon have a long association and have worked on mutual projects since the late 1970s.

For more details please contact:

The builder:
David Dillon of Dillon Boat Works
Phone: +61 2 6550 1887
Fax: +61 2 6550 0078
Email: dboatworks@bigpond.com

Or the designer:

Graham Radford of Radford Yacht Design
Phone: +61 2 9907 2288
Fax: +61 2 9907 2157
Email: graham@radford-yacht.com
http://www.radford-yacht.com

Manly Yacht Club:
Address: East Esplanade, Manly, NSW, 2095
Postal Address: PO Box 22, Manly, NSW, 2095
Phone : (02) 9977 4949
Fax : (02) 9977 3573
Email : myclub@tpg.com.au