Australian Sailing Magazine November 1981
By Sandy Peacock
With their light hulls, fractional rigs and chunky
appearance, Bruce Farr’s trailerable yachts seemed
radical when they first appeared. However, over the
past few years the Farr 5000, 6000 and 7500 small family
yachts, built by Sea Nymph Boats in Auckland, have had
a big influence on the trailerable yacht market in Australia
and New Zealand.
The "sportscar" member of the range, the
740 Sport, is a 7.4 metre (24ft 2in) speedster whose
primary function is as a high performance racing yacht.
The 740 is an attractive candidate for one design racing,
but her main appeal in Australia is as a fast club racer
and a pacesetter in trailerable yacht events. The 740
was also designed for JOG fleets. Geoff Pearson of the
Sydney Sailboat Centre (whose Spit Bridge branch provide
his boat for our test sail) is having Farrthing rated
for Category 3 and 4 to race JOG this season. Since
production began in October last year (1980) the Farr
740s have shown impressive racing form. One was top
line honours boat and second on handicap in Division
1 (over 6.95 metres) of the 1981 New Zealand Trailer
Yacht Championships. Another was second overall in the
Victorian Kinnears Classic series last season, and Farrthing
was second over the line at this year’s Pittwater
Islands TY race in Sydney, beaten only by a Blazer in
fierce conditions.
The 740 Sport is certainly a racy looking boat with
her tall ¾ rig and powerful main, and her light
dingy-style hull sitting high in the water at rest.
Adding to the boat’s distinctive looks are the
wraparound window covering most of the cabin, and the
"clinker" topsides which the builders also
claim add hull strength to the hull moulding. The cabin
is set well forward on the boat, leaving room for one
of the biggest cockpits on ant trailerable yacht, and
the deck plan is designed to distribute the hardware
and go-fast gear for racing efficiency. However, she
is also comfortable to crew on, even when pressed hard
upwind.
The 740 Sport is the racy alternative to the slightly
longer Farr 7500, which is a little deeper in the hull,
has a longer cabin and more interior room and amenities.
On the Sport interior volume has been has been a lesser
priority so the cabin is fairly short, thew sidedecks
are wide and the cockpit is big. As a result the yacht
is delightful to race or day sail. She is still reasonably
large for overnight or weekend cruising, with four good-size
berths plus a galley unit and room for a toilet. The
pop-top provides 6ft head-room when raised.
The hull features shallow forward sections that are
typically Farr, developing into hard-bilged mid-sections
and a flat run aft to the wide, powerful stern, with
the transom floating clear of the water at rest. The
rudder is a big fibreglass blade mounted in an aluminium
stock. It tilts easily with a cord that runs to a cleat
on the long wood tiller. Auxiliary power is an outboard
mounted on a transom bracket; the 6hp Tohatsu on Farrthing
pushed her efficiently into a hard breeze and chop.
The boat’s dry weight (without crew) is 1136kg
(2503lb). Displacement is 1416kg (3120lb). Total ballast
is 376kg (827lb) of lead, of which 280kg is encased
into the cabin sole around the keel case. Crew weight
is an important ballast factor, particularly in strong
conditions. The keel slides up and down in a slightly
aft-angled case which is open at the cabin top. The
lifting tackle leads back to the starboard halyard winch
on the cabin top and the lock down pin in the leading
edge of the case inside the cabin.
Yachtspars New Zealand make the spars, and the rigging
includes a twin headfoil, main halyard, two, two headsail
halyards and a spinnaker halyard. Running backstays
support the bendy, tapered mast. They’re an inconvenience
on a yacht this size but the double-ended system on
the 740 Sport works well, set up within easy reach of
the helmsman for quick operation in tacks and gybes.
All the halyards and control lines, apart from the
boom vang and mainsail adjustments, are diverted from
the base of the mast and led aft to a halyard winch
and cleats on either side of the cabin top, within easy
reach of the cockpit. The mainsail reefing system works
quickly and simply, as was proved when an urgent reef
was needed during the test sail. A trim reef and two
slab reefs are fitted.
The deck features a good non-skid surface throughout,
a big hatch in the foredeck. A self-draining anchor
well at the bow, and a slight lip in the gunwale-moulding
strip for foot support. A rubber strip is fitted to
the outside of the gunwale. The two sets of headsail
tracks on either side of the boat are mounted unobtrusively
on a ledge moulded into the side of the cabin.
Easy access below is provided by the wide companionway,
though the steps are angled almost vertically and need
to be used carefully. The bridgedeck between the companionway
and cockpit well is a good safety feature in boats that
are small enough to fill their cockpits easily. Six
adults fit comfortably into the cockpit for a day sailing;
three have plenty of room to work when racing. The traveller
runs full-width across the middle of the cockpit, enclosing
the helmsman in the aft section and leaving most of
the cockpit uncluttered. The coamings slope gently outwards
to provide comfortable support for the helmsman and
crew sitting out to windward. The cockpit carries four
sets of bags for sheets and lines, two stainless steel
cockpit drains in the transom, a stowage locker in the
port seat and a fuel tank locker in the aft end of the
starboard seat.
The interior has basic amenities and finish. A vee-berth
for’ard is reached through a gap to port with the
starboard bulkhead extending all the way to the aluminium
post supporting the mast. A marine or portable toilet
fits under the lifting centre-piece in the vee-berth.
The main cabin area, split by the keel case, has a moulded
galley unit with cupboard, sink and two-burner stove
on the starboard side. Aft of it is a settee/quarter
berth. On the port side a settee runs the full length
of the cabin. There is stowage space under all the berths
and in bags which line the length of the cabin walls,
plus extra room behind the companionway steps.
Seas Nymph’s lay-up uses a combination of chopped-strand
mat, woven rovings and unidirectional rovings over a
Firet core in the hull and Klegecell in the deck. The
boat is lightly built but is stiffened by the interior
fibreglass moulding, including the bunks and lockers,
which is glassed and glued to the hull with foam between
the two. There is more foam under the cockpit. Like
all the trailerable Farrs she has enough foam buoyancy
to float when swamped.
The 740 Sport is responsive and lively, fast-accelerating
and easy to control, in all conditions. I can vouch
for that after sailing on Farrthing in a wide range
of weather all in the one afternoon. With a big rig
on a light, quick hull she obviously has to be handled
right in hard breezes. She is tender enough to need
smart work on the mainsheet and traveller upwind and
reaching, but the helmsman never feels like he’ll
lose control.
Starting a mid-week club race on Sydney Harbour in
light patchy air Farrthing, lacking momentum, stopped
quickly in the lulls. As we picked up a steadier 15-18
knot westerly, unusually hot for the beginning of spring,
the boat felt well balanced under main and No.2 genoa,
with three adults sitting on the windward coaming. She
tacked easily and responded immediately to breeze fluctuations.
Halfway through the race the first southerly buster
of the season hit the harbour with only a few minutes’
warning, enough to take down the genoa and reef the
main. For the half-mile mark remaining to the top mark
the 740 worked effectively into 35-40 knots of wind
and a steep chop under reefed main alone; a fractional
rig in its element again.
As we pulled away to a square run the 740 took off
and bolted down the harbour, planing continuously except
for occasionally burying her bow. She needs weight in
the aft end of the cockpit in these conditions. With
the No.3 genoa set she was easier to track straight,
and she would have accepted the full main off the wind.
Through two gybes and on a subsequent reach the boat
handled very well.
The 740 Sport is an exciting racing yacht with a reasonable
compromise of performance and cruising comfort. The
boat sells for $14,000 at stage 1, with all the basic
assemblies fitted. Stage 11 is $15,950 with all decks
fittings and rig controls fitted plus bunk cushions,
storage bags and other interior fitting out. Stage 111
is the comprehensive options list, including lifelines,
outboard bracket, spinnaker gear, navigation and interior
lights, stove toilet and trailer. The remaining expense
is in the sails, outboard motor and trailer. The full
wardrobe of main, nos. 1-2-3 headsails, two spinnakers
and storm jib will cost between $2,000 and $2,600.
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