Craig Ktaba is building the beautiful Ktaba 20. At the same time Qyv Inshan is building a virtual Melges 24, also a beautiful boat. Two boats of roughly the same size and the same crew requirement. Apart from that, they are sooo different.
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| Ktaba 20 and Melges 24 |
One is a traditional long, sleek, heavy long keeler with a huge main, a small jib and a spinnaker. The other one is a super modern wide, open cockpit lightweight finn keeler with main, large genoa and a gennaker on a bow spirit. Oh, - the colours are different too, but that can be fixed. Hehe, a wooden Melges would look kinda weird, no?
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| A couple of old timers in the back |
In both cases the building process, - or creation process if you will, is exciting to watch. With regular intervals new versions are ready; Typically they sport improved hulls, better rig, better looking sails, a working windvane, telltails, compass, balance, tweaked steering, more precise gybing and sometimes also better sounds. There's a lot to take into account, when building a virtual boat. Wind, waves and current too.
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| Craig and me talking boats; Burt and his sloop in the back |
All are features that a boat needs to provide a lively and realistic sailing experience. So even though these two boats are very different on the outside, they really share almost all the above mentioned features.
What do you think? Same same, but different? Water and fire, and yet they share the same soul? Which one would you choose, - and for what purpose?
More on the
Ktaba 20 here. More on the
Melges 24 here.
As beautiful as the Ktaba 20 and similar IODs are I'd choose the little Melges any time. Coming from RL sailing I know the difference between a work-intense, heavy wooden boat and a modern carefree glassfiber hull. Also let's not forget the far superior sailing in modern boats. And don't tell me about "the looks"; as a believer in Bauhaus theory I'm a subscriber to the "form follows function" philosophy.
ReplyDeleteWell, multihulls not included, since I don't like them and don't even consider then to be real boats :)
Interesting subject for a sunday evening debate. Are you suggesting the Melges 24 is ismply a better boat? What if you were to cross the Atlantic. Singlehanded. Ride a storm?
DeleteI think I'd choose the Ktaba for a trip over the pond.
ReplyDelete:-)
Net
Let me add that the plastic thing clearly wasn't made for anything but a few hours of inshore sailing with mummy boats close by. In other words... it is a toy. The Ktaba is a vessel.
Delete:-D
Netrom
Ehh - Net, go easy on Orcs. She can be a little sensitive :-D But I tend to agree. Ktaba for the pond. Melges for fun. Great fun. But that doesn't mean the Ktaba can't be fun.
ReplyDeleteSensitive Orca would chose the Ktaba for a transatlantic trip too. Thing is, I would never do that anyway. Why should anyone want to cross the atlantic? Just because it's there? You all seem to forget what's on the other side of that big dipper: yes, the USA! Wanna go there? Really?
ReplyDeleteHaha, if I would cross the atlantic from my location I'd end up in Rio!!! \o/ YAY! \o/
Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm easily bored and more than a few hours of uninterrupted sailing isn't my cup of tea anyway. So I'd prefer to just zoom around on table bay on the Melges. I haven't sailed neither of these boats but the little Melges looks like more fun in the YouTube vids.