There has never before been a sailboat like the Shoalsailer. The Shoalsailer introduces a totally new design concept for sailing in shoal water. The revolutionary U.S. patented monohull design enables the Shoalsailer to provide excellent all-around sailing (and most importantly windward performance) in water less than 3 feet deep! Additionally, the 12' 9" beam allows the Shoalsailer to be berthed in conventional slips found at marinas. And, with the 40hp diesel engine that is standard on all Shoalsailers, the Shoalsailer has a CRUISING SPEED OF 7 KNOTS.
Comparative Stability Curve
The chart shows the range of positive stability of the Shoalsailer compared to a 35 foot cruising catamaran and a 32 foot fin keel monohull sailboat with a draft of 6 feet. The Shoalsailer has over 29,000 foot pounds of stability at 58 degrees of heel and remains positive until 112 degrees. A catamaran has high initial stability up to 20 degrees of heel then rapidly falls off to 90 degrees when the vessel becomes inverted. Even comparing the Shoalsailer to a deep draft sailboat of similar size, the chart shows that the Shoalsailer is a very safe and stable boat for family fun and coastal cruising.
SAILING IS BELIEVING ......
While there are many other boats, both monohulls and multihulls(catamarans), of similar size that claim shoal draft, they all require lowering deep centerboards or daggerboards in order toactually sail in any direction except downwind. The sailing draft of these designs is considerably deeper than the published board up draft numbers. The windward and reaching sailing performance of these boats with the appendages pulled up is dismal. There are other shoal draft designs that use fixed keels with horizontal winglets to help performance, but the draft of this type of vessel is usually well over four feet.
There currently are Shoalsailers in locations as distant as the Virgin Islands and upper Lake Michigan, and places as shallow as the Chesapeake and the Florida Panhandle. These Shoalsailer owners are enjoying unparalleled boating satisfaction plus the opportunity to boldly go where no sailboat of comparable size has ever gone before
ABOUT THE HULL
The hull on the Shoalsailer is designed, engineered and constructed to be beached and withstand the rigors of shoal water sailing. The dual rudders swing up and the propeller is protected by the shallow keel/skeg. The bolt on lead ballast in the keel was designed to absorb impact from groundings. The composite foam core construction is built to the highest standards in the industry by Shannon Yachts, an industry leading with a 30+ year history of fiberglass excellence. In addition to a rugged hull laminate, the Shoalsailer has a special custom reinforcement in the forward sections that prevent serious damage as the result of grounding. The Shannon Shoalsailer is ready for shoal water sailing and fun.
ABOUT THE DESIGN
The Shoalsailer concept and design was put together over a seven year period by Shannon’s founder/designer, Walt Schulz in collaboration with George Carter. Shannon has earned an international reputation for building high quality offshore sail and motor yachts over 30 years. Having succeeded in building the finest bluewater yachts, Shannon has set out to create the ultimate coastal cruising yacht unlike any monohull that has been built before. It was obvious to achieve this goal that the issues of both draft and sailing performance would have to be addressed. After years of work, the Shoalsailer prototype was launched and the design exceeded all expectations. We hope that a close examination and seatrial will demonstrate to you that the Shoalsailer is the ultimate coastal cruising yacht and totally unique among all other sail boats currently available.
