Yachting: Flying Tiger set to pounce on Auckland

There is no doubt Auckland's keelboat fleet is still one of the strongest in the world. We are not, after all, called the City of Sails for nothing.

However, there is no escaping the fact ours is also a rather aging fleet. The newcomers are conspicuous by their rarity.

The majority of the boats are the same as set sail in the 1990s and, in many cases, in the 1980s or even earlier.

There are, of course, good reasons for this. The multitude of yacht-building yards that were common a decade or two ago are gone, driven from business by costs which pushed the price of a competitive keeler beyond what the market would pay.

As a result, the vast majority of the newbies in the fleet are imported cruiser-racers or straight out cruisers (Beneteaus, Bavarias and the like) or one-offs.

However, if a pair of Auckland brokers get their way, that may be about to change.

Tony Smith and Graham Murray, from Westhaven Marine Brokers, are about to introduce the first of what they hope will be many Flying Tiger 10s.

"The Flying Tiger 10 is a medium sized keelboat and a realistic line honours contender," says Smith, "that only costs approximately $150,000."

Smith says the yachts are long on the waterline and lean on the beam and, from the drawing board of American designer Bob Perry, were inspired by the legendary New Zealand racer cruiser class, the Ross 930.

He says more 100 Flying Tiger 10s have so far been built, including a strong contingent now racing in Sydney.

"We hope to establish a strong class here in New Zealand. There is a rigid set of class rules in place and the New Zealand FT10 Association can affiliate with the Ponsonby Cruising Club.

"We believe they are priced right, are very well built and are designed to offer bang for buck in round-the-cans and coastal racing."

Smith says the class's success has been largely based on its very good value for money.

"For approximately $150,000, owners get a brand new racer of these proportions, with a carbon rig, four-stroke Yamaha 9.9hp outboard and sails."

He says he sees the FT10s, which are built by Stevens Yachts at Hansheng Yachts in Xiamen, China, as an ideal syndicate boat.

"They are affordable, versatile, and fast. The 10m length and speed, relative to the 30-40 foot fleet, fits in well with the Auckland race scene in particular.

"And, with their narrow beam and asymmetric set up, they are quick and nimble on all points of sail.

"The Flying Tiger is also equipped with the outboard in a central well and, with the option of installing two extra pipe berths, sleeps four."

The boats, which are built using vacuum bagged fibreglass sandwich core, are shipped within a 10m container. Smith says that a unique keel mounting system makes the yachts quick to assemble and commission.

The Flying Tiger comes with a 37.4sq m kevlar mainsail, a 23.4sq m kevlar jib, a 106.8sq m nylon gennaker and, according to Smith, has the ability to sail excellent averages on all points of sail.

"A carbon fibre mast, boom and prod ensure stiff sailing and high level all-round performance," he says.

"The cockpit is also suitably minimalist, designed for high efficiency crew-work.

"It is based around tiller steering, a centrally mounted mainsheet system and a stable yet sensitive rig with double swept back spreaders."

The first Flying Tiger 10 is currently being commissioned at Westhaven's Pier 21 where, according to Smith, it is already attracting a lot of attention. It will then move to the Westhaven Marine Brokers sales berths by the Ponsonby Cruising Club.

FLYING TIGER 10
* LOA: 9.96 metres
* DWL: 9.24 metres
* Beam: 2.78 metres
* BWL: 2.07 metres
* Draft: (keel up): 1.0 metres (keel down): 2.32 metres
* Displacement: 1985kg
* Price: Approx $150,000