Adelie 16 by Bateau.com

The Adelie 16 is the bigger sister of our Adelie 14. She was designed in answer to requests for a longer hull and more interior space.

In Europe, the authorities decide how far you can sail your boat :-). The longer hull will along our European builders to classify her in a navigation category that allows longer passages.

The increase in length and buoyancy allowed us to increase the amount of ballast by 100 lbs (45 kg) with only a small increase in hull weight. We kept the exact same sail plan. Besides that, the Adelie is identical to the AD14.

Some may ask what makes one 16' boat "ocean capable" and the other one a coastal cruiser or a day boat for protected waters? Besides some obvious features like ballast, scantlings and size of openings, it is the skipper that makes a boat offshore capable or not.

Here is what Dudley Dix said about it in an interview to SmallCraftAdvisor: "I come to the conclusion that there is one major factor which contributes to the ability of the boat to deal with extreme weather. That is the need for an experienced, levelheaded and capable skipper, with a thorough knowledge of the abilities and limitations of his own boat. Such a skipper will bring his vessel and crew through almost anything. In contrast, even the most seaworthy of boats may be at risk in moderate weather without a competent skipper."

While it was not our goal our goal to design an offshore boat, Adelie will compare favorably with boats designed for offshore use or labeled as such. As designed and with a good skipper Adelie can make short offshore crossings like safely sail to the Bahamas or cross the British Channel. With some minor modifications, she could do much more.

Adelie has a vee-hull with a small keel shoe and a ballasted CB keel that can be locked in two positions. The 350 lbs ballast is located in the CB keel and in the bilges.

She is virtually uncapsizable. Thanks to her high sides, full width cambered deck and 350 lbs. of ballast; she has a positive righting arm up to 135 degrees. Fill the mast with foam and it gets even better.

In the very unlikely case of a full roll over, she will recover very fast: her high profile cambered deck makes her very unstable upside down.

Those comments about capsizing and stability should not frighten inexperienced sailors. Extreme heel angles are very rare and will never happen under normal sailing conditions but we prefer to anticipate that typical question.

Handling Adelie under sail is easy: the fully battened sail makes her easy to reef, a must for serious cruising.

All lines and even the anchor can be handled from the companionway, no need to go on deck.

The self-bailing cockpit is well above the waterline and separated from the cabin by a lower bulkhead acting as bridge deck.

Sturdy lifelines surround the cockpit: wide straps that support the back of the crew. Better, the boat can be made unsinkable with the addition of buoyancy foam and if you build the foam sandwich version, very little additional foam is required.

Layout

The cockpit is roomy and deep with comfortable seats. The cockpit sole is sloped towards the stern for drainage. The cockpit bulkhead forms a bridge deck that keeps the cabin dry.

To keep things simple, we do not show a main sheet traveler but one can be added. The sheet goes to a fiddle block with cam cleat at the end of the CB trunk well. The CB keel is lowered and raised from the cockpit. A small part of the trunk well extends above the cockpit sole and makes a perfect footrest when the boat heels. The cabin side extensions (wings) are cut to act as a grab bar.

A drop panel in two parts and a removable hatch closes the companionway. The upper part of the drop panel can be left out to provide ventilation when sleeping aboard. With the hatch open, the crew can reach all control lines.

Note the lightening holes in the rudder. They are shaped as foot steps: the rudder makes double use as a boarding ladder.

Down in the cabin, the KISS principle prevailed: simple but comfortable camping style accommodations. To put more in such a small space may look good on paper but is not realistic or practical.

A wide but low cabin sole gives between 36 and 42" sitting headroom inside. Wet storage for anchors lines etc. is provided forward of the mast bulkhead and separated from the sleeping area by a 6" high board. There is easy access to the mast step and optional spinnaker pole.

We show some hatches in the sole, one for access to the CB keel pivot pin. There are several cubic feet available under the sole for fresh water and other stores and there is room under the cockpit to store an outboard. The sole extends under the cockpit seats. Even there, there is enough room sleep and turn around. Clothes and books can be stored in nets hanging along the sides. Boat hook, emergency paddle and fishing rods will hang from the ceiling.

The builder is free to customize the interior with shelves, a small galley that slides under a cockpit seat or a shelf across the beam and against the cockpit bulkhead. That shelf could altogether be a step and a small table. The open layout provides enough room to sleep 4 adults but it would be cramped. Two adults with frugal requirements will be comfortable during long cruises, maybe 2 adults and 2 small children for short cruises.

We may not show a vent on the cabin but if you choose to install the optional retractable pole, the openings will provide sufficient draft to keep the boat dry. Otherwise, a small deck vent will do the job.

Options

Most of the options were mentioned above.

The first one is the hull material choice: plywood-epoxy-fiberglass sandwich or foam sandwich or a combination of the two.

The two rigs are another choice: better performance with the standard sail but cost saving with the Chinese lugsail.

Each rig can use an aluminum mast or plain tube or better, a carbon fiber mast. We provide complete kits to make your own carbon fiber masts at a lower cost than an aluminum one.

Sailing Rigs

We show two catboat rigs, each with the optional retractable pole used as for a jib or spi. The casual sailor will be perfectly happy with the main sail alone but the boat can carry a headsail on a retractable pole. The retractable pole is simple to build and simple to use. It can be made of carbon fiber from one of our kits or from an aluminum extrusion. We show two types of main sail on two types of mast. The standard sail is a traditional but fully battened main on an aluminum or carbon fiber mast. Specifications are given for each mast.

The mast is stepped on the keel and supported by a forestay and a pair of shrouds. The plans show an easy to build optional rotating mast system. Lashings are used instead of expensive turnbuckles.

The alternative rig is a Chinese style lugsail. This is not a true junk sail: it uses a traditional boom and main sheet but the Chinese lugsail itself is very to make by an amateur and requires no spar hardware. Its cost is much lower than a traditional rig but there is a small penalty in performance.

For that rig too, the mast can be carbon fiber or an aluminum profile. It must be noted that a home made carbon fiber mast assembled from one of our kits cost less than an aluminum mast and performs better.

Either mast is stepped on the keel. Rigging is easily done in a few minutes by one person thanks to the light weight of the mast. The carbon fiber mast weighs less than 10 lbs. and can be handled with one hand!

For port maneuvers or for when the wind refuses to cooperate, Adelie can be fitted with a small outboard on a bracket. Those brackets are available in every marine store and are simply bolted on the transom next to the rudder.