Design Number 270
1988
“Sails” is the first of the Coasters built without a well deck and crane to lift a Jeep® aboard. She was also the first of a series of three variations on this design built (to date), and has had her original owners living aboard all that time.
Closing up the well deck in developing this design gave extra room inside, making her at least as roomy as the 50′ Florida Bay. We also pushed the sides of the master cabin out almost to the sides of the upper deck, leaving just a small shelf under the windows.
I had a trip aboard her when she was new, and later had a longer cruise on a sistership with my wife and kids aboard. The 45’s have a very pleasant motion and give a feeling of great competence. We felt quite confident crossing Albemarle Sound when the larger sailboats were turning back due to 3–4′ seas, mostly on the aft quarter. We never experienced much motion; even a TV set loose on the saloon shelf stayed put.
The photos show Sails on completion of her delivery trip to St. Petersburg, laying alongside Key Largo (see photo captioned “Sails rafted with the 65′ Key Largo.”) and shifted to her end moorage slip (see photo captioned “Sails at St. Pete end moorage, her home for several years.”), where she has an excellent view of Tampa Bay. It’s evident that she has almost the same height as Key Largo, yet carries it gracefully. She has good headroom and good stability, coming through ten foot seas on one cruise. Her inclining test gave a GM of 3.5′.
The color photos give some additional idea of how she turned out. The owners have enjoyed her and are planning a bigger one as their next liveaboard. She’s in great condition and is very will equipped and offered for sale at a reasonable price. Contact Jay Benford to find out how she could be your home.
To see more variations of this 45′ design, including her two sisterships, pick up a copy of Small Ships, 5th Edition, and see many pages of drawings of this and scores of other Coasters
| Particulars: | English | Metric | |
| Length overall | 45’–0″ | 13.72 m | |
| Length, design waterline | 44’–7″ | 13.59 m | |
| Beam | 17’–0″ | 5.18 m | |
| Draft | 4’–0″ | 1.22 m | |
| Freeboard: | Forward | 8’–4½” | 2.55 m |
| Waist | 3’–10″ | 1.17 m | |
| Aft | 1’–5″ | 0.43 m | |
| Displacement, cruising trim* | 96,000 lbs. | 43, 449 kg. | |
| Displacement-length ratio | 484 | ||
| Prismatic coefficient | .624 | ||
| Pounds per inch immersion | 3,408 | ||
| Water tankage | 1,050 Gals. | 3,985 liters | |
| Fuel tankage | 1,050 Gals. | 3,975 liters | |
| Headroom | 6’–7″ | 2.01 m | |
*CAUTION: The displacement quoted here is for the boat in cruising trim. That is, with the fuel and water tanks filled, the crew on board, as well as the crews’ gear and stores in the lockers. This should not be confused with the “shipping weight” often quoted as “displacement” by some manufacturers. This should be taken into account when comparing figures and ratios between this and other designs.