Brochure Continued

Brochure continued.....

The sheer joy of the Achilles 24 is in her ease of handling. Naturally so much of this is due to the basic balance of the craft. Balance in the sense that, upright or heeled, she doesn't gripe or broach due to excess beam aft of the centre of buoyancy; and balance in the sense that with proper choice of sails and use of the through mast reefing equipment it becomes so easy to retain fingerlight steering well up into the wind range.

But the ease of handling is also due to the layout of the deck and, of course, careful choice of deck fittings. Everything is man enough for the job. From the self draining anchor well to the backstay tensioner the Achilles is as well fitted out as most pure racers. A careful study of the specification will prove the point.

Achilles has ample non-slip working deck space, and her spacious self-draining cockpit accomodates up to six adults. All external timber is of oiled teak, and contrasts with the high gloss of the glassfibre hull and deck.

Your first impression when viewing the interior is of the warmth that the natural teak and the subdued colours impart. Not just warmth and comfort, however; it soon becomes clear how practical the interior design really is, with ample sitting accomodation for four around the dining table; four full length berths of four inch polyether foam covered with top grade "Ambla", and stowage beneath the berths and galley units. Both cabins are fully lined and have shelves running their full length.

The galley equipment includes a gimbled two burner alcohol cooker, pumped water supply, two bowls and proper provision for mugs and plates. There is a neatly concealed chemical toilet in the forward cabin. Chart table is of decent working size and stows away when not in use. All the things that really do matter are provided - they are well made and they are elegant.

The design of the bulb keel is made unusually effective by moulding the glassfibre hull down into the keel so as to concetrate the keel weight very deep. After a trace of initial tenderness, she quickly gains tremendous stability as the buoyancy in the hull builds up and the weight in the keel gets to work. It is usual for bilge keel boats to loose a considerable degree of performance, but not so with the Achilles 24 triple fin.

Extensive comparisons of the fin keel against the triple fin have proved conclusively that there is only a 3 percent drop in performance (this of course being compensated for in the Portsmouth number) with the added convenience of easy drying out on moorings with the triple fin.

Both fin keel and triple keel versions of Achilles point extraordinarily high and maintain high speed to windward with little leeway. The highly efficient skeg mounted rudder produces a positive yet light helm under all conditions.

She is fun to sail whether you race or cruise.

Continue to Brochure Two