FOR SALE: CUSTOM ORAM 60ft CRUISING CATAMARAN
Doug Fryer spent nearly five years supervising the build of his life’s dream and the next five unable to sail it. With Soul is a cruising catamaran from the pen of multihull guru, Rob Oram. It was born from Doug’s passion to sail but sadly, only weeks after completing the project, he met with an accident on his farm that damaged nerves in his back, facing years of rehabilitation.
After all that time, Doug has accepted there will be little opportunity to spend extended time onboard because of the injury and has decided it’s time to put the boat on the market. This realisation dawned when he put to sea recently for an afternoon with friends but the motion of the waves caused such pain that he spent the next five days in bed.
This boat is for sale. More information: here.
Despite its size – With Soul is 60ft LOA – the cat has been designed for singlehanded sailing with an innovative sail plan, plus hydraulic and electric motors to drive winches.
The fully rotating 23m carbon fibre mast was custom designed by Carbon Works and is firmly located in two sets of robust nylon bearings in the cabintop and sole. Sail power comes only from the main, which retracts into a roller system in the boom and can be reefed down to just 1m or played out to its full 104.5m2. Without stays or auxiliary canvas, the sailing is simple.
All lines are routed below decks and everything is hydraulic assisted, with power from an 880amp battery system as well as a dedicated 110amp backup.
The inverter has a 9000W output and a 3500W sustained rating, while batteries can be charged from solar panels, diesel generator or shorepower.
As well as the sail, a 53hp Isuzu in each hull delivers a top speed of more than 10kts or a leisurely 8kts on a single engine. The engines have less than 180 hours, much of which was added in the fit-out stage and dayboating around the Gold Coast’s Broadwater.
The bespoke nature of the boat meant that many items were custom built using only the best material and products available. The hull is a sandwich of end grain balsa enclosed in fibreglass, while other structural panels are formed from Duflex.
Doug’s aim while building the boat, was to set it up for a couple, so the air-conditioned saloon has been designed as a large living space with galley, office and lounge all on one level.
To port, a long bench includes space for a breakfast bar and the well-equipped galley has a gas oven and cooktop, microwave, generous 12V refrigeration and a dishwasher which like many appliances onboard is yet to be used.
Forward of the galley, a large U-shaped lounge/dinette is set into the front corner of the saloon, while the starboard corner houses the master cabin with queen bed and a stairway down to the owner’s en suite in the starboard hull.
Guest accommodation is provided in double cabins amidships of each hull, while an en suite for guests or day use is set to starboard of the saloon and has its own entrance from the cockpit.
Both enginerooms are accessed by stairways and have full head height and easy access to the motors for servicing. The port engineroom also houses the diesel generator and watermaker, while farther forward is a workshop/utility room with washing machine and storage.
And to get you around when in port, a starboard hold houses a Honda 250cc trail bike that can be brought onshore with a lifting davit that also serves the tender, a 3.5m RIB with 15hp Mercury power.
Because the boat was designed for a couple and occasional guests the forward section of both hulls has been left mainly bare. There is room for storing all the stuff that accumulates on boats and it could be easily converted to more accommodation or lounging space if required.
A sliding door creates a breezeway to the cockpit which can be fully enclosed with clears under the solid ’glass roof. With an area spanning 5.5m x 2.5m the cockpit is a great space for entertaining or relaxing. There’s seating around the back and a table to starboard that is used as the main dining area.
At the helm is good vision around the boat and room to stand or sit when driving. Electronics include radar, autopilot, Furuno GPS-sounder and the readouts for the Isuzu engines.
Doug admits he’s had limited time on the boat but reports lively speed on the Broadwater and on a trip clear of the Southport Bar. He claims he saw 20kts in 14kts of breeze, so the performance of this cruising cat is evident.
The asking price of $780,000 is well short of the boat’s replacement cost and seems good value for such an innovative and well-equipped cat.
CUSTOM 60FT CRUISING SPECIFICATIONS
FOR SALE $780,000
TYPE Cruising catamaran
LENGTH 18.3m
BEAM 8m
HEIGHT 25m
DRAFT 0.6m
ENGINES 2 x 53hp Isuzus
CONTACT Doug Fryer, phone 0418 630 838 or email dougfryer@mail.com