Dibley 250 Sportsboat
25' Custom SportsboatThe initial commission for the Dibley 250 was from a Northland couple that briefly raced her from their local club. Another owner said he had been looking at other yachts and found exactly what he was after with the Carbon. He commented …
"We hit 19 knots on the trial sail and that basically was all I needed to make a decision".
‘Carbon’, the Dibley 250 is a purpose built racer designed primarily for twilight and rum racing. An added requirement was that it had to be suitable for the Coastal Classic in both design and construction. It features a hull design that is fine on the waterline and has aggressive flare in the hull to create cockpit wings. The entry is fine forward with a little hollow and slightly tapers in at the stern to create a balanced hull form when heeled.
The keel has the obligatory bulb with a healthy 380 kg for stability when powered up and short-handed. An added bonus is the extra stability while at her mooring and in pre-start manoeuvres. The cockpit is high and wide with rounded edges for greater comfort. In contrast the coach roof barely exists and basically provides a platform for fittings and the rig.
The delivery to her new home in Westhaven was accomplished with a 15 hp outboard during the windless winter and Carbon has already turned heads in her initial races.
Carbon's name is no accident. Hull, rig, rudder and the retractable bowsprit are all carbon fibre. In addition the interior is au natural with the inside laminate clear finished to show the black laminate. However in reality there is no interior! A fitted bucket and camping stove are installed for safety purposes and there is adequate room for sails and other equipment.
The hull and decks are a carbon foam laminate and bulkheads are plywood reinforced with unidirectional carbon.
All deck gear is Harken with the only winches two single speed 8s on the cabin top. Jib trimming is 2:1 with a coarse and fine tune. The mainsheet runs through a Harken double cleat to allow coarse and fine trim without a separate fine tune.
Due to the low boom a vertical boom vang on a circular track was fitted. This allows easy access to the hatch and is a lot easier on the crew. An added benefit is the bridge deck, which will reduce the likelihood of water getting below in the event of a serious knockdown.
The carbon mast section is an elliptical shape designed by Chris Mitchell and has been proven on a number of other high performance yachts. Swept back spreaders are carried out to the gunwale.
Topmast backstays are not required and removable fractional backstays are only fitted for use in coastal races. The 2-metre prod is housed in the hull and extends 2 metres from the bow.
SPECIFICATIONS AND PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS
LOA 7.500 m 24’ - 7”
LWL 6.930 m 22’ - 9”
Overall Beam 2.900 m 9’ - 6”
Draft 2.000 m 6’ - 7”
Displacement (1/2 load) 950 kg’s 2,100 lbs
J 2.640 m 8’ - 8”
I 8.700 m 28’ - 6”
P 10.000 m 32’ - 10”
E 3.200 m 10’ - 6”
Disp/Length 80
SA/disp 36
PO Box 2836
Wakatipu
Queenstown, 9349
New Zealand
Tel +64 (0)275 933 692