The Solitary Island 12

An  Aussie 12 metre, high performance, cruising kit catamaran.

click for: Study Plans (PDF)   ―    Drawings & Photos (PDF)

      click for:  Construction Shots      ―      What you get in the kit (PDF)

REDUCED TO  AU$115,000 + GST from AU$130,000 + GST 

pro builders call for commercial rate    

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Mark's design (Once named the Pacific 40) is a big, light, forty foot (all high strength epoxy), performance oriented cruising cat with vast flat decks. The accommodation is spacious as is a roomy saloon complete with a well thought out galley that forms part of both the sailing action and the dining. With a kit price of AU$115,000 (Plus GST for Aussies), this is very competitive sum to get you started on the road to luxury open sea cruising.

Mark chose that particular hull length as clearly the longer the waterline the smoother the ride, the better the rig performs and the more room (and head room) you have. But then as you go bigger… berthing at a marina is harder, costs start to escalate disproportionately as stresses intensify, the boat becomes much harder to manage and what do you do with all that room anyway after filling cabins with a gym, library and perhaps gimballed poolroom? So around 12 metres is a good choice for a balance of positives and negatives for an economical length in performance, (cats tend to hobby-horse if much shorter) manageability and costs for those of us wanting a cruising cat but not yet ready for “super yachting”.

One thing that sets the Solitary Island 12 apart from the great diversity of cats available for the builder (home or pro) is the nature of the kit itself. All panels (5.8x2.2m)are laid up by us using a high tech wet-out machine that measures exactly how much resin should be used for maximum strength and least weight. These are then vacuumed flat. Similarly the curvaceous hulls are epoxy infused under vacuum. The results are the best you can get. State of the art. Mark has been working in Australia on kit cat plans over a period of 8 years for one of the world’s top designers. He knows what needed improving on, what works and where costs can be safely cut… and where time can be saved. He has kept things clean, elegant and functional for he is a designer who has built and faired enough boats to know you and he would rather be sailing. The construction process is more about assembling than building… assembling as few bits as possible, with as little fairing as possible. Here here!  And the flat panel design gives a very modern, minimalist look too.

 For ease of construction the incredibly strong hull shoes held in supplied cradles) form the foundation of the assembly plan. These arrive very fair and complete the hull to 400mm above the water line where they are ready to join using glass tape to the large glassed panels to form the completed hull sides. All components are pre-glassed and router accurate to unpack and remove as you need them. (We recommend you don’t enthusiastically cut them all off the panels first and end up with a huge pile of unidentifiable bits…) When the bulkheads are released from the panels and fixed to the hull shoes, they form the skeleton upon which to build. No strong backs or temporary frames are required (until the saloon roof) so everything you put time into is the boat itself. Another major advantage of this kit is that the main components are half the length of the boat rather than masses of 8x4’s set to be joined together as is the common practice.  People using other products have had problems with edges not joining perfectly using that system and this inaccuracy compounds with each joint so the final full length component may end up far from perfect. A disappointing start to a long process where you paid good dollars for it to be simplified! Take a peek at www.thecoastalpassage.com/bblog.html website for an example of things that can go wrong playing with the 8x4 breed. The one join you make on the P40 longest panels is router accurate and uses a jig saw puzzle joint for perfect alignment. Also at no point need the boat be turned over as in most kits.

Resin infused substantial hull shoes.

More than any kit available this one keeps things simple. From the hull shoes arriving pre moulded, to the upright building method where no crane is needed to turnover the boat as with many designs. It further allows working on much of the interior at waist height from the work floor (by leaving off the side panels until later) instead of endlessly climbing in and out of the boat. Much of the interior can be built on a bench and fitted later. The clean flat lines of the SI 12 will save a huge amount of fairing time too… a MAJOR time guzzler on boat building. The size and accuracy of the vacuumed sheets is a guarantee that stuff will fit together.

An additional significant innovation to the panel system was the decision to use Polycore as the sandwich core for the construction panels throughout the boat. This is a honeycomb structure of high tech polypropylene plastic forming 8mm diameter hexagons thermo fused between polypropylene plastic film barriers and an outer layer of non-woven polyester veil to provide adhesion for resins. This leaves pockets of air trapped between the two outer layers of glass (a bit like double glazing) so sound and heat insulation is maximized with no effort at all. We have found some of the other products available start off light enough but by the time you’ve bogged away their texture they are quite different beasts. The SI 12 Polycore panels arrive very fair and excel in wet areas, where some of the cardboard or balsa filled options have the potential for failure with moisture incursion. So Polycore furniture kits can be relied on for structural integrity of the build even in the most desperate situation where they might become damaged while immersed in water. It is cheaper than foam while more resilient than balsa or any other wood based product. No water absorption, no rot, no worms, no argument! Here are samples before and after glass layup for furniture.

High density foam is supplied for the daggers, rudders, (skegs if wanted) and bow sections which are also routed to simplify their construction. Temporary Roof frames, beam jig and hull cradles are also supplied routed out in MDF sheets. I was really surprised by how huge the saloon jig seemed when we assembled it in the factory to test for accuracy and to shoot a photo or two. I can assure you it takes a fair bit to make an impact on that factory floor too! It’s a big boat. Almost everything on the kit is done in house to maintain control over standards and maximise cost cutting.

Some of the 8X4 foam bow (left), dagger (centre) and rudder panels (right).

Bow sections on left to be glued as decreasing segments for sanding into shape.

   Bow sections sanded and fitted.

Another winning point is where the kit is placed in the market. Mark, I believe, has balanced the needs for space and storage on a live-aboard cruising cat with the weight and shape of a craft that will perform very well both in speed (with the fine hulls) and with comfort as the wineglass effect above the waterline will dampen plunging as the seas get untidy. It will still be quick loaded up for cruising, but quicker still pared down for racing. Realistically there’s a comfortable safe cruising speed for any cat, usually around fifteen knots, where beyond is stressful and uncomfortable because of the conditions that produce that speed. If you are racing you’re going to love it… if cruising why bother. You’ll still have the speed to outrace most storms and that’s what really counts.

So what are you getting for $115 K other than a strong kit that’s easy to assemble? What’s the cat itself like? Firstly, you get a boat that can carry up to 2.2 tonne payload and still have 750mm bridgedeck clearance to avoid wave slapping and pounding below. If you own more than 2.2 tonne of stuff you feel you need to take to sea then you have a real lifestyle problem. See a shrink not a boat builder. There’s 2m head clearance in the hulls and saloon resulting in an airy, spacious interior. Basketball players may be unhappy with this but for the rest of the world that’s good headroom.

Daggerboards were chosen to provide both first class upwind performance and easier, more efficient steering downwind with them retracted. They also offer more flexibility when beaching. Skegs and mini keels are an option for those whose ventures give concern about motor and rudder vulnerability.

Clean lines with open layout.

The deck layout is intentionally dead flat, including a flush to deck trampoline. This is great for surefootedness when handling sails on the foredeck in choppy seas and is just plain comfortable in perfect conditions as there is more usable recreation area. You don’t feel you are going to roll overboard while lying near the edges. A flat step surrounds the mast base work area… a safety essential in my opinion. This also acts as a step up onto the saloon roof. (…and not a bad seat for the occasional contemplative beverage.) There are ample lockers, both in the hulls and to the fore of the cabins, for stowing away gear up on deck. Total headroom throughout is another essential found on this boat. I’ve sailed often enough to know how to duck my head, but many of my friends haven’t. The sharp bows also are a pleasant relief. I’ve never understood why designers choose to push water away rather than neatly part it on hulls designed for speed.

For those interested in having the Solitary Island 12 professionally built we sent a copy of the  plans to Dave at Stallion Marine to see how they felt about pricing the construction of one of the ACT kits. The resultant spec sheet and “standard sail away” price of AU$495,455 (international export price) or AU$545,000 including GST for those in Australia, is a very exciting read if you are at all familiar with what’s currently available. As I have said this is a big, light forty foot epoxy cat, designed by an experienced designer, beautifully built by proven and highly regarded boat builders, generously fitted out, (more later) ready to live aboard and to cruise you heart away for $545K! Stallion is a very experienced boat building operation based in Queensland and can offer the Solitary Island 12 at such a fantastic price not only as a result of their tried and tested, very efficient, build methodology which includes the standardisation of many modules but also because the Solitary Island was designed with the builder in mind having removed many time and labour consuming aspects with innovative simplicity without sacrificing any of the clean and aesthetically pleasing lines and attributes of this beautiful, performance cruising catamaran. Many people would be aware of Stallion’s quality workmanship and fast turn around times with many of their builds written up in detail in recent multihull magazines or through their prominent presence at boat shows in Australia. In recent times they have been moulding many of the internal doors, gutters and other fiddly items that take time to build in one offs taking advantage of standardisation. This all saves time and improves the quality and maintainability of their end product. (Some of these quick build finished items will be available as part of the home builders kits soon as options.) So for those of you who would like a Solitary Island 12 built by a professional boat building company, they offer an opportunity to get on the water sooner. For further information on inclusions of a Solitary Island 12 built by Stallion and options try: enquiry@australiancompositepanels.com.au and cats@stallionmarine.com.au

Below deck is laid out as standard 3 cabins with galley up in an open plan saloon. Forward port and starboard beds are queen size (2000x1500) with two gimble lights above each for reading and a halogen room light. Each has a size 44 low profile deck hatch for ventilation and light, a bench and a hanging locker with designer cupboard doors. To port there is a halogen lit walk in wardrobe with a size 10 hatch above. To starboard (the master cabin ensuite) is an electric toilet, a stainless steel basin, vanity with mirror, designer laminated bench top and a composite lockable door for privacy. Hatch and lighting setup is same as to port. The aft starboard cabin has a double bed, a single halogen light and a size 10 low profile hatch, while port aft head and shower is similarly equipped as the ensuite but with the addition of a shower and sump pump, towel rail and splash proof toilet roll holder.

Down below.

            Let’s step up a few steps and into the saloon. From port facing the bows we have a large fabric covered settee with storage underneath while the nav station to aft is handy to the helm through an open window. Across the saloon is the galley with the work area (including a Smev 3 burner stove with drop down glass top) facing the cockpit so the cook is not isolated from the action. (Or heaven forbid, the sailors isolated from the food and coldies!) The open window can act as a servery…all very sociable. Behind is a pantry and refrigeration with freezer, set in custom laminated bench tops, cupboards and drawers. Very professional, and dare I say it, cool. So while the saloon is airy and spacious there is not a vast amount of wasted space which becomes an acceleration area in bad conditions where you have nothing to hold on to. Lockable bi-fold doors provide security.

One thing that sets Stallion apart from the crowd (other than their high construction standards and smarts) is their use of a dedicated interior designer! If ever there was a hole in the Aussie cat building market this is it. So many designs on the Aussie market are finished by boat builders. (Some of the French designers leave us for dead here.) Do you get the brickie to design the interior of your house? Nooooo! You need someone who knows about this stuff. For me it’s further proof of the good judgement of the Stallion crew that they choose their own experienced and cat savvy interior decorator to consult with you as part of the deal. Finish is a professional two pack which lowers maintenance demands and keeps the boat constantly looking good. This is satin on the inside minimising glare and to soften the lines. In the end, using Stallion Marine to put together your Solitary Island 12, you are effectively getting a boat whose build quality and appearance are indistinguishable from that of a full production boat yet at a price similar to a second hand production boat of similar size. And it can be finished pretty much to exactly the appearance you want and be ready a lot quicker.

The cat is powered by two Yanmar 21 hp diesel engines, each with a two bladed feathering prop. (One customer was keen on using outboards but in boats 12 metres and above the arguments for diesels start to get more and more compelling. One should not underestimate how much more it costs to build the outboard bays into the hulls rather than leave the clean lines… and if you add the weight of the water in the wells that you are dragging around with you the outboards are not even necessarily a lighter solution. Add to that their cooling problems in an enclosure and that they are often much noisier to boot!) Anyway these diesels also quietly provide hot water and battery charging from beneath their waterproof hatches in their vented engine rooms, each of which is fitted with an emergency sensed bilge pump. Controls and gauges are at the main starboard helm station with a Raymarine ST60 tri data (depth, speed and temperature), a GME VHF radio, Lewmar low profile anchor winch controller and a magnetic compass. The twin helms are 1000mm stainless steel large ocean racing wheel style that steer through a SPJ Morse cable system so there is plenty of “feel” at the helm without the fear of ropes jumping out of sheaves… all sensible choices for reliability at sea in all conditions. Peace of mind is an excellent feeling to have at sea. Monohull sailors are always surprised by how you can spin a cat in its own length by reversing one engine and thrusting the other. And of course having no bulky keel makes it a lot more nimble too.

Huge cockpit with high bridgedeck clearance

                        The rig is supplied by Allyacht Spars, a company with a long and impeccable record. The spars are clear anodised aluminium with the mast having double spreaders and a VHF antenna fitted. Ullman sails provide a fully battened main with 2:1 halyard, three reefing points (as well as built in rubbing patches), a Genoa with full UV strip on a Pro Furl cruising furler and a storm jib. The boom has a topping lift and the sail cover is complete with Lazy Jacks. Ullman also provide the Ferrari Mesh trampolines between the composite fore beam and catwalk, where even the anchor roller also is flush mounted to help prevent the outbursts of foul language often associated with stubbed tootsies.

            Other deck equipment is equally impressive with all Lewmar blocks, cleats, clutches, winches and hatches, the latter offering plenty of light and air flow. Five stanchion rails along each side are fitted with Spectra rope to keep you on board, as does the non skid decking. Everywhere you look you are surrounded by quality and appropriate choices.

It’s a huge decision choosing a cat these days. We are spoilt rotten. It does come down to a few basics though in the end. The Solitary Island 12 is an excellent choice if you want an off shore cruiser that will be competitive performer as well as being well appointed. The flat decks, high bridgedeck clearance, strong wineglass hulls and generous storage make it a safe a good natured craft at sea. It is the simplest kit to build with all the serious curves done for you to provide a frustration-free build for the home builder or a speedy build for the professional. The flat panels are virtually ready faired. Be aware that many gel coated, moulded kits are quite rough on the inside, requiring a lot of dirty work! As we provide all the components of the boat you have only one company to chase up. Hey and it doesn’t look half bad either...the smooth, aerodynamic lines will stand the test of time. It’s a far cry from the first attempts at catamaran kits. Most people would not notice that it is indeed made from flat panel.

 Heading your way.

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