Designer's Comments
The working environment for the design of the Mariner Centaur 34 was ideal from the designer's point of view. Mariner Yachts had a very clear concept of the requirements of a cruising boat this size and the experience of their personnel, both in the marketing of the such boats and in the actual cruising, was invaluable in setting the initial parameters and then in bringing together the final design.
Perhaps the most exciting challenge in designing a cruising sailboat is in developing each of its features and characteristics to a maximum potential -- and then in blending them together into a single, functional craft without sacrificing any of that potential. While some characteristics (such as performance versus comfort) are often thought of as being contradictory, in a well designed cruising boat nothing need be (or should be) sacrificed to these apparent contradictions. For example, in a boat of this size, the cockpit space, its storage and comfort, are of considerable importance. Much of cruising sailor's time is spent and much of his work is accomplished here. We feel the MC 34 owner will be very pleased with the results we have obtained in designing her cockpit.
A true cruising boat's rig should be simple, efficient and easily handled. The boat must sail comfortably in a seaway and move authoritatively under power. And it should be easy on the helm and directionally stable at all angles of heel and under all conditions. If success has been achieved in these areas, the result will be a boat that is both fast and weatherly.
Our final goal (and this is perhaps most important) was to produce a good looking boat, to wed form and function harmoniously in lines that delight and satisfy. The characteristics we have been describing are, in some cases, not unlike those of the familiar cruiser racer of recent years. But in a true cruising sailboat it is the particular combination of these ingredients that is different.
Within space requirement limitations, I have put particular emphasis on directional stability, or more precisely, balance under all conditions and at all angles of heel. (While directional stability is a factor of balance, it is possible for a directionally stable boat to have brutal weather helm at 20° of heel) Both directional stability and roll damping are further enhanced by the design of the propeller fairing between keel and rudder.
In the design of her hull, the MC 34 is a boat of moderate displacement, long waterline and moderate beam. For reasons of balance and weatherliness, her fore and aft lines are as long, fair, sweeping and symmetrical as possible, with her sections (particularly aft) comfortably V'd. Her prismatic coefficient of 539 was chosen for the average of those condition a world cruising sailer is likely to encounter.
A husky 15/16ths rig was chosen because it is very nearly self-tuning with the sail area so divided as to be easily handled without oversize, cumbersome headsails.
For those who will be spending much time living aboard or in port, we have given careful thought to her interior, providing a functional and pleasant layout. We suspect that storage, dining convenience, sleeping comfort and privacy have reached a new high in the MC 34's interior.
If, in the end, the MC 34's owner finds her as pleasant to sail, as
comfortable to live aboard and as pleasing of appearance as we have
tried to make her, I shall be most gratified.
George H. Stadel III
