There are two huge hatches in the deck forward. Today these Atkins and Hoyle hatches cost $1,000 each.

I can stand on the head (platform over the head seen here,

and my waist is then at deck level which means I can reach a storm jib at the baby-stay without having to stand on a heaving deck.

The deck is reinforced in way of the mast with a box section which makes the deck very stiff. Also in the fwd cabin is a tension bar that supports the pull of the baby-stay. Side decks are wide and the shrouds are inboard, easy to clear when going forward.

I usually clip on at sea when going forwards by attaching myself to a spinnaker halyard. This enables me to reach the forestay to hank on a sail, or just to to sit fwd and watch the sea life.

I can throw the halyard clear of the spreader and walk back and forth with safety. I attach a five part block and tackle to the halyard so I can pull myself aboard if I fall over.

A dinghy (9 ft) is stowed right side up for crossings, so we can sit on it and watch the dolphins. An outboard is stowed below.

Since we only use a 155% headsail in all winds, we don’t have to go forward for any reason.

There is no messy chain or rode in the foredeck area, no windlass and we can leave the jib in its bag just hanked on. We can hoist in in ten seconds. To leave the anchorage we back up to the anchor, haul it up, hoist the jib and sail off the mooring.

There is no mainsail and no boom. The design of the boat is such that the genoa is balanced on all points of sail with enough of its area aft of the mast to avoid any lee helm. The windvane has no problem with steering. The mast is canted aft as far as it will go, in order to move the center of effort aft. There is no boom or sail shadow cast on the solar panel when at sea, so the system is quite efficient. I can produce >100 A-Hrs a day. The 400 watt rig will produce a max of 25 AMPS, so a theoretical 250 A-Hrs into the system is possible though hardly ever achieved. I get enough to run refrigeration, nav lights, computer, radio and microwave. As an experiment I moved the engine controls to the solar panel so I could maneuver better.

I steer standing with a tiller extension, and change from fwd to reverse with this lever.