Saying No to Yo Heave Ho

By Elizabeth Rudulph

The sardonic definition of a sailboat is a hole in the water into which you pour money. And effort. And time. The surprise is only that the description has remained apt for so long. While there have been countless improvements in boating equipment, the sailboat, especially the basic 30- to 40-ft. cruising craft, has not changed much in the past 20 years. Nor has it had the full- scale design overhaul that might be expected for a relatively expensive sport, where as many as eight people work simultaneously at complicated tasks.

Finally, a group of entrepreneurs has made a dramatic effort to build a boat of the future that is radically different from those of the past, involving a lot less yo heave ho. The fruit of their efforts is the Amoco Procyon, a $1.5 million, 65-ft. luxury vessel, built of space-age materials, that demands one- third the crew of an equivalent-size traditional yacht. The Procyon is currently cruising down the U.S. East Coast in a bid to spark interest in its arsenal of design changes, which add up to the automation of a labor-intensive sport.

The total saving in terms of muscle power and barked knuckles is impressive. Despite its size, two people can rig the sails of the Procyon in about five minutes; normally, readying a boat this large can take half an hour for a crew of eight. Slick aerodynamic design and a hydraulically powered keel let the Procyon sail at speeds of up to 15 knots: roughly 15% faster than a conventionally designed boat of comparable size. Automatic winches furl and unfurl the Procyon's Kevlar mainsail and jib horizontally, at a finger's touch, without human assistance. The unique, sculptured boom eliminates the need for much of the equipment required on standard boats. There are two sets of controls -- helms, winch buttons, wind and direction gauges -- to allow the skipper to steer from either side of the vessel.

Visually, the most dramatic departure is the 90-ft. bipod mast. Stretching 20% taller than an ordinary mast on a yacht this size, it looks something like a seven-story wishbone straddling the boat. Made of lightweight carbon-fiber, it replaces the familiar -- and bulky -- pole-and-support system midships, for a better airflow onto the mainsail. The height of the newly designed structure allows the boat to carry 25% to 30% more sail for greater speed. Moreover, it is movable and hinged at the deck so that the entire assembly can be raised and lowered.

The Procyon is self-tacking: as the wind pushes the jib sail in a new direction, its hardware slides along a track located on the deck, forward of the cockpit, without needing any special attention from captain or crew. Underneath it all is a 13,000-lb. winged keel, which can be moved by hydraulic power from a vertical down position to as much as a 25 degrees slant to either side. That and a two-ton water-ballast system greatly improve the vessel's stability.

The yacht sleeps eight in three private cabins with every creature comfort: carpeted floors, TV and VCR, two bathrooms with showers and a roomy galley. It can be outfitted with a harness-and-pulley mechanism, so that people with handicaps can sail the boat and move easily above and below deck.

The Procyon is a one-of-a-kind prototype developed partly with money and materials from the Amoco Chemical Co.; it will be put up for sale when it reaches Fort Lauderdale, its final destination. But its creators are hopeful that many of the innovations it incorporates can be offered on smaller boats with less imposing price tags. "In the future you'll see bipod masts and carbon-fiber construction all over," says Olaf Harken, co-founder of Wisconsin's Harken Yacht Equipment, the world's second largest manufacturer of boat hardware, and a driving force behind the Procyon. "The benefits are so substantial." Push-button sailing, anyone?

With reporting by Betty Satterwhite Sutter/New York