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MICRO'S BIG SISTER
DESCRIPTION
 | LENGTH - 19' 6" |
| BEAM - 6' |
| EMPTY WEIGHT - Approx
1500 lbs |
| DRAFT - 21" |
| BALLAST - 532 lbs |
| DISPLACEMENT - 2400
lbs |
| SAIL AREA - 263 SQ FT |
| SLEEPS - 2 Adults in
6' 6" Berths |
| DAY SAILS - Up to 6
Adults |
| POWER - Sail or A 4.8
HP Motor |
| BUILDING TECHNIQUE -
Instant Boat Building |
| MATERIAL - 3/8" or
1/2" Plywood, Framing Lumber, Lead Ballast |
| WHAT YOU RECEIVE (PDF)-
Plans and Manual by E-Mail. Take to a printer and have them printed out. |
| PRICE PDF-
$100.00
|
| WHAT YOU RECEIVE (SNAIL
MAIL)- 6 Plan Sheets, Manual Sent by E-Mail. |
| PRICE SNAIL MAIL- $115.00
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Boat builder C.T. Merrell once said, "All delusions of grandeur aside, Micro
is more than enough boat for 95% of all boaters." Long Micro is for the other
5%.
Long Micro is Micro stretched four feet with the same beam and draft. What you
get with the extra four feet is a larger cockpit and cabin. Because of longer
waterline and higher sail to displacement ratio Long Micro is also a bit faster
than Micro. In fact with her large sail area and powerful underbody Long Micro
will be able to embarrass most cruising and some racing boats of her length. The
trade off for her extra room and speed is of course increased building expense
and time and a higher towing weight.
To keep her as easy to trailer as Micro, Long Micro's mast is in tabernacle and
counter balanced. A small boy will be able to raise and lower the mast with
ease. Of course with no standing rigging, going from trailer to sailor involves
almost no hassle or time. If you live upstream of a low bridge you will also
appreciate Long Micro's tabernacle rig, as her mast can be quickly lowered for
going under bridges.
My impressions of how she sails, from a Common Sense Newsletter article are: "We
tied in the first reef to accommodate the gusting (14-20 knot) wind. I felt like
this was unfamiliar territory as I almost never reefed my Micro. Yet even with
the reef, at times she felt overpowered in the 20 knot gusts. It would have felt
more secure with the second reef, without negatively effecting performance. This
is a boat with a lot of sail and needs to be treated accordingly. The first reef
should go in before the wind hits 14 knots, the second at 20 knots. With the cat
yawl rig, sailing around with a reef in most of the time doesn't adversely
effect the balance of the helm.
Even overpowered Long Micro felt solid. In gusts she wants to round up and so
tries to take care of herself and her crew. The only way to describe her tacking
is that it is majestic. You ease her up on the wind and she comes through the
eye like she is on rails. She can't be hurried or she will stall, but you can
always hold the boom to backwind the main to nudge her about if you need to.
After a tack she falls off a bit until she gains speed then she heads back up on
the wind. She pinches well but sails much better a little free. Reaching and
running are easy, undemanding and fast. To me she feels more like a 40 ft. ocean
cruiser than a 20 foot micro cruiser."
If your family is to large to make owning Micro practical, you need to be able
to carry more provisions for longer cruises or you just want a bigger and faster
boat and are willing to pay the price, Long Micro is for you.
LONG MICRO'S LINE
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