This has been one of my dreamboats for a while, the Pogo 40. I learned about this boat a few years ago while watching people race around at incredible speeds on monohull boats, and found that there is this design class, the "Class 40" that came into being when this boat was designed and created, and it is a ocean racing boat, that can do non-stop sailing around the globe, with one person aboard, and be very very fast.
So when I learned that there was one in Long Beach, California, I asked about the owner and if I could find out his email address, and then I got to talking to him and he offered to take me out sailing for a day. Christmastime! I felt giddy with joy. So after dropping Mike off in San Diego, I drove on up and met with Brad and we went out on his wonderful boat.
First off, you look at the boat and it looks long and boat like, and very white. Its 12 years old and he has owned it the whole time, it doesn't look that big from the dock, or from the pictures, but when stepping aboard...
the first thing you think when you get into the cockpit is that it is very big. Enormous. Vast. There is tons of deck space, tons of room to sit and you feel like there is room for 12 people in the cockpit without much trouble. In all the looking online of these boats I've done I never really understood how big the boat was. Here is Brad in the cockpit.
Down the stairs, its like a normal boat, but a bit more spartan. This one has a stove and kitchen and sink and things, even a fridge! But everything is simple and mostly plastic, which makes it lighter weight and easier to clean and also longer lasting and for that I like it more than the luxury things. This interior is actually the ideal for me, since I don't need much and don't want to have a lot of extraneous things that will rot or go bad or need upkeep.
Here is a look at the starboard Quarterberth. Imagine you came down the stairs and turned to your right and did a near 180, and now you are looking back aft under the cockpit and there is a berth there. Altair has the same idea, but much smaller. This one just less than standing headroom at the entrance and very high sitting up headroom on the bed, with room for two easily on the bunk and maybe three if you snuggle. Bigger than any bunk I am used to. The cushions (which come with the boat normally) are very comfortable and feel great.
The forward berth is huge. In this picture I'm lying on the bed and have my legs spread wide and I have nearly 4 ft above my head (and feet) and the bed is queen sized in the aft section and slightly smaller in the forward part. Its a triangle of sorts, but since the boat has a blocked off section in the very front, the trapezoid small part is still quite big. I'd say this is twice the size of my bunk in Altair. And the volume of this room alone is equal to the entire volume of Altair.
The main cabin is vast as well. It might have 4 Altairs worth of volume in it, with a big long table down the middle of this room. The table keeps you from falling across the room when the boat heels over, and heel over it will. Its handy not having much stuff so that you don't have to pick up much as it falls on the floor. There is a center nav station that has a great seat and a spot for instruments.
The floor of the boat is the hull, so that allows for inspection easily, and I noticed that the floor was not very cold, which means the hull's core makes for decent insulation. I was curious as to how warm the boat would get in the tropics and how cold in the north, but with good insulation, it should stay nice easier.
The mast is carbon and nice looking, with a very simple and basic rig, two spreaders and the shrouds are led aft so there is a strong triangle of stainless steel wire, but far less wires than Altair has. No fixed backstays.
There is a really big lazarette (storage in the back from the cockpit) That I never had seen or realized these had before, from pictures of other boats. Its huge as well. The boat is widest in the stern and this space is about 12 ft wide and 3 ft thick and 3 ft tall. The rudders are mounted here and you can see them and work on them if you need.
Motoring, the boat can go about 7 knots, but is happier at 6, which is a far cry from Altair which is able to do 4.5 and happiest at 4. The tillers are easy to use and steer the boat easily and if you let go of them, the boat keeps on going straight. Amazing. Altair never does this. Its easy to see around the boat, but this one doesn't have much of a dodger.
Sailing is where you really notice the smile on your face. My cheeks hurt a little from all the smiling i've been doing. Here I am sitting and sailing the boat, easily doing 12 knots in about 14 or 16 knots of wind. The boat is forgiving and fast and stable and if you let go of the tiller at 12 knots and wait 20 seconds, the boat is still on the course that you left it on. I'm going to make a video, and then hopefully you can see the speed. Its the ease of the speed that is the most amazing thing. We never flew the spinnaker, so our top speeds were somewhat limited to about 10 knots upwind and 12 knots downwind. With the spinnaker, I figure we could have pushed it to 15 or 16 with the winds we had.
And we came back after a day of sailing and grinning like bandits. I'm in love with the class 40 idea, and I'm going to start wishing for santa to put a Pogo in my stocking this christmas...
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