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Designed by Michel Dufour in 1966, the Arpege
was for its time revolutionary, with nearly ten foot beam on
a 30 foot hull. This allowed six berths to fit in without using
the forepeak, which was left for sail stowage and the heads.
Two keels were used, the more common shallow fin having 4'
5" draught, with an exaggerated swept back bulb at the
base. The other keel, fitted to this example, is a fairly
conventional deeper fin keel. The narrow rudder has a deep
narrow full length skeg. Both keel types provide very good
performance, although the deeper keel will have the edge to
windward.
The hull has tumblehome amidships, and quite a fine bow
and stern. A few early boats had a stubby counter, but this
was changed quite early to a retrousse stern. The cockpit
has no lockers, but there is a lazarette reached through a
big hatch, providing ample storage for fenders and warps.
There are cave storage areas beneath the sheet winches to
provide some cockpit storage.
The production of Arpeges ran for many years, with about
1,500 in total being built. |
