I thought I would share that I headed out to Wareham yesterday to check out the Corsair 880. I did not get to sail on it, my intention was only to see and touch and get a sense of the design and space of the cabin.

I have to say I was blown away. The cabin is huge. It’s been over a year since I’ve been in an F31, but the cabin felt bigger than a 31 to me. The standing headroom is amazing, I’m 5’10” and I’m pretty sure that there were at lease 4″ of extra clearance for me, maybe more. There is gobs of storage space. One thing that blew me away is how it is aft-cabin *AND* aft cockpit. I have always been frustrated by this dilemma in choosing between F-boats less than 32′. I’d say the under-cockpit cabin is about the width of a double-bed, but the length of a queen.

Given that, I was ever more blown away by the sheer space in the cockpit. It is HUUUGE!!! I love the aft traveler, so the cockpit is uninterrupted, and the aft sheeting point on the boom so you can roller-reef, and do not need to move the sheet block forward & back like on my F24. I can’t get over how much space there is in this cockpit, it is surprisingly wide and long. I would estimate that 5 people could sit on one side with real elbow room, and plenty of room for someone to move around in the cockpit while there are people on both sides, without anybody having to get out of his way. It gets even wider at the aft end, and it is so big that it didn’t even occur to me to try sitting out on either of the “beach chair” extensions.

One really cool unusual feature of the boat is the water-facing windows. If you’ve noticed the big black spots under the forward beams, they are tinted Lexan
windows. Inside the cabin, they are at about shoulder-height for me. Apparently it is really cool to watch the water rushing by while under sail from the leeward one, and then the windward one gives you a view of the horizon from under the flying float.

This boat is kicking off live with an interesting story too. Corsair is lending it to a couple that does one of those Youtube channels about their sailing adventures while they wait for a Seawind catamaran to be built. So, we will get to see what living aboard an 880 is like. Their names are Billy and Sierra, and their channel is Tula’s Endless Summer. They are currently getting extensive training on F-boats from Bob and Ira at The Multihull Source, as this is a much higher-performing boat than what they’ve sailed in the past, and (I have to say it…) “With great power comes great responsibility…”

Many thanks to Billy for taking me out to the boat and letting me climb around for a while, and Bob for giving us the OK and for some nice conversation and perspective afterwards.