A Critical Review

Well, we have been sailing the Mai B1 for about 1 year and it is time to post some "informed" comments about the P165. The following observations and comments are my own, and are a product of my boating/life experience. They are intended as a "heads-up" to potential or current owners.

Overview

Performance

The boat tacks quite readily. In fact, we have noticed that if you release the tiller with moderate winds and a closed hauled course she will turn through the wind and continue bearing off (don't ask how we found out). This is significantly different than our ComPac 16. It does mean we have never been caught in "irons" and in very light winds the rudder can "kick her around".

The P165 seems much faster than our ComPac 16 which should be no surprise since it is about 300# lighter and carries more sail. Acceleration and stability are quite good. The boat is responsive to sail trim and crew placement. The boat does heel readily in a puff, allowing the rig to spill air and flatten out. It is certainly a more active ride than a similar sized Potter or a ComPac.

The penalty for the lighter weight is a thinner hull (in appropriate areas). This is not a bad thing, it is just a reminder that the P165 is not meant to be an icebreaker. At this point we have no cracking or crazing of gel coat.

The Cockpit

The cockpit is fairly roomy, with an open lazerette at the stern. The seat backs are a reasonable height, consistent with the size and lines of this boat. The inboard edge of the seats are beveled, creating a more comfortable/secure foothold when bracing against the opposite seat. Four adults can easily be accommodated in appropriate weather.

The cockpit is self draining and the well placed scuppers seldom backwash. The bridge deck is about 5 inches high and provides modest protection for the cabin.

There is ample clearance to the boom. A stock 36" high bimini should work fine, and my custom bimini is about 42" high.

The cockpit functionality is marred by the simple, straight tiller which seems designed to bump into people's knees. Unfortunately, the narrow tiller base (about 1 inch wide) prohibits the simple replacement with an off the shelf upswept tiller. A temporary work around is the insertion of a wedge at the front of the rudder assembly, causing the whole tiller to tilt upward.

The Cabin

The P165 has a well laid out airy cabin with 2 full length quarter berths with plenty of knee and hip room. The area aft of the berths is inaccessible due to the large blocks of flotation foam attached in this area.

There is ample sitting headroom and the seat backs provide surprising comfort as well as a significant storage area. On several occasions I had have adults spend extended periods of time lounging and chatting in the cabin while we were out for an afternoon sail.

The bow area of the cabin is open, but difficult to get to. The area between the berths and under the cockpit floor houses the battery box and provides a fair sized space for storage.

The cabin has a "fuzzy" white headliner as well as large rectangular opening ports on each side and a larger "hatch" at the front of the cabin. The compression post guards the front of an area designated for ice chest storage and is a convenient place for the mounting and storage of assorted equipment.

There is a storage location for a small port-a-potty under the cabin step.

The simple electrical panel is mounted at the head of the starboard bunk and is of adequate quality. I had a fair amount of difficulty removing the unit for the wiring of additional circuits since the buss bars were longer than the opening. The slip on connectors used for wire attachment seemed "light" duty.

The Sails and Related Gear

The Sail area / displacement ratio is fairly high, so reef early. The boat still sails quite nicely with 1 reef when the when the winds are 15-20 knots. The boat sails well in light air with stock sails (no genoa required), and accelerates easily.

The stock sails include an approximately 77 sqf main and 56 sqf jib and seem to be well made. The mainsail uses the traditional bolt rope attachment and the jib uses twist hanks. I am not very fond of the twist hanks since they tended to pop off as the sail is lowered.

The 4 part boom end sheeting system at the transom results in the normal mile long main sheet and is somewhat hard to release under high load. Make sure that your cam cleat is setup to release as the line is pulled up as this was not the case as I unpacked and installed my equipment.

The non-swiveling cam-cleats for the jib sheets are mounted on the cabin top and are poorly aligned to the direction of effort. More clearly, if you are handling the jib from the front, windward side of the cockpit, the jib can be very difficult to release when the wind picks up due to the elevation and the angle. The two solutions that I am considering are:

1. Reinstalling the cam cleats after rotating them about 45 degrees inward.
2. Installing pivot base cam cleats.

Jib and Main halyards are terminated at the mast on unremarkable nylon horn cleats.

The mainsail is set up for jiffy-reefing (1 reef point). This configuration works quite nicely.

The topping lift is fixed length and the outhaul cleat is mounted at the aft end of the boom.

The Trailering Experience

Launching is not normally a problem except at the shallower ramps, where it might require a bit of pushing about to get the boat free. I have been totally unsuccessful at the "Florida Marine Patrol Launch". For those living elsewhere this method involves: unclipping the boat, backing down the ramp at moderate speed and hitting the brakes,causing the boat to slide smoothly off the bunks (while your feet stay dry). This method worked fine on my old ComPac, but perhaps the keel friction is a higher on the Precision.

Retrieval is very painless. I normally back up until at least 24 inches of the bunk is under water then winch the boat right onto the trailer. The Performance trailer has excellent keel guides and I have yet to have a problem.

Mast raising is a very reasonable single person effort (if properly setup). The addition of sail slugs makes the whole system work a little easier when running short handed. Typical setup time is 20-25 minutes (single handed, working smart - not fast).

With my mast crutch in the trailering position, the vertical clearance to the top of the mast is just shy of 7 feet. This make storage in my unmodified garage a reality.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

A new owners manual was published for the 1999 model year and is a very good first effort! It includes many photos and descriptions of setup and configuration as well sections on safety and seamanship. There is even a section describing owner modifications as performed by the unidentified author. Good Work!

The helm is fairly light, response is quick and sure and initial stability is good. The boat is sensitive to having too much weight in the stern and the manufacturer recommends a 3.5 hp motor or less.

The nicely shaped,swing up fiberglass rudder is held in position by friction. There are no provisions for a rudder uphaul or downhaul. The tiller handle is too low for comfort.

The transom mounted boarding ladder is quite nice. I would be happier with an additional step to ease deep water reentry.

The fixed motor mount works well enough, but it does allow my 3.5hp long shaft Nissan motor to drag when we are on a starboard tack. At this point I have no intention of changing it out.