The Spirited 230 ‘Power’ is a very compact concept for camping style cruising with accessibility to some of the best cruising grounds by road!
This is a trailerable planing hull power cat but because of the use of a light-weight sandwich flat panel kit it is much lighter than your average production cat of this style and size. This is not only an advantage for towing and less required horsepower but also aids in general handling and usability.
The Spirited 230 enables you to get to those usually ‘hard-to-get’ locations without the unnecessary stress of the delivery via water which can be affected by the wrong weather conditions.
Of coarse there is always a compromise, the 230’s accommodation is ‘compact’ yet still retains a reasonable level of comfort for periods of up to 2 to 4 weeks at a time.
Being trailerable means that if the weather did turn bad during your holiday period the boat could be loaded onto the trailer and alternate accommodation could be chosen.
The 230 will be ideal for fishing offshore especially if staying overnight with the conveniences aboard. Best of all, after the holiday/fishing day out simply hose off and park in the back yard/undercover out of the way.

Cockpit

Access into the cockpit is via a generous swimming platform between the twin outboards. From here a convenient walkthrough transom allows you to walk directly into the cockpit.
The transom is closed off with two doors when underway, as does the coaming and aft cockpit seat which hinges back into position for a more secure environment. While at anchor the walkthrough area could remain open through to the swimming platform for access to the water, dinghy etc.
The cockpit has seating all-round including just behind the main BH where there is a small table for dining/drinks etc. This area is also out of the weather when at anchor as is sheltered.
The window in this BH can be a drop-down window for access to the wheelhouse if required and also benefits with ventilation. All-weather clears could be installed along the edge of the cabin roof extension over the cockpit for a very protected area. For the keen fisherman, the cabin roof extension and seating in the cockpit could be minimized for a more functional fishing area.

Wheelhouse

On entering the cabin area, the galley is directly to starboard with an ‘L’ shaped seating area with a dining table to port. There is good headroom in the wheelhouse with 1.9m in tallest part.
The galley is also an ‘L’ shaped area with the bench running along the cabin side incorporating the fridge below and a 2 burner cooktop. The bench running 90 degrees into the cabin has a rounded end which houses the sink. Directly ahead of this bench is the helm area which includes a fold-down helm chair with the steering console forward.
To the right of the helm chair is a small navigation table for charts/books for convenience underway. Adjoining this area to the port is a stylish set of curved built-in steps leading through the opening centre window to the foredeck. This window hinges from the centre outwards and will be a God-send in the tropics for ventilation.
The large user-friendly steps enables this thoroughfare to be used easily as a common traffic area. It would be recommended to fit the cabin side windows as opening sliding windows for better cross ventilation.

Forward Cabin

The access into forward cabin is on the front port-side of the wheelhouse. Stepping down two steps into a non-standing room area with a seat in the front which houses the toilet underneath. Sitting headroom is adequate with a shelf behind this seat for personal belongings.
On the starboard side on the bridgedeck is a queen sized double berth accessed through a fore and aft ring frame. Two 500mm x 500mm deck hatches are positioned over the berth and over the head.
To open up the area even more there is space for 3 opening portlights in the cabin front below the dashboard. The one over the head end of the berth will open this area up considerably in terms of light and ventilation. A long shelf is positioned on the Stb side of the bunk attached to the hull for books, incidentals etc.

Performance

Having a light weight disposition, the Spirited 230 will perform very well with smaller motors. Option 1 would be 2x 30hp 4 stroke outboards which estimated would deliver good cruise speeds but not high top speeds. Estimated speeds would be 16 to 18 knots at cruise and 20 to 22 knots at top speed. Option 2 would be 2x 50hp 4 strokes with an estimated speed of 20 to 25 knots at cruise and a top of around 28 knots.
The 230 hulls have a deeper V in the forward area of the hull flattening out towards the stern. This will ensure a soft entry underway, avoiding/reducing the ‘teeth shattering’ ride often experienced on smaller planing boats of this size.

Construction

The Spirited 230 is built using only flat panels, there are no mouldings required or complex strip-planked compound curved parts to build.
All curved sections are either cold bent into position or kerfed in a single dimension curve. Using all pre-laminated panels leaves mainly the joins to be taped together. Included in this kit package is an interlocking MDF building frame which provides a secure, accurate and stable jig for the hull panels and bridgedeck to fix to.
These panels are simply screwed on dry and when satisfied with the panel positioning, the joins are filled and taped. This part of the boat which is up to the gunwale is then turned over where the fitout begins. First, all the main BH’s are installed followed by the internals and furniture. The next stage is to fit the deck followed by the wheelhouse. The front of the wheelhouse/cabin is built in flat panels for simpler construction. Fairing should also be greatly reduced due to flat panels and general simplicity of the design.

 

Comprehensive MDF building frame.