LADY K has taken her owners approximately 220,000 miles through every ocean on the planet in comfort and safety, routinely covering 200 miles per day and frequently far more. Her lifting keel allows brilliant upwind performance and, when retracted, allows access to the most desirable harbors and anchorages.
There is no exterior teak. Maintenance has been easy but scrupulous. LADY K shows no evidence of her miles or age. Redundancy is a theme: autopilots, radars, plotters and spares. This is a sailing yacht that is ready to circumnavigate again, needing only provisions.
Designer’s notes:
This 77 ft. (23.4m) fully custom yacht is designed for unlimited blue water cruising, with an emphasis on passages and autonomy in remote places such as the Pacific atolls. Lady K is one of numerous “off-road” boats” by Tripp Design and is still in the hands of her original owner.
LADY K is in pristine condition, benefitting from a comprehensive re-fit at Pendennis Shipyard in 2015/16 and a second thorough yard period in 2020.
She is light displacement design with fully cored Aramid/E-glass construction. Kevlar was chosen for maximal impact strength. For ease of maintenance while traversing the globe, Lady K does not have teak decks and any exterior woodwork. She does, however, have an engine room with standing headroom and a workbench as well as a layout that allows access and service to all equipment.
Being purpose built, she has many features to support distance sailing and easy handling by a small crew. The centered cockpit is very well protected, with shelter behind the raised pilot house. She is particularly good for sailing at night or under adverse conditions with all winches, furlers and sail functions controlled from the cockpit. The cockpit is directly accessed from the Pilot House and the boat can be handled from the inside steering station.
The absence of any backstays on the swept spreader ketch rig allows full roach main and mizzen sails. These sails are easy to control, and reef very well with the furling boom systems. As a ketch, all the sailing loads are lower than a sloop and the boat heels less. The boat is very fast with eased sheets, reaching and running with the ability to fly numerous sail combinations safely and easily. On a beam reach, in 15 knots true, LADY K will easily see 11+ knots and will sail upwind at 34 degrees apparent.
The jet tender lives in a well on the large aft deck for easy deployment and allows the transom garage to be used for storage of all necessary gear and toys. The transom steps allow safe and easy access to the boat by tender, without having to deploy a transom door.
The centerpiece of the design is the upper salon and helm station which are raised above the engine space. Extensive curved (chemically strengthened and laminated) glass provides panoramic views. Below deck, the boat has been thoughtfully laid out for blue water cruising. Aft of the engine space are two guest cabins, a laundry space and a spacious owner’s stateroom. Forward is an open galley and lower salon with abundant seating. Fully forward there is an office desk as well as an additional guest cabin and crew quarters. Here too the boat has been beautifully maintained, and her gleaming woodwork belies her age. Under the care of this experienced owner, Lady K has truly only improved since her launching…