Blind Squirrel is a 1984 Nelson Marek designed Santana 3030 Grand Prix. She has been raced for last 7 years in San Diego and is fully optimized. Her racing accomplishments are consistent and will be listed below.
Her hull shape, sail design, and balance are ideally suited for SoCal conditions, and her ORC rating will suit her well for upcoming racing. Upwind, she will outpoint most boats in her class, and downwind she runs exceptionally well. She is lightweight and well balanced, helping her to outsail her PHRF/ORC rating in light/medium air. Because of this tenderness, she does struggle in the 18 plus days. She is particularly fast in less than 9.
Her hull shape trades off big wave speed for flat water performance.
The cockpit is massive for a 30′ boat, and fantastic for race teams and cruising with friends. She resembles the design of newer boats with a wide footwell and narrow seating on the deck edges. This allows for excellent visibility and control. You can easily fit 8 people comfortably for day sailing, all in the cockpit. This open cockpit design does not compromise on optimal comfort and control while sailing. Her cockpit floor is finished in custom raptor deck.
The toe rail is formed with a ramp to allow crew to have their legs maintain full circulation while hiking. The ramp is conveniently located where weight should be, making weight management for/aft more straightforward. She is particular about weight forward in light air.
Her interior is wide and comfortable with 2 double sized settes with moveable backrests to act as lee boards offshore. Aft, 2 more wide doubles are port and starboard and useful for stacking weight offshore in a breeze.
More…
