Capt. Rob wrote:
On alt.sailing.asa we have some Sllllooooowwww boats! These boats are
not bad boats, but they are generally pretty darn slow and need help
from their engines in certain conditions.

Certain conditions? You mean like, trying to do 50 to 100 miles in a
day and getting secured before dark? Or making through a canal or
hole before the tide turns? Since you've never actually done these
things, you have no idea what you're talking about.

And what does it mean that I fire up an engine if we're doing under 5
knots? That says nothing about my light air performance, it really
speaks more of the performance in conditions I frequently encounter.
Since I usually do 6 to 8 knots, and sometimes average higher than
that, my planning is based on doing 7 knots. If I'm only doing 3.5,
that turns a 6 hour trip into 12 hours; not necessarily fun.

Further, it says nothing about the speed of the boat. You could have
the world's best light air sailer and still decide to power when the
speed goes below 5 knots. When I had a slower boat, my cutoff was
lower. And, of course, when I daysailed, the engine was hardly ever used.

I appreciate that you think 5 knots is an odd "cutoff" point. Since
you've chosen to live where there's no wind, you'll be lucky to see
even that speed most of the time. As a daysailor, all you ever do is
go out for an hour, then head for an hour; the actual boat speed is
irrelevant. Your boat will tip and bounce and give the illusion of
speed while you drift around and impress your friends.

And remember, your boat was singled out for having an extra 24 point
handicap in light air. So while you might think its a great light air
boat, the computer doesn't.

And for the record, if I were given your boat, the first thing I would
do is put it on the market. All of the other boats you've listed, I
would consider keeping.




Joe's Steel Motorsailer:
Even though she can certainly move with a fresh breeze and carry her
heavy LWL with some speed, she's not a performer. In light air you'd
best start the motor, which Joe does often.

Jeff's PDQ 36:
Strange how the fastest boat is also the slowest. In light air the PDQ
suffers and tacking requires some hand work with the jib or even the
engines. Jeff has admitted (and well he should) that this is a weak
point on the boat and he "generally motors when speeds drop below 5
knots."

Mooron's Nordica 30:
In many ways she's the best performing slow boat here, having
reasonable sail area for her displacement. Still, she's got some heft
and more wetted surface to deal with along with a less then modern
shape.

Maxi's Sea Sprite 34:
A devastingly old underbody combined with some serious weight and a
small rig make for a boat that needs real air to be at her best. If
Maxi is carrying older sails he's really in trouble.

John's Catalina 28:
It's hard to imagine a more boring boat, especially as a newer entry
from Catalina. It's also hard to image a boat that's slower for her
age. A Hunter 28 rates as fast. People buy Catalina 28's and 30's for
space and not for the sailing experience.


RB
First 35s5
NY