Again, I point at Sayula II. Tough boat, but a whole lot faster than a
Colin Archer.
As for outracing the weather at sea, if I have a hurricane forecast in front
of me, with pretty good track guesses from the NHC, I'd rather have a boat
that was a modern, fast, tough, seaworthy design, rather than an old, slow,
tough, seaworthy design. Not extreme, but taking into account modern design
thinking.
For example, there's some evidence that a modern keel and skeg design is
less likely to "trip" on a wave and capsize, than the old full keel designs.
Certainly modern designs with the rudder way aft have more steering leverage
and therefore will steer better in extreme conditions than long keels with
attached rudder.
Swee****er (Swan 57) has a D/L of about 230. She certainly never gave us any
concerns on our circumnav and I would believe she is sufficiently seaworthy
for all "ordinary" purposes -- no Southern Ocean work, I think. A 230 D/L
does not mean "weak" as a simple glance around at the scantlings of a Swan
will show you.
As far as references go, my favorite single book is Desirable and
Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts, The Technical Committee of
the Cruising Club of America, John Rousmaniere, Ed., W.W. Norton, 1987.
While written partly in response to Fastnet 1979, by an organization best
known for racing, the authors have 750,000 miles at sea in small boats among
them, and it is good reading for any cruiser planning to venture out of the
sight of land.
Tony Marchaj, cited earlier in this thread, has also written several books
with good information on the good, the bad, and the ugly in offshore
design.
--
Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com
..
"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...
define "seaworthiness"
I thought it meant a boat that would take care of itself in rough
conditions, not a boat that could perhaps outrace the weather. This
outracing the weather is only helpfull along the coast where, given
advance warning of deteriorating weather conditions over the radio, the
faster boat can run for cover. Its not much help mid ocean in a big
weather system.
The main indicator of seaworthiness is the displacement to length ratio.
Boats with a ratio over (I think) 300 are the most seaworthy. These are
ocean going cruisers. Because boats are sold by the pound they are
expensive. I know lighter materials can cost more per pound by they don't
have as many pounds. The heavy cruisers also have more room for
accomdation and storage and a better comfort factor. They can make good
time under all conditions but light winds.
There are books on cruising sailboats as distinct from racing and coastal
sailboats. One that I read recently is Danny Greene's "Cruising Sailboat
Kinetics" (1984).
--
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