"DSK" wrote in message

| Heck, a Soverel 33 will move at 4 or 5 knots in almost no wind at all,
| if well sailed. Maybe it's just making a ripple IYHO? Just a few
| weekends ago I watched a Kirie Elite 30-something (looked to be about 35
| feet) and a C&C 34+ tearing around the racecourse in winds of about 3
| knots and chop.

The hell you say..... 4 or 5 kts in no wind!!! Okay Doug.... put down the
Jack Daniels and back away from the bar!! ;-)
I have no experience with the Kirie Elite but I have been on a C&C 34 in
Vancouver. There is no way a C&C 34 can be described as "tearing around" at
3 knots... even with no chop!

| Yeah, there's that. But when the boat reaches some significant percent
| of hull speed, it's going to making waves not ripples.

Okay let's explore that point.... down wind with the wave train at let's
average it about a 2ft wave height and a 6 ft between crests. The boat is
doing lets say half an average hull speed [6kts]... on a dead downwind
run....so we'll call it 3 kts speed. The wave train is moving much faster
than that but can hardly be noticed on the 4 feet of freeboard. Now you mean
to tell me that you can see a bow wave in those conditions? Okay... maybe
when you come down onto a passing wave train.... but that's a momentary
situation.

To form a bow wave... I believe you need to be "pushing" water... not
parting it.

Anyhow... the floor is yours... I'll just stroll over to the bottle of Jack
Daniels here ;-)

CM