When we shorthauled the 35s5 the surveyor and a few of us got into a
long discussion about the IOR influence on the 35s5. Her sucked in tail
section, how she picked up generous waterline when heeled...a big
debate broke out about downwind sailing.
"They're pigs downwind and it takes a lot of talent to go fast." A few
nods of agreement. The boat's name, Windward First is a joke about how
fast she is on that tack. Dead downwind can be rough. Other discussion
about how it was important to keep her nose up with a modified set of
the chute, sacrificing some shape for downdraft, but I don't have
enough experience with chutes to understand the nitty gritty. Her owner
says we'll fly the chute the day before we decommission her.
I found the boat fast downwind, but I wasn't racing of course. Racing
is sometihing we'll try with her, but it's far from a top priority. As
a cruiser she'll be faster than most.
Then another discussion started about her wing. The owner said she was
quicker to semi-plane with the wing than his previous deep draft model.
"But there's more wetted surface and the foil is for lateral
pressures/lift and can be counterproductive downwind", came another
remark. Her owner said this wasn't the case.
Anyway...thoughts on this? I'm no performance hound but I listened with
interest to all. None of it matters much for our intended usage, but
this will be my first "performance" boat so I want to know more!

Robert B
35s5
NY