Wayne.B wrote:
I did two Newport-Bermuda races on a nice fast Frers 41 displacing
about 10,000 lbs give or take. No extreme conditions encountered,
just typical offshore 15 to 20 kts, fast reaching through 6 to 8
footers. The boat was extremely uncomfortable with a fast squirrelly
motion that defies explanation, but in my view totally unsuited to
extended cruising in those conditions.


understood... and to a large extent agreed... a boat can be
relatively light and not be bouncy though. It's a
combination of straight D/L ratio, PPI, reserve bouyancy,
CG, and weight distribution.

It may be that this very same bouncy uncomfortable boat
would change it's motion noticably if about 2 tons of
cruising were added, and the weight distributed to dampen
the bounciness.


On two other N-Bs with a custom Ron Holland 50 displacing over 40,000
lbs, and in far worse conditions, we had a very comfortable ride. Not
exactly an apples to apples comparison because of the length
difference, but two very valid data points nevertheless.


It's possible that the D/L ratios of the two boats were not
that different. Size alone makes a big difference...
aircraft carriers give an extremely smooth ride.


It's one thing to go out for a couple of days on a light weight boat
and bash around a race course, but an entirely different proposition
to take off for 6 months or more of serious liveaboard cruising.


As you pointed out, it wouldn't be a light weight boat then

Fresh Breezes- Doug King