Designers

Originally posted by Rupert Originally posted by oldarn Is a good dinghy  design a boat that can be sailed in wind up to f7 and in fairly rough seas.  Only if that was the design brief - a boat designed to sail in light winds and flat water might be an excellent design, but not cope at all in the conditions you describe.

Fair comment Rupert, but if it can handle both ends of the scale then it has to be a good design. I feel a 505 comes in that category and I don't think John Westell has been mentioned, yet to this day it has to be one of the greatest dinghy designs

 

Originally posted by oldarn Is a good dinghy  design a boat that can be sailed in wind up to f7 and in fairly rough seas.

Not for me. I have no great interest in sailing in F7, although I've sailed in that and more. When the average wind speed tops 20 knots I'd much rather sit in the clubhouse with a beer and watch the sailboards and have a boat that's more fun to sail in normal conditions.

To sail in survival conditions like that, especially with full rigs as we insist on doing these days (crazy) means you have to make enormous compromises in other areas, most especially speed.


Edited by JimC - 13 Oct 11 at 2:16pm

Originally posted by maxibuddah . I know that no matter how good a sailor you are every now and again a very large wave is likely to crashing over the bow and double bottomed means you just keep going, no double bottom means you stop to bail, or sink (possibly in some classes)

If double bottomed it is likely to be a skiff and the chances are it will pitch pole. and if the large wave is from the stern. the t ransomed boat will be pushed forward  while it will flow through  the double bottomed boat capsizing or pitch poling it.

Hi Oldbarn

Of course you can invert a Blaze - but that does not happen very often and the boat is recognised as being relatively easy to right and stable on its side.  The buoyancy location is the key - put too much in the sides and any boat has a greater tendancy to invert,  and if that boat is wider in the first place the problem is exacerbated.  Boats with deeper cockpits may be attractive to some but the penalty is often excessive (imho) buoyancy in the cockpit sides.  If you don't have much in the floor it can only go in the sides - or perhaps it is better located in the ends if you must.   

There are no absolutes and good distribution is possible within most hull types - but there are some shocking examples around as well.  These often have heavy/ hole filled rigs as well that flood as soon as it comes into contact with the surface.  

Reducing water ingress into masts helps whatever type of hull is iinvolved.  You want the side of the hull to be low volume so it offers little buoyancy to being submerged.  With winged boats it is very common to build the wings out of alloy or carbon tubes ... these are generally allowed to flood on contact so they can sink.  This means you can have a really wide platform with lots of lovely leverage without making every capsize a fight to prevent inversion.  It can be argued that this also prevents the boat blowing downwind as the immersed wing acts as a sea anchor.    Tubes are natural hand-holds as well when you do need to climb around the hull !!

Mike L.

    

As I've just pm'd Oldarn, the best buoyancy arrangement I've ever sailed was on Jack Holt's late-'60's Jacksnipe (here's a plus for Jack then, after the crit of his Ent!).