reverse bows

[northerncat]

i just bought the latest copy of the australian multihull magazine and inside is a little splurge about building schionning cats with a picture of a yet to be released design called the gforce 950, and it has reverse bows ie the bow slopes aft instead of straight up and down or forwards, to me it just looks wrong but im interested in opinions as to why
sean

[Lodesman]

Sean,

That's interesting! I think a lot of "wave-piercing" hullforms have a bass-ackwards rake, but I can't think of a reason why Schionning would chose to design it that way. I wonder why so many cats have plumb bows. It seems to me that the only reason for them is to maximize LWL to LOA to fit into race classes. For a cruising boat it seems less than ideal.

Kevin

[Kai Nui]

COnsidering the biggest concern with multis is burying the bow and turtling, I would think that would be a fatal design flaw, but, I am not a designer, so I do not know. It makes sense to me to have the bows more bouyant to keep them on top of the waves.

[redtwin]

Following bit from http://schionningforum.proboards26.c...e=1#1146647524

explains reverse bow reasons:
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The idea of the reverse bows is exciting for two reasons. One is obviously performance related and the other is styling.

The idea of the reverse bow stems from recent beach cat design changes. It is different though. Basically the idea of the reverse bow is to make the transition from a fine entry bow into the reverse buoyancy smoother. In initial hydrostatic test it looks good.

I won't go in to all of the benefits on the Forum but the above is the main one.

So all you guys on the forum have the inside running on what the GForce is all about.
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[northerncat]

so i take it by smoother they mean because there is less bouyancy up front the changes in pitch are slower meaning less boat motion??

[RandyAbernethy]

Sounds like the focus is racing and coastal work. I agree with Kia in respect to off shore work, but that doesn't seem like what they're after. The typo threw me, I assume "reverse" should have been "reserve"?

[northerncat]

no they were called reverse bows i just thought they looked strange ill see if i can scan the photo

[Lodesman]

I think Randy is referring to "reverse buoyancy" - I too think it's a typo and should read "reserve". Sounds a bit iffy to me as well. Can't imagine that having less reserve buoyancy is a good thing, and would think the bows would tend to bury themselves. Would like to hear more from the designer.

Kevin

[northerncat]

[RandyAbernethy]

Looks like it would be pretty fun to blast around the buoys on!

[fhrussell]

Nice looking boat. I agree that reverse and plumb bows seem counter productive for cruising boats. This boat looks like it is designed for racing and light cruising.

[Canibul]

Is the purpose of the reversed bows to lighten the hulls above the waterline? If so, I guess its enough to counteract the diving forces generated by the shape.