Boatman:
Yes, While I was plotting the CE on the Ozzie
boat, I was thinking that her handling would be vastly improved by employing a fractional rig - say 3/4 - but of course, in practice, just wearing a smaller
jib will have the same effect.
When you compare the canoe-body of the two boats, it is very plain that the Thomas
boat will be far better behaved, even though it, too, is far too "fat" for my liking. A beam to length ratio approaching 1:2 must necessarily affect handling adversely.
Thanx for looking up the Thomas Boat.
By the way: I'm aware of the ambiguity of the term "hard chine". In my vocabulary "hard chine" can mean, as I meant it here, a tight radius to the transition twixt bottom and side. Maybe I'll start saying "hard turn of the bilge" instead :-). In boats like these, whether the transition is one or the other really doesn't matter. Handling will be adversely affected. You see the same effect, accompanied by the same dangers, in boats in the 27-foot class where the
designer has striven for a floating caravan. If one insists on pouring a pint of ale into a half-pint glass, as designers of 23-foot boats must necessarily do, something has to give. Almost always, that would be "handling".
As the popularity of "yachting" rose, half a century ago, it became possible for manufacturers to "sell into a market of ignorance", and all manner of gimps became merchantable. I consider that a great shame :-)
Cheers
TP
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