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Old 12-06-2009, 08:50   #1
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What Makes a Dry Boat?

I must preface my post by saying that I only sailed on a handful of boats in my life, mostly in the Rio de La Plata (the body of water that separates Argentina and Uruguay), 20-34 foot sloops, short, choppy waves. I'm not sure I understand what others mean when they say that a boat is "dry". Every boat I've been to, when the right wave hits you at the right angle, will splash you. Maybe some people mean something else by "dry boat"? Anyway, what is a dry boat, what are the design considerations that make a boat dry, and what are examples of dry boats? Thanks in advance.
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Old 12-06-2009, 09:21   #2
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Keeping water out of the cockpit & interior makes a dry boat for me. To do that a center cockpit, good freeboard and a dodger go a long way towards keeping you dry. The dodger also allows the companionway to be open and interior ventilated thereby livable.
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Old 12-06-2009, 09:49   #3
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About half the forum members will say " No liquor aboard"!
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Old 12-06-2009, 09:54   #4
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Anyway, what is a dry boat, what are the design considerations that make a boat dry, and what are examples of dry boats?
No ingress of water and good ventalation.
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Old 12-06-2009, 09:54   #5
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On 'dry boats'

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About half the forum members will say " No liquor aboard"!
Good one
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Old 12-06-2009, 10:12   #6
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Dry would probably be a reasonably high freeboard... one that doesn't put it's rail in the water when heeled.

Depending on the size of the waves and the wind speed the wind will blow spray off the top of some waves and if the waves are high enough and the freeboard is low enough, you'll get a shower.
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Old 12-06-2009, 10:27   #7
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Dry boat

Thought I'd pipe up about this dry boat question.

Two boats sailing along to windward, a Cape Dory and a Hans Christian (just examples pick any two boats).

My cape dory is a wet boat, she will get water on her decks and cockpit in say 15 knots with moderate seas, sometimes even less.
The Hans Christian will have an occasional splash from the leeward rail but the boat stays relatively dry in the same conditions and sail balance. So the cape dory is a wet boat and The hans is a dry one. there is some grey area and this is a very rudamentary way of describing it but you get the point.
What makes a dry boat? I agree with randy, I think freeboard and sailing abilities are the biggies.

My two cents, and since I'm not a naval architect, tis worth about that

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Old 12-06-2009, 10:31   #8
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PS.
Forgot to say -I bet the sailing was fantastic! I've got a friend who is about to head down to Argentina from Texas. He has a Westsail 32 (beautiful!).
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Old 12-06-2009, 10:37   #9
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I wish Bob Perry would weigh in on this one. I suspect this is a very complicated subject. I would guess it's largely a composite of three factors: speed, volume, and freeboard.

Speed will almost always increase wetness on deck. Fast boats tend to be wet boats. Hull volume, particularly in the forward half of the boat, will help her float over waves instead of pierce through them. The latter is dry, but slower (usually). Freeboard, obviously is gonna be a factor too.

I also wonder if rocker and deadrise are factors too. Long flat hulls with little rocker can pound upwind and produce lots of spray, which can be blown back on deck.

There is a different angle, of course. A wet boat is a boat that lets water into the interior at the hull-to-deck joint, ports, hatches, chainplates, etc. A boat with a wet interior is a lousy boat, IMO.
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Old 12-06-2009, 11:33   #10
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PS.
Forgot to say -I bet the sailing was fantastic! I've got a friend who is about to head down to Argentina from Texas. He has a Westsail 32 (beautiful!).
Nice thing about the Rio de la Plata is that you can cross from La Plata (Argentina) to Colonia (Uruguay) in 20 miles, or Buenos Aires to Colonia in 30 miles. So you can be in another country in a few hours (although I must admit that there aren't two countries that are more alike than Argentina and Uruguay). A popular regatta is Buenos Aires to Colonia on Saturday, and back on Sunday. There are other destinations along the Uruguay coast, too.
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Old 12-06-2009, 11:51   #11
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To Hiracer's post,
Wet is good if you're a duck or a fish and wet interiors really do make an uncomfortable existence.

With multihulls as a rule you've got buoyancy forward which does a lot for riding over rather than through waves and you've still got relatively good speed without overdriving the boat.
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Old 12-06-2009, 12:38   #12
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There are 2 definitions of a dry boat definition 1: No Rum, definition 2: Aboat where the cockpit stays "mostly" dry in most saling conditions and won't let water in as was said before a dodger goes a long way.
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Old 12-06-2009, 12:51   #13
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Note the 'no rum' was definition #1 and capitalized.
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Old 12-06-2009, 12:55   #14
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Hey Randy, what part of San Diego are you in? I'm gonna be out that way for a week the end of june, mabye we could meet up somewhere.
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Old 12-06-2009, 13:58   #15
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Dry boats typically have drier decks in a seaway. Some boats are pretty good at shearing waves and keeping the water well forward, these boats are generally more slab sided. Some boats will pick up waves and throw them back.

Our current boat is a fairly wet boat but we have owned drier boats.

Why is the rum always gone?
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