Intro
Overview
The Refit
Conclusions
Terminology
Drawings
Materials
Overview | ||
 Spar Fitting: Simple and Light |
My research distilled down to four simple guidelines. First, keep the center of gravity as low as possible. Second, ensure anything that moves does so reliably, with a minimum of resistance. Third, keep the overall weight to an absolute minimum. Fourth, make sure the sails can to do their job properly in the entire wind speed range. Designing every aspect of the boat around these principles led to the final design. | |
| A sailboat acts very much like a pendulum, with its pivot in the vicinity of the waterline. The weight below the pivot point (ie keel) tends to keep the boat stable and upright in the water (good), while weight above the pivot (mast/boom/sails/rigging), and the force of the wind on the sails decreases stability and induces heeling (bad). The higher up the mast a weight is, the less stable the boat will be. The kit's rather heavy spars, plastic fittings, and unnecessary rigging look pretty cool, but contribute to a very tender boat. With less weight aloft and more weight below, the boat becomes more stable and much easier to control. | ||
| Having a stable boat doesn't do you much good if it doesn't respond to your controls. Sheeting snags and equipment failures are frustrating and can damage the boat and radio. Keeping all the moving parts on the boat as simple and frictionless as possible improves reliability, allowing you to focus on sailing rather than swimming. Smoothly moving sheets also allow the sails to swing out as far as possible in the lightest of airs.Simplifying the design will also lower the overall weight of the boat. | ||
| Excess weight has a number of negative effects. It lowers acceleration, and increases the wetted area of the boat. An increase in wetted area means an increase in friction, which will, of course, slow the boat further. Weighing in at the class minimum of 4.5 lbs helps ensure a fast, competitive boat. If added weight is neccessary to reach the class minimum, ballast should be placed as low in the hull as possible. | ||
 At the Spreaders |
The sails are the most important component on any sailboat. The class rules provide an excellent template for competitive sails, but enough adjustment must be allowed in the sheeting to ensure they can be optimized for a range of sailing environments. Their shape and position is crucial to developing speed and maintaining control. | |
| By lowering Windfall's center of gravity and simplifying the controls, I was able to lower the overall weight of the boat, while maintaining an excellent range of adjustment in the custom sails. The result transformed my Victoria from a sluggish, cranky boat to a fast, easy to sail performance yacht. I'm certain that I will find further possible enhancements to my design. To make my life easier, I decided to manufacture each improvement to be easily removeable. Now, as I continue to tweak "Windfall", most changes will be a simple matter of screwing in the new component. | ||
Intro
Overview
The Refit
Conclusions
Terminology
Drawings
Materials
Copyright 2002 Raymond Groothuizen. All Rights Reserved.
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