[Silmaril]

Well, I''m no navel "artichoke" but some of my observations may be revalant.

Back in the 70''s when I was doing a lot of sailing on IOR boats, 1 Tonners, 2 Tonners, "Grand Prix" boats, I spent a couple of weeks campaigning on a "Thistle" one design sloop. I was particularly impressed one weekend in Buzzards Bay, 25+ kts, lots of steep chop, and the Thistle just flew... If you know the Thistle, it has a plumb bow and a very full forward section and carried it''s beam well aft. Almost a cylinder with one end shaped to go through waves. Not to mention the fractional rig, large main, small jib and ''chute. After that weekend, I always wondered why you could not design a "big" boat the same way. When I saw my first Riechle-Pugh (sp) maxi, I said to myself, "Hmmmm looks like somebody finally saw the light!"

One of the things about the IOR designs was yes, they have overhang, but they carry a narrow entry well aft before they baloon out to their maximum beam. Yes, by definition, a boat with overhang would have more reserve boyancy, but that would assume a similar beam profile. Modern designs carry their beam farther forward and farther aft, so as the bow goes down, a much greater area is being pressed into the water, and as a result, there is more boyancy.

Now, I will have to agree, that by dismissing all IOR designs as "bad", you may be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. My trusty old IOR designed Heritage 1 Ton has many of the bad design traits of the IOR era, but the whole is way more than the parts. I show my transom to most boats in my size range, regardless of when they were built. But I have to "shift gears" much more often than newer boats, and that is when they can get me. Unless I have a full crew, who really know what they are doing, I am forced on a race course to make compromises that will ultimately affect my boat speed.

As far as cruising goes, I don''t carry the comforts of home with me, think "camping with sails", but I am WAY faster than any modern non-racing design. I can remember a brisk fall day, 20 - 25+ kts. I was having a blast with full main, no genny. Steaming along at 7kts, enjoying the sun and weather, and the occasional wave rolling aft, while most of the cruisers were huddled behind their dodgers, full fowlies, and struggling. But that is just the way I sail. For some, that day was work, for me it was playtime. I think that if you are into the look of the IOR boats, and I certainly am, they can be a good value. I would steer clear of the post "Celebration" (Bill Cook designed 1 Ton from 1978) era IOR boats, with their funky rule cheating flat section down the center of the hull. They will rattle your teeth in a chop. But I like the look of the early designs and best of all Silmaril is PAID FOR!!!!!