[jkumin]

Hi John:

The knuckle bow exploits the way that rated length is taken at 200mm above the measurement waterline in the Americas Cup class. The knuckled stem profile is designed so that a rated length equal to that of a conventional bow provides a 200- to 300-mm longer effective sailing length. If you type "Alinghi knuckle bow" into Google you can learn more about this than you probably care to know. My point about the box rule is that when rating games such as described above are removed, plumb bows result.

Plumb bows have their own issues, like raising the anchor without banging it into the stem. The Saga we''ve sailed on solves this with a substantial bowsprit / anchor handling fabrication. Had a nice holiday weekend - spent it on the boat.