This thread starts out asking about "Blue Water" boats in "Light airs". That usually implies certain requirements. The thread ended showing a nice video of a race boat in heavy air. I see no dinghy on that boat or an anchor. It also probably does not have 70 gallons of water aboard nor 3000#s of stuff. But, thanks anyway Paulo.
This thread also took the common route from good advice to some ridiculously poor information. Thanks to RichH and a few others we heard the truth. The poor information, as usual, comes from the theorist.
Once again the Westsail 32 was mentioned as a boat to stay away from. Jeff H says "the Westsail 32 is useless as a sailboat in winds under 8k". Many of you jumped in to agree. GeorgeB being just one. The "Proof" is the wetted surface and the "High drag". How high is that drag? I don't believe any of you actually mentioned how many pounds of drag there is in a 32' full keel vs. a 32' fin keel when both keels are very smooth.
There are a number of explanations as to why all of you have usually seen W-32s sailing around slowly. The number one reason, by far, is the boat owner. Many boat owners have completely different priorities than you do and their boat performance reflects that. In most cases you attribute that slowness to other aspects of the boat. In my opinion, the wrong aspects. As just one example: if you see a Hans Christian sailing slowly are you thinking about the fixed 3 bladed propeller the boat might be dragging or the 200+ books aboard the boat?
I can respectfully acknowledge that one's opinions and convictions are determined by their own experiences as are ones world views; thus the differences in people are far greater than in those between boats.
How slow is a W-32 in light winds? The following event was well documented and tracked by hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Days 4 through 7 (or so) of the 2010 SHTP (single handed trans pac) were in extremely light winds. Head winds and following winds occurred, often less than 4k. It was during this time that the W-32 made its biggest gains against all the other boats. Valiant 40, Olson 34, Islander 36, Martin 32, Express 27, just to name a few. The W-32 had all of the theoretical strikes against it yet it still was able to sail equally, Boat for Boat, to any of the other boats (that had propellers in the water). There is a real world explanation, but make up your own conclusions if you will. You cannot get the proper explanation from a theorist. The only real truth is that boats like a W-32 are quite a bit better sail boats can our experts want you to believe. I must question their agenda. Our experts, Paulo included, grossly exaggerate the benefits of the modern design.
The accompanying photos show a W-32 off the coast of Washington. The TRUE wind is approximately 3.1k. Does anyone here really believe that a Farr 38, Elan, or Figaro 35 would be able to do a lot better? Do you think that your boat could do a lot better? And, don't forget to put that dinghy and the anchors, and 70 gallons of water, and the 3000#s of stuff aboard when you make that test.
Quote: Jeff H; "Calling a spade a spade is not denigrating anyone's boat. Its just simple honesty"
Thanks for listening