Hi! I think this list can be a great source of encouragement, advice,
interesting debate and a whole lot more - if that's what we want it to be.

So here's my first tough question. We all know that it's important to work
in the correct lead in a small flat-bottomed plywood sailboat. I have
recently read that the function of drag in a design (deep keel at stern, or
a skeg) is there to prevent broaching.

In a small boat is this still true, or is the main purpose to improve
tracking? When is a skeg required? (Some designs have them, others don't.)

How do you figure out what size it should be? And then - this is really
difficult - how do you go about ensuring that the centre of effort on the
sails balances well with the centre of lateral resistance of the boat in the
water?

And here's another difficult question - or at least it looks to be difficult
to me. What exactly is it that makes for a sea kindly small sailing or
rowing boat? Often in books I see designers and authors claiming that design
X will perform well in wind and waves, but rarely are the reasons explained.
For example, what would make a 10ft flatiron skiff with its transom far out
of the water and a large skeg good in rough water compared with other boats?

Well what do you think? And what do you want to know?

Gavin Atkin


Boat design pages http://home.clara.net/gmatkin/design.htm