There are a LOT of different factors in play here. My C&C 35 MK I is very narrow by modern standards. My initial stability is not all that good, the boat heels easily to a gust. My AVS (Angle of Vanishing Stability) is pretty good, I think it is about 125. Think about a fat-a55 BeneHunt type boat. Their initial stability is much higher, not to mention space below. Their AVS is likely lower and their behaviour when well-heeled likely quite a bit worse. I have taken 20+ foot breaking waves on the beam that rolled us nearly 90 degrees. This was wet and annoying, but the boat popped right back up to keep sailing. A boat 5 feet wider…….I am thinking not so much. There are also various moments of inertia. A heavier boat doesn’t jump around like a lighter boat. It may be slower, but the ride may be a lot more comfortable. Rolling inertia is a big factor in capsize resistance. A bigger heavier boat is harder to get rolling, so unlike her lighter sisters she won’t have rolled as far before the wave has past. The C&C 30 MK I probably has the highest AVS of any C&C made, but that does not necessarily mean one is harder to capsize than a C&C 40. Another form of stability is steering or course-keeping. For a shorthanded crew, a 35 would be a challenge in heavy air offshore. My boat is fast in heavy air, but she does not come remotely close to steering herself. A lot of helm input is needed, especially if getting into double-digit speeds down a wave and this input needs muscle. A boat that maybe doesn’t turn on a dime like our boats but is easy to keep straight would be a lot less work for 2 people alternating watches. ( this does not always translate into an old design, our old wood Dickerson Ketch was a total biatch to keep straight in a quartering sea with the mizzen trying to shove the stern around)
Joe Della Barba Coquina
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