At 08:49 AM 10/15/2004 -0600, David Paule wrote:
>There are two separate issues invloved in figuring the capsizing moment. The
>first is the restoring moment, and the second is the overturning moment.
>When they are equal, the boat can start to tip over.
>
>The restoring moment [...]
>
>This chart would be most useful to sail designers. Inasmuch as it has no
>information about the sails or wind, it has little value to the sailor.
But in the very limited simple case of the wind being strong
enough to blow the boat over sideways, it is easy to compute
correctly based on just a few measurements.
>The overturning moment depends on the sail set and many other factors[...]
>
>This chart is directly useful to the sailor.
And is so difficult and time-consuming to compute that no one
has bothered.
I'm a sailor, and I find simple easy to compute metrics vastly
more useful than things which might be theoretically more
accurate, but are so difficult to compute that they don't exist.
My experience is that the simple metric, conservatively applied,
is exactly what is necessary to get you enough experience with
the boat such that you can then use the subtle pattern
recognition capabilities of the human brain to decide when
it is actually necessary to reef. However complex the model,
ultimately the decision is binary: is it "safe" to continue
as is or should I reduce sail area?
In many cases, the point of sail is not important because
it is desirable that the boat be "in control" on any point
of sail, not just the one you happen to be on now.
-Scott
Scott Meyer mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.summ.org/
"Endless Summer" F41 #17
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