According to
Tony Marchaj, a sailor, pilot, naval architect, and research scientist, “Almost
by definition, seaworthiness cannot be achieved if the boat is badly balanced.”
So what do we
mean by “balance”? That question was answered by a famous British designer, J.
Laurent Giles. He said good balance is “freedom from objectionable tendencies
to gripe or fall off the wind, regardless of angle of heel, speed or direction
of wind.”
He added that a
well balanced boat had an easy motion in a seaway, that is, she passed easily
over the waves, neither tending to plunge the bow deeply into the next wave
ahead, nor throwing her nose high in the air as a wave passed the fore body.
She would also unfailingly lift her stern to a following sea.
“One requires
of the balanced yacht that she should retain the utmost docility and sureness
of movement in manoeuvering at sea, in good or bad weather,” he added. “She
must maintain a steady course when left to herself, but must be instantly
responsive to her helm so that the heavier seas may be dodged if circumstances
permit.”
And another
important quality: “ She must be capable of being left to her own devices,
sailing, hove-to, or under bare poles.”
That sounds
like a very tall order to me. What sort of hull has this wondrous quality of
balance? Here’s Tony Marchaj again:
“In a narrower
sense, this means that the inherently balanced hull does not substantially
alter its longitudinal trim, and does not alter its course during the process
of heeling and rolling.” In other words, to be well balanced, a hull should
immerse about the same volume of topsides forward and aft when she heels.
Marchaj points
out that many of the good old boats still sailing now were either designed for,
or affected by, the old International Offshore Rule, which produced shallow,
beamy hulls with pinched bows. “Usually, when they heel, the stern is lifted
and the bow falls. Consequently, these boats are difficult to control by rudder
and are unseaworthy.”
If the bow digs
in as the boat heels, a boat will try to round up into the wind, of course, not
only because of the wedge effect of the forward sections but also because the
center of lateral resistance has moved forward while, at the same time, the
center of effort of the sails has moved outward and gains more leverage. This
is when the person at the helm suddenly finds the tiller up under his chin. Not
that it does much good, anyway, if the
boat heels too far and the rudder comes out of the water.
Luckily, most people
don’t often sail in sea conditions that challenge the full seaworthiness of their
boats. But if you should be of a mind to cross an ocean or double Cape Horn,
balance might be a good thing to keep in mind as you search for the right boat.
Today’s Thought
Everything
splendid is rare, and nothing is harder to find than perfection.
— Cicero
Tailpiece“Are you
allowed to smoke at school?”
“No.”
“Are you
allowed to drink at school?”
“Of course
not.”
“How about
dates?”
“Oh dates are
fine, as long as you don’t eat too many.”
(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new
Mainly about Boats column.)
