PAGE 20 • WINTER 2007 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SAILING ASSOCIATION
WINTER 2007 • PAGE 21
BUYING THE RIGHT SAILBOAT FOR YOU • PART THREE
By Captain David C. Bello, Fair Wind Sailing School
T
his article is the third of a four-part series on the
process of buying a sailboat. This article will focus
Over
on applying the buying process to purchasing an
125,000
appropriate vessel for heavy air sailing.
Great Sailors
and Counting
Let’s start by describing heavy air sailing areas. Heavy air
Annapolis Sailing School has been rated
areas are sailing areas that average 15 knots of wind or
Educating Self-Reliant,
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more. Moreover, wind speeds exceeding 20-25 knots are
Confident Sailors
not uncommon. What areas would be considered heavy
For Over 48 Years
air areas? Typically, consistent winds in these speed
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ranges are driven by global weather and geological to Cruising and Bareboat Certification By Our Students
phenomenon. Some of the best known areas qualifying
KidShip
®
Sailing School for
as heavy air areas would include the thermal winds of
ages 5-15 in our Annapolis location
San Francisco Bay, the Caribbean trade winds from
December through March and most latitudes below 40
Private Instruction Available on your boat or ours
degrees south.
The Island Packet’s cutter rig offers multiple sail plans and its
Offering Over 25 Sailing Courses
full keel provides additional stability in heavy winds.
on the Chesapeake and Tampa Bay
To begin, we assume you have already identified your
balanced with less and less sail area. A sloop rig simply
usage in detail as we recommended in Part One. Next,
can’t provide all the configuration options available with
its time to find a vessel that best fits the usage in heavy
these other rigs. Also, the largest drawback to these rigs
air areas. In heavy air areas, we will not be concerned
is eliminated in heavy air. While cutters and multi-mast
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with powering up to the boat like we would be in light
rigs have increased drag, this is not a concern in heavy
TAMPA M P A BA B AY, FLORIDF L O R I D A
areas. Most of the time, we will easily reach hull speed,
air since we have more than enough wind to reach hull
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and our primary concern will be assuring stability and
speed anyway. For consistent sailing in heavy air, cutter
steerage. To accomplish this, we want a flexible sail plan
rigs and multi-mast rigs are the way to go.
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that assures the vessel can be controlled and safely
sailed on all points of sail in the expected strong wind
Finally, we consider displacement. Sailing vessels get
conditions.
stiffness, or resistance to heel, from sail area reduction,
hull design and other factors. One of those factors is
The first vessel characteristic to consider is keel design.
displacement. More displacement helps increase
While cruising in heavy air, we look for stability and
resistance to heel (for a given hull design), so it is
stiffness (resistance to heel) more than maneuverability
advantageous in heavy air where strong wind forces will
and weight reduction. In these conditions, the full keels
increase heeling forces dramatically. In addition, heavy
shine. The improved steering, resistance to turning, and
winds, particularly on open water, create larger waves
full-keel length are all desirable characteristics provided
with more potential to slow or stop a vessel when going
by this design. In addition, a full-length keel allows for
to weather. To keep moving, we want increased
shallower drafts than fin keels (while maintaining similar
displacement so that there is more momentum to keep
resistance to heel), permitting access to more ports of
going through bigger waves.
call while still maximizing stability. This is not to say
that fin keel boats cannot perform in heavy air; they can.
With the right vessel, heavy air sailing can be
It is only to say that in heavy air, the full keel boat can
accomplished safely and enjoyably. When sailing in
provide ease of steering and good stability without
heavy air, a primary consideration is assuring we have a
excessive draft.
vessel that remains stable and maneuverable as the wind
force increases. This means matching (reducing) the sail
The next two factors to consider are sail area and sail
area, while continuing to balance the boat, to the
plan. The key to safely sailing in heavy air is to reduce
increased wind force. The best boats for these conditions
the sail area to match the increasing wind speed while
are the ones that provide the most flexible sail plans.
maintaining a balanced sail plan. In order to accomplish
Multi mast rigs and cutter rigs are superior to sloop rigs
this, we want a very flexible sail plan with many
for this purpose. A keel design that helps keep the boat
configuration options. Now is the time for cutter rigs and
steering straight through large wind forces and waves is
multi-mast rigs such as ketches and yawls. The
also a help, so full-length keels are preferred over fin
increased number of sails on these rigs allows for far
keels. Finally, stiffness, the resistance to heel, and
more flexibility in sail area and sail placement and gives
momentum to move through larger waves are critical, so
the sailor many more options to keep the sail plan
more displacement is favored.
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