Posted by nick bilinski on 12/11/2007, 7:16:03, in reply to "Re: Flicka and Co. - seaworthy ? fast ? affordable ?"
Many thanks to Mark and Frank on their responses.
I never said quality is not there. Yet I will re-state my doubt on performance. "... a flicka on any kind of a reach will easily do hull speed if the wind is up ...' aaaarghhh ... and how often is it up ??? I have sailed across all three oceans and some of them more than once. Only in the Indian did we have "wind up" conditions, and this only beyond Christmass Island. Even so, with the wind 150-170 app. I doubt many boats will reach anything close to their hull speed, and this applies espaecially to designs drawn for safety and all-round sailing. Flicka IS NOT a downwind boat. A Minitransat is.
And Flicka is not the safest by design, either. With a small boat, in my humble opinion, the single most dangerous event offshore is getting capsized. But with a small boat, sooner or later, one may, and often will, get capsized. So, we have to rely on our boats' ability to return from the reversed position. How do we obtain this? One way is - a lot of ballast (40 pct or more) placed as low (deep draft) as possible. I think you are getting my drift.
All this, however, does not change the fact that I love Flickas, and if I had cash in hand and a little private marina, it would be populated with Flicas, Contessas, IMOCAs and all those beauties that I ever run into. And none of them would just sit there tied to the dock!!!
And I would not hesitate to sail away in one either, just do not expect me to say it is the fastest, safest or most affordable way to do it.
Regards from this side of the pond,
nick
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