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Dave Gerr

What Mast Rake is All About

Mast rake is the angle at which a mast slopes aft from vertical as viewed from the side. In the rare event that a mast

Propeller Blade Area

A few times every year a client will ring my office about putting a larger engine in their sailboat. It’s almost always for the same

Headsail Sheeting

Many seperate details make a boat close-winded, but one critical factor often overlooked is the headsail sheeting setup. The most exquisite hull form with the most modern rig in the world won’t sail well to windward if the headsails can’t be trimmed in close enough to get the sails to do their work.Headsail sizes are defined in terms of their luff perpendiculars (LP) as a percentage of

Stability is the Key

For multihulls, there are four important indicators of performance and stability: the Bruce Number; the Real Performance Index; the Stability Number; and the Stability Factor.Bruce NumberBruce Number is another form of the sail area-displacement ratio (a power-to-weight ratio). It shows how much sail area relative to displacement (weight) a boat has, but tells nothing about a

Photo: BRF Daniel Forester

The Results Are In: 54th Newport Bermuda Race

The Cal 40 Nicole wins the St. David’s Lighthouse overall title, while Black Jack 100 takes line honors just shy of a course record. On the course: stunning scenery and a range of conditions. Off it: a scoring drama.

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