Search found 503 matches

by Bill Roberts
November 22nd, 2016, 1:12 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The Very Best Racer, 'Cruiser, Day Sailor' Ever Built
Replies: 5
Views: 7231

Re: The Very Best Racer, 'Cruiser, Day Sailor' Ever Built

Hi Dan, I'm glad you like your SC15. It is a very underrated boat. The 15 was our "learner boat for beginning sailors". Therefore the race results data turned in to U S Sailing in not from top caliber sailors. Therefore a good sailor should not have any trouble winning races on corrected t...
by Bill Roberts
November 16th, 2016, 11:59 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The Very Best Racer, 'Cruiser, Day Sailor' Ever Built
Replies: 5
Views: 7231

Re: The Very Best Racer, 'Cruiser, Day Sailor' Ever Built

Hi Rich, Thanks for your comments on the boat. Story: Two of my RC27 owners in Switzerland sold their boats when the Formula 40 thing fell apart. They dreamed of a 40 ft RC27 and that would be better still. So they got their 40 ft catamarans and thought all would be great. With their RC27s they some...
by Bill Roberts
November 15th, 2016, 10:31 am
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: sails; square top and roach
Replies: 3
Views: 5017

Re: sails; square top and roach

Hi Dan, Welcome to the 21st century. Aquarius doesn't make sails as you know. Aquarius does make the class rules for sails. As long as a sail made by any sailmaker is made within the maximum sail measurements, lengths and areas, it is class legal. In the case of a jib, if a sailmaker made a jib to t...
by Bill Roberts
November 7th, 2016, 5:10 pm
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: sails; square top and roach
Replies: 3
Views: 5017

Re: sails; square top and roach

Drew, Check with Tom Haberman on class rules for any and all SCs. I know there was an overall general objective to keep sail area constant between a roachey pinhead and a square top straight leech sail for the same class. Some boat owners have gone with ??? sailmakers and there is no telling what th...
by Bill Roberts
November 6th, 2016, 12:43 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The Very Best Racer, 'Cruiser, Day Sailor' Ever Built
Replies: 5
Views: 7231

Re: The Very Best Racer, 'Cruiser, Day Sailor' Ever Built

Here's the other side of the versatile RC27 RC30 catamaran. "The Racer". Take the Bimini Top off and put the 'racing crew' on and this boat has an "attitude". The "attitude" is it wants to be the first boat across the finish line and usually with enough margin to win on...
by Bill Roberts
November 6th, 2016, 12:40 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: The Very Best Racer, 'Cruiser, Day Sailor' Ever Built
Replies: 5
Views: 7231

The Very Best Racer, 'Cruiser, Day Sailor' Ever Built

Here are pictures that show the RC30 used in a manner that most people have not imagined. The large topside area, 16 ft by 20 ft, provides comfortable room for friends and family. The boat is rigged in a very simple manner. There are no winches with high tension lines crossing the trampoline dividin...
by Bill Roberts
November 1st, 2016, 7:55 pm
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: Spinnaker Theory
Replies: 14
Views: 14691

Re: Spinnaker Theory

gahamby, The picture is 5 years old. That sail is 8 years old . The sail is reefed along the foot. It is a sail for a 45 ft mast on a 41 ft mast. In the Mug Race I have to use an RC27 mast/rig/sails because of a bridge at mid race, the Green Cove Springs Bridge. The taper ratio on that old sail is a...
by Bill Roberts
November 1st, 2016, 12:33 pm
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: Spinnaker Theory
Replies: 14
Views: 14691

Re: Spinnaker Theory

The vector diagram below explains what is going on in this picture. The true wind is off the rear quarter yet from the trim of the sails it can be seen that the boat is sailing into the wind, the relative wind. Notice the trim of the main. The main is trimmed in tight on the sheet and the car is in ...
by Bill Roberts
October 28th, 2016, 12:37 pm
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: Spinnaker Theory
Replies: 14
Views: 14691

Re: Spinnaker Theory

Hi Kevin, I have no experience with top down furlers. I sail mostly distance races so spin up and down many times during a race is not a problem. Graig, with an ARC22 on White Bear Lake where Tom sails has a top down furler and he loves it. He thinks it is great. It makes the crews job with spin up ...
by Bill Roberts
October 28th, 2016, 12:24 pm
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: Square Top vs Pin Head
Replies: 25
Views: 24790

Re: Square Top vs Pin Head

Hi Kevin, To get the leech near the top of the sail to twist off and depower, you have to put the downhaul on firmly. This will increase mast bend even with the same mainsheet tension. When the mast bend near the top of the mast exceeds the round in the luff curve built onto the sail near the top, t...
by Bill Roberts
October 27th, 2016, 4:14 pm
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: The Leader and the Followers
Replies: 7
Views: 8064

Re: The Leader and the Followers

Hi Mac, Here's another one. "The Pelican Srtiker". Remember back in the old days, the spinaker poles were often fiberglass windsurfer masts or part thereof. They started at the center of the main beam and then went up to the apex of the forestay bridle and then out to the end of the spin p...
by Bill Roberts
October 16th, 2016, 4:59 pm
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: The Leader and the Followers
Replies: 7
Views: 8064

Re: The Leader and the Followers

You are right Mac, the shroud levers are part of an important safety system and I overlooked it in my list. You gave the right answer with the boom in the sail. It raises the boom so it is not a likely to bump you on the head. It also eliminates the cost of special Aluminum extruision with special e...
by Bill Roberts
October 16th, 2016, 9:04 am
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: The Leader and the Followers
Replies: 7
Views: 8064

Re: The Leader and the Followers

You are right Peterson, I forgot about the mast volume. That is a safety item and very important. The oversize rudders point is very true and really makes the SC17 and SC15 the best sailing beach cats out there. Just a point: The P19, the scaled down Tornado, has more sail area than a Tornado. If yo...
by Bill Roberts
October 14th, 2016, 8:48 pm
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: The Leader and the Followers
Replies: 7
Views: 8064

The Leader and the Followers

WHAT IS THE ONE PART ON A SC OR ARC CATAMARAN THAT THE OTHER BEACH CAT MANUFACTURERS HAVE NOT COPIED? SC and ARC were first on the market with these advanced state of the art improvements to the beach cat catamaran sailboats. Other manufacturers have copied these parts, systems, designs. 1. Streamli...
by Bill Roberts
October 3rd, 2016, 9:32 pm
Forum: Technical Forum
Topic: Square Top Sails - Part 2: The Square Top Sail and SAIL TWIST
Replies: 1
Views: 7500

Square Top Sails - Part 2: The Square Top Sail and SAIL TWIST

Part 2: The Square Top Sail and SAIL TWIST [/b] There are other advantages to the square top sail planform not mentioned so far. These are “sail twist and sail twist control”. We sail on “Relative Wind” direction and speed. Relative wind is the vector sum of true wind speed and boat speed. The true...