Originally Posted by Manie B
This is interesting
a flat nose mini http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4yms...eature=related
to me it doesn't really gel, when it hits a wave surely it should slow, this is contrary to the high speed wave piercing concepts of today
anybody speak French and let us know WHY ??
This flies against the grain like nothing else
I don't speak French, but I can think of four good reasons why.
1.) Mini's sail mostly downwind in most races, so there is less chance of the squared off bow slamming into waves rather than slicing through them.
2.) The buoyant, squared bow doesn't dig in when running before the wind like a pointed bow does, lessening the chance of the boat pivoting around it and broaching.
3.) Since there is far less bow curve from side to side, the curve must be up and down. As the boat goes faster, water is stuffed under the bow instead of being pushed aside. This raises the bow, putting the boat in a planing attitude.
4.) Mini's are designed to a 'Box Rule', which limits maximum Beam, maximum Length and maximum Draft. Once those limits are reached, the game is to get the maximum righting moment and minimum drag within those limits. The scow hull form does this in two ways:
A.) It allows the Center of Heeled Buoyancy to shift further to leeward than a pointed bow boat of the same Beam, increasing the Righting Arm, and
B.) Since it has wider sections up front, its average depth can be less, allowing a much easier run fore and aft for the same displacement. When heeled, scows present a much straighter run than when upright. With a pointed bow boat, especially a sharply pointed double ender, the opposite is true (but only if the scow's bow and stern transom corners don't dig in).
The scow hull form is about the lowest cost means of getting high speed from a sailboat. The multihull is the next.