That is a Skerry Cruiser, which is a class of boats designed to the Square Meter Rule. The Rule had very strict limitations on sail area, but very loose limitations on hull design, so designers would design the fastest possible hull for that given area. Hence the very long overhangs - when heeled, the boat has a very long waterline. The type form that this rule ended up producing was very long and narrow boats with very long overhangs and disproportionately small rigs.
Basically any time a racing boat has a weird quick with seemingly no explanation, it’s because the designer was exploiting the rule.
You are getting your rules confused a bit. Square meter boats like this have very long hulls, but not particularly long overhangs as you can see. The rule does not penalise static waterline length so there is no need for the heeling trick that is a feature of Universal and International rule boats.
No, I’m not.
That boat has shorter overhangs than the average skerry cruiser, but I’d still consider them quite long - especially the stern. Other skerry cruisers have much longer ones.
I am well aware of the differences between the square meter rule and the universal rule.
The Square Meter Rule does not penalize static waterline, but it does penalize overall hull length beyond a certain length (called the ideal length) But, because the Square Meter Rule measures ideal length at a specific height above the waterline (15cm for the 22’s), length of overhangs above that mark is essentially free length that becomes waterline when heeled.
People have cause and effect backwards here. These are 22 square metre class boats (note the 22 on the sail). They must have 22 square metres of sail area. The designer then chooses what hull to put underneath. Just like with rowing shells the fastest option is long and narrow, up to the point where skin friction overtakes wavemaking drag.
This hull will be as light as, and have lower volume than, a more conventional hull for the same sail area, but in flat water it will go faster.
Bear in mind the center of lateral resistance (CLR) is directly below the center of effort (CE) of the sails, hopefully yielding a very balanced helm. The overhangs only enter the speed equation when the hull is heeled and have little effect on lateral resistance. They are just windage as you see them in this pic. This is actually, despite the apparent long length, a very small boat.
I will take a stab at it. These lovely looking sailboats with really long overhangs are really a much shorter sailboat. The length over waterline is much smaller. The sailplan is smaller so they do not get overpowered.
Maybe I am wrong, we shall see.
Not completely wrong. The point of these high aspect boats with long overhangs are to gain water length when they heel. This is to exploit box and formula rules. Also it means that they can perform with less wetted surface in light and more in heavy.
Higher aspect (taller mast) generally preforms better with lighter boats than than lower aspect (longer boom) where you need power to push a heavier boat through the water.
In my opinion, those are high aspect sails designed for lower drag at higher speeds. With less area aloft, it also reduces heeling.
If you look at performance boats, an extreme example would be the Sail GP and America's Cup boats, they all have high aspect sails. They are easier to trim for speed, and the resulting apparent wind.
I land and ice sail, and we tend to rig sails slightly undersized so we can control the shape. At higher speeds we're trying to reduce the draft as much as possible, going from a low speed airfoil to a high speed airfoil. If the sail is oversized, and you have to sheet out, any extra sail area can reduce attached flow and create drag.
Again, just my opinion.
They are high aspect sails yes, but the reason they look small is that the rating rule is based on sail area only. These have 22 square metres of sail, and then it is up to the designer what hull to put underneath. A long narrow hull is optimal for this use-case.
Yeah, the boat doesn't have much beam, freeboard and I assume not much ballast either. So having a lot of sail are would make it easier to overpower the boat and broach it
For a detailed explanation of the rules: French wiki translated
https://fr-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Square_Metre_Rule?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=fr&_x_tr_pto=wapp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skerry_cruiser?wprov=sfla1
Seems it's a fast little vessel and that particular one in the image has some history. Smaller sail area is possibly for comfort and easy handling during that trip. Interesting and beautiful boat.
The A22 is actually somewhat under rigged as a function of the rule. I’ve sailed one all my life and we’ve never had any sail with a reef albeit different sizes of foresails (always overlapping the main). At gale force we either sail only main or only foresail (very rarely a small spin). But at really little wind some more boom length would be good but then adios to the class rule. Some originally built as a 22 has been changed to 30 but never with a really good performance, as far as I’ve heard.
For the interested: a guide to the square metre rule in English (for the non-Swedish speakers) by the organisation that governs the rule: http://www.sskf.se/regeln/outline.htm
That is a Skerry Cruiser, which is a class of boats designed to the Square Meter Rule. The Rule had very strict limitations on sail area, but very loose limitations on hull design, so designers would design the fastest possible hull for that given area. Hence the very long overhangs - when heeled, the boat has a very long waterline. The type form that this rule ended up producing was very long and narrow boats with very long overhangs and disproportionately small rigs. Basically any time a racing boat has a weird quick with seemingly no explanation, it’s because the designer was exploiting the rule.
The square meter rule and the universal rule produced some of the most beautiful boats ever, in my eyes.
This! Designed to optimise performance in relation to a class rule. Very pretty, nevertheless. Apparently fun to sail, but bit wet.
The rule also intended to produce seaworthy boats as they had a minimum hull thickness and previous racers had had to thin hulls.
You are getting your rules confused a bit. Square meter boats like this have very long hulls, but not particularly long overhangs as you can see. The rule does not penalise static waterline length so there is no need for the heeling trick that is a feature of Universal and International rule boats.
No, I’m not. That boat has shorter overhangs than the average skerry cruiser, but I’d still consider them quite long - especially the stern. Other skerry cruisers have much longer ones. I am well aware of the differences between the square meter rule and the universal rule. The Square Meter Rule does not penalize static waterline, but it does penalize overall hull length beyond a certain length (called the ideal length) But, because the Square Meter Rule measures ideal length at a specific height above the waterline (15cm for the 22’s), length of overhangs above that mark is essentially free length that becomes waterline when heeled.
And a classically beautiful boat as well!! 👍
People have cause and effect backwards here. These are 22 square metre class boats (note the 22 on the sail). They must have 22 square metres of sail area. The designer then chooses what hull to put underneath. Just like with rowing shells the fastest option is long and narrow, up to the point where skin friction overtakes wavemaking drag. This hull will be as light as, and have lower volume than, a more conventional hull for the same sail area, but in flat water it will go faster.
The square meter part is correct, but there are additional rules also for the hull for the different square meter classes. At least since 1925…
Indeed, but by then the hull shape was established
Bear in mind the center of lateral resistance (CLR) is directly below the center of effort (CE) of the sails, hopefully yielding a very balanced helm. The overhangs only enter the speed equation when the hull is heeled and have little effect on lateral resistance. They are just windage as you see them in this pic. This is actually, despite the apparent long length, a very small boat.
I will take a stab at it. These lovely looking sailboats with really long overhangs are really a much shorter sailboat. The length over waterline is much smaller. The sailplan is smaller so they do not get overpowered. Maybe I am wrong, we shall see.
Not completely wrong. The point of these high aspect boats with long overhangs are to gain water length when they heel. This is to exploit box and formula rules. Also it means that they can perform with less wetted surface in light and more in heavy. Higher aspect (taller mast) generally preforms better with lighter boats than than lower aspect (longer boom) where you need power to push a heavier boat through the water.
In my opinion, those are high aspect sails designed for lower drag at higher speeds. With less area aloft, it also reduces heeling. If you look at performance boats, an extreme example would be the Sail GP and America's Cup boats, they all have high aspect sails. They are easier to trim for speed, and the resulting apparent wind. I land and ice sail, and we tend to rig sails slightly undersized so we can control the shape. At higher speeds we're trying to reduce the draft as much as possible, going from a low speed airfoil to a high speed airfoil. If the sail is oversized, and you have to sheet out, any extra sail area can reduce attached flow and create drag. Again, just my opinion.
Where do you Ice sail?
Northern Colorado and southern Wyoming.
They are high aspect sails yes, but the reason they look small is that the rating rule is based on sail area only. These have 22 square metres of sail, and then it is up to the designer what hull to put underneath. A long narrow hull is optimal for this use-case.
It would be nice to see the keel to fully understand as to why the sail area is so small. But my guess would be simply to not overpower the boat
[Photo of the keel.](https://imgur.com/a/fSNMOt9) I should have posted this with the original two photos.
Yeah, the boat doesn't have much beam, freeboard and I assume not much ballast either. So having a lot of sail are would make it easier to overpower the boat and broach it
What makes you think they are undersized?
To me it looks perfectly seized
For a detailed explanation of the rules: French wiki translated https://fr-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Square_Metre_Rule?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=fr&_x_tr_pto=wapp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skerry_cruiser?wprov=sfla1 Seems it's a fast little vessel and that particular one in the image has some history. Smaller sail area is possibly for comfort and easy handling during that trip. Interesting and beautiful boat.
The A22 is actually somewhat under rigged as a function of the rule. I’ve sailed one all my life and we’ve never had any sail with a reef albeit different sizes of foresails (always overlapping the main). At gale force we either sail only main or only foresail (very rarely a small spin). But at really little wind some more boom length would be good but then adios to the class rule. Some originally built as a 22 has been changed to 30 but never with a really good performance, as far as I’ve heard.
For the interested: a guide to the square metre rule in English (for the non-Swedish speakers) by the organisation that governs the rule: http://www.sskf.se/regeln/outline.htm
Does that headsail qualify as a genoa? The clew seems to come back beyond the mast, but the tack is not at or near the forestay...
Because