Good Old Boat Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022

Yachts and Mark Ellis Design in Canada, and later Hunter Marine in the U.S. He also worked in sales and marketing of structural cores and bonding compounds with ATC Chemicals in Ontario and Baltek in New Jersey.

an equivalent weight of lead, and the resulting increase in the height of the boat’s center of gravity. For instance, the 1,200 pounds of ballast in two of our comparison boats would require only 1.7 cubic feet of lead but now requires 19 cubic feet of fresh water. This would raise the ballast center of gravity substantially in a configuration that is already high since the ballast is housed in the hull, not a deep keel. This highlights an addi- tional water ballast issue for trailered boats. Designers have traditionally incorporated a wider beam to achieve greater form stability to compensate for a high center of gravity. But for highway towing, the allowable maximum beam in most jurisdictions is 8 feet, or in a few cases 8 feet 6 inches, beyond which you need special permits and equipment. Note that only the MacGregor meets the 8-foot restriction, with the Catalina aiming for 8 foot 6 inches, while the Hunter cheats a little with 8 feet 11 inches, perhaps hoping no one would notice, or that the owner would be holding the other end of the tape if stopped by the highway patrol! So, if stability is the defining characteristic of water-ballasted trailered boats, what can we tell from the numbers? The MacGregor has the lightest displacement at 2,850 pounds and the narrowest beam at 7 feet 11 inches. It does have the same weight of ballast as the Catalina at 1,200 pounds, so its ballast/displacement ratio at 42 percent is slightly higher than the others, but certainly not high enough to make up for that narrower beamwhen sailing upwind in any sort of breeze. However, sailing stability is a trade-off between righting moment and heeling moment, and the MacGregor has reduced its heeling moment by

I can certainly attest to the usefulness of that advantage. Good Old Boat Technical Editor Rob Mazza is a mechanical engineer and naval architect. He began his career in the 1960s as a yacht designer with C&C

incorporating the smallest sail plan at 235 square feet—which still produces a high sail area/ displacement ratio of 18.7. It also has the squattest rig, in an attempt to lower the heeling arm. Yet despite these efforts to reduce the heeling moment, we can still safely say that the MacGregor would be the most tender of the trio. The Hunter 260, on the other hand, would certainly be the most stable of the three. It tops out as the heaviest at 5,000 pounds (400 pounds heavier than the Hunter 26) with the greatest amount of ballast at 2,000 pounds and substantially more beam at 8 feet 11 inches, as well as the lowest sail area/displacement ratio of 16.3, despite having the largest sail area. Note that the Catalina is the only one of the three to employ a masthead rig, while all incorporate swept-back spreaders and shrouds, and the Hunter eliminates the backstay completely with her B&R rig. Most boats that are on the tender side—which all three have to be considering their high centers of gravity—use fractional rigs so the larger mainsail can be quickly eased or reefed when required. Like most small boats, each has a capsize number above the threshold of 2, which is more a reflection of their light displacement than their narrow beam. The comfort numbers also follow the displacement numbers. Each of these boats achieves its stated purpose of more easily and economically broadening an owner’s cruising options by allowing easier towing, launching, and retrieval with a smaller vehicle than would be possible with a traditional ballasted keel/centerboarder. Having personally towed and launched the Hunter 26 and her smaller sister, the 23.5, around Florida,

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January/February 2022