Something to reflect on, a very sad tale, and the problem with the Cassandra gig...
I've heard it said from informed sources that good power boat design pretty much went out the window when cheap horsepower came on to the scene... I mean who really needs to design a better, more efficient hull that will make hull speed on 20HP when for a few dollars more you can brute force it with a 40HP?
Which, sorta/kinda brings me to why I think masts are too long...
Face it, most of the design thinking in the last century or so has been about racing rules and spin-off of racing rules. Now I'll admit that some of that has made for some better boats for us cruiser folk in some ways but it's more happenstance than plan.
Personally, I'd prefer a mast that would be more or (preferably) less the L.O.A. of the boat. For one, this makes cruising the French canals a whole lot easier but the real advantage is it keeps the center of effort low which means you don't need as much ballast. Even better, it makes it easy to build a strong rig whether you use stays or go unstayed with a free standing rig.
I should also add that a lower rig is going to make for a considerable savings on what it costs to build a boat as well...
Which is why Reuel Parker's ("The New Cold-Molded Boatbuilding") stitch & glue design for the Seabright 33 is neat...
Listening to Poco
So it goes...
