Incident in BR20

[Peter Rhodes]

I have only had my Bay Raider 20, ´Wind in the Willows', for just over a year so I am hoping that a much more experienced member can shed some light on an incident which happened to me out on the water.  Yesterday (March 9th) I was sailing with one crew member (both of us average weight) and no water ballast.  The Met had given us a wind of around 10 kts and the sea was flat.  We were flying the spinnaker and according to my hand held GPS (so questionable accuracy) we were making a steady 5.5 to 6 kts.  Suddenly, for no obvious reason, the bow of the boat lifted for a few seconds before settling back down into the water.  If this had happened just once I could have ignored it, but it happened about four or five times during the sail.  Now my question is, was she trying to get up onto the plane, or was it just a combination of my imagination and wistful thinking?  I look forward to hearing from anyone who can shed some light on the incident.  Kind regards.  Peter Rhodes.

[Peter Taylor]

Hi Peter, I don't sail a BR20 and my BC20 won't plane, given the fridge and all the other "home comforts" I've added (sorry Matt!). However that your BR20 was trying to plane sounds quite possible to me. A speed of 5.5 to 6 kts is approaching hull speed for a 20' hull and my understanding is that an unballasted BR20 will plane given enough wind and the right point of sailing.

Of course what counts is speed through the water which your GPS doesn't tell you. If you were sailing against a current then the boat might well have been at hull speed and any wind gusts would try to lift her out of the trough of the bow wave and on to the plane.

Peter

[Graham W]

From the few times when my BR20 has gone very fast downwind, mostly with ballast in, it has felt as if the stern was digging in. Which must also mean that the bow was up.  But the effect on the stern was more noticeable because the steering became heavier and the wake and outboard well turbulence (when I had lamellae) was pretty impressive.  It was noisy too.  See Matthew’s video of a ‘Holy Ship’ incident during Raid England in 2015 https://youtu.be/BbGbWQksY84

I think having extra sail up front can lift the bow during gusts too.  I’ve rarely used a spinnaker but I’ve noticed the forward horizon shifting a bit when sailing with a flying jib on my plank bowsprit.  Andy described it as a BR20 lifting her skirts.