soft hull

I submit the following approximate scale with no evidence whatsovever to back it up.

Local/club competition at *any* position in the fleet - zero difference.

Regional/State/District competion, fighting for the top three spots - a little difference. Maybe one spot in the final standings.

National/Continental/World championship, fighting for the top ten spots - better get a new stiff boat.
 
thanks for the reply, the boat that i race on will bang and i hear it flex on a windy day because i sail on a huge river with big chop. ive noticed that if i keep the boat flat it doesnt bang around is that true with your experiences
 
thanks for the reply, the boat that i race on will bang and i hear it flex on a windy day because i sail on a huge river with big chop. ive noticed that if i keep the boat flat it doesnt bang around is that true with your experiences


Because there are so many factors that need to be considered when talking about racing, in this case Lasers, I think it is tough to try and quantify the losses due to a soft hull in numbers of boats lost at various levels.

Simply put, a stiff hull is more responsive, in both heavy and light air. With a stiff hull, all your body movements will transferred more effectively and crisply. This goes for the deck, as well. This is crucial upwind in heavy breeze with waves, or chop, as you face. You don't want your hull bowing in every time is is hit by a wave. You also don't want your deck sagging under your ass when you're hiking at full power and try to work the boat through the waves upwind. Also, a stiff hull will also tend to be both newer and lighter. I don't need to explain how these are advantageous, especially in light wind.

When the boat is perfectly flat, you'll notice that your bow is slightly out of the water. Depending how close together the chop in which you sail is, keeping your boat flat may, therefore, allow the bow to simply skip from wave top to wave top. This will stop the chop from hitting the side of the bow and making that pounding sound, as well as giving that pounding feeling.

I hope this has been helpful.
 

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