PARADOX in the Baltic

[Chris Partridge]

OK this is mainly for Al and Pete but may be of general interest.
This guy, Eerik Mee, has built an enlarged Paradox which he saiIs in the Baltic, and has posted videos here https://youtu.be/b18mDyrHMMk
Something I have always wanted to know...how well do the chine runners work, really? Do you just put up with making a lot of leeway for the sake of the simplicity and robustness of the chine runners or are they as effective as a centreboard?

(That should have lit the the blue touch paper)

[alopenboat]

In calm water I find that I can point as high as many other, more conventional, boats. However the hull shape is not designed for speed so I am often slower. If there is a chop this knocks the speed down further, but, as long as forward speed can be maintained, leeway is not usually a problem.

I believe that the chine runners are only a small part of the leeway reduction. They work in conjunction with the hull shape and the large rudder.

Turn up at Cobnor this year and you can try it for yourself.

[Chris Partridge]

Interesting! I did note that you managed to keep up very well when we sailed across Hayling Bay that time despite my boat being described by Len as a "go_faster" hull.
How deep are the chine runners?

[alopenboat]

Chris Partridge wrote

How deep are the chine runners?

I don't really know. On an even keel it is supposed to be 9". Scaling off the stability curve 20 deg heel (the sweet spot) I estimate 12" and Max depth, at 60 deg heel, is about 14".

[Randonneur]

As a non Paradox owner, I'll answer what I know anyway.
Matt Layden described his "system" in Small Craft Magazine. He says leeway is prevented by a combination of 3 things;
1. the large rudder combined with CoE well aft.
2.the "lifting hull" design.
3. the chine runners.
Here's the article, sorry it's a bit disjointed.
http://www.yrvind.com/uploaded_images/ABF-076-1KPX-777426.jpg
http://www.yrvind.com/uploaded_images/ABF-075-1KPX-748812.jpg
http://www.yrvind.com/uploaded_images/ABF-077-1KPX-719644.jpg
http://www.yrvind.com/uploaded_images/ABF-078-1KPX-769320.jpg
http://www.yrvind.com/uploaded_images/ABF-079-1KPX-722154.jpg

From my personal experience, I documented some GPS data of my upwind track.
http://paradoxbuild-johanna.blogspot.com/2011/07/does-paradox-sail-upwind.html
I think the main problem is once you start to shorten sail and sea conditions deteriorate, pointing ability suffers.

Hope that helps. My Paradox is now cruising somewhere in Germany...

Pete

[Chris Waite]

Touch paper is only blue until you set light to it

You use the word 'Enlarged'; is Eerik's boat any bigger than the standard, which I believe is fourteen feet?

I'm really jealous of the armchair-comfort it affords, but the chine runners are a sort of nautical equivalent of the upturned wing tips on modern jetliners.  Along with light coloured paint, they save the air travel companies millions, but if you're crawling your way out of a hole to leeward, they do not compare with a vertical foil to hold you up to weather.  They just don't.

I have actually tried such a thing one time, but between the boat and my lack of understanding I don't think my version made a lot of difference.

Compare larger sailing craft, say the collier brigs that used to work our coasts, they were often left to dry out on a beach so had nothing more than the hull shape to get them to windward -



It is the eternal compromise and Matt Layden has done a terrific job of maximizing the Paradox's windward ability without adding a dedicated vertical underwater surface.

But it is a compromise

 Christo the W

[Paul H (admin)]

When Al and myself left Newtown Creek many years ago, MilliBee could point about 10 degrees higher into a NE wind.

MilliBee also has a large rudder, so maybe that helped her point higher.  She ploughs through chop well, which is a benifit if the Paradox slows in chop.

Horses for courses I think. The Paradox is built like a tank and keeps you dry, so Al can comfortably head into F6 whilst drinking a coffee and doing the Times crossword!


The first time I sculled was in Al's Paradox at the Beale Park show (rip). I could easily scull her in a circle back to the pontoon, so something under the water was helping.


Paul