34ft.6in. Fin-Keeled Sloop Flash
design specifications, sail plan, extended comments
Sail Plan, Specifications, and Comments
Flash
Flash
Construction: cedar-strip core sheathed in fiberglass
LOA: 34' 6"
Beam: 11' 0"
Draft: 6'6"
Displacement: 11,500 lbs
Ballast: 4,200 lbs
Sail Area: 661 sq.ft.
Builder:
Comments
From “Sailing Cruiser Design”: Of light displacement, with a tall rig and pared-down underwater appendages, Flash will require constant attention to sail her best. With her rounded sections and deep narrow keel and rudder, we have minimized wetted surface for good speed in light air. Wide beam with powerful quarters will give her the ability to get up and go when it blows.
Looking at her profile, we note very short overhangs and the almost vertical sheerline. Maximum waterline length was the objective in this styling, but I still couldn't bring myself to cut her off with vertical ends. The short overhangs make her look like a boat.
Flash carries a tall rig; Sailarea/Displacement ratio is 20.76 at her design weight of 11,500pounds. I considered three different rigs for this boat. The BOC type with masthead foretriangle, huge roach in the main, and no standing backstay, lacks durability. A three-quarter-sized foretriangle with jumpers and standing backstay is too finicky. My final choice was the masthead rig with standing backstay. In heavier winds the genoa is rolled up and the main reefed. With running backstays opposing the inner forestay, you can carry on under a well-stayed, short, and balanced sailplan.
In my view Flash is not an offshore or ocean cruising yacht. She does not have the dynamic or ultimate stability to quailfy as an "unrestricted offshore" class vessel.
last updated August 01, 2006