Hunters WB Demise

[Bosman]

I feel it is the companies that use computer assisted designs and push for CNC use on large scale that will be able to quickly adapt to new trends and introduce new models every few years. And survive in the shrinking sailboats market. Northman that was mentioned here had the first boats leaving the production line only about 3 months after the renders of the new model were made public. Now that is quick.

 

[GGordonWoody]

if the boat will plane, the speed of the boat reduces the wind load on the sails.

Not trying to hijack post, and not doubting, just trying to understand this. On a fixed course, as hull R decreases, boat speed increases, and AWA decreases. You're faster and sails are less loaded by virtue of what, not trimming? Just sounding it out. Thanks man.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Gents

Post was about the demise of HunterbW/B. Please start a new thread on anything else under all sailors forum. Thanks

 

[Jackdaw]

I feel it is the companies that use computer assisted designs and push for CNC use on large scale that will be able to quickly adapt to new trends and introduce new models every few years. And survive in the shrinking sailboats market. Northman that was mentioned here had the first boats leaving the production line only about 3 months after the renders of the new model were made public. Now that is quick.

@Bosman
That certainly helps. Every design/new boat has an amount of up-front costs for it, be it one boat or a 1000. Everything from design and labor and tooling. They call it their Non-Reoccurring Expense, or NRE. A boat builder will know how many boats they have to sell to spread out this NRE across all the hulls. The lower the NRE, the fewer boats they need to make, and can do so at lower cost.

If you can design it and build the mold and then the boat in 6 months, and know you only have to sell 30, its a lot easier to track user trends.

 

[GBGraham]

@Bosman[/USER

If you can design it and build the mold and then the boat in 6 months, and know you only have to sell 30, its a lot easier to track user trends.

With the progression of 3D printer system technology that is about these days and growing ever bigger in real time plus the onward progression of CAD systems available, boat design along with almost any other designs are so far ahead from yesteryear.
This can only make manufacturing along with any modifications quicker and more cost effective, thus delivering a quicker build time and production profits a lot sooner and just maybe make the cost to the end user a little less.

 

[Jackdaw]

With the progression of 3D printer system technology that is about these days and growing ever bigger in real time plus the onward progression of CAD systems available, boat design along with almost any other designs are so far ahead from yesteryear.
This can only make manufacturing along with any modifications quicker and more cost effective, thus delivering a quicker build time and production profits a lot sooner and just maybe make the cost to the end user a little less.

Yep. Like the new 40 foot J/121. Here is the male plug for the mold being cut from foam by a huge NC miller.

 

[Doug4bass]

Wow....thats pretty cool. I watched them at the Catalina/Largo plant form a 275 mold by hand, but nothing like that.

 

[Daveinet]

Not trying to hijack post, and not doubting, just trying to understand this. On a fixed course, as hull R decreases, boat speed increases, and AWA decreases. You're faster and sails are less loaded by virtue of what, not trimming? Just sounding it out. Thanks man.

My point was to demonstrate the diminishing returns of ballast. Light boats just go fast, rather than consuming all the energy to displace water equal to the ballast weight. The energy goes into speed, rather than force against the sail to push the ballast weight through the water. Multi-hulls are light, but still carry a large sail area compared to the weight, because they just go fast, rather than pushing ballast. My boat is light for its size, and has a low ballast weight for the sail area. I don't find it particularly unstable, because rather than be unstable, it just goes faster. Your passengers become the ballast. With 4 people on board, I've carried full sails in 25 knots.
To argue the point, I think manufacturers want to make small boats have big boat cruising characteristics. But that also means they are slow, since you have a short waterline. In the smaller cruiser line, you just need to give up some of that weight, build a light boat that will plane, otherwise you end up with a stable pig, that isn't all that fun to sail.

 

[GBGraham]

My point was to demonstrate the diminishing returns of ballast. Light boats just go fast, rather than consuming all the energy to displace water equal to the ballast weight. The energy goes into speed, rather than force against the sail to push the ballast weight through the water. Multi-hulls are light, but still carry a large sail area compared to the weight, because they just go fast, rather than pushing ballast. My boat is light for its size, and has a low ballast weight for the sail area. I don't find it particularly unstable, because rather than be unstable, it just goes faster. Your passengers become the ballast. With 4 people on board, I've carried full sails in 25 knots.
To argue the point, I think manufacturers want to make small boats have big boat cruising characteristics. But that also means they are slow, since you have a short waterline. In the smaller cruiser line, you just need to give up some of that weight, build a light boat that will plane, otherwise you end up with a stable pig, that isn't all that fun to sail.

I'm showing you as a quote to be polite as in an attempt to prove the point, but in a different way. . . . .
My point and dismay is purely in the demise of water ballast boats, as in not everything ticks all the boxes all the time.
But, in my mind there is vast reasoning for them. I cannot praise the sailing characteristics of a WB boat personally because I have not sailed mine yet, only a McGreggor 26x . (this does enter my argument)
We are talking of only the benefits (or negatives) of a WB trailer sailor
ake it from me, I will report back factually when it happens with all the pluses and minuses