Maybe an obvious question but...

Don S/V ILLusion · Jan 28, 2015

The only way a 36 ft boat will be going 12 knots is if it falls off a cliff. Having said that, a boat moving at half that speed can leave a wake if the stern is heavy and lying low in the water. All sailboats create a small bow wake. At any distance, both wakes are indiscernible.

Jackdaw · Jan 28, 2015

Don's right in the general case, a 35 foot sailboat will not go that fast. Do to hull speed limitations they will max out at about 7-8 knots. And at this speed they will be generating a big (for that size and speed) wake.

But to answer your question exactly, a 35 footer that CAN go 12 knots generates very little wake! ;^)

centerline · Jan 28, 2015

there is a difference between racing boats, extreme designs and cruisers.

typically, the common sailboat as most of us own is built to slip thru the water with as little drag or disturbance as possible at a slow speed, so as opposed to a "planing" powerboat hull, which is a much different design that the displacement hull of a sailboat, the sailboat wake is very minimal.
the water normally closes gently around the rear of the hull as it moves thru the water, but is separated a bit harsher in the front of the hull, creating a bit of a ripple that dies out quickly.

a high speed power cruiser moving thru the rodeway at only 6kts is going to create a lot of rocking and rolling of the vessels that are anchored there for several minutes after the boat has gone, but a sailboat moving thru at the same speed, either under power or under sail, will make little difference. 50ft behind the sailboat there will be nothing but a few bubbles left behind.

there are also power cruisers built with displacement hulls which travel at or below hull speed and they can also slip thru the water with very little disturbance of the surface.

Kings Gambit · Jan 28, 2015

Steener19 said:
I am writing a story for my grand kids that involve sailing. I am not a sailor so I may be asking an obvious question. I've been told a sailboat does NOT create a wake. I find that counter-intuitive. What would a 36 foot hull with a 12 foot beam moving at 10-12 knots leave behind?

Thanks in advance.

I'm pretty certain that any object moving though any type of fluid medium leaves a wake of some kind. Sailboats under sail are typically designed, I believe, to minimize the wake--i.e., the bigger the wake, the greater the drag from turbulance, & consequently, the less the energy reserved for the forward motion of the vessel, etc. A vessel under power if not planing typically leaves the greatest relative wake b/c the stern of the vessel is pulled down to more of a vertical angle meeting the water--thus, pushing more water aside leaving the big, lumpy, wakes.