Seascape 24

[shemandr]

We have one in our Wed PM fleet and it's not going well for them. The thing looks fast but so far isn't. In fairness the boat is only in it's second season but send out the alarms. First of all upwind it is only 24' or less on the waterline. So It goes upwind at best as good as a J24. Last pm they sailed with a lot of heal. I presume to reduce hull drag. But they weren't fast. Maybe they should sail it more flat? Unfortunately downwind hasn't been a lot better for them. They need to get thing up on a plane but in 12 to 15 knots but they couldn't. Maybe they are still on the ascending end of the learning curve, or maybe this boat is a misfire. We'll see.

 

[JohnShannon]

I find Seascape 24 with a PHRF of 102 vs the J24 at 171 (lake champlain) so that committee thinks the 24 is 69 seconds a mile faster than a J24. That is a pretty big difference he ought to be beating the J24 bloody boat for boat. Offer to borrow the boat?

 

[Jackdaw]

Asym planing boats vs traditional sym boats are a crap shoot. Some times we crush the j/70s. Some times they crash us. PHRF racing.

 

[Green Flash]

I am waiting for my new Seascape 24 to arrive. Had a J-24 for a while. OP if your races are all windward leeward, and in fairly light wind, it's going to be tough for those guys. Years ago when I was sailing in your area there were a lot of light south wind days...8-12 knots. Actually the water line length of a J-24 is about 20 feet (see slant bow, narrower stern) whereas this boat wl is 24, so it's hull speed will be about half a knot faster. However in light conditions, wetted surface is important, and it has more wetted surface so it will take longer to get up to full hull speed.
Off wind, at 12 knots they should be a little faster than the J24 and should be able to plane on a reach but not too deep. The more wind, the deeper they can sail, and still plane. But on windward leewards, it's a pretty tough race because if you can't plane, you are just a displacement boat without an articulating pole. Because of the articulating pole, the spinnaker boats can sail much closer to dead down while keeping good air flow on their sails. At 8-10, these boats will only plane on a beam or close reach. In light moderate conditions a J-24 to weather can use a 150 genoa up wind very effectively. But heavier upwind, the Seascape should be faster because it has a longer water line, in heavier conditions wetted surface is only a small part of the drag that slows the boat down. Very light conditions, racing is very much an issue of keeping good air flow on the sails. Off the wind, the whole question is wind speed and wind angle. It's because below 90 degrees actual, apparent wind speed drops the deeper and faster you go. At 12 they should be able to plane but not deep. So it would be right that in light moderate wind conditions especially on a windward leeward course, these boats might not be any faster than a J 24. If that's your normal conditions you should provide this to your rating committee. In more wind, or on triangle courses, this boat will perform to its current rating. On a reach at 15 knots this boat will absolutely run away from a J-24.