I am a great admirer of John C the elder sailing his Hunter 30 and having it brought me home in all sorts of conditions. I respect John C the younger and found myself appreciative of many of his ideas.
As a former dinghy sailor a boat essentially without ballast I learned use your boat for what it is designed to do and it will do it. I love my old Hunter. 30 for her age she is both comfortable and fast. I have beaten many a larger more modern Hunter on a course to windward. That being said I use her for what she was designed to do.
my Vagabond could go up on plane but she also would have been deadly at 40 knots my 30 with the right reef and jib furled eats that up. I have not sailed on a water ballasted boat boat but I am sure if you use it for what it was designed it will do what it should. I would not expect it to poi t like my Hunter or even the Vagabond but I would expect it to take me wher neither could go.
Every boat is a compromise. The question is does its compromise match yours. Dave and John and all of us should remember no matter how brilliant the deign a jack hammer is never a scalpel even in the hands of a surgeon. The opposite is true too. Few roads get built with scalpels.
As a former dinghy sailor a boat essentially without ballast I learned use your boat for what it is designed to do and it will do it. I love my old Hunter. 30 for her age she is both comfortable and fast. I have beaten many a larger more modern Hunter on a course to windward. That being said I use her for what she was designed to do.
my Vagabond could go up on plane but she also would have been deadly at 40 knots my 30 with the right reef and jib furled eats that up. I have not sailed on a water ballasted boat boat but I am sure if you use it for what it was designed it will do what it should. I would not expect it to poi t like my Hunter or even the Vagabond but I would expect it to take me wher neither could go.
Every boat is a compromise. The question is does its compromise match yours. Dave and John and all of us should remember no matter how brilliant the deign a jack hammer is never a scalpel even in the hands of a surgeon. The opposite is true too. Few roads get built with scalpels.