Fisher 46 - First in 15 years!

[jason -and the arguenauts]

Looking through some of the details some have posted of their own boats recently are

44 foot 22 tons
35 foot 12 tons
33 foot 10 tons

Now these are seriously, and dangerously overweight in that they are close to being twice as heavy as what one would normally call a heavy boat.

If the weights are correct. For reasons I dont understand, the weight of their boat appears to some people to be, like the size of their willy, the length of the fish they caught, the speed of their car etc, a reason for exaggeration. The heavier the better.

See it all the time at our club. Recently had the owner of a Moody 346 telling me that his boat weighed 12 tonnes and not the 4 tonnes than my more modern Moody 336 weighed.

Often the exaggeration comes from taking seriously the weights given out by crane drivers and then rounding up.

In short I would ignore what people say about boat weights and instead use the www data or just guess.

[jonjo]

See it all the time at our club. Recently had the owner of a Moody 346 telling me that his boat weighed 12 tonnes and not the 4 tonnes than my more modern Moody 336 weighed.

I was rafted alongside a Westerly Conway 36 the other day and the crew told me the displacement was 13 tons. It was a nonsense figure but having experienced the fragile temperament of Westerly sailors I did tackle him on the numbers.

[Coaster]

I wonder how many boats have been accurately weighed? Manufacturers' stated displacements, particularly for older boats, seem likely to be very approximate.

Our own boat (24 years old) has a builder's stated displacement of 5.7 tons. But the same boat with a very small sugarscoop platform added is said to displace 6.4 tons. As the two models are otherwise almost identical I find it hard to believe that sticking on an 11" platform, which doesn't even extend the waterline length, adds threequarters of a ton.

When recently lifted by crane, with no mast and with empty tanks, the crane registered 7.2 tons. Deducting a small amount for the slings produces a figure enormously at odds with stated displacement.

What other practical methods exist for assessing actual displacement?

[Tranona]

.

What other practical methods exist for assessing actual displacement?

Calculating the underwater volume of the hull will give you the volume/weight of the water displaced. However, complicated calculation given the shape of a boat. So most older boats were "guessed" at for a number of reasons - difficulty of calculation, belief of many that weight was good so the more the better, and poor controls over building process. Then add all the clobber added over the years (easily a ton or more on a 30-35ft cruiser) and you can see how far out you can be.

Modern designs usually have more accurate displacements because the 'puter does it for you. But you still need to know if it is light or in cruising trim . For example my boat has a design displacement (light) of 5360kg. Just filling the fuel and water tanks adds over 400kg or 8% to that - before I add the beer etc. I would estimate the ready to go displacement at about 6500kg.

[Chris_Robb]

Does the genoa sheet really go all the way back to the stern platform, before turning?

Ken - it looks like it is sheeted first to the rail , quite far foreward, and only goes to the sterm for a clear angle to the winch. If she was a cutter with a big yankee, then perhaps it would be sheeted on the stern.

[Coaster]

Calculating the underwater volume of the hull will give you the volume/weight of the water displaced. However, complicated calculation given the shape of a boat...

That's why I wrote practical method.

I wondered whether the marine equivalent of a vehicle weighbridge existed.

[Tranona]

That's why I wrote practical method.

I wondered whether the marine equivalent of a vehicle weighbridge existed.

Not that I am aware of except for the load guage on a crane. However these seem very unreliable based on wide variations people report.

[Sybarite]

Welcome to the forum.

I agree it's a beautiful boat; however, my allegiances switched after a visit aboard a Nauticat 44. http://www.nauticat.com/Default.aspx?Id=436151&BoatId=8

However if pushed I would opt for this : http://www.yachtmonalisa.com/


John