HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL. I RECENTLY RECEIVED AMEL
SM #347 & DELIVERED HER (SULAJON) FROM LAROCHELLE TO
LAGOS, PORTUGAL. ON JANUARY 17, 2002 WE WILL DEPART
LAGOS FOR THE CANARIES, THEN ONTO THE CARIBBEAN (BVI).
MY EXPERIENCE WAS BETTER THAN I EVER IMAGINED. AS I
HAD SAILED ON TWO SM'S I HAD PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS
ABOUT HER SAILING CAPABILITIES! HOWEVER, I WAS TRULY
IMPRESSED WITH HER DOWN WIND TRACKING AND LIGHT HELM, NOT
TO MENTION AMEL'S ATTENTION TO DETAIL. WHAT WAS A
SURPRISE WAS HER TENDANCY TO POUND IN A CHOP GOING TO
WEATHER. MY PLAN UPON MY RETURN IS TO BROAD REACH TO THE
CARIBBEAN. PLANS FREQUENTLY DON'T WORK OUT AS LAID OUT,
THEREFORE THE REASON FOR MY QUESTION. I AM THINKING OF
REMOVING NEARLY 700 POUNDS OF ANCHORS & CHAIN FROM THE
STEM AND STOWING SAME IN BURLAP BAGS BENEATH THE
GENSET WITH SUITABLE LASHINGS. COMMENTS,
SUGGESTIONS?<br>JOHN FOLINO

Hi John,<br>Your plan to place anchors and chain
in engine room can't hurt. However, the SM's
tendency to pound to weather may have more to do with the
relatively flat bow sections than with weight distribution.
Compared to the earlier Maramu, the SM is quite flat
forward. This makes her lighter and also faster in light
winds (less wetted surface), but does lead to pounding
in a chop. <br>In any boat, moving weight from the
ends to the center reduces pitching moment of inertia,
meaning she'll rise faster to the next wave, and also
come down faster in the trough. Whether this reduces
pounding is questionnable. What it will do is reduce green
water over the bow.<br>Let us know what you find out if
you try it!<br>Regards, Roy Benveniste

ROY,<br>THANKS FOR THE RESPONSE. THIS WILL BE AN
EXPERIMENT AND I CERTAINLY WILL ADVISE YOU OF THE RESULTS. I
HAVE A TRADITIONAL 40' YAWL ON BUZZARDS BAY (CAPE COD
AREA). SHE HAS A FULL KEEL WITH A CENTERBOARD, BUT
SELDOM POUNDS. SHE HEELS AND PITCHES, YAWS AND ROLLS
THROUGH CHOP, BUT CERTAINLY NOT AS FAST AS THE SM. I AM
AWARE OF THE FLATTER SECTIONS, BUT IF THATS HER ONLY
NEGATIVE POINT, THEN I CAN LIVE WITH THIS.<br>HAPPY NEW
YEAR,<br>JOHN FOLINO

John,<br>I am following your entries with
interest as we will get our SM Sept. 16. We had a Pearson
356 which did not pound at all and the sections
through the bows sounds like a good
explanation.<br><br>"Buzzards Bay", hmmmm. I had heard from Peter Briggs that
someone in Mattapoisett was getting a SM. Could that be
you?<br><br>Jim Wiggin

John,<br><br>Regarding downwind tracking, did you add the Gyro-plus option to the auto pilot?<br><br>Jim Wiggin

JIM,<br>YES I DID AND SINCE MY 40' YAWL IN
BUZZARDS BAY HAS AN AUTOHELM 6000 WITHOUT THE "GYRO" AND A
FULL KEEL, AND WANDERS AIMLESSLY OFF THE WIND! I CAN
ONLY SAY THAT THE SM WITH AUTOPILOT STEERS
EFFORTLESSLY DOWNWIND IN GOOD SIZED SWELLS (10' TO 15') WITH
20 APPARENT KTS ON A BROAD REACH. IN FACT THE AMP
METER BARELY MOVES SUGGESTING RELATIVELY LOW
EFFORT.<br>HAPPY NEW YEAR,<br>JOHN FOLINO