There has been discussion on this before. It is one of those many searches for micro-knots. I personally like handling first.
I agree with Bob Dudinsky on the variables and there are others. Boats that are weighed and reported are not always ballasted the same. The amount of ballast in the boat, if one piece, is not known. (The first thing I do in building a NEW boat is to document the weight of the hull, deck, rudder and primary ballast. If multi ballasted, I weigh all the pieces after sawing and the same when adding pieces for trim. Know the weight of the rigs. The 2006 NCR was the only I have seen to weigh the rigs to use the proper pig on the boat in the tank.)
If you are looking for comparisons, it is very hard to do. Building multiple configured boats in a controlled experiment is outside financial reason. Even for the data in the manual Optimizing did not do this.
Regardless of building efforts, a boat with 2 degrees of bow up trim will have a longer waterline than the same boat trimmed to level in the same tank.
Lastly, lakeside event measuring is notoriously inaccurate from the start with no controlled standards for the measurement. If you will look at The Weight section on the Building Site, you will see a controlled process with a properly leveled table and tank and measurements all perfectly square. This tank easily measures to a 1/16th of an inch.
94 is trimmed to be level under power. As such, she has been illegal at the lake and forced to take out the 1-1/2 pound Big Foot to make the 43 waterline. At another she barely made 42 with Big Foot inside. I generally sail with BF, as she is better balanced. So, I am not big on tanking at the lake but live with it.
I have build narrow and wide. Each is for a water and wind condition. That is not good. A traveler needs to have a boat for all. Here is my opinion from experience on narrow beam up front: It exponentially increases the rate of bow down driven by the moments of the rig under pressure. I do not like big changes to varying wind conditions in competition.
If all these things are considered in building, tuning and trimming and she is sailing on her lines under power, she will be all she can be and love her.
...94
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