I test sailed the R33, and it is indeed a very fast and boat. With
its tall mast and huge code 0 on the bowsprit, it's particularly good
in light air. The design is a bit funky with that backrest, but it's
really nice to lean back and sail when everything is set just right.
It was an amazing value for $40,000 US (minus sails) when it was first
advertised. Now that it's closer to $140,000 US fully-rigged, it's not
quite such a value any more.
I chose a used Stiletto 27 instead of the Reynolds, partially because
it's nice to have a removable hard cockpit deck, and partially because
the entire boat could be had for the cost of a down payment on the R33.
A Harry should be able to compete with an R33, but that would require
some effort. You'd need either a really tall mast, a schooner rig,
headsails, or a combination of the three. The R33 would lack the
Harry's righting moment, but it sure does have an awesome amount of
sail area for its weight. Not quite like the Décision 35's, but still
a lot of canvas.
For the same price as an R33, you could have a really fast harry that
would include a head, galley, standing headroom, and two double bunks.
The Harry would also be a lot easier to sail, will probably be safer,
and should be faster in some wind conditions. If you wanted to race
against the R33, though, you'd have to go past the standard easy rig.
It could be done, but you'd have to spend more time pulling strings and
less time sipping that ice cold drink.
- Mike
Robert wrote:
Don't know about a Reynolds 33 at 'only 3000lbs' being necessarily
faster . A 40'lw hull harry weighs not much more than half of that. You
can pile your stores in the ww hull to bring it to the same weight and
you have 50% more righting moment and a longer waterline length with
higher prismatic coefficient for the hull with the load on it so you
can push it harder before pichpoling. This 3000lb is not much less than
the 3700lbs for 50' Visionary, a cruiser built in strip plank.
Sometimes I wonder at the figures for Harry designs in contrast with
catamarans and tris and try to work out where the differences are but
there are now five built and the reality confirms the estimated weights.
regards,
Robert
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