I have questions

| Flat panels, you poke a rectangular piece of ply through the hole, rotate it and let water pressure hold it in place.

How does one open the hole to a size that one can fit the patch through, while it is under water? Hand saw? Does this get complicated with kevlar?

If you holed the ww hull, how many inches would one expect the hull to sink?
Has to be different per boat, and according to it's loading, but is this a calculation that is known?
Can you step through how you would imagine a hull hole would be repaired at sea?

How likely is it that a hole breaches the hull, given the crush biws?

| Drying out on a deep V is good on sand, but just as likely to end in damage on rocks as a flat bottom. Both need a couple of tyres or planks to sit on.

The damage, if any, would be the same for either hull shape, right?
I imagine the lighter/longer boat would have the advantage, as less force per area?

| The shallower the hull, the easier these are to put in place.

Why is a shallow hull easier? Shorter jack?

| Peter said it all about bilges for stowage. Tanks that can't be easily drained and cleaned are useless if you are sailing off the beaten track.

Does removable tanks matter?

| On a harry (or any unstayed rig), dump the sheet, the rig weathercocks and the boat drifts. Trip the main halyard lock and the head falls to the next lock down. Unhook the luff downhaul, hook it on to the reef point and pull it down. Pull in the leech reef line. Sheet on and go.

Does one have to goto the mast to hook the luff downhaul to the reef point?

| The sail area comparison was in response to Owly's performance comments. If he is happy with 30' cat performance, he could actually have a smaller rig on the 40' harry. Or, the hp rig could be bigger for the same safety margin and performance would go up accordingly. As would cost.

Of course, I see that now. Without regard to Owly's desires, I have considered safe speediness of a boat as a positive safety issue. Is it reasonable for me to suggest that a slow boat is less safe? Again, not much of a sailor here...

| You are correct about rudder developments. Already seeing things that can be made simpler, particularly with the one way blades.

When you have a moment, would you explain where you are with the bidirectional blades and the one way blades?
I imagine the one way blades give more performance per wetted area, and the Steinar's speed demon might be the impetus for its renewed development.
I imagine the bidirectional are simpler to sail?

I love how you don't get biased against ideas. Develop them all simultaneously!

| I am no keener on sitting in the sun or rain than you guys. But I do enjoy sailing (ie seeing the sails), sun rise, sun set and the sky at night. Any shade should be removable quickly and easily.

We had spoken on dodgers previously. I still have not seen a design that would lend itself to the modern HP cockpit.

| The cabin on the EX 40 is 1.5m/5' wide x 4.8m/16' long, and has direct access into the hull, which is another 750/30" wide.

That seems a big cabin.
But I thought Owly was doing a bridge deck cat?