Hull physics, rating systems, sail materials, and the designers who changed what was possible. Technical depth without the textbook.
Froude's hull speed formula, the displacement/planing divide, keel evolution from full to canting, and what the GZ curve actually means for safety offshore.
Read article →PHRF, IRC, ORR, ORC, and one-design explained — how each works, where each is used, and what the 1979 Fastnet taught us about the dangers of rating-driven design.
Read article →How sails generate lift, why draft position matters more than most sailors know, and an honest look at the materials tradeoffs between Dacron, laminate, and molded construction.
Read article →Herreshoff, Olin Stephens, Laurent Giles, Britton Chance Jr., Ron Holland, Bruce Farr, and Juan Kouyoumdjian — the designers whose boats changed what the sport thought was possible.
Read article →These articles are written for working sailors — people who race or cruise and want to understand the engineering behind their boats. They assume a reasonable familiarity with sailing but no background in naval architecture. The goal is to give you a useful mental model, not a complete engineering education.