Choice yacht designs by Henderson Richard 1924-

Author:Henderson, Richard, 1924-
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Yacht building, Naval architecture
Publisher: Camden, Me. : International Marine Pub. Co.
Published: 1979-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Vega's lines indicate good balance and directional stability. One would expect her to sail downwind very well, but her upwind performance is somewhat surprising, considering her shoal draft. ('Yachting World)

Many of the Vega's unique accommodation features cannot be shown in a standard arrangement plan, but several of them are apparent, such as double faucets in the galley, the sliding head sink, and the trash container under the bridge deck.

The Vega 27

Her lines give us a clue as to why the Vega is so fast and well mannered when running off in fresh winds. Her flatfish run and low deadrise encourage surfing; her bow is nicely flared to keep it from burying; there is little forefoot to root; and the keel is fairly long and shallow to encourage directional stability. Then too, her moderately light displacement helps keep her on top of the water.

One would not expect such a hull to be very good against the wind, at least not in rough seas, but she does surprisingly well on a heavy-weather beat. After Peter Richmond sailed one of these boats, Eva, across the notoriously rugged North Sea, he wrote, "The most impressive feature of our Vega was its ability to beat to windward under rather adverse conditions for a 27-foot boat." To be sure, the boat pounded some with her flatfish bilge, but according to Richmond, she had plenty of power to drive to weather, and she stayed on top of the seas rather than plowing into them. It was said that Eva averaged over four knots on the rugged beat.

A speed curve published by the producers of the Vega shows that her best speed made good to windward in 16 knots of true wind occurs at a heading of around 42 degrees, which seems a bit optimistic to me. I'm sure this angle between the true wind and heading presupposes very smooth water, because when I sailed one of these boats into a short chop, I needed to crack off quite a lot to keep her footing.

The Vega's beam is somewhat modest by modern standards, and this detracts slightly from initial stability. John Neal almost always sailed with a reefed main in the South Pacific, and he eventually bought a small roachless and battenless sail with the equivalent area of a normal single-reefed main. Of course, this was strictly a cruising rig that was primarily for the purpose of simplifying sail handling with a small crew. I don't mean to imply that the Vega is tender, because she has ample reserve stability with her 40 percent ballast-to-d isplacement ratio and her short rig. As Peter Richmond "^put it when describing his North Sea crossing, "While her angle of heel was considerable, such that

maneuvering below was rather tricky, her lee deck was never buried, and once she settled her shoulder she became very stiff."

One of the nice features about the Vega, to my way of thinking, is the shallow keel. It is deep enough to ensure sufficient reserve stability and

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