Continental One Design 3/4 man keelboat
The Design Problem: To design a cost effective 3 to 4 person production keelboat with better performance than an Etchell 22 or an International Dragon. It should offer competitive racing for existing keelboat sailors, as well as cater for less experienced crew through stability and ease of handling.
Solution: We chose an over-hanging hull form, which offers reduced wetted area, yet increased sailing length at speed. The over-hang allows the optimisation of the sail plan to accommodate both light airs and
heavy airs sailing. In light airs, the sail area to wetted area ratio is more significant than length, and because of the boat's reduced wetted area in comparison to other designs of the same length, a smaller sail plan can be chosen, without reducing performance. In heavy airs, the boat is more easily handled as the sail plan is smaller than most boats of a similar size.
The over-hang also allows the boat's length to increase as it heels, which in turn increases its overall speed. It is the ability to benefit from both reduced wetted area and increased
length which makes this boat a successful all-rounder. In addition, a useful balance of form
stability (waterline beam determined) and ballast stability (keel/bulb determined) has been achieved in order to maintain a slender, more easily driven hull.
The result is the Continental One Design, built by Nigel Harley in Cowes. In production, she will take advantage of new lightweight construction techniques, such as Resin Transfer Moulding, and is built from materials which offer a long competitive life.
With a competitive IRC rating, she more than held her own in Cowes Week 2004 against the latest 30-35ft offerings from leading raceboat builders, and has the potential to be a serious contender on the circuit.