How to Plane

So I have been going on about planing recently and have found the following top tips which we'll be putting into effect in the next race..... planing can happen in a suitably designed boat in moderate to strong winds if the crew do some or all of the following:

• Sail on a reach or broad reach to begin
• Slacken the jib
• Raise the centreboard
• Increase the speed
• Keep the hull level, trapeze if necessary
• Observe the wake until it is smooth and fast.
• Move the crew weight increasingly towards the rear to begin and to sustain planing
• Sheet in as speed increases, and apparent wind correspondingly moves forward.
• Keep the boat flat and level
• Bear away to maintain speed as necessary
• Flick or pump the sails (although there are restrictions on doing this in a race)

While planing, it is important to steer through the waves, avoiding any collision with the wave in front. Also, in dinghies, keep good control of the sail power. A small change in wind direction can easily cause a capsize or gybes. Boat control becomes easier as planing begins, but fast reactions are often needed to get there, to keep the speed up and to keep the boat level. Crew balance and trim are vital, as are sail trimming and minimal centreboard.

How Fast Does a Topper Xenon go?

Now that I am in my second season of racing the Topper Xenon, I am starting to get interested in just how fast we might be going!

There is a formula for calculating the maximum hull speed of a boat which is....

HSPD = maximum hull speed in knots
LWL = hull length in feet at waterline

I will need to make a few minor assuptions - the length of the Topper Xenon is 4.5m and this will be assumed to be the LWL which in feet = 14.764ft


HSPD therefore = 4.37 knots (8.1kph or 5.02 mph)


Now here's the real key thing to understand about how you are going to win races. You have got to learn to plane because when you do the formula goes out of the window.