Chasing the Catamaran Dream: Beaufort Wind Force Scale Terminology

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Beaufort Wind Force Scale Terminology

For the newbie sailor he has a lot of homework to complete in order to learn the vast amount of sailing terms. There are tons of new words in my vocabulary now, like apparent wind, broad reach, healing, Jib, Genoa, etc, the list is long. If you are new to sailing and you are reading any sailing stories where there is some technical information you would have to use your imagination on a lot of these terms.

I currently read Cruising World and Multihulls World and I am also reading the book Catamarans, The Complete Guide for Cruising Sailors. In this book I am reading a section on sail trimming for increasing performance and there is repeated mention of wind conditions expressed like F1, F2, F3, etc. I suppose, had I taken sailing lessons I would know what they refer to, however this has not yet happened. The book doesn’t appear to explain what these mean either (At least I haven’t found it). The book appears to be geared toward the intermediate and up sailor. I am getting a lot out of it even though I am a newbie, however I will need to go back later to re-read things as they will make more sense now then they did when I read them as my knowledge and experience has increased.

I did some searching and finally found what I was looking for. I found a scale called the Beaufort Wind Force Scale that provides a chart of the various levels of force. Force 0 or F0 is Calm, and F1 is light air, just enough to give steerage way, etc. The complete table is shown below. Now I can read the book and get a lot more out of the section.

I may be going about this backwards. I suppose I should take sailing lessons and then start researching. I plan to take a serious look into sailing lessons at the Strictly Sail Boat show at Jack London Square in Oakland, Ca in April. Perhaps I will find a bargain there. Family obligations, camping and my own hobbies like playing in an adult soccer league on Sundays and fishing take up most of free time. At some point I will have to give up something to pursue my dream.

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Cat Statistics and Performance Ranking Table

Rank	Brand	Model	Aprox Price US	SA/D	D/L	BOA/ LWL	LWL ft	BOA ft	SA sq ft	Min Draft ft	Disp lbs	Bridge Clear-ance ft	Mast Height OWL ft	Payload lbs
2	NG Yacht Design	HIVA'OA 45		44.33	68.11	54.3%	46	25	1667.8	4	14850
2	Outremer	50 Light	$610,000	38.99	55.11	47.0%	50.00	23.50	1,505	4.2	15,432
4	Fusion Catamarans	40	$400,000	33.21	63.30	59.3%	40.00	23.70	900	4.2	9,075
5	Outremer	45	$525,000	34.13	78.56	52.3%	44.00	23.00	1,292	2	14,991		60
6	Outremer	50 Standard	$750,000	32.85	72.00	51.4%	50.00	25.70	1,515	4.2	20,160
8	Outremer	42	$550,000	30.56	80.98	53.3%	42	22.4	1076	1.9	13,440
10	Gunboat	48	$1,600,000	29.79	81.14	50.6%	48	24.3	1371	1.1	20,100
10	Switch Catamarans	51	$825,000	29.91	81.25	54.2%	48.00	26.00	1,378	4.2	20,128		79
13	Dolphin Catamarans	460	$480,000	27.61	91.60	52.7%	45.90	24.20	1,260	4.2	19,842	Good
16	Fountaine Pajot	Salina 48	$1,000,000	28.94	106.17	54.9%	46	25.25	1463.36	3.60	23,149	Good
17	Fountaine Pajot	Orana 44	$780,000	27.92	106.27	57.4%	42	24.11	1177.77	3.94	17,637
18	Knysna	440		33.11	118.24	59.4%	39.67	23.58	1338	3	16,535
18	Voyage Yachts	500 Standard	$630,000	26.48	96.82	57.5%	47.10	27.10	1,320	3.9	22,660	Good	68
18	Fountaine Pajot	Bahia 46	$469,500	27.31	105.67	53.9%	45.11	24.30	1,324	4.2	21,728
18	Fountaine Pajot	Mahe 36	$197,000	26.87	104.60	53.8%	36.10	19.41	829	3.62	11,023
19	PDQ Yachts	Antares 44i	$775	25.88	94.26	50.2%	43.6	21.9	1086	4	17,500
19	Robertson & Caine	Leopard 43	$385,000	27.90	109.89	53.8%	42.60	22.90	1,238	4.2	19,030
21	Aeroyacht Edel	H42		24.42	85.02	51.9%	42	21.8	888	3.00	14,110
22	Robertson & Caine	Leopard 46	$459,000	30.58	120.99	53.9%	44.70	24.10	1,593	4.5	24,206			13,271
22	Chantier Catana	43 Ocean	$750,000	39.49	130.60	56.6%	42.40	24.00	1,948	3.9	22,300	2.70
23	Lagoon	410S2	$350,000	25.67	105.47	57.2%	40.70	23.30	1,012	4.2	15,928
24	Alliaura Marine	Privilege 445	$635,000	27.09	116.97	55.0%	42.15	23.20	1,227	4.43	19,620		62
24	Alliaura Marine	Privilege 495		26.84	113.80	52.2%	46.06	24.05	1,425	4.43	24,910	Good*	65
25	Chantier Catana	47 Ocean	$884,000	33.51	132.55	55.8%	45.30	25.30	1,905	4.1	27,600	Good	64
25	Fountaine Pajot	Belize 43	$700,000	26.71	116.08	54.8%	42	23	1195	4.30	19,264
25	St. Francis Marine	50	$760,000	27.27	118.50	56.0%	47.00	26.30	1,549	4.2	27,558	2.80	71	9,500
26	Admiral Yacht Manufacturers	50	$595,000	24.20	105.44	55.0%	49.30	27.11	1,399	4.2	28,300
27	Gemini	105Mc		26.39	118.27	43.9%	31.9	14	690	1.5	8,600
28	Maine Cat	Cat 30	$174,000	24.30	106.49	61.4%	29.30	18.00	500	2	6,000	2.20	48	2,250
30	Admiral Yacht	38	$395,000	22.79	103.00	60.4%	38.10	23.00	775	4.2	12,760
31	Nautitech Catamarans	47	$592,500	23.75	111.96	56.3%	46.00	25.90	1,244	3.11	24,411	2.60
31	Broadblue Catamarans	385 Sport	$380,000	25.16	119.79	51.0%	38.60	19.70	971	3.5	15,432
32	Broadblue Catamarans	435	$570,000	23.33	110.43	50.5%	43.60	22.00	1,088	4.1	20,502
34	Fortuna Catamarans	Island Spirit 401	$310,000	24.71	122.19	57.2%	39.50	22.60	1,012	4.2	16,868
36	Chantier Catana	52 Ocean	$1,311,200	27.43	155.63	56.2%	50.20	28.20	2,131	4.5	44,100	Good	71
36	TomCat Boats	9.7	$150,000	19.52	103.54	50.0%	32.00	16.00	470	4.2	7,600
39	Robertson & Caine	Leopard 40	$309,000	25.20	141.26	53.5%	37.60	20.10	1,030	3.1	16,820		61	16,820
39	Voyage Yachts	440 Standard	$426,000	24.22	131.10	61.2%	41.00	25.10	1,120	3.5	20,240		62
39	Nautitech Catamarans	40	$355,000	23.37	124.69	54.9%	38.80	21.30	936	3.11	16,314	2.50
40	Maverick Yachts	380		25.73	147.50	69.2%	35.11	24.28	944	2.62	14,300	Good	49
40	Broadblue Catamarans	415		23.67	129.94	53.7%	41.00	22.00	1,088	4.1	20,061
41	Royal Cape Catamarans	50	$635,000	22.05	118.51	58.4%	49.30	28.80	1,378	4.2	31,808
42	Seawind USA	1160	$389,000	22.86	125.29	56.3%	38.00	21.40	881	4.2	15,400
42	Lagoon	440	$500,000	24.74	148.54	61.6%	41.1	25.3	1249	4.3	23,100
43	Broadblue Catamarans	385 aft	$371,000	21.71	119.79	51.0%	38.60	19.70	838	4.2	15,432
44	Maine Cat	Cat 41	$394,000	22.31	128.08	56.7%	40.60	23.00	996	2.6	19200	2.67	60	7,000
44	Alliaura Marine	Privilege 395	$476,000	21.88	122.29	55.1%	39.20	21.60	883	4.2	16,500
45	Lagoon	500	$710,000	23.30	137.71	53.2%	51.00	27.11	1,722	4.2	40,920
45	Seawind	1160		22.86	135.73	57.8%	37	21.4	881	3.90	15,400
45	Lagoon	500		23.73	142.82	57.1%	49	28	1659	4.7	37,639
47	Manta Catamarans	42 MkII	$389,950	20.64	123.23	53.7%	39.10	21.00	833	3.8	16,500	2.00	60
49	Fountaine Pajot	Lavezzi 40	$288,750	22.09	140.73	53.8%	39.00	21.00	969	3.5	18,700	Good
50	Nautitech Catamarans	44	$460,200	22.31	141.50	56.0%	40.00	22.40	1,033	3.11	20,286
50	Dean	441		23.10	160.59	55.8%	43	24	1345	4	28,600	High
50	Lagoon	380S2	$280,000	21.80	136.83	57.9%	37.11	21.50	850	4.2	15,664
51	Royal Cape Catamarans	45	$600,000	22.43	148.87	63.6%	45.30	28.80	1,378	4.2	31,000
57	Multihull Manufacturing Group	Jaguar 36	$230,000	21.28	179.33	63.6%	36	22.9	935	4.2	18,742
58	Lagoon	420 diesel	$380,000	20.01	166.82	61.1%	40.4	24.7	1055	4.2	24,640
58	Admiral Yacht Manufacturers	40	395000	18.30	163.82	64.7%	37.10	24.00	804	3.9	18,739
60	Lagoon	420KW		17.73	199.74	61.1%	40.4	24.7	1054	4.2	29,503
	Manta Catamarans		$389,950

SA/D= Sail Area / (Displacement/64)2/3 Higher is Better.
D/L=(Displacement in lbs/2240)/(0.01* LWL)3 Lower is Better.
Disp lbs=This # will vary and has a significant impact on the Ranking. Displacement empty VS loaded is not always avail.
SA=Total Sail area of the Main and Jib/Genoa
BOA=Beam Overall
BOC=Beam Over Centerline
LWL=Length at Water Level LWL is not always avail and as a result may be an estimate
OWL=Obove WaterLine
Formula Source=Catamarans, The Complete Guide for Cruising Sailors. Tarjan
The stats are subject to change and may not be 100% accurate. Report mistakes via email. Include a url to substantiate your findings.

Beaufort Wind Force Scale

Force	Name	Description
0	Calm
1	Light air.	Or just sufficient to give steerage way.
2	Light breeze	Or that in which a man-of-war, with all sail set, and clean full, would go in smooth water, from	1 to 2 knots
3	Gentle breeze		3 to 4 knots
4	Moderate breeze		5 to 6 knots
5	Fresh breeze	Or that to which a well-conditioned man-of-war could just carry in chase, full and by	Royals, etc.
6	Strong breeze		Single-reefed top-sails and top-gallant sails
7	Moderate gale		Double-reefed top-sails, jib, etc.
8	Fresh gale		Triple-reefed topsails, etc.
9	Strong gale		Close-reefed top-sails and courses
10	Whole gale	Or that which she could scarcely bear close-reefed main-topsail and reefed foresail.
11	Storm	Or that which would reduce her to storm stay-sails.
12	Hurricane	Or that which no canvas could withstand.

Resource:	http://www.sizes.com/natural/beaufort.htm

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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Beaufort Wind Force Scale Terminology

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