Design characteristics/traits in 36'-40' or seaworthiness

I think one of the main reasons the GB's have the rep of being a wet boat is because the wheelhouse is so very far fwd. What disturbs the water fwd into spray is the hull just below and more importantly the just above the chine. Wide boats (as the GB's are) push the water aside more suddenly ... the angle of entry is rather wide down there.

But of course the theory is that high flare keeps the spray down low away from windshields and and I'm sure it helps. But it's a combination of many things that gets the spray on deck and a lot of weight like tanks fwd, a chain rode, or cabin and people far fwd like a GB get into the act also. Even the hard chine helps produce spray. Also anti-spray rails actually make spray but they do tend to keep the spray down low but spray is light and the wind picks it up and throws it at the wheelhouse. And of course the weight of the whole boat tends to drive the bow deeper into every wave making more spray.

Jimbo - There is a good article here on hull shapes and their "seakindliness".

Beam vs. Ballast

Plenty of other interesting articles by Michael Kasten including one on motorsailers.
http://www.kastenmarine.com/articles...0Boat Design .

High Wire said:

In a year and a half, I have yet to take any significant spray on board. Just lucky? Maybe.

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I wish I could say the same, but I don't think its a problem with the hull shape. Maybe I pick the wrong weather windows. I've at least avoided taking any green water on board. Just lucky as well.

A GB acutally has a pretty fine entry. It's not fat at the bow by any means. What gives the boat a reputation for being wet--- and it is, trust me--- is the lack of flare at the bow and the resuling fairly flat-sided hull.

The boat is not wet going directly into the waves. When it gets wet is when it is cutting through the waves at an angle on a windy day. Some of the waves will smack hard against the side of the forward part of the hull and shoot up the side. The lack of flare means the water and heavy spray go almost straight up and very often they clear the gunwale. At that point the wind takes over and blows the water and spray onto the boat.

I respect the opinion to charter before you buy, but really, what type of boats are in charter? Where I live- ZERO. I have looked into chartering in the PNW and there were a lot of Grand Banks. Nice. I'd love to have a Grand Banks Europa. Out of my price range. We are lucky to have a lot of friends with boats and were on a lot of boats, both at the dock and underway, before we bought our first trawler (coming from a sailboat). We were on some REALLY nice boats that were way out of our price range. And some boats in your price range we did not care for. The boat we bought is not like any boat we had ever been on. We based our choice on research and simply liking the boat. Five years later we still have the boat and are still happy with it. We have been looking a bit but decided to keep our present boat for now and will probably have it at least another five years.

What's wrong with a little water over the bow?

Pineapple Girl said:

What's wrong with a little water over the bow?

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I agree! It's not how the water hits the boat, it's how it sheds the water. Mine is not as "wet" as some of my friends, but when we arrive at our destination, we all have the exact same amount of water on our decks....none. If anything, I might have a couple of puddles near the aft corners of my pilothouse that a towel can absorb while they might have none.

We each have the same boat wash duties ahead of us. No difference.

The only difference I see is how many times I have to cycle my windshield wipers. Not a real issue either way, if you ask me.

Pineapple Girl said:

What's wrong with a little water over the bow?

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As Al says, nothing. In fact the salt water helps keep the teak deck clean. The water departs the deck of our boat through scuppers (later GBs don't have them) and deck drains. Our boat has good windshield wipers so the spray coming aboard is not an issue at all.

The only time it can be annoying is if someone has to do something on the foredeck while we're underway in the waves. However this is rare enough to almost be a non-occurance. And it's easy enough to slow down or change course a bit to eliminate the spray coming aboard if someone needs to go out there.

While a dry boat is nice, as you get older it's more about the pounding, jarring, twisting, and in general body abuse. I place a much higher value on a boat that doesn't beat me up in marginal conditions (we all get a dose sooner or later) than one that doesn't require the wipers on that same day.

Ted

A little Bragg'in perhaps .......
My Willard is not only dry but never pounds or slams into or on any waves that I've encountered in the last ten tears. The side of the boat slamed once onto a wave but never head on. But like Marin says quartering into seas can blemish the fwd windows w sea water. And part of the reason Willy is dry is that she only goes 6 knots. And when Willy produces water that comes aboard it's heavy slop ... not spray. There's no hard Chines or spray rails to make spray.