[C320-list] Handling chop & short period waves

[Patrick Tyler]

Hi Mike,
I can assure if 1 to 2 foot chop is your usual sea state you won't even
notice it in the 320.  I sail out of Little River SC in the ocean where 3
foot is a very smooth day.  Many time we're in excess of 5 feet and the 320
is very comfortable.  My only complaint is it gets to be overpowered quickly
above 18 or so knots.  It easy to deal with though and not really a problem.
With the AP it's a great boat to solo which it what most of my sailing is.
I bought the boat in January of 2001 and really enjoy it.  We've made
several long trips to FL and spent over two months aboard at a time with no
problems.

You'll love the 320.
Pat


-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Mike Barrowman
Sent: 12/15/2010 9:30 AM
To: c320-list at catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Handling chop & short period waves


Hi folks,

My first post here - please forgive me if I've done this wrong.

My family currently has a C250 which we are selling, looking for a larger
boat.  I've narrowed the list to the C320 and the C34, leaning toward the
320.  I will need to sail (or have sailed) the boat from the US upon
purchase to Cayman, so it needs to be able to handle the trip -- which I
believe the 320 can, and know for sure the 34 can.  Any comments?

90% of my sails will be day sails solo, and it seems the 320 is a good boat
for this.  But, with my wife and young daughter on the boat, one of my key
needs is a boat that handles chop well.  Our current 250 bounces over the
waves a bit too much, which prevents my daughter from enjoying it.  Our bay
is very shallow and typical winds of 15kts build very short period 1-2 foot
waves.  How would the 320 handle these conditions?  The weight of the 250 is
only 4K #, so I'm hopeful the 11K # 320 will slice right through, but after
searching the archive, I'm not sure I've seen a direct comment on this.

Many thanks,
Mike
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