Unsat

the MORC rule had to do with some BS about the lazarette needing to be watertight, to my understanding.

the two problems with the atomic in an ariel are the very significant amount of drag represented by the open aperture and the decrease in helm authority of the (reduced area) rudder.
also, the distribution of the weight seems to be ugly...doesn't look so bad on paper, or even in the flesh...but 280 was much more stable just stepping aboard even with the a-bomb removed.

about the weight...i actually weighed everything that came out.
the universal literature has it at 360 pounds in raw-water-cooled form (which I had)...but then there is the shaft, the stuff box, extra wiring, engine controls (the deck-mounted shifter alone is around 20 pounds) and so on...including the allowance for 15 gals of fuel weight, the whole number was just over 600 pounds!

this of course being an issue of personal philosophy, but i gotta kick it out here...
i fail to see how any item which decreases the potential performance of a proper SAIL boat (not a "yacht", or a modern "sailboat ", which is really more a motorsailor with a nice kitchen and bathroom and zoomy lines and can only sail under a fairly ideal set of conditions) can be considered to enhance the "safety" of the boat. even in light air, there's a lot more applicable horsepower to be had in the rig if there are decent light air sails aboard. good ground tackle and lots of scope will do a much better job of holding off a lee shore than any engine will. i have absolutely zero interest in banging around buoys, but i have a great deal of interest in performance...as a safety item of the highest order.
just one man's opinion, but i will add just a bit more...

ever look at a cape dory 26? they did not sell well, and only about 100 hulls were produced. in many ways, it's a super-ariel--take a look. my point? alberg did not even draw it with an inboard OPTION...just a real small motor well aft.

best,
dave

". . . and the decrease in helm authority of the (reduced area) rudder." Carl may have imporved things here. His lines drawing shows an additional rudder shape that appears more effecient. Ebb had a mock up until a big rain storm last year . . . :(

It's all a compromise of one sort or another. And then there are the purists. I think the purists should prevail or at least have the edge, and a much lower PHRF number. The SF sailing fleet, anyway, has long discovered that a smooth faired underbody and a small but adequate OB that you lift out for SAILING by stowing sideways in the laz is the best way to go. H U Z Z A H, all the way round!

Capt. Dave,
Yeah, the 25D may have hit the starting family market at the wrong time or something, selling so few, as you say. All dolled up it looks pretty good tho (from a site on the net). From the pure aesthetical discipline of determining the objective flamerjams of an inanimate object, and an Ariel owner, the 25D looks homely to me IMCO. Yes it does. All for a little more room.

". . . adequate OB that you lift out for SAILING by stowing sideways in the laz is the best way to go . . ." Well, almost. We stow the engine on the sole between the two cabins. Got'ta get that weight down low . . .:cool: And, you don't want water collecting in the engine's head when on one tack or the other :D

ebb--
gotta go dig on the CD owner's assn. and see one of these. i heartily concur on the CD25D...the CD26 is a horse of an entirely different color. also, the CD25D did have an inboard option...

on a different note, same thread...
i'm curious here--almost sounds like there are O/B ariels or commanders running around with open apertures. I've only seen two ariel hulls out of the water besides c#280, the family ariel from little kid dom and c#76 PILGRIM--they both had the aperture openings in keel and rudder filled in factory configuration.

any chance at the hatch? i got one from tony g. (BTW, tony g., did the remittance reach you OK?), but have a different plan for yours than for his...and although they SHOULD be dead identical, i do not like to cut on the boat or the materials without the actual item in hand to pattern directly from...

best,
dave

Dave
Did great. I used the private message option for that one. You should have a memo on the bottom of the discussion home page that sez you have an unread message. Thanks again
Tony G