My test as to the effect of the weights, placed in the forward of the bilge adjacent to the balance point, is that they do add SUBSTANTIAL stability. At that location, being the fulcrum, they have nothing to do with fore and aft balance.
Back to topic, I would not place the lead in the forepeak because I am concerned about the "point" contact of the corners or edges of a metal rectangle wearing through or cracking the hull should the boat drop off a wave. Perhaps with substantial padding it might work, but with a bag of sand, or tube sand that is packed in poly, I don't have the point contact of a rigid metalthat can rub/ pound a hole in the hull.
The picture of the Rhodes is very similiar to the way Solsken sets. As for getting rid of gear, the stuff in the stern I have is not that heavy, and is mandatory safety gear - needed to be readily accessible - safety is always first.
As for the stern lazarette, I have mine filled with two inner tubes under the floor, so that it doesn't hold much water.
Ed, how is your mast set, when the boat is sitting at dock with no one on board, and the OB in? Do you have the mast raked forward? Is it set so that when you are in the boat it is vertical, as opposed to being vertical when the boat is empty?
As for the bow plowing, that has only been a concern once, when the bow wave was lapping the gunwale. What a reach! WOW! I was worried the bow might hook and I could pitch pole.
You mentioned Ed that I sound like more and more like a racer. I am the racer that everyone wants to have join the fleet. I am the racing fleet's dream boat. When I race, no one else has to finish last. I am so proficient, I don't even have to know what the course is, unless I get so far behind that there are no other boats in sight.
But, back to racing and the boat balance, one of the possible speed benefits of having the stern in the water is that it increases the water line, hence the boat goes faster. I don't know.
From what I am hearing, this summer is going to be a case of trying a bag of sand and seeing if it works better. We can all report back.
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