My Wooden Boat of the Week: The BayRaider

[Carl Cramer]

We're running on the generator (for some inexplicable reason) and the network is slow. Thus, so am I...

This week is one of my favorites. Please see the BayRaider, at www.woodenboat.com/boat.

Please post your comments there? Thanks, Carl

[tomlarkin]

http://woodenboat.com/boat/wp-content/uploads/bayraider2.jpg

http://woodenboat.com/boat/wp-content/uploads/bayraider1.jpg

[matoi]

Very nice... It's a pitty good things cost.
One thing I don't like about her is the rig. I beleive it could be simpler and more efficient... but they probably wanted a bit of traditional looks...
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[Craic]

The BayRaider rig,
it is for the full range from light winds to extremely heavy weather, for easy trailering and quick launching, and for raiding. In raiding you often have to take the mast down to reduce windage for rowing into a headwind.

The boat performs equivalent to peers with a Bermudan rig. Because she also has a few fine rigging tricks like sail luff pockets, carbon spars and a Bolger-like jib clubboom.
The boat has two different modes, displacement cruising and planing, the waterballast system does that.

I have two BayRaiders by now, one on a shallow tidal estuary, the other on the west coast of Ireland, they go everywhere.
Best boats I ever had, fast, safe, versatile, tough and pretty.

[James McMullen]

One thing I don't like about her is the rig. I beleive it could be simpler and more efficient...

Matoi, I think you must have never had the chance to sail a modern lug rig. There's nothing inefficient about that rig...especially for it's intended purpose.

[Thorne]

How well does the reefing system work? Seems like you'd have a baggy roll of canvas hanging down at the bottom of the mainsail.

I used to use a sprit-boom on a marconi sail (called it faux leg 'o mutton), but now use a gaff-jaw boom that makes reefing ever so much easier....

[Craic]

How well does the reefing system work? Seems like you'd have a baggy roll of canvas hanging down at the bottom of the mainsail. ...

No, it's a neat small roll -depending on who does it of course-.
But in practice and in races very little reefing is ever done, the boat is so stiff. In high winds F6 and up the main is taken down completely and the boat still tacks up with near 3 knots VMG, and reaches at 6-7 kts. A good surfer too.