Big Pimpin’
When we first reported that Balance Catamarans was offering their 526 model with either keels or daggerboards, we titled the story “Lead Mine.” While we know catamarans do not actually carry lead in their keels, as performance sailors many are far more partial to daggerboards.
We just learned that the designers of the Balance 526, Anton Du Toit and Phillip Berman, conducted a study comparing the 526 with keels to a 526 with daggerboards. The study was conducted in partnership with the Wolfson Unit for Marine Technology and Aerodynamics at the University of Southampton.
The results of that study were just published in New Zealand Yachting and can be found on the balancecatamarans.com website. It includes a range of charts, graphs, and is probably the best comparison study of keels versus daggerboards ever conducted for a modern high performance catamaran. Lead Mines Indeed!”
Read the entire article here.
