Catalina 27/270 Comparison:

** Explanation of catagories . . . LOA: Length Over All: Total length of the yacht, including bowsprit if the yacht has one . . . LWL: Length at Water Line: Hull length at the waterline, the longer, the better. . .TYPE HULL: Sailing Category: The four categories are racer, racer/cruiser, cruiser/racer, and cruiser in order of descending performance . . . CAP/RATIO: Capsize Ratio: A value less than 2 is considered to be relatively good; the boat should be relatively safe in bad conditions. The higher the number above 2 the more vulnerable the boat. This is just a rough figure of merit and controversial as to its use. . . HULL SPD: Hull Speed: This is the maximum speed of a displacement hull. Some racers and lighter boats are able to achieve greater speed by lifting over the bow wave and riding on top of the water,that is, planing. . . SA/DISP: Sail Area To Displacement: The sail area is the total of the main sail and the area of the front triangle. I cannot be sure that this datum was entered correctly for each listed boat. A racing boat typically has large sail area and low displacement. A number less than 13 probably indicates that the boat is a motorsailer. High performance boats would be around 18 or higher. . . DISP/LWL: Displacement To LWL: A medium value would be 200. 300 would be high (Heavy Cruising Boat) and 100 would be low (Ultra Light Displacement-ULDB). Boats with low numbers are probably uncomfortable and difficult to sail. . . LWL/BEAM: LengthWaterLineToBeam: A medium value would be 2.7. 3.0 would be high and 2.3 would be low. A higher number is better (long and skinny is better). . . COMFORT: MotionComfort: Range will be from 5 to 60+ with a Whitby 42 at the mid 30's. The higher the number the more comfort in a sea. This figure of merit was developed by the Yacht designer Ted Brewer. This text covers most of the above catagories, the ones not covered are self explanatory.