What makes the Shoalsailer design revolutionary?
The conventional wisdom for the past century has been that the ability of a sailboat to sail in the general direction of the wind is predicated on the depth of the keel. The deeper the keel, the better the windward performance. The penalty for this improvement in sailing characteristics is the inability to sail the boat to weather in shallow water. The Shoalsailer is the first design, probably since the Viking dragon ships, that achieves performance to weather by the shape of the hull rather than by the depth of the keel. Walt Schulz was able to make this breakthrough by using a state-of-the-art relational geometry computer design program. This program allows a designer to make changes in the hull sections, and then instantly calculates the effect on sailing performance. The Shoalsailer is a revolutionary breakthrough as it provides exhilarating sailing (especially to weather) while still drawing only 30″.
