All you need to know about leeway... with mini-keels
I’m going to be chartering a sailing catamaran this summer for four weeks. It’s a Leopard 39 from 2011. I’d like to know the leeway resulting from different wind strengths (let’s say 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 knots for example) and according to points of sail (close hauled, a fine reach, wind on the beam, broad reach, deep reach). I can’t find this information on the internet, nor does it appear in the catamaran owner’s manual. As for the builder and charter company, they were unable to provide any information. Gilles, Paris
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Published on 15/05/2024
By
Emmanuel van Deth
Issue:
196
Published:
Jul.
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Aug.
2024
It might come as somewhat of a surprise, but the data you’re looking for is practically undocumented - at least not in the detail you’d like. The potential for speed and windward gain, on the other hand, is covered by speed polars - supplied to us by Leopard Catamarans, which you can find here.
These curves for different sail configurations indicate the speed of the Leopard 39 for a given heading and wind strength and include the leeway in optimal sailing conditions. In concrete terms, the course…
