Spray strake arrangments

[Brooks Dees]

Anyone know the advantages/disadvantages of arranging the spray strakes aligned with the buttucks vs the diagonals?

just curious.

[Timm]

The only thing I have ever heard was from my days at Bertram. Our designer there told me they changed from the ones along the butts because they tended to throw water forward as the bow came down into a sea. This would make the boats run wetter on windy days. On a very high speed boat, it may be better to have them follow the butts as it will help with directional stability.

On large heavy hulls, it may not even make sense to have them other than for spray control.

[Eric Sponberg]

Generally, what I have seen, is that on the more successful boats, the strakes always run along the buttocks aft of amidships. But going forward, they tend to curve up and inward, essentially splitting the distance from keel to chine into equal parts. This is a compromise that works to limit spray and maintain performance.

Eric