Getting a pocket cruiser to sail well

I am considering building a small pocket cruiser of around 18'/5.5m LOL out
of fiberglass/epoxy reinforced plywood.

I have read that small boats has a tendency to nose dive.
I would assume that this can be compensated by a narrow hull form towards the stern.

I wanted to check the LCF/LCB at different heel angles with the excellent FreeShip
but it does not seem to support such a feature. Am I on the wrong track?

Most small pocket cruisers I seen has a very wide stern which seem to contradict
the problem with nose diving.
Since a large boat (such as V70) cannot be scaled down and keep its characteristics,
that's not a option either.

Does anyone know about a well sailing pocket cruiser that is more optimised to sailing well
than for e.g. space and wich can give me a hint on the hull form needed.

For stability I was thinking of a keel with keel bomb (150-200 kg/300-500 lbs).
Is it possible to make it retractable for e.g transportation and landings?

Can such a pocket cruiser plane (Assuming a displacement of less than 1 tonnes)? In suche case, how big
sail area would be needed?

I am a novis but trying to learn...

Cheers

 

Boats that pitchpole(nose dive) do so because of a variety of reasons. Among them is poor design and bad handling.

 

Have a look at this site on a very nice looking 19 ft. cruiser/racer in strip planking. http://www.nautikit.com/Idea19.htm

 

www.mboats.no/B18

 

If performance you want, you could build a Dudley Dix Mini 6.5. Huge rear end and fast like a bullet. If you are going to cruise, they have a cruising design.

 

Thanks for the good links and references.
I'll probably will try to make a similar keel handling as Idea19.

Cheers