Well, I figure if a planing powerboat can go 240 miles an hour before it disintegrates -- and it does not even dig in and pitchpole -- we are doing something wrong with sailboats.
We should be able to get our center of effort and weight and power back far enough to go faster without pitchpoling.
So if the goal is SPEED, my idea is to have a fore-and-aft track for the mast, so we can move the power back as the wind increases. It's not enough to just rake the mast back farther.
Mary,
The problem with pitchpoles is related to CE height, not to fore and aft position. Powerboats have their CE just below the waterline level and its CE lever arm is small, so the torque generated is also small. Their problem is the reverse of ours: the propelller's low position actually raises the bow.
If you want more speed by means of reducing pitchpoles, it is necessary to add hull buoyancy as far forward as possible and to lower the CE height, but then, for the same area, the sail's aspect ratio is worse, so windward performance is sacrificed.
