Review of PCC

Basic specs.

The PCC is a large sailboat designed by the maritime architect George Kettenburg in the late forties. Only a few boats have been produced. The PCC is built by the American yard Kettenburg Marine.

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Hull

The hull is made of wood.

Rig

The boat equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a genaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

Engine

The boat is typically equipped with a Gray Marine Sea Scout 91 gasoline engine.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for PCC is 1.40, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.6 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for PCC is about 189 kg/cm, alternatively 1060 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 189 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1060 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for PCC is 4.87.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 100% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design. This type of design is also referred to as 'needle'.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for PCC is 272 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

34% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for PCC with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.4, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 19.9.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 31% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Maintenance

Rig

Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	36.7 m	(120.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	36.7 m	(120.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	36.7 m	(120.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	14.1 m	(46.3 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	14.1 m	(46.3 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	35.3 m	(115.8 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	31.1 m	(101.9 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	6.2 m	(20.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	12.4 m	(40.6 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	12.4 m	(40.6 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

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Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for PCC it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.