QII

We spotted this racing yacht recently while wandering around a boatyard at Lymington. A little research shows that she is QII, an Open 35 designed by Michael Pocock as a water ballasted monhull with the express purpose of winning the 35 foot class OSTAR (single handed transatlantic race)

QII was campaigned by Mary Falk coming second in the 1992 OSTAR and in 1996 she finally achieved her ambition winning the 35 foot Class OSTAR and creating a new Class record of 19 days, 22 hours and 57 minutes, a record which, despite subsequent advances in design, equipment and communications, still stands to this day.

The thing which caught my eye was the hull form with this unusual knuckle below the sheer line which extends the full length of the boat. It can be seen better in the picture below. I'm guessing that when the boat is upright the narrow waterline beam helps minimise wetted surface but when heeled the flare adds extra form stability.