In submitting this article to the Bulletin I realise that some members may call for me to be keel-hauled at the next Rally, since these thoughts and recommendations are somewhat at variance with the generally perceived 'low tech' image of the DCA. The intention is to stimulate some awareness and - hopefully - some comment on the subject......

Lose weight, perform better and go faster!

Sounds a bit like a new year dietary exhortation, but right now we're talking boats, not Atkins.

Of course, keen racing skippers have been applying this principle for years, so there must be some mileage (or more accurately, some gain in knots) for all of us if we pay closer attention to the weight of our boats and learn from the sharper end of the competitive fleets.

Whilst many DCA boat owners have never been obsessed with boat performance, there is an interesting old adage which goes, "Nothing makes a skipper look so good as a fast boat" and it is surprisingly easy to help your boat lose weight and gain speed. A lighter boat is always a faster boat.

Since boat speed, performance and handling are directly affected by weight - which translates into displacement - we can all benefit from taking a long hard look at what we put into our boats and how we fit them out. Are there bits of the boat that could be improved with the judicious application of a plane or spokeshave ... how many times have you barked your shin on a sharp edge which could be radiused off for more comfort AND lightness. Look at the whole boat like a cosmetic surgeon planning a bit of nip and tuck! Gunwales, thwarts, side benches and centreboard case cappings are fruitful starting points. Look especially at the gunwale right at the bow and stern - could it usefully be reduced in width and thickness at these two weight-critical points?

Racing skippers view weight reduction in relation to fractions of ounces saved and fractions of knots gained; if you can make 10 weight savings, each of which gains you just one – theoretically unmeasurable - twentieth of a knot in boatspeed, then bingo! you've just added a nett improvement of half a knot which will get you to the Rally quicker or speed you up the creek to the pub before it closes. Measure this gain in percentage terms of the average cruising dinghy's speed under sail and it is very significant: even a quarter of a knot is worth having.

Look at any modern racing dinghy and once you get over the shock of the incredible number of control lines and fittings, note carefully the very narrow diameter of the cordage. A one-eighth of an inch diameter (3.5mm) Kevlar line will suspend a man on a trapeze. The only lines which have any measurable diameter will be the tails of sheets (the bits which are held)

In the racing world technology reigns supreme. It's not just the basic lightness and strength which counts, but crucially the reduced water absorption. A typical small dinghy mainsheet at 27 feet (8.2m) of soft plait sheet at one-and-a-half inch (10mm) diameter weighs barely 20 ounces (560g) when dry, but a staggering 2.3 lb (1.3kg) when wet. That's an 84% weight gain. Are you carrying more mainsheet than you need?

You can save weight here in two areas: Is your mainsheet too long – how much is left 'to hand' when the stopper knot reaches the block and how much do you really need? Next: How close is the boom block to the transom horse or take-off point? If your boom block is more than 6 inches away from the 'boat block' when sheeted home on a beat then you should consider fitting a modern synthetic strop to bring the block(s) away from the boom and thus reduce the total fall of sheet by saving several feet (and some windage too). It will also give you faster sail trimming. Try to organise the sheet so that the upper and lower blocks are just a couple of inches apart when sheeted in as hard as you will ever need. On a typical 3.1 purchase you might be able to save at least 6 feet of sheet which would translate into a quarter-pound saving (127g).

Look at jib sheets in the same critical way and ask whether they need to be quite so thick or so long. Without necessarily going to the expense of the racing boat's tapered sheets it may be feasible to reduce the overall diameter (and the crucial wet weight). In light airs the jib will set better too. In this day and age of efficient cleats only the most Victorian of skippers expect their crews to hold the jib sheet at all times.

There is no excuse either for having overlength or overweight halliards Reading some ancient scrolls, I can just discern that I made a weight saving of 2lbs (0.9 kg) in the dry weight of halliards in the spring of 1977.

When the time comes to replace worn or frayed halliards, take a look at the weight savings which can be achieved with the Dyneema or Spectra types of cordage. Effectively zero-stretch, these new ropes offer all the strength of wire or pre-stretched terylene but at much lower weight and lower windage. Every ounce you can save up the mast translates directly into less windage drag and less pitching moment, less heeling moment and better boat motion through the waves. Yes, these hi-tech modern ropes are expensive, but birthdays and Christmas come round quite regularly! Put them on your wish list.

While we are on the subject of ropes, check the warps you carry: they too soak up water so don't carry warps that you don't regularly use, and while you are at it try to dry wet warps and/or stow them dry where they cannot soak up more water. One very long warp, in addition to the main anchor warp, is indispensable and can also be used simultaneously to provide both bow and stern mooring. Lightweight floating polypropylene lines make good springs with virtually no water absorption.

Of course metal is heavier than either rope or water, so have a look at your boat to see if there are any unnecessary or grossly overweight fittings which could be removed or lightened, though if you have a very traditional boat with bronze fittings it would be a shame to replace these.

Anchors and chain represent probably the largest single mass of extra weight in a boat. Modern anchor designs offer considerable weight-saving potential. As an example, we used to have a 15lb CQR (with 3 fathoms of chain and a bucket full of warp) on board Surprise (18ft) and this anchor had been the bower anchor on a Folkboat. After 25 years the CQR was sold and replaced with a 9lb (4 kg) Delta. It has the same effective surface area as the CQR and I have yet to detect any difference in holding power, but I definitely feel the weight saving as the lighter anchor is much easier to handle. In actual terms the saving was slightly more than 1% of the hull weight, so very considerable.

If you regularly day-sail rather than make extended cruises do you always need to carry your second anchor or kedge? There are many new anchor designs to choose from – some are efficient and others less so. Have a look at the anchor tests in the popular sailing press.

Half a bucket of water divided between the port and starboard bilges doesn't look like very much but it will weigh about 12 or 13lbs. (5.6 kg). Keep the bilges dry at all times. Self-bailers, pumps and sponges should be in working order. Instruct your crew how to operate them.

A hand-held red distress flare weighs about 10 ounces (280 g) and an orange smoke flare a little less. How many out-of-date ones have you got on board? You know, the ones you plan to use first if there is ever an emergency… dispose of them responsibly – and not on November 5th either, unless you want to find a yellow Sea King hovering over your bonfire and the coastguard knocking on the front door.

Every DCA member has a pretty clear idea of what constitutes reasonable comfort on board when cruising, and if you look around at the cruising gear/tents/etc. on other boats at a rally some are pretty Spartan whilst others have definitely been inspired by 5-star hotels. If you want to have a more efficient sailing boat then think 'backpack' not floating caravan!

Somewhere, years ago, I know that I saw a DCA boat with a separate table installed and laid with a white cloth, real silver, crockery and cut glass … could it have been John Deacon in Jady Lane? Trouble is these days it's becoming harder and harder to get the staff who can polish the silver and do all the (extra) rowing!

It only takes a few seconds to add a load of 'might come in handy' gear and undo an entire winter's weight reduction programme. If in doubt – leave it out! In fact before the season starts why not gather all the boat's gear together, plus your camping stuff (all of it), clothes and typical provisions and water for a weekend cruise and then weigh the lot. Be prepared for a shock! In 1976 I was so shocked that I embarked on an immediate weight reduction programme and saved 60.5lbs (27.4 kg) before going afloat.

Everything that goes on board an aircraft represents fuel burn – for a jumbo jet this fuel consumption is in the order of 2% to 3% of the weight of the object per hour. This is why some airlines get pretty stroppy about overweight baggage and why the pilots have to make a weight reconciliation before take-off. Do it for your boat.

Sailors should remember that the optimum achievable performance from their boats is when the boat is empty of ALL gear, is dry and sailed by the (designer's intended) most appropriate crew weight for the conditions. After that, everything that goes into the boat is to the detriment of her performance. If someone charged you £5 per kilo for excess weight like some of the sharper airlines you'd soon get the message.

In fact you could do a simple sum: total up the weight of the basic sailable boat plus crew and divide this by the sail area. The result is your maximum power to weight ratio. For our boat Surprise the all-up hull weight (including all sailing gear – spars, sails, foils etc) plus crew is about 960lbs, and the sail area is 185 square ft. Rocket science indicates that each square foot of sail has to propel 5.18 lbs of boat and crew. Start adding oars, compass, anchors and other essential gear, a couple of fenders and warps (let's say100 to 120lbs or so) and before you realise it the same square foot of polyester cloth has to push 5.83lbs. Now find stowage room for a tent, clothes, sleeping bags, water and food, stove, crockery, pans, etc. for a weekend and the same square foot of cloth is struggling to drive over 6lbs with the added disadvantage that the waterline is no longer quite where the designer intended. It's alarmingly easy to add 150-200 lbs without even trying!

Be especially careful to stow as much gear as possible amidships and as low in the boat as you can. Keep the bow and stern clear of all gear – it's really important to have light 'ends' in a boat.

Weight is an almost insuperable problem: two people cruising in an l8ft boat need exactly the same amount of clothing, gear and food as two people cruising in a 30-footer, but the additional load in a dinghy represents a considerable and adverse proportion of the original sailing weight. The smaller and lighter your boat the greater the adverse effect will be on her performance. Since it's difficult to increase sail area to compensate, it's the performance which suffers. The only solution is to put on board the barest minimum of gear. What do the figures for your boat look like before and after the basic sailing configuration?

As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry says in Wind, Sand and Stars, "It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add but when there is nothing more to take away." In other words: "Simplicate and add lightness"*.

Sometime next summer – when your boat wallows and dies in a feeble wind and a sloppy sea and you have the certainty that the tide is going to turn against you – is when you'll remember that a lighter boat is a faster boat!

OK – now tell me that you're carrying an outboard and three gallons of fuel. And I thought you wanted to go sailing!

* As Henry Ford used to say … RD