Afterplane lenght to tunnel ratio?

[dschigoda]

I am re-designing/tweaking a 1/8 scale picklefork, from the '80's. I have heard that the "afterplane- length (APL) to tunnel-width ratio" should be around 2.0 to 1. Is this a good place to start? If the ratio is less than that - would it make the boat more stable in the turns and less stable in the straights? If it is greater than that - would it make the boat more difficult to turn quickly and efficiently? If the sponson "ride pads" are spaced further apart than the tunnel width - would that dimension be more relevant to the ratio than tunnel-width? Has this already been discussed here earlier?

BTW - there is a very interesting 14 page long hydroplane design discussion going on the the "General" section. Authors include Don Pinkert, John Finch, Marty Davis, etc.

These Forums are AMAZING!!!

Thanks,

Dave