Curious Question About The Sherakhan

prolly a sunshade?

It keeps her from rolling and pointed into the wind when she is at anchor??

i like that one. its certainly not for propulsion

The MY Serakhan

The MY Sherakhan in Werkendam on http://www.sjaak-lilian.tk --> foto & reisverslagen --> Sherakhan

It's called a steading sail and is for stability when at sea, can be used for other purposes such as at anchor as well.

Would a skeptic think that the sail may qualify it as a "sailing vessel" and maybe enjoy tax relief somewhere ??

Absolutely not.

Is a Grand Banks considered a sail boat because it has a steadying sail? It is not for pushing or propelling the vessel and cannot due to it's size unless you count possibly getting 1/2 a knot out of it in 30 knot winds........

we have a mind reader on the forum...

What are the guidelines for being considered sailing for tax purposes.... Capt J says "unless you count possibly getting 1/2 a knot out of it in 30knt winds" - in essence stating that it may in fact get a portion of its propulsion from the sail (albeit at a very low efficiency)... how much speed at what windspeed does a sail need to give before you can qualify the boat somehwat as a sail vessel? I suppose it may be the "main" source of power? although that can be quite debatable? Its up to the flag state, correct?

does anyone have any official answers? i'm pretty curious... with stuff like the italian tax that is going to start this year (but with breaks of 50% for sailing yachts), some "workarounds" such as these can surely become attractive...? would they stand or not is another question...

I would think in order for a boat to be a sailboat. It's main source of propulsion would have to be from the wind/sail and that it's fastest capable speed would be from under sail and not from it's auxilary motor. But of course, each country I'm sure defines sailboats differently for tax purposes as taxes differ from country to country. As we all know, there are always creative ways around rules.

I remember in High School, the largest outboard a friend could have on a lake was 10HP<, well he just so decided that he was going to mount 3 9.9HP outboards on his Jon boat and technically there was nothing they could do about it.