Finally finished the in – water portion of measuring this morning. Tucked way up in the marina at New England Boatworks, we found the calm waters needed for this type of work. The photos show DORADE with her twin spinnaker poles rigged to extend out from the chainplates. With a digital inclinometer rigged to his tough book, Andrew hung lead weights from the pole ends. Each side was inclined at a 2 degree angle for 5 minutes per side. The numbers recorded during this interval will be averaged out and entered into a formula along with the weight and the distance outboard of the lead. This measurement is used to determine the vertical center of gravity of DORADE. The VCG helps account for a boats “stiffness” in the rating formula. The higher the center of gravity is vertically on a boat, the more tippy she will be. A lower VCG means that more force can be applied to the sails with less heeling over.