The following boats were selected by using a Fuzzy Logic process on seven basic evaluation factors: Displacement / LWL ratio, Sail Area / Displacement ratio, V maximum / V hull, Capsize Risk factor, Comfort factor, LOA / Beam ratio and Acceleration. Fuzzy Logic allows boats to be scored according to how "close" they are to the optimal value selected for these variables. The trick is in how you select these optimal values. To reduce my personal bias, I calculated the optimal values by averaging the data from nine well recognized cruising boat designers, Cruising World Magazine, and several European designers. The data was then averaged to generate the optimal values and calculate the standard deviation. Figure 1 contains the average values for the seven fuzzy variables for each designer, calculated from a total of 151 boats.
| DESIGNER | S/D | D/L | CF | CR | Vm/Vh | L/B | ACCEL |
| ALBERG | 15.88 | 378 | 31.2 | 1.67 | 1.08 | 3.38 | .053 |
| ALDEN | 16.65 | 326 | 42.6 | 1.57 | 1.06 | 3.77 | .056 |
| CREALOCK | 15.81 | 341 | 36.8 | 1.64 | 1.06 | 3.34 | .053 |
| BREWER | 16.37 | 261 | 33.1 | 1.69 | 1.07 | 3.34 | .065 |
| HESS | 17.47 | 256 | 25.9 | 1.84 | 1.13 | 3.19 | .048 |
| HOOD | 15.09 | 325 | 42.7 | 1.57 | 1.05 | 3.65 | .050 |
| MASON | 16.53 | 349 | 41.8 | 1.62 | 1.06 | 3.51 | .049 |
| PAINE | 16.97 | 263 | 32.7 | 1.73 | 1.08 | 3.33 | .075 |
| PERRY | 16.72 | 260 | 36.0 | 1.69 | 1.07 | 3.35 | .070 |
| MISC. | 17.45 | 294 | 36.6 | 1.66 | 1.09 | 3.33 | .060 |
FIG. 1 AVERAGE VALUES (151 BOATS)
An additional Fuzzy variable has been added to the selection criteria, Acceleration. The Acceleration forces that the crew experiences as a boat rolls can promote fatigue through sleep deprivation, which leads to mistakes and accidents. The Acceleration calculation is based on the beam and roll period. The roll period uses an approximation for the Moment of Inertia based on research by SNAME (Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers). A 10 degree roll, with the crewmember located 1.5 feet inside the point of maximum beam, is assumed. The following boats were selected using the "somewhat close" fuzzy hedge.
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