Glossary · Sailing & navigation
Planing
Also called: planer, déjauger, glisse
When the hull skims over the water instead of pushing it aside, allowing much higher speeds.
At low speed, a hull pushes the water aside and creates a wave that holds it back: its speed is limited by its length. With enough power, a light, flat-bottomed hull climbs onto its own bow wave and skims the surface: it planes.
Racing monohulls are designed to plane early, as soon as they are reaching or sailing downwind in a breeze. The foil is the next step: it lifts the hull out of the water.