than they need to reach hull speed? I'll ask the reverse question.

Has anyone ever felt they were underpowered in adverse conditions with a sailboat, even though they had enough power, plus some margin, to reach hull speed under benign conditions?

I bet a few people would answer yes. Don't you think?

I'll bet Larrys extra power can be put to use now and then, say in a stiff headwind and he wants to get into an inlet to windward perhaps. His boat has quite a bit of windage. Think about 30 or 40 knots on the bow for instance and you have to get somewhere. Maybe the designer took that into account.