I don't want to think about how the rules apply in overlapped zones. Last year, US Sailing used to recommend gate lengths of 5-8 boatlengths. I haven't seen an updated recommendation, but I always advise PROs to set them longer than 6, and usually 7 or 8 boatlengths.

This is one of the things that the current rules made a little more difficult. Short gates lead to strange rule interactions. Long gates tend to be too favored at one end, causing the whole fleet to go to that side (thus negating their usefulness). RC needs to be more careful with gate marks now.

Regards,
Eric