Wow! This sail has power [U]and[/U] speed. We raced [I]Lucky[/I] on Saturday in the [B]Moonlight Regatta[/B]. Winds were forecast at 14 Knts. This was our first race with the new 150 Genoa. We were the 3rd boat over the starting line and in first place by the 1st Mark. And the boat was balanced!
Over the 3 hour race we experienced everything from 14 knts to less than 10 knts to gusts over 28 knts by the finish! We had no trouble leading on all points of sail except downwind when a Hunter 37.5 tall rig would settle in behind us and get the advantage by the next mark. Once around that mark we were able to pass them without too much difficulty.
One entry that initially concerned me was a 32 ft Beneteau with mylar racing sails and an experienced crew. He was 4th over the starting line and fighting for 5th by the first mark. By the finish she had practically faded out of sight.
I will say this about that sail. Setting the wisker pole sucks! That is a lot of sail out there and with the winds being what they were, it was a lot of work but the boat had great speed. (When the Hunter wasn't blanketing us)
This was a convincing win for [I]Lucky[/I]. The Hunter had to give us PHRF time but we crossed the finish line over 3 minutes ahead anyway. It was pretty cool to come back to the slip and have a crowd standing there cheering. Someone on the RC boat got some great pictures before the sun went down, as soon as she sends them to me I will see if I can post some here.
I hope it is OK to gloat on the forums. :o
Bill
s/v Lucky
1984 MK I Hull #266
San Antonio, Texas
Sure, gloat away. Congrats on the new sail and the joy it is bringing you.
Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/
Ok, I have to ask what keel/mast you have and what point of sail you were on in the 28kt gusts?
My boat is a TR/WK model and I have a new 140 and 4 batten main. My boat wants to round up in winds over 18 kts. If I work really hard to flatten the main I can stretch that a little but with full sail I find my boat is nearly uncontrollable in winds over 18 knots. I've also noticed the boat will not sail at all under main alone, she just goes into irons and stays there. You have to use engine power to get her moving.
Just this past weekend we were cruising along on a nice beam reach in 14 knots, then the winds increased to around 18-19 knots and the boat became uncontrollable, rounding up head to wind, flogging wildly and not wanting to come out. I would have put a reef in the main but going to the mast to do so was not an attractive option at the time. I have a Hood continous line furler, which will not hold a reef, so taking in some genny was not an option.
So we completely rolled in the 140 genny and broke out the iron genny to get home.
What the heck am I doing wrong? Its not comforting to know your boat is uncontollable in such relatively benign conditions, and does not inspire confidence if things really get bad.
I'm defintely going to replace the furler with one that will allow reefing, but haven't yet figured out a good way to route the reefing lines to the cockpit. It seems to me you really need to have the reef clew line lead to a winch. Coming head to wind to reef in the conditions we were in would have been difficult and I don't think I could have gotten any reasonable sail shape using the standard reefing system trying to tension that line by hand.
Bill Boggs
s/v Palmetto Moon
1991 C36, Hull 1128
Herrington Harbor South
Chesapeake Bay
I have a standard rig, fin keel. The main is a fully battened Doyle Stack Pack about 4 years old. The headsail is a Catalina Sails 150 on a Harken furler.We have often joked that this boat does not like light air and doesn't come into its own until the wind gets into the upper teens. At the end of this race when the wind was gusting we were on a close haul (stbd) and then a quartering reach (stbd) and back to a close haul (port) to the finish line. We had to let the main way out when reaching and ease the genoa to maintain control and not round up. Weather helm was bad on the reach but we were so close to the finish that the crewman on the main kept the mainsheet in his hand as a precaution. If the winds were sustained above 25 we would have reefed for sure. Reefing the Harken is pretty easy. The furling line runs down the stanchions to the cockpit and if necessary can be winched although I have never had to put it on the winch to furl the sail.
Like you said, my boat sails poorly under main alone too. It takes quite awhile to get steerage back after a tack. Actually, I prefer to gybe if under just the main as boat speed stays up improving steerage. The way the mainsheet is rigged it acts as a brake and the gybes are not violent at all. (You still need to keep your head down though)
Bill
s/v Lucky
1984 MK I Hull #266
San Antonio, Texas
bboggs,
You might want to consider a two line reefing system, led back to the cockpit. I changed to that about a dozen years ago, and it makes reefing a snap. One line for the tack, one line for the clew. Loosen mainsheet, drop the halyard to a pre-marked spot, haul in the tack, haul in the clew, tighten mainsheet. I can do it single-handed in about two minutes, and never have to leave the cockpit. Creates a nice, flat main. Check our website under Articles > Upgrades. There's a link to a bunch of photos of my setup. At 18-19 kts, reefed main and full 150 genoa, Julandra just FLIES. Hope this helps.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT
[QUOTE=TomSoko;2241]bboggs,
You might want to consider a two line reefing system, led back to the cockpit. I changed to that about a dozen years ago, and it makes reefing a snap. One line for the tack, one line for the clew. Loosen mainsheet, drop the halyard to a pre-marked spot, haul in the tack, haul in the clew, tighten mainsheet. I can do it single-handed in about two minutes, and never have to leave the cockpit. Creates a nice, flat main. Check our website under Articles > Upgrades. There's a link to a bunch of photos of my setup. At 18-19 kts, reefed main and full 150 genoa, Julandra just FLIES. Hope this helps.[/QUOTE]
Thanks Tom, I have refered to your site before and I duplicated the internals of your increased out haul.
I'm still noodling through what an how I can get this boat set up to my satisifaction. The current reefing set us uses two lines for each reef, one for the tack and one for the clew. The tack line runs from a padeye on the mast through the tack cringle and back down to a cleat. The clew line ties to a cheek block, runs up through the clew down through the cheek block and forward along the boom to a cleat near the mast. After looking at your photos again it appears I'd need to rearrange the halyards and sheets to move them outboard then fairlead them to the winch, Doing that would allow running the reefing lines alongside the companionway opening where I could use a winch to help shape the sail.
Bill Boggs
s/v Palmetto Moon
1991 C36, Hull 1128
Herrington Harbor South
Chesapeake Bay
Any way that you can lead the reefing lines aft would be HUGE improvement, IMHO. When the wind is getting up into reefing range, you normally don't want to have to claw your way to the mast. Having a winch nearby to help with the process is even better.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT
[QUOTE=wfahey;2228]I hope it is OK to gloat on the forums. :o[/QUOTE]
"When you lose say little, when you win, say less."
Otherwise, no reason to not post a great story about a fun sail or race.
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)