Ideal heel
- Thread starter freeheelbillie
- Start date
Depends on what you mean by ideal.
Optimal upwind sailing will have heel angle increase as the breeze does. Boats with published polars will also show heel angle for each wind speed band.
Just cruising? Keep it flat.
Optimal upwind sailing will have heel angle increase as the breeze does. Boats with published polars will also show heel angle for each wind speed band.
Just cruising? Keep it flat.
Find the groove and live there. The groove is defined (in my book) as that point when sailing that the boat is moving along nicely and the helm is not fighting back. She is in her groove! You will know it when you achieve it.
Jackdaw, any chance of getting the source for this data so that I can make some sense out of particularly the bottom 2 tables?
Sure. Remember that is is example data, generated by a velocity prediction program (VPP) for particular boat, in this case the first 36.7. It's a computer model that the designer uses when creating the boat. It's primarily used in creating the so-called polar charts for a boat, which give maximum speed based on angles and wind speeds. I'm pretty sure that there is no polar data available for the Catalina 30, but the Idea is the same.
In this case it's interesting because it also shows the optimized heel angle for any upwind speed. While first 367 specific here, the concept applies globally.
You can find the entire document here.
http://www.blur.se/polar/first367_performance_prediction.pdf
What Woodster said......
The more a boat heels the more drag it will have, but its also true that you cant remain flat in the wind needed to push the boat to hull speed with the necessary sail area....
Every hull, every boat, every different gear loading within the hull, every differt sail configuration, every differnt skipper and their experience, and every different sea state will have some effect on how the boat sails in any given any given wind...
You just need to go out and sail the boat to where its comfortable and easy to handle in the conditions, rather than trying to get the boat to a certain degree of heel.... once you get there, then you will have enough knowledge so you can easily go outside the comfort zone and experiment more...
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Thanks, Jackdaw, I really learned something from your comments and link. Conforms well to my experience on our '77 h27.
I used to have a Hunter Legend 35 and raced it quite a lot. Marblhead, Boston, Buzzards Bay, Annapolis, Palm Beach. ft. Lauderdale. Key West, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St, Thomas, BVI.
One thing became very obvious, with a 4.5' draft the wing keel worked better with 15-20 degrees of heel. The flat bulb/wing keel would keep the boat from side slipping, less than a J 30 that owed me time. I was able to track higher than the J with a much better VMG. Down wind with a chop it dampens the motion giving you more forward speed.
When cruising, use the small jib, reef, whatever and make it comfortable. If you reall want to go upwind, then heel her.
One thing became very obvious, with a 4.5' draft the wing keel worked better with 15-20 degrees of heel. The flat bulb/wing keel would keep the boat from side slipping, less than a J 30 that owed me time. I was able to track higher than the J with a much better VMG. Down wind with a chop it dampens the motion giving you more forward speed.
When cruising, use the small jib, reef, whatever and make it comfortable. If you reall want to go upwind, then heel her.
On my boat, the optimum angle of heel is 23 degrees. That is where I get the most speed out of the boat; a balance of power from the sails and drag from the rudder due to weather helm. When going to a windward mark, I try to keep the heel down to 15 degrees to reduce sideways drift and point as high as I can. When reaching drift is not a concern as you just adjust your heading.
As a cruiser though, I do not push the boat anymore. 6.5 knots is as fast as I want to go for more than an hour. When you are 1500 miles from the nearest land, getting there in one piece is more important than getting there fast.
As a cruiser though, I do not push the boat anymore. 6.5 knots is as fast as I want to go for more than an hour. When you are 1500 miles from the nearest land, getting there in one piece is more important than getting there fast.
Its important to remember that the 'ideal' angle of heel for any boat will ALWAYS be a function of true wind speed. In general, flatter is better. The foils simply work better.
The why is any heel ideal? The heel angle is a function of the rig/sailplan powering up, and working against the keel's Righting Moment (RM). That's a good thing as thats where the boat gets its power. But always remember that when the boat heels everything is less efficient. Its a trade-off that generally says the the more wind, the more heel. Up to a point!
The why is any heel ideal? The heel angle is a function of the rig/sailplan powering up, and working against the keel's Righting Moment (RM). That's a good thing as thats where the boat gets its power. But always remember that when the boat heels everything is less efficient. Its a trade-off that generally says the the more wind, the more heel. Up to a point!