23.5 Racing

[Bill Jones]

I have participated in several of our local sailing club races and consistently bring up the rear to most other cruisers. I'm not going to change the boat for racing as that is not a priority but it burns me up to lose most of the time. I've had a variety of crew members and the results remain the same. The boat doesn't seem to point as well as others and downwind is even worse since the B

 

[Steve]

Learning Experience

I have a new 320 that I have been "learning" all season. At the start, all boats flew by me, even the small ones. As the season here slows to an end, I am now able to keep up with the pack until we round marks. At that point, I once again loose ground. While the boat is not a racer, I have come to the conclusion that the problem is first of all me (lack of experience) and crew (lack of teamwork and experieince). The boat now holds its own (the handicap helps, but will not overcome my poor sailing.)While I may not be competitive, I have learned more racing than I ever would have just cruising. It also gets me out sailing a lot more. Sail position provides most of the speed, but it is the little "trims" that make a boat competitive. I beleive that it may be a few years (if ever) before I can remember to do everything required at the proper times, but getting that extra 0.2 knots is very gratifying at this point.I also had an experienced sailor (19 years old, I'm 47) helm the boat on-and-off for a long race, and he consistantly got just a little bit more speed than I could.I would encourage you to hang in there and keep racing. Read the books, learn the trim, and keep getting a feal for the helm. I may never win, but I always learn, and it is fun, even as the pickle boat.

 

[Ron Parkes]

A Learning Experience

I agree totally with Steve, who made the case very eloquently. I, also, am a new owner of a 320 - and a relatively new sailor.I was asked at the beginning of the season if I was going to race in our HRYC Commodore Cup Series which is a long group of races extending from March through August/September. I agreed and "competed" with almost consistent results - last! The whole time, though, I learned a little bit more about sail trim and helm "feel" each race. I even started planning race strategies, read a book or two, set up my GPS and chartplotter with the race mark waypoints, and did a very crude polar chart for my boat during a day with consistent winds (not during a race).I used the term "almost" above. In the last race, we beat two boats, including that of the club's current Commodore! It knd of ruined our boat motto which we stated as "We may be last, but we look good!"Ron Parkess/v Contemplation h320

 

[Kris Christiansen]

Help fo 23.5 Racing

When racing the 23.5 I have found that a 120 Genoa with the jib sheets outside of the shrouds and a relocated fairlead mounted very close to the winch you will cure your lack of speed on any run position,however with the sheets outside of the shrouds you cannot trim close enough to windward to get enough sail power and others will pass you. From experience I think the original sails are the best for the boat.Kris

 

[Ken Shubert]

More Tricks

A couple of wing

 

[Rail Meat and Fordeck help]

Get the weight out of the ends.

When we raced in J 24's we tried to unload everthing from the boat. Serious racers did not even have cushions on the berths. Everyone either removed their out boards of placed them on the cabin floor to get them off the end of the boat. The anchor was also placed in the middle of the boat. Remember that all boats of the same model are rated the same whether they are loaded down cruisers or unloaded race equiped boats.I found that good sails are important,but fancy rigging and the lastest high tech stuff is not as important as good crew placement and good sailing skills.Serious racers have very few crew lounging comfortably in the cockpit. If you are not busy doing some important job, them you need to be on the rail in the middle of the boat.