Do I need a smaller jib or what????

[Craig]

We were out in our H25 on Sunday, the wind was 12 gusting to 18kts. I had the full main up and my "small jib", it comes back just past the mast. The boat was developing excessive heel and easing the main would only stand the boat up a little bit. The jib seemed to be powering the boat. The only way I could seem to get her back on her feet was to luff the jib. This seems to be counterproductive to me and my question to you all is should one have a smaller storm jib or was my sail plan out of balance or maybe we were doing fine. This is only our 2nd year so we are gaining experience every time out. BTW we were running at 30' heel and for the first time we had the boat over 5kts (5.35)man we were flying, but my wife was getting a little uncomfortable.Thanks to all for your opinionsCraigS/V Wind Toy1977 H25

 

[Steve O.]

time to reef

You don't need a smaller jib, you just need to reef the one you have.

 

[David Foster]

Reef the Main

If you are heeling consistently over 20 degrees, the boat will actually go faster if you reef and get her back "on her feet." That is in the 15 to 20 degree range.The first thing, though is to flatten the main for heavy weather. That means:- Tighten the outhaul to move the clew of the main back and reduce the belly in the lower third of the sail.- Tighten the main halyard to flatten the luff. Hauling down on the Cunningham adds to this effect if you have one.- Keep the mainsheet tight to flatten the upper part of the main, and the leach. Move the traveler to leeward until the tell-tales at the back of the main are streaming straight back.- If you don't have a traveler, or if the boom needs to be beyond the end of the traveler, tighten your boom vang as much as possible. This holds the boom down when you ease the mainsheet. Invest in a vang if you don't have one. This is a low cost and very effective sail control.If you have optimized the tuning of the main, and you are still heeling over 20 degrees, it's time to reef the main. In addition to giving you a good balance of sail to the wind, and reducing the drag and leeway that come with excessive heel, reefing will also reduce weather helm. You will need much less rudder to keep the boat on course, reducing drag from the rudder, which does slow you down, and increase heeling!If you can't get the main "flat" with the controls suggested, it may be "blown out." That means it has lost its shape, and will always provide too much heel, and too little drive. The easiest way to tell what shape your main has is to lie down under the boom and look up at the boom and mainsail. Where is the deepest point of the belly of the sail? If it's 40 percent back from the luff, the sail is probaly in good shape. If it's 50 percent or more back from the luff, it needs to be fixed or replaced. A local sailmaker should be glad to come out, and have a look at your main at no charge, and discuss options with you. Our 23 year old main was blown out when we got our '77 h27. A new main added 1.5 knots to our speed in a 12 knot breeze, and reduced heel by 5 percent!I focused on your main, because a 100, or 110 jib (110 means that the clew overlaps the mast by 10 percent) is the best sail for 18 knot winds. If you get the main right (flattened, then reefed) the jib will probably be fine - reefing/furling it is the next action if needed. But that will probably come in higher winds.DavidLady Lillie

 

[Cliff Ruckstuhl]

How old are the sail's??

Blown out sail's will not let the boat sail right.

 

[L and W]

I agree with Steve O.

We've had our H25 out in 20-25 knots, but only after taking a reef in both the jib and the main! The jib is super-easy to reef - just attach the reef clew to the hardware where the forestay is attached and tie the foot of the sail up with the reefing points. Most H25's have jiffy reefing for the main. By the way, the H25 main is designed with a pretty high aspect ratio - the foot of the main is short and the luff is tall. The winds are much stronger the higher up the mast you go, even at 15 or 20 feet up. This accounts for excessive heeling sometimes when the wind at the surface of the water seems manageable. Therefore, in theory at least, reefing the main should de-power the boat sufficiently in winds of 12-18 knots. If heeling is still excessive, put that reef in the jib also. We've had our H25 heeled over to 30 degrees before, but the boat seems to stiffen up right there. I've tried to put the lee rail in the water, but couldn't get there!