downwind sailing

[Steve Voyce]

Well I finally got to try my new gennaker (Asymetrical) and was very pleased. It was a lot of fun. Took the boat (89 30 ft hunter) out in the middle of Puget Sound and practiced sailing at all angles. It seemed that if we lowered the main we could sail almost directly down wind. What do you think? Do any of you sail the gen. with the mainsail down? steve

 

[Alan]

Asym's

..are not for sailing DDW. They are for reaching off at apparent wind angles of between 115 and 60. Downwind is for spinnakers(symetric) and even they work better while jibing off not running DDW. DDW is the slowest point of sailing except for very special conditions. However, if you're interested in sailing dead down wind, try flying the asym on one side and the main on the other, that way the main will not block the wind for your asym. You can set a pole to hold the foot open and sail slightly by the lee, watch out for the accidental jibe!! I've done this but again if you're sailing by the lee you're not on a DDW course. Try it, you'll like it __/)_____

 

[Steve]

DDW with ASM & Jib...

Last weekend I tried flying my new ASM DDW with the jib wing-on-wing, with the main down. I was able to get about 10-15 degrees off from DDW and still keep everything filled. I would guess it would do better with a whisker pole. The sails were lifting the bow of the boat, putting the stern down and causing drag. I sent the crew to the bow to level the boat, and reduced the drag.In 10-12 knts of air, we were surfing down 1-2' swells well above hull speed. There was a club sailing down the lake at the same time as we were playing around, and we were overtaking and passing larger boats. Gybing downwind may be faster for boats that can put the main all the way over, but this seems to be the way to go for B&R rigs with the swept back spreaders. I will not hesitate to use this configuration in a race.Steve

 

[Bryan Pfaffenberger]

Be sure to use a preventer

This is probably an obvious point to everyone in this discussion, but it bears repeating... When you're sailing wing-on-wing, be sure to use a preventer line to keep the boom in place -- accidental gybes are really dangerous! A vang with snap shackles on both ends is perfect for this. Attach one end to one of the padeyes on the bottom of the boom and the other to a bow cleat.

 

[Bryan Pfaffenberger]

And keep the main up...

According to research by Boat/US's insurance division (recently summarized in Practical Sailor), it isn't wise to sail with the headsail alone -- a surprising number of dismastings have occurred under such conditions, even in relatively light winds (10-15 kts).

 

[Palmer King]

Stealing from a Hobie

Hobie's have the same problem as Hunter's B&R rig on downwind runs. Here is a cute trick I learned from a Hobie owner on downwind runs.Regardless of what jib you're running, reef the main down 2. This makes a small main which uncovers the jib, but still keeps the boat balanced. You can sail about 30 degrees off the wind with no problem and good boat speed.