Gearing up for the coming season!

[ddeand]

There's still a bit of snow on the ground, and I still have a few weeks of skiing left before the slopes shut down, but I made my first sailing move the other day. I sail a Hunter 18, but the hull was a replacement for the old, cracking 170. Consequently, all the rigging and sails were from the original 170. The new mainsail on the Hunter 18 is about 20% larger than the 170, so I figured I'd try to get a new, appropriate sail for my boat. In order to do that, I had to order a new Hunter 18 boom, too. I'm having the sail made for me, and I think everything should be ready by the start of the coming season. The nice thing is that all the rigging and the mast from the 170 will work just fine with the new sail and boom.

I'm really looking forward to the coming season since I had such a great time in my rookie season last year.

Hope everyone else has a great year, too!

Dean

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Dean, you will enjoy the ride. Have fun

Crazy Dave Condon

 

[BlueRunner]

I have the 170 and IMHO, any wind just a tad bit more than light over powers the boat to the point where I find myself "dumping" the wind on the mainsail. I don't know what wind speed I'm referring to here other than the beginning of "white caps". And at that point, a gust on a beat or short reach give me the feeling I'm about a half inch of a knockdown. Very uncomfortable feeling, especially if I'm single handing.

With the 18 sail 20% bigger, I would think the above nature of the boat would even be worse unless it has a much heavier center board. I'm at the point where if the wind feels like it's approaching the beginnings of white caps, I start out with the main reefed and don't shake it out unless the wind is really easing up.

On my GPS speed, I seem to only lose about .5 to 1 MPH with a reefed main verses constantly dumping air on a full main.

Maybe I'm a bit of a chicken, but I just don't want to take a knock down, especially a turtle. I have foamed the mast and maybe on a warm day in shallow water I'll pull her over just to see if the mast really floats.

 

[esterhazyinoz]

I believe that you start see white caps when the wind goes over 12Knts. I figured that ddeand would need a longer boom if the H18 sail was 20% larger. It just had to be in the foot of the sail.
BlueRunner, I share you adversion to capsizing. I had my first ever this January (see my previous post with pictures). It happened in shallow warm water and I had the mast foamed. In some ways I was glad it happened as I found out just how easy it was to right. Still, I'd rather be on the water and not in it when I am sailing.
Fair winds to all you Northern Hemispherites for when the air and water become more civilised.

 

[ddeand]

Thanks for the input and concern about my new setup. Let me assure you that I thought this out pretty carefully, and I think I'm on solid ground. Here's what I was thinking:

• The New Hunter 18 hull is quite different and obviously larger than the 170 hull, thus it only makes sense that the sail configuration might be different. While the length is one difference, perhaps the greater difference lies in the comparison of the displacement s of the two hulls - the 170 displaces 480 lbs while the 18 ups that to a whopping 836 lbs. That will definitely call for a larger engine. I also figured that Hunter knew what they were doing when they designed the new sail to match the new 18 hull. As my rig stands now (an 18 hull with 170 sails), the boat is slightly underpowered when compared to the newer Hunter 18 boats.
• As a beginning sailor, I am very conscious of both my abilities and limitations. I moor the boat on a small lake where we seldom see whitecaps (although I did come close to flipping the boat last year as I was learning how to deal with gusts), and if the wind is going to be over 12-13knts, I stay home. Fortunately, I can leave home and be under sail in about 40 minutes, plus it helps being retired so I can pick and choose when I sail.
• The mast and the rigging will stay the same on the boat (virtually the same on both boats), but the boom is almost a foot longer on the 18 - that's where the main difference is, so I have ordered a new one of those. Plus, the roach on the 18 sail is a bit fuller - otherwise, the construction is identical as is the "P" measurement of the mainsail (hence the 20% increase in sail size). The whole jib setup is virtually identical on the two boats, so that will stay unchanged.

This coming season should afford me plenty of opportunities to expand and hone my limited skills as well as allow me to further make some mods to my boat (like foaming the mast). I figure I will be able to sail at least twice a week (weather permitting) from May until early October, and I have two relatives who are skilled sailors to guide me. While the new sail might be a handful at first, I am old enough and realistic enough to know my limits and will play things pretty close to the vest. It should be a great season!

Thanks for the responses!

Dean

 

[esterhazyinoz]

Dean,
You have thought this out very well and have a great attitude when it comes to sailing within your limits. I'm with you on this.
You should also be secure in the thought that you now have a good solid (boy, what a difference in displacement!) boat that won't suffer from the problems that plagued some of the previous H170 models.
Get that mast 'foamed' and when it's gusty, never lock your mainsheet in the block and I'm sure you will have a great season. How fortunate you are to be able to be sailing within 40 minutes when the whim takes you!
Cheers,
Hollis

 

[BlueRunner]

perhaps the greater difference lies in the comparison of the displacement s of the two hulls - the 170 displaces 480 lbs while the 18 ups that to a whopping 836 lbs.

I didn't realize the 18 weighed that much more. I would think that would certainly make the boat much more stable when beating or on a close-broad reach in gusty winds. Wish mine was a 18 now. Oh, well. I only have a few more years before I hang up my sails for good.

At least for day sailing. Now if I had a keel boat, I would probably extend my sailing years.

At least I only have to step the mast once a year as it will then go on my buoy for the summer. If I had to step it every time I went out, the boat would be GONE. I do know a younger guy who does step his 170 mast almost every week end and I marvel at that fact.

 

[ddeand]

BlueRunner -

Maybe you ought to get a small keel boat. Watching them lean waaayyyy over on a brisk day is pretty enticing. And I know that if I had to step the mast every time I went out, I'd do a lot less sailing. I'm pretty lucky.

BTW, I was born and raised in NW Montana on a huge lake (Flathead), but never once set foot in a sailboat. Did some windsurfing and other sorts of watersports, but never got a chance to sail. Someday, I hope to take my boat back to our lake cabin there and see what some big water is like. I have been to Lake Sammamish before on a couple trips to Seattle - beautiful area!

Dean

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

The 170 was designed for a max heel of 12-14 degrees. You contol the boat thru sail trim with very little pressure on the rudder as many do not realize pressure on the rudder is acting as a brake for the boat in layman's terms. If you had a keel daysailor, launching and retrieving would be more cumbersome.

crazy dave condon

 

[BlueRunner]

The 170 was designed for a max heel of 12-14 degrees. You contol the boat thru sail trim with very little pressure on the rudder..

I realize the rudder acts like a brake when excessive pressure is applied. To maintain a near neutral rudder with only a max heel of 12-14 degrees will require the sheets to be released almost all the way with what I would consider excessive sail luffing in "beginning" white cap sailing. I'll have to try more of that this season. I don't really care about max speed anymore so last year I ran around a lot with the main sail reefed. According to my GPS, I didn't give up very much speed reefed. I'll be launching my boat around May 1st.

Thankfully, I keep it on a buoy so I only have to "step" it once. This will be the 3rd year I've had my 170. When I first got it and even last year, I worried just bit that someone would "clip" my 2 HP Honda while it was on the buoy, but life's too short to worry about that. I do have it cabled on, but with the right tools it could still be snatched in just a few minutes.