h420 perforance

[therobesons]

We are new to hunters as this 420 is our first one.

In light air, under 8 kts this seems to be a snail, just cant' get it to go, with smaller lighter boats able to out run us with ease.

In a little stronger winds 10-15 the boat seems to perform better.

Is this due to being a big heavy boat or not enough sails or?

ideas?

Thanks

Bob

 

[Stu Jackson]

It would help if you described your sails, unless the jib is always small on your boats.

Congratulations. Enjoy.

 

[eianm]

we have a 1991 H42 and it is actually impressive in light air- I have had numerous sailing friends comment on how impressed they are with the boats performance- whats that old saying about a workman always blaming his tools?

 

[Buck420]

Bob,

Several things make the boat perform poorly in light air.

H-420's have the same fractional rig as H-376's (built during the same years, .... and notabley the same model as the Hunter 376 Aegean). Older, H-42's have a mast head rig. As such, IMHO, the boat is underpowered for it's size.

Being a center cockpit boat, windage has more adverse effect in light air than for similar aft cockpit models (like the 410 & 376).
The non battened, roller furling main, performs poorly.... Many 410 owners added, or replaced, the sail w/ one having vertical battens.
If your sails are the ones that came w/ the boat, they are now old and have lost much of their shape
You probably have a fixed 3-bladed prop which further significantly reduces performance.
Any amount of bottom growth will significantly reduce performance.
Most 420 owners are cruisers, and as such, have thousands of pounds of "stuff" on the boat, further reducing "sailing' performance.

If you want better sailing performance, get new sails (a main w/ battens, and a new jib) and a folding pro. Take some weight off the boat, take the Bimini/enclosure off; and make sure the bottom is clean.
OR ... just accept the fact that at below 10-12 kts you're going to be a sail assisted motor boat... if you want to get anywhere.

 

[therobesons]

h420 downwind performance and what we have learned.

Boy did you ever hit the nail on the head.
But this is true of all cruising boats, including the boats we were traveling with.

On the trip home we learned that our boat will not run down wind at all. We had nice winds of 8-10 kts. Not until we get to 60 degrees off wind will the sails fill and the boat move. Any less and the jib just collapses and the boat speed falls way off. But 60 degrees the sail fill the boat goes fine. 8 kts wind, 6 kts boat speed, under 60 degrees,jib collapse, boat drops to 3 kts.
Even at perfectly straight down wind, there was no way to fly wing on wing, the jib just will not fill.
The more we look at the general layout, we are learning more and more as to the poor performance of this boat.
I attribute most of the lack of downwind performance to:
1. A cut main sail for the roller furling. So the main is too small, no roach, no battens.
2. The Hunters are a main sail powered boat, but not when you cut the main down.
3. Small fractional jib. 110% but fractional. (small) Can’t put a lager one on as the cars are mounted to far forward. This will take some doing to allow for a larger jib.
4. Rearward spreaders not allowing us to deploy the main all the way out. You sail straight down wind or risk the boom coming over.
5. Jib sheets mounted too far in (on the side of the cabin, not on the outside of the boat) holding the corner of the jib in, not allowing it to fill and stay out. Whisker pole badly needed.
With some tuning we believe we can get some nice downwind with a whisker pole maybe a Genniker .

Stay tuned for upwind performance recap.

 

[Buck420]

h420 downwind performance and what we have learned.

Bob,

re... downwind, with wind speeds less than ~ 15kts, at 110-160 rel...
on my 420, I've found that if you reef the main down to about 1/2, and hold it out to "weather", using it simply to help divert air into the jib, you will get about as good a downwind result as can be expected.
dead down wind ... difficult on any saiboat, even more so on boats with B&G rigs... far better to simply jibe downwind, (as previously suggested), and not endure the frustration of trying to stay DDW.

Buck

 

[therobesons]

Down wind performance

Yea, that is what we did, jibed a few times.

Just frustrating when you are running with several other boats all able to run and only us having to jibe, it cost us about 1/2 hour for a 25 mile trip.

All the other boats are just cruisers also; they ranged from Catalina’s, [FONT=&quot]Beneteau[/FONT], Islanders and other older Hunters without the B&R rigging.


Have you tried a whisker pole to hold the jib out?



Bob

 

[Don Lucas]

My 410 has the same hull and it runs well and sails in lighter winds as well has my last Cal-39. You do need to pull the main in more than you expect to get air in the head sail. And I can run DDW wing-on-wing but it takes too much work and normally I just sail off the wind and make better speed. Sometimes it is just better to roll up the head sail and sail on the main (need a preventer rigged in light wnd or it will bounce all over), opposite of what I used to do on my Cal. Takes time to learn to sail ones boat best based on what it is throw out rules you may have learned on some older designed boat.

And then there is .............. the spinnaker, learn to love it!

 

[sempre amantes]

fit a masthead spiniker crane and fly a crusing kite if you want afaster boat the ealy 42 passages are faster boats as the hull is differant

 

[jwieneck]

I have a 1998 376. I make it go with a traditional main 4 full battens large roach. A 110 headsail when I want to go down wind I pole out the head sail or I have snatch blocks off the aft cleat. This allows the 110 to fill running below 130. It is pretty easy to do I have a line around the aft cleats and just use the snatch blocks. I put tweekers on if it needs it to keep it from jumping. I have spin sheets I use if I go out board just so I can jib. I use the full main and can kick any roller furling main 35 to 45. I do prevent the main as far out as possible. I have found running Hot at 140 and jibbing beats almost all dead down boats minus a spin. I agree with all the other stuff said about cruising. Have a beer it will not seem so slow.

 

[seadaddler]

Racing

I know 2 Hunter that do very very well racing in our PGSC,one is a 410 Hunter with vertical battens and the other one is a 420 CC with verticals and both do race with clean bottoms different sails and I think folding or feathering props.
Nick

 

[Butch23065]

Re: Racing

Nick,
Serendipity is a CC 420 but mine is a 41 not a 410. Quite different boats.
Butch