My wife and I have sailed 02 311 for one season. We had an on board lesson. Understand the boat is tender, need to reef sooner and the boat sails just as fast more upright with a reef. My question is what heel angle is upright? What heel angle gives best performance? I guess I am looking for numerical ideal heel angle, knowing there are no absolutes, just want to have a target to aim for. All insights are welcome
Healing angle
- Thread starter cstonedent
- Start date
I don't know your ship but 15-18 degrees seem to come up a lot around here I believe.
25-30 may not be optimum but it sure is funner...
Welcome to the boards.
25-30 may not be optimum but it sure is funner...
Welcome to the boards.
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I imagine it would vary from boat to boat but I can tell you that from 15 to 30 I gain .5mph. in the wife were on board, it would def not be worth it. with just me like today, I found that I was comfortable until about 25, after that I started to fall off some to bring the boat back up then eventually reefed. reefed I dropped the .5mph but was able to point higher more comfortably which a lot of times means more than the little bit of speed. I am also REALLY new to sailing so value this at what you paid for it!!
the more upright you can keep your boat, the better it is... the hull has almost perfect lines for sailing in an upright position.
but...... there is a balance between how much wind you're catching and how far the hull lays over.... to far over and you are losing speed due to the hydrodynamic drag on the hull. and not enough heel means you need to catch more wind to move the boat faster.
most hulls are designed to sail fairly well with up to about 20 degrees of heel. after that you are usually working the hull and rigging too hard against the wind for the best efficiency....
but...... there is a balance between how much wind you're catching and how far the hull lays over.... to far over and you are losing speed due to the hydrodynamic drag on the hull. and not enough heel means you need to catch more wind to move the boat faster.
most hulls are designed to sail fairly well with up to about 20 degrees of heel. after that you are usually working the hull and rigging too hard against the wind for the best efficiency....
We sail a Catalina 310. It's less tender than the B311 but has some similar features (I.e. Wide beam carried far aft, high freeboard). I find we sail fastest and most stable at 10-15 degrees of heel. At over 20 it's uncomfortable. By comparison our C&C 24 was best at 25. Every boat is different but I find the modern hull designs prefer to be relatively flat.
You did not mention what keel you have. It's important. The deeper the keel the more heel you can handle.
Heel not only effects speed, it effects slide slip. Too much heel and you can be slipping sideways 10 degrees. Any boat heeling 25 degrees is slipping sideways like crazy. A flat boat will hammer you.
Your boats hull was based on the Figaro one design race boat. Keep it flat in light airs. 12-16 in most most mid breezes.
Heel not only effects speed, it effects slide slip. Too much heel and you can be slipping sideways 10 degrees. Any boat heeling 25 degrees is slipping sideways like crazy. A flat boat will hammer you.
Your boats hull was based on the Figaro one design race boat. Keep it flat in light airs. 12-16 in most most mid breezes.
The 311 hull design has a relatively flat "canoe" bottom and a wide beam carried aft. You will want to sail much flatter than some other hull shapes. Numerically, you may want to try 10 degrees and go up to 15 at most, and see what works best for you, your crew, and your boat. It also depends on the point of sail and how your sails are set. Also remember, the more heel, the more you could have leeward slippage, wind spillage from the sails, and the tendency for weather helm. These all contribute to less performance and less comfort. But again, each boat and boater are different. Experiment.
I have a 323 and have found that keeping the boat around 10 to 12 degrees of heel is faster and allows the boat to point slightly higher. If the wind gets above 12 knots, a reef works better than trying to retain a fully hoisted main, and there is no loss in hull speed. It's fun to be able to outrun some 36 and 38 foot boats that are carrying a lot more sail.
I agree with Doug however I'd move the traveller down first then reef. You will find the boat sails faster when flatter because you're not putting on the brakes with the rudder. Also a good test of if you have to reef is weather helm
I have a 311 with a swing keel. Interestingly, i tend to sail almost always with the keel all the way up, even in fairly stiff breezes. I find the boat sails fastest somewhere around 15-20 degrees of heel (or maybe its just more fun and seems faster). However, as Jackdaw said, I slip sideways a lot in high wind without the keel down.
The boat itself doesn't seem to mind - it goes along quite well regardless... but I imagine I'm past the point of diminishing returns of power against hull drag on most days.
While on a windy day (which most are here), I can see heel of 30-35 degrees, it is nearly impossible to get the rail in the water on this boat - it is pretty clearly designed to sail flatter as everyone has said.
The boat itself doesn't seem to mind - it goes along quite well regardless... but I imagine I'm past the point of diminishing returns of power against hull drag on most days.
While on a windy day (which most are here), I can see heel of 30-35 degrees, it is nearly impossible to get the rail in the water on this boat - it is pretty clearly designed to sail flatter as everyone has said.
Yes, but it can be very misleading.
The VMG number displayed on the vast majority of sailboat instruments is a calculation based only on true wind angle and boatspeed. This calculation does NOT factor side-slip, and will not unless the instrument pack is very sophisticated (B&G Hercules, for example).
In 20 knots of breeze, an over-heeled boat will be slipping at over 10 degrees, while a correctly trimmed boat will be slipping 4. Both will show the same VMG on their instruments. But the flat boat crushes the heeler.
On our First 36.7 we monitor both heading and course when going upwind. The difference in slack water is sideslip. It's very enlightening.
Thanks for the imput. Jackdaw I have a fin keel (bulb on the bottom) with 4' 9" draft. I know I have a long way to go on the learning curve but you all have helped me get a desired concept in my head that I can begin working with. Will also practice my spelling.