heavy wind racing

[Mystic51]

While racing last weekend in 15-20 knot winds we were overpowered going to weather. We have a new dacron main and new 140 pentax genoa. I know I had too much slack on my genoa halyard. The main cunningham and outhaul were tight. A well trimmed catalina 22 (very experienced) kicked my butt. I thought about reefing the main but was worried about having shortened sail downwind. I had my traveler in and main flat to try and point like everyone else. I think I was pinching too much to stay upright and was stalling my sails and slide slipping from too much heal. I know I need to not copy the traveler settings on other boats. I want to keep the boat flatter, sail faster, and sail high enough to make good time to the mark. any advice? And should I have reefed the main. I did bring the genoa in a few turns at one point but kept wondering how far I could go before destroying my sail shape. I do reef more when crusing and the boat handles well butI noticed that no one racing was reefed. I am afraid that If reefed I will get my butt kicked downwind.In medium air I was more competative.

 

[Gary Wyngarden]

Ease the traveller

Hi Mystic,I am not a racer, but you don't do yourself any favors on speed by keeping the traveller in to the point where you have excessive heel and too much weather helm. I would ease the traveller even to the point of luffing the main a bit to sail the boat upright and eliminate the excess weather helm. It's also a much easier adjustment to make when you round the weather mark and start heading downwind instead of trying to reef and unreef the main.At least that's this cruiser's opinion.Gary WyngardenS/V Wanderlust H37.5

 

[Bill18593]

25.5

(Generally, when it blows, keep your halyards and outhaul tight, the traveller should be full to leeward.)The 25.5 is a masthead rig and definitely jib powered. Its been my experience with our 25.5 and that of others with 25.5s that in a breeze greater than around 15 knots, its a good idea to reef the main first. Mostly, I try to use the Main to balance the boat and trim the jib to pull us along.I've been out in 15 - 25 with a 150 and reefed main (traveller full to leeward) and it seemed easy to get the boat balanced with just a little weather helm. We flew along pretty well. With full main and the 150 the boat is overpowered when it blows over 15. I've used a 110 with full main in winds above 15 and its got a little too much weather helm. It doesn't seem to move along quite as well either. The main needs to be reefed even with the 110 when the wind blows a little heavier. When reefed with the 110 in these conditions, the boat becomes very polite and easily managed but doesn't seem as quick. Points pretty high, though.When sailing on a broad reach in 15 - 25, you're probably going to hit hull speed even with the main reefed, so that's not much of a concern.At least that's for our shoal keel. A fin keel might handle a couple knots more, but the general opinion is keep the 150 (or in your case, the 140) up and reef the main around 15. We don't race in organized races (yet!). But every time I hit the water, its a race with everything out there.

 

[Mystic51]

more reef questions

I do successfully reef often when not racing. My question though in a windward leward race where we have the genoa polled out wing and wing will a reefed main kill my boat speed. I left the main unreefed to maximize my downwind speed. Up wind I know that traveling the main out will help with the healing but then I won't point as high as those who have a less tender boat and do not need to travel out. I guess that I would have to make up the extra distance sailed with more speed gained by not pinching. My other question refers to the genoa. I roll it in in several turns for pleasure sailing when overpowered. In a race where pointing is important will a few turns kill my sail shape too much. Jeff

 

[Bill18593]

Downwind reefed

Reefing downwind should not hurt your speed. When you're scooting on a broad reach (IMHO, slower to do a direct downwind run than a broad reach) through 15 - 25 know winds, you're probably hitting hull speed regardless of whether you're reefed or not.

 

[Jim Kolstoe]

Are you slowing yourself?

A skipper I crewed for years ago pointed out on a boat we were overtaking that it had too much sail up. To maintain his heading and not get knocked over, he had his rudder over so far that it was trying to go through the water sideways rather than slicing smoothly. The effect was more like a sea anchor than a rudder. You might check to see if you're experiencing that problem. The solution is easy, reduce you sail area in a way that preserves the balance between the sails. I generally go from a 150% gennie to a (100%) jib before I start reefing m h23. Good luck.Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo

 

[Wanderer138]

Try spilling some air next time

If memory (and the owners manual) serve me correctly, your H25.5 has a fractional rig, in which case the quick answer is to bend the mast by increasing backstay tension. If the forecast calls for lots of wind, add more prebend at the dock by loosening the lowers a bit and increasing the tension in the upper shrouds,Either way, the objective of bending is to flatten the middle of the sail (less draft and less power) and open the leech. This is called increasing the "twist" of the sail. It spills air off the top of the sail and reduces heel while keeping the lower half powered up. It's sort of like a temporary reef.If you don't have a fractional rig, bending the mast is harder, but there's another way to open the leech. Pull the traveler to WINDWARD (wait...there's more) then EASE the mainsheet to put the boom back on centerline and keep the proper angle of attack. This reduces the downward pull on the boom and allows the leech to open and spill some air.A couple more hints...put as much weight as possible on the windward rail when going upwind. Use a tiller extension so you can sit on the cockpit coaming with your crew. Rig your mainsheet and traveler controls so they are easy to adjust from the rail. Ask your crew to look ahead and let you know as each gust approaches. As a gust arrives, the apparent wind will shift aft a few degrees. Ease the traveler or mainsheet to adjust the angle of attack of the main to match. Instead of heeling, the boat will accelerate. As it does so, the apparent wind will move forward, so retrim the main to match. Instead of trying to keep the boat upright by pinching, foot off a bit and let the boat accelerate. Even though you'll sail a broader angle to the mark, the boat will be faster and you will make up the extra distance with superior speed. Wing-keel boats like to be sailed flat and fast.You are correct in delaying reefing as long as possible when racing. A reefed main won't do much after you round the windward mark and it's not easy to shake out a reef when you're off the wind. Good luck.Peterh23 "Raven"

 

[Bill18593]

Peter,

The 26.5 is a frac rig. The H25.5 is a masthead rig. The 25.5 is definitely jib powered. We use the main for balancing the tiller. It contributes to the boats speed, but not as ignificantly as the jib. Ideal conditions for a 25.5 shoal keel is about 12 - 15 knots (fin keel handles a little more). We use the full main and the 150 when it blows like this. Boat is fast and balances very nicely with just enough weather helm to get lift from the rudder.For conditions above this, see the earlier post.

 

[Wanderer138]

Bill and Mystic

Sorry about the mixup with the H25.5 rig. I've only seen one of these boats and thought it was just a larger version of the H23, That means some of my suggestions may not work as they were based on experience with the H23. However, some of the others should. Try them till you find the one(s) that work for you. Good luck around the buoys.PeterH23 "Raven"