Help with "Leben ist gut"

[Yuxian]

I recently got back onto the Great Lakes with the 1980 hull 143, 37 Cherubini. Fortunately, over the years, this boat has had many upgrades/changes. And while I'm not a novice to sailing, I have far too many questions to go this alone without the help of some former and current owners of 37Cs. I'm hoping that even some of you might have owned and sailed "Leben".

She is presently rigged as a sloop, but I have much of the gear to revert back to a cutter. I have never sailed a cutter. My first question is: How many of you would consider such a change and why?
She has an arch/davits frame (nothing attached yet). But, I know nothing of the windage and problems large solar panels might cause when sailing? I've trailed a dinghy, but wonder if anyone would ever carry one on davits during a passage?

Any help or comments will be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Dan

 

[Stu Jackson]

Dan, how you plan to use your boat should be the basis of whether you go cutter or not. If day sailing, most likely not worth the effort, both to do it or to sail it. If, OTOH, you plan long distance Great Lake sails, then it may be worthwhile.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Solar panels WILL create windage issues. How they are installed and what size they are will determine the impact. Cruiser Forum has many discussions about this issue. There is one very trustworthy skipper who notes that he uses his generator in lieu of solar because he races (56 foot boat, too). Others have removed generators after installing solar. You mention "passages." I don't know your plans, but if you're staying on the Great Lakes, you really aren't dealing with the kind of passages the skippers on CF regularly make. The 56 foot boat owner has been sailing from UK to the Baltic and back every year for decades. A two day or two overnight trip is not really a passage - compared to the Baltic trips or UK to the Med, or even from Maine to Florida, Seattle to Mexico. Good luck with your new boat.