Hunter 216 Poor Performence in Light Air

[momjian]

Hi

I race my hunter 216 in a casual neghborhood Jib & Main race against other designs using PHRF. I find that in light air we can't seem to move the boat at all against other boats. In more breaze it's comes alive, but in light air it's a dog. Any ideas?

 

[Paul Wash]

Its a Cow not a Dog

So...you're experiencing exactly what I've been struggling with - except I usually call ours the "cow" instead of a dog b/c it reminds me of a waterlogged bovine.

You are in luck...there are few suggestions:

1. Rig tuning - without a backstay your only way to change rig performance realtime is to adjust shrouds. For heavy breeze I tighten the uppers and loosen the lowers (lowers always should be hand tightened on the 216) to create visible bend in combination with a custom wooden mast wedge. This flattens the jib and the main accordingly. For light breeze/chop I typically loosen the uppers to straighten the mast and sag the headstay slightly. This creates a less flat sail and powers up to handle the lighter air and/or power through the chop. I don't use pins to lock the turnbuckles down so I can change tension during a race.
2. Use the controls. Ease the outhaul to create more main sail body. Play with the vang to get good shape. Keep the boom centered (when close hauled). Use your cunningham to control the luff tension. Use your leech and foot tension lines to create shape as well.
3. New sails. The stock 216 sails are very poorly made. Use the stock sail for practice/tooling around. I upgraded my jib to racing dacron and am adding a mylar/pentex triradial main. The main is almost done but the theory as I understand it is the lighter weight, better cut main will dramatically improve light air performance, translating the energy of the light wind into lift instead of deflecting the air, reducing lift. In heavy air, it reduces heeling and translates this to lift and speed b/c the better cut sail will not trap air and move you to leeward as much.
4. Add jib track leads to change the sheeting angle of the jib. This is huge. A tight leech is better in light air versus a tight foot. Vice versa for heavier air.
5. I know you said main/jib only - but the a-sail on the 216 is life. This is the only way I can come close to anyone (barring all other issues). I would never even come close with the jib on downwind legs unless it was blowing 15+ kts.
6. The rest is environmental, but I look at it as 50% tuning and 50% being in the right place. Look for the wind, follow the pressure, know the tide, know the currents, avoid the heap and bad air other boats are generating. Tack to the lifts and tack off the headers.

Pay attention to what Alan says on this forum - he knows a lot about racing and the theory behind how things should work...He helped me a ton get out of our rut.

Paul.

 

[Alan]

Light air racing is by far the most difficult to do well. In sailboat racing the guy who makes the fewest mistakes usually wins. Mistakes in light air are compounded which gives the competition an even bigger advantage.
Start with the easiest first. Empty the boat! Take EVERYTHING off the boat that you wont be using for the race. That added weight on a light air day is a speed killer. If you can sail to the start area leave the outboard and fuel tank home. If you do take it put it below deck near the keel before the start.
Make sure the bottom is spotless. Slime is another speed killer. Take a sponge and wipe down the bottom, keel and rudder blade the morning of the race.
Sail with your crew weight to leeward giving the boat some extra heel. This reduces wetted surface area and helps to shape the sails. Crew movement must be kept to a minimum.
In smaller boats roll tacking helps to mitigate the use of the rudder. The rudder should be thought of as the brake pedal in your car. The more you apply the rudder the more the boat slows down. Learning to tack efficiently in light air is huge. Use the sails to drive the tack to reduce the use of rudder.
Sail shape, of course, is key to boat speed. Your sail are the engine that drives the boat. In ultra light air(1 to 4 knots) the sails must be as flat as possible to keep air flow attached to the sail. As the breeze increases you can slowly add draft and twist to take advantage of the increasing power. Never try to point high in light air, it just isn't effective. Better to sail just a little lower with better boat speed.

Follow these rules and I promise you the competition will have a hard time beating you.

 

[Paul Wash]

The other thing I failed to mention and in addition to Alan's advice is that it is critical to observe the main telltales.

It is important to understand the concept of leech tension in relation to sail twist. Alan correct me if I'm wrong here - but this recipe seems to work on the 216. If the main telltales near the top battens begin to hang, it usually means the leech is too tight and the main is stalling. I actually ease the main and pull the traveler to windward to ease the tension until the telltales start flying. (keep the boom centerline though). It is really important in light air to monitor this b/c your main can quickly become stalled and kill you, killing steerage - creating that wet cow effect.

The location of the draft of the sail is also critical. I use the cunningham and halyard to control this. I try and target the middle of the sail from the luff. In light winds I ease it b/c it seems the wrinkles help. As the wind picks up the draft moves forward, hence I tighten the cunningham b/c it keeps the draft aft - but no more than half the sail aft from the luff.

Bottom line watch the telltales and tweak your controls...