Hunter 216 Sailing performance

[boardman74]

I got the chance yesterday to sail my newly purchased 2004 Hunter 216. Air was very light so just a small sample size. I took the boat out by myself. I was happy with the way the boat motored on and off the lift and in and out of the marina. It was not difficult to get sails up and underway. But like I said it was very light air.

Things I noticed. As has been mentioned before the boat could really use a traveler on the main sheet. I feel like the Jib blocks need to be further aft as the jib does not pull far enough aft at least in light air. I do have a newer jib so maybe its a bit bigger than stock. It appears 110-115% basing off the mast. I was able to shape the jib with the lazy sheet as I have previously learned with other boats. This I am sure only needed in light air. The boat seemed strong to the weather which is always nice.

Issue I saw is off the wind. When trying to run downwind you can't let the sail out very far at all until its into the spreaders. I'm used to having to be mindful of the shrouds but not so quickly into the spreader bar. I suppose this is do to the large rake of the spreader bars due to the lack of a backstay.

What are others doing with the 216? Do you run out your main and let it sit against the spreader down wind? Just a quick guess but I'm not sure I can get the boom to 45 degrees from center (theoretic over the hull sheeting point being 0) before the sail is touching the spreader. Is this just a boat the has to run a broad reach downwind. I don't have the spinnaker set up so running downwind with the sail out 40-45 degrees doesn't seem efficient to me.

Side bar question. Since I don't have the spinnaker hardware, has anyone added an eye to the front of the mast to facilitated using a pole on the jib down wind? Allowing the boat to run in the "wing and wing" set up. This is the normal downwind configuration for spinnaker less smaller boats. I have the pole and ordered a mast ring off the Hunter parts site. Just curious if anyone has set their boat up this way.

Reefing question. Since this is a loose footed sail, when you reef do you tie off the excess sail just around itself or tie down to the boom. I'm used to tying down to the boom.

Thanks in advance for any insite!!

 

[rgranger]

I added a traveler to my H26.
It helped A LOT

 

[chuckwayne]

I got the chance yesterday to sail my newly purchased 2004 Hunter 216. Air was very light so just a small sample size. I took the boat out by myself. I was happy with the way the boat motored on and off the lift and in and out of the marina. It was not difficult to get sails up and underway. But like I said it was very light air.

Things I noticed. As has been mentioned before the boat could really use a traveler on the main sheet. I feel like the Jib blocks need to be further aft as the jib does not pull far enough aft at least in light air. I do have a newer jib so maybe its a bit bigger than stock. It appears 110-115% basing off the mast. I was able to shape the jib with the lazy sheet as I have previously learned with other boats. This I am sure only needed in light air. The boat seemed strong to the weather which is always nice.

Issue I saw is off the wind. When trying to run downwind you can't let the sail out very far at all until its into the spreaders. I'm used to having to be mindful of the shrouds but not so quickly into the spreader bar. I suppose this is do to the large rake of the spreader bars due to the lack of a backstay.

What are others doing with the 216? Do you run out your main and let it sit against the spreader down wind? Just a quick guess but I'm not sure I can get the boom to 45 degrees from center (theoretic over the hull sheeting point being 0) before the sail is touching the spreader. Is this just a boat the has to run a broad reach downwind. I don't have the spinnaker set up so running downwind with the sail out 40-45 degrees doesn't seem efficient to me.

Side bar question. Since I don't have the spinnaker hardware, has anyone added an eye to the front of the mast to facilitated using a pole on the jib down wind? Allowing the boat to run in the "wing and wing" set up. This is the normal downwind configuration for spinnaker less smaller boats. I have the pole and ordered a mast ring off the Hunter parts site. Just curious if anyone has set their boat up this way.

Reefing question. Since this is a loose footed sail, when you reef do you tie off the excess sail just around itself or tie down to the boom. I'm used to tying down to the boom.

Thanks in advance for any insite!!

Congrats on your new boat! you'll have a lot of fun sailing her! You're right about the traveler - I have the optional Hunter setup, you could install an aftermarket one if the original is unavailable. I changed the car to the newer autorelease version - when you tack the leeward cam releases so you don't have to reach down to haul the car upwind, and it makes a huge difference in trim and power control. I also have the assym chute and sprit and it's a blast - but I don't see any reason the whisker pole for the jib wouldn't work. As for the main, all B&R Hunters have that issue - tacking downwind is usually faster anyway

 

[shemandr]

Yes, I did add a ring to my mast for the whisker pole. Something like this: RONSTAN 1 3/4" Stainless Steel Spinnaker Pole Ring | West Marine
It is an easy project.
I sailed quite a bit dead downwind on my 356 with the main against the spreaders. I was not particularly disturbed by that and it didn't have any noticeable detrimental effects on the main. You could have your sailmaker add patches to the main to re-inforce it. Tacking downwind is a sure way to lose a race. But if you want to keep the main off the spreaders it is a perfectly viable alternative.
As for your jib leads, in light wind the leads should be more forward to power up the sail - analogous to the effect that easing the out haul has on the main.
Be careful using the lazy sheet to in haul the jib clew. You can stall the sail easily. On a 21 foot boat, designed for a 100 to 110 sail, the range of adjustment of the jib lead would be pretty small. It's more likely that the sail is wrong and not the lead.
I defer to @rgranger regarding the traveler but I'll note there are many small boats without travelers and many of them sail quite nicely.

 

[rgranger]

I defer to @rgranger regarding the traveler but I'll note there are many small boats without travelers and many of them sail quite nicely.

Well the 216 is a very different boat than the H26. The H26 is water ballast and would not stand on her feet very well above 15 kts of wind. The addition of a traveler allowed me to add twist to the sail when working to windward and I could keep her on her feet without having to spill so much. The jib blocks on the H26 are fixed and somewhat inboard so if you start spilling a lot with the main, you destroy the slot. The traveler allowed me to correct a lot of the negative trim aspects when working hard to windward.

 

[Mike216]

I don't race my 216 so I just sail the fun points of sail. I don't have a spinnaker so downwind is not very exciting. I don't have a whisker pole, but I sail wing on wing and favour the jib to keep if full. I have to be very careful not to accidentally gybe the main.
I have found the first and only reef on the main is not adequate since I sail single handed for the most part and don't have the dynamic crew ballast. If things get to intense, I furl the jib and sail just under main. Very slow, but I still get around.

 

[shemandr]

I don't race my 216 so I just sail the fun points of sail. I don't have a spinnaker so downwind is not very exciting. I don't have a whisker pole, but I sail wing on wing and favour the jib to keep if full. I have to be very careful not to accidentally gybe the main.
I have found the first and only reef on the main is not adequate since I sail single handed for the most part and don't have the dynamic crew ballast. If things get to intense, I furl the jib and sail just under main. Very slow, but I still get around.

Cool. You use the boat the way you want.

 

[John Galt Robinson]

Yes, I did add a ring to my mast for the whisker pole. Something like this: RONSTAN 1 3/4" Stainless Steel Spinnaker Pole Ring | West Marine
It is an easy project.
I sailed quite a bit dead downwind on my 356 with the main against the spreaders. I was not particularly disturbed by that and it didn't have any noticeable detrimental effects on the main. You could have your sailmaker add patches to the main to re-inforce it. Tacking downwind is a sure way to lose a race. But if you want to keep the main off the spreaders it is a perfectly viable alternative.
As for your jib leads, in light wind the leads should be more forward to power up the sail - analogous to the effect that easing the out haul has on the main.
Be careful using the lazy sheet to in haul the jib clew. You can stall the sail easily. On a 21 foot boat, designed for a 100 to 110 sail, the range of adjustment of the jib lead would be pretty small. It's more likely that the sail is wrong and not the lead.
I defer to @rgranger regarding the traveler but I'll note there are many small boats without travelers and many of them sail quite nicely.

Do you have a whisker pole you recommend?

 

[John Galt Robinson]

I’ve noticed that in very light air, my Hunter 216 wants to veer off wind when trying to sail a close tack. This goes away once winds are above 5-7 knots. Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[Davidasailor26]

It’s not too unusual to have a little lee helm in light winds. A little weather helm could be more efficient though. Try getting some weight to leeward to heel the boat a little. The hull shape should encourage weather helm. Also make sure the main is powered up as much as possible, especially taking care that the outhaul is not too tight.

 

[rgranger]

I’ve noticed that in very light air, my Hunter 216 wants to veer off wind when trying to sail a close tack.

Are you sailing With the keel all the way down? Sometimes you can raise the keel just a little bit to alleviate weather helm and if you forget to put it all the way back down in a light breeze, you will create Lee helm