I have a friend that just purchased a 33.5 with a wing keel and is very dissapointed with its performance to windward. He says that it cannot point anywhere near as high as his previous Catalina 27 nor as high as our H-216. In order to get any speed at all to windward, he has to fall off at least 20 degrees from the other boats. This sounds like it's a sail or rigging problem but not having any sailmakers in the area, I'm turning to this forum. He loves the boat and it has excellent performance off the wind but is just not competitive with the fleet in our races due to the lack of upwind speed. I'm interested in hearing from those of you who race this boat. What should he expect from his 33.5 in comparison to some other boats? Thanks for your help.
Is the 33.5 slow to windward?
- Thread starter Mr.Ernie
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Sails
I have had three boats that were slugs to windward that had a transformation with new sails. Also, a folding prop helps too as does a really good bottom. Sometines its just sail trim too. That's my bet. Yes, a shoal keel is going to hurt some, but with a decent breeze and good sails, it will not be bad. IMHO
I have had three boats that were slugs to windward that had a transformation with new sails. Also, a folding prop helps too as does a really good bottom. Sometines its just sail trim too. That's my bet. Yes, a shoal keel is going to hurt some, but with a decent breeze and good sails, it will not be bad. IMHO
I agree about the sail's
If he has older dacron sail's it is a good chance they are not in good shape. So many people think just because the sail is white and the cloth looks it is a good sail, the shape of the sail is probibly gone and this is what is killing his up wind boat speed. Have him check his boat fund for $$ and call out a sailmaker to give the sail's a look. The shape in a Dacron sail shopuld be recut every 2 years to keep the sail fast. Cliff J 29 Red Dog
If he has older dacron sail's it is a good chance they are not in good shape. So many people think just because the sail is white and the cloth looks it is a good sail, the shape of the sail is probibly gone and this is what is killing his up wind boat speed. Have him check his boat fund for $$ and call out a sailmaker to give the sail's a look. The shape in a Dacron sail shopuld be recut every 2 years to keep the sail fast. Cliff J 29 Red Dog
335
Our previous boat ws a 88 hunter 335. When we purchased it is was in great shape, but the sails were 10 years old. It sailed ok and didn't really point well. We broke down and had UK-Allan in Annpolis build us a new larger roached partially battened main sail. The difference was dramatic. Not only did we point high and we could pinch, the heeling decreased and the speed improved. It made it feel like a new boat. We would race with friends who a little larger boats and with the new sails we were able to keep pace and one of our friends on a Sparkman Stevens 38 we were able to beat handily. I think new sails are worth the money and also reduce the issues of old age failures as we took Feng Shui out into the Bay when it was blowing 25-30 knots to work on our heavy weather techniques. An older sail would have been blown long ago.
Our previous boat ws a 88 hunter 335. When we purchased it is was in great shape, but the sails were 10 years old. It sailed ok and didn't really point well. We broke down and had UK-Allan in Annpolis build us a new larger roached partially battened main sail. The difference was dramatic. Not only did we point high and we could pinch, the heeling decreased and the speed improved. It made it feel like a new boat. We would race with friends who a little larger boats and with the new sails we were able to keep pace and one of our friends on a Sparkman Stevens 38 we were able to beat handily. I think new sails are worth the money and also reduce the issues of old age failures as we took Feng Shui out into the Bay when it was blowing 25-30 knots to work on our heavy weather techniques. An older sail would have been blown long ago.
A "re-cut"...
is certainly worth trying and not very expensive. It DOES take a sailmaker who knows his stuff though, preferably local conditions. Had the original main re-cut on my old '87 28.5 years ago by a local loft that did all the racing sails for our lake. Went loose foot, full batten and it made a huge difference. Any main 10 yrs. old or more could benefit from a re-cut.
is certainly worth trying and not very expensive. It DOES take a sailmaker who knows his stuff though, preferably local conditions. Had the original main re-cut on my old '87 28.5 years ago by a local loft that did all the racing sails for our lake. Went loose foot, full batten and it made a huge difference. Any main 10 yrs. old or more could benefit from a re-cut.
I have a 35.5 which is almost the same boat. Pointing ability is a function of many factors. 1) a properly tuned rig 2) condition and shape of the sails 3) underbody condition and shape(including prop and keel) 4) weight distribution Very few of the Hunters that I have been on have a properly tuned rig. Mast rake and prebend being most important. This is a key factor and one that is easily remedied. The wing keel is not a good choice for pointing, but other things can be done to minimize the keels shortcomings. Sail shape is a major player in windward performance.
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