Hunter 27 heel angle.
Now for Red's problem. The H-27 gets a reputation for being really roly-poly in any weather over about 20 knots, and some of this is sort of due to the design. For one the shoal-draft keel makes it really hard to hold the boat anywhere close to level. This is not unsafe– most of my dad's boats are noted for what I call 'dizzying' heel angle. It's a factor of having typically high sail-area-to-weight ratios. I noticed that Red does not mention that the boat ever goes much farther than 15 degrees– I have never heard anyone else say so either. My dad's boats are never unsafe- they typically tend to find a goroove and then stay in it come what may. However Red's point about having to deal with sail trim at these nosebleed heel angles is the next issue. The H-27 also has the boom too high. The sail area itself is fine and the boat is not too light, but wth the CE so high in the rig it takes less wind to get it going over (more arm for the same moment). The high boom is once again a factor of – you guessed it - marketing, who insisted that since the H-27 was a 'big' boat now, you should be able to stand under the boom in the cockpit. The rude fact is that my dad could not have cared a whit for that. He also did not care for shoal-draft keels to avoid bumping bottom either (who else would design an ultralight plywood bay boat perfect for a centreboard but with a fixed 4-ft keel instead? As a pilot of B-24s with that LONG leading edge and dinner-knife airfoil he knew deeper keels are better-handling). The recommendations I would make include, as Steven suggested, reducing sail. This is easiest. Be sure however that your jib leads are correct and that you are using whatever purchase you can on the main boom to keep it DOWN. As soon as you reef you lose sail shape and then there goes the whole argument. I think a tighter leach line on the main would help too. Do not attempt to DRIVE the boat to weather with the jib– this will plow the bow down which gets really hairy. The main is the real power plant anyway. Further I have suggested that the H-27 needs a proper traveller, not on top of the cabin but across the front of the cockpit, where it can grab the end of the boom and really yank it DOWN. Once this is installed you can lower the boom gooseneck and really make a difference. The late John Eggers from Perth Amboy, one of our early sailmakers, used to winch everything home till it was as flat as a sheet of plywood– he would break stuff on your boat insisting that flat sails pull strongest. But these hardware changes aside, I really think that prudence as a sailor, and knowledge of sail trim and rigging tuning, will help a lot, at least at first. I would very much like to hear from H-27 sailors with deep keels to see if they have the same sort of trouble. And let's hear from people who have improved their rigs a litle, like I may have suggested, or otherwise. But I caution anyone to refrain from making drastic changes till you know for sure you have got the rigging tuned to factory spec, including the mast rake (maybe try about 10-12 inches to start). Hope some of this drivel helps. JC
) Good luck red