Need help making a 373 race ready

[rbccapecod]

Just bought a used 2006 373. I have been racing in our yacht club on Cape Cod. My former boat had a handicap of 200. The 373 is 147. I have raced 3 times so far in light air and am getting killed. This boat is way slower than my old one. I have a 37 HP Yanmar with a fixed 3-bladed prop. I have original issue Neil Pryde sails, roller furled headsail and traditional battened mainsail. I know I will need new racing sails to win but right now she will not keep up with the fleet.
Right now I'm convinced that it has to be the prop. I feel as if I must switch to a flooding prop. Flexofold seems to have the best overall performance. Will this investment get this boat moving up to it's rating potential or am I missing something.

 

[Philip_Oceanis 361]

Surely it will make it move faster in general but in relative terms after taking into account the penalty, will it? I don't know who can give this answer.

 

[rbccapecod]

Thanks. Was hoping someone had been through this . I imagine that the handicaps must be accurate and I should be able to get up to the predicted speed. Right now it is like pulling an empty bucket. The rest of the fleet just pulls away from us. Very discouraging!

 

[DougM]

I can tell you from experience that a folding prop will help, but I don't know how it would impact the handicap numbers on a 373. A simple thing that would help is to gett as much weight out of the boat as possible. All the stuff that tends to accumulate in lockers, the water in the tanks, cabin cushions, you name it. The expensive part will be the sails. I would suspect that the original Pryde sails are not optimally cut to begin with, and my ultimately be a bit tired. Keep in mind that a hull like the 373 likes to be sailed flat. It gets slower as it heels.

 

[Jim21895]

My prior experience, albeit on a different boat, is that the folding prop far outweighed the penalty when going from a 2 blade fixed. I can only imagine that moving from a 3 blade to a folder will do the same.

Also, look at whether your rig is properly tuned, and bottom is slick as a baby's bottom. Both can be easy to fix and will make a dramatic difference in boat speed.

Then spend the money on new sails.