Optimum Heel ?

[Alansails]

On our Catalina 25 our sailing optimum heel for speed was 15 degrees, does anyone know if the 310 has an optimum heel?
We sail really balanced at 10 degrees.
Any thoughts?

 

[JohnVTX]

The more upright you can be the faster you go

 

[LeoLambert310]

In 15-20 kt wind I'll reef the sails to get around 10 deg heel, I'll get a GPS speed of around 7-7.2 kts if I heel around 15 deg I'll get 6-6.5 kts.

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

I agree with the 10 degrees. That's our experience too.

 

[Alansails]

Thanks again

 

[Jackdaw]

The more upright you can be the faster you go

While it's true that being upright will make the foils more aerodynamically and hydrodynamically more efficient, the reality is the boat needs the rig to slightly overpower the resistive force of the keel to generate best speed. That creates heel. Depending on the boat, that's typically in the 10-12 degree range for most wind speeds.

The neat part is that you're also right, 'flat is fast'.... The trick is to find the sweet spot of trim and heel that generates best boat speed.

 

[Alansails]

Thanks, Jackdaw for your insight, it is always appreciated!
We sailed the other day and the boat was so balanced I was driving with no hands steering!
What a great day!