You rang?
Everything said so far is true...and yes, there are ways to help the H23 point better. First, get the boom on the centerline. The mainsheet alone can't do it, you need the traveler. The spring-loaded pin stops on the stock H23 traveler are useless, but you can fix that. Put an upright turning block and a cam cleat on the coaming at each end of the traveler and run the traveler control lines. Slide the pin stops to the ends of the track so the car has an unobstructued run from end to end. The trick is to regulate mainsail power with the mainsheet (more tension = less twist = more power) and control its angle of attack using the traveler. Check the Forum Archives under "H23 traveler" for details of several systems built by H23 owners. Work on your boatspeed. The wing keel works best when the boat is sailing fast, i.e., at or above 5 kt. That means a clean hull and extra weight either off the boat or down low near the compression post. Don't trim the headsail all the way in when coming about (a lot of people make this mistake simply because it's easier to trim the sheet when there's no load on it). As you come out of the tack, the boat will be slow. Rather than trying to get to 45 deg off the wind right away, fall off to a close reach and trim for that heading. H23's are fast on a close reach, so the boat will accelerate quickly. As the boat accelerates, the apparent wind will move forward. Sheet in to maintain proper sail trim and boatspeed and head up. If the boat starts to slow, fall off a bit and build speed again. Sail trim is important. Adjust the sails until you have the main and jib are balanced. You'll know it because the helm will become light. The boat is now keeping itself on course, so you don't have to use the helm to force it to stay there. You need some weather helm to create hydrodynamic lift but not much. Too much weather helm and the rudder starts acting like a brake. Trim the sails for what feels right (a light helm) not for what looks good. I often sail with a big bubble backwinded in the luff. It looks ugly to others but not for long, if you catch my drift. Don't rely on your compass alone to tell you whether you're pointing well. Just because it says you're tacking through 90 degrees doesn't mean you're sailing at 45 deg off the wind. A compass indicates heading, not course over ground (COG). Your course could be 60 deg. or more off the wind and you may not realize it. Check your actual COG with a GPS or some fixed reference in the water, e.g. a channel marker. Know when to point. Pointing high is easier with steady wind and flat water. It's much harder to do in light air, gusty air or waves. Now for the bad news...the wind changes speed and direction constantly, so just when you think you have it all worked out, you have to adjust again. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
Everything said so far is true...and yes, there are ways to help the H23 point better. First, get the boom on the centerline. The mainsheet alone can't do it, you need the traveler. The spring-loaded pin stops on the stock H23 traveler are useless, but you can fix that. Put an upright turning block and a cam cleat on the coaming at each end of the traveler and run the traveler control lines. Slide the pin stops to the ends of the track so the car has an unobstructued run from end to end. The trick is to regulate mainsail power with the mainsheet (more tension = less twist = more power) and control its angle of attack using the traveler. Check the Forum Archives under "H23 traveler" for details of several systems built by H23 owners. Work on your boatspeed. The wing keel works best when the boat is sailing fast, i.e., at or above 5 kt. That means a clean hull and extra weight either off the boat or down low near the compression post. Don't trim the headsail all the way in when coming about (a lot of people make this mistake simply because it's easier to trim the sheet when there's no load on it). As you come out of the tack, the boat will be slow. Rather than trying to get to 45 deg off the wind right away, fall off to a close reach and trim for that heading. H23's are fast on a close reach, so the boat will accelerate quickly. As the boat accelerates, the apparent wind will move forward. Sheet in to maintain proper sail trim and boatspeed and head up. If the boat starts to slow, fall off a bit and build speed again. Sail trim is important. Adjust the sails until you have the main and jib are balanced. You'll know it because the helm will become light. The boat is now keeping itself on course, so you don't have to use the helm to force it to stay there. You need some weather helm to create hydrodynamic lift but not much. Too much weather helm and the rudder starts acting like a brake. Trim the sails for what feels right (a light helm) not for what looks good. I often sail with a big bubble backwinded in the luff. It looks ugly to others but not for long, if you catch my drift. Don't rely on your compass alone to tell you whether you're pointing well. Just because it says you're tacking through 90 degrees doesn't mean you're sailing at 45 deg off the wind. A compass indicates heading, not course over ground (COG). Your course could be 60 deg. or more off the wind and you may not realize it. Check your actual COG with a GPS or some fixed reference in the water, e.g. a channel marker. Know when to point. Pointing high is easier with steady wind and flat water. It's much harder to do in light air, gusty air or waves. Now for the bad news...the wind changes speed and direction constantly, so just when you think you have it all worked out, you have to adjust again. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
I think the main speed limiter on these boats is the shallow keel, and hence sail-carrying ability. Any more weight than the bare minimum, and it's too overloaded to plane (notice that 1 person increases the displacement by nearly 10%!) so lots of rail meat is out, as it sticking a deeper, heavier keel on it. But I'm pretty certain that the only reason my boat won't go any faster is because to go fast, you need to be flat, and to be flat I can't hang up bigger curtains. Ps: Hey Peter, before I put my boat away, I tried a new traveler "trick" ... well, not really. But my lewmar travel exploded during the season, and i was on a "tripod" setup for a while. I ended up getting delrin rods the diameter of the balls, and sliding them in place instead of recirculating balls. There is a little more friction, but I noticed that it helps out in gusty weather - the traveler doesnt so much "drop", instead it moves at a nice pace (keeps the boat from falling over to windward when the gust rips the traveler all the way to leeward). not suggesting anybody go out and break their traveler, but maybe some friction in the system (removable?) can be a good thing.