Polars for a Hunter 34

J

John Rushing

.
Apr 25, 2012
7
Hunter 34 Marina Del Rey
Hello All,

I am skippering my 1984 Hunter 34 in the Newport Ensenada Race this year. The boat has a new main, a 140, 110, an asymmetrical spin, movable cars, an backstay adjuster, a solid vang, a foldable prop, and a slick bottom. I've done everything I can to make her fast. I have searched the internet for Polars for the boat and struck out. I know that US Sailing offers polars, but I am trying to avoid the cost because I've sunk a sizable bank role into setting the boat up for racing. Can anyone out there help me out? If you have polars for a 1983-1987 Hunter 34, that you would be willing to share please let me know. My crew and I will toast your health when we get to Mexico.

John
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

.
Feb 26, 2004
22,986
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
John, good luck in the race. On another forum, I noted these comments about polars: (while this was for a C25 forum, it applies to pretty much all displacement of our type):

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]I've had Catalinas since 1983. IMHO, Steve's right: polars are a waste of time. Almost all boats of our type (full displacement) have the same information on a polar. Do you really need that information to know a keel boat sails faster on a screaming reach? That's why they call it screamin'. :)

Keeping your head OUTSIDE the boat is much more important and well placed telltales on both main and jib will tell you a LOT more than polars, which need to be setup for different windspeeds anyway.

[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Graeme, you're right. I suggest, lacking any C25 specific polars, that any skipper who is interested do what Graeme suggests: find a polar for a C30 or C34 and find this:

- screamin' reach vs closehauled is easy

- the further off the wind you go, from broad reach to run, speed drops.

What else do you need?

If you can't find polars, then go sail your boat and check speeds on different angles to the wind.

[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]For upwind work, I find dual VMGs to be very helpful:[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]

[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]The concept with his "far away" waypoint is to figure out VMG to the true wind. Find the true wind, and set a waypoint 500 to 1,000 miles in that direction, then you'll know which side is favored on any course to windward. Keep the waypoint to the next mark, too. You'll then have two VMGs to deal with - wind and next mark (or your destination). Good practice for learning how to use a GPS and its VMG functions.[/FONT]
 
kloudie1

kloudie1

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Nov 6, 2006
10,052
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
John, I can't help but I find it interesting that my PO and the boat's original owner was slipped at Marina Del Ray and did the same race a few times before moving to Houston.. I have no idea how they did, but I do know that they had a lot of fun! I think he was racing in '86-'90 timeframe. Boat's name was Shooting Star. I know that a well prepared 34 can be raced successfully. One dominated the Lake Pontchartrain series a few years back.. Good Luck !!
 
V

VINN

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Aug 23, 2005
84
HUNTER H34 point lookout long island
never had any polars for the h34 but have frequently raced up to 8.5 knots @ 120 app in the ocean for hours, where current was almost nil. the gps was recording some surfing with a 2-3' sea with just a simple 130 headsail ahead of a 17k true wind. app wind was 13k+ and it was a wild ride with heavy weather helm at times but everybody was chasing me. on the west coast with those nw trades you could actually top those figures with a spinnaker riding long fetch swells...been down there surfing the Baja coast many times but not on a sailboat. have a good time
 
Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson

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Oct 14, 2005
2,191
1983 Hunter H34 North East, MD
John...

I would think that your sailmaker could provide polars, given that you have a new main. Given the age of our boats, there may have been polars developed when they were new, but suspect that they are now gone through the changing of hands most boats that were raced have gone through.
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Polars for ANY boat can be VERY helpful in distance racing. As input into a weather router (along with wind GRIB files), it can save you much time instead of just trucking along the rhumb line. Any time we sail over 100nm, we throw the route into the router to see what the computer thinks. And small differences will make a difference. I have friends that have lost their division in the 330 miles Chicago-Mac race by 8 seconds.
 
Bill Roosa

Bill Roosa

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Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
Every boat has different set of polars even if they have the same sails. If you have ever built a bimini for your boat you will have noticed that port and starboard are not mirror images of each other. Each boat will have a preferred tack and sail trim.
The best you can do is set a three waypoints perpendicular to the rhumb line at the target and then starting with one trim sails till you have the best VMG and write it down, repeat for the other two waypoints and then compare distance to WP/VMG for each and pick the smallest. the waypoints should be "on course to the destination" " 10 degrees port of that" and "10 degrees starboard of that". anything over 10 degrees is going to add so much distance that it is unlikely to be a "better course"
 
Rick D

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,182
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
See You In Ensenada, John!

Attitude Adjustment is in Cruz NS A.
 
J

John Rushing

.
Apr 25, 2012
7
Hunter 34 Marina Del Rey
Thanks to all who replied

I owe you all an apology. I got so busy trying to get the boat ready for the N2E that I forgot to thank you for the thoughts on the polars.

As it turned out, I could not locate polars for the 1984 Hunter 34. I got some old polars for a similar boat, but did not use them. Basically, I just sailed the hell out of the boat and if it felt fast, I figured it was fast.

At the end of the day, we were the first to finish in our class and corrected out for a 2nd. Not bad for a first time N2E skipper.

Thanks again.

See you on the water.

J
 
K

Ken Kindrick

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Jun 7, 2004
59
- - Long Beach, CA
So what is a "polar" ?

What is a "polar"? I have seen the term used several times without explanation.
 
kloudie1

kloudie1

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Nov 6, 2006
10,052
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Polar Vortex?

Hey, Ken.. a "polar" is a diagram of a particular boat's speed with relation to apparent wind angle and wind speed . This of course with a certain set of conditions like propeller type and sails.. Here is a link for a Catalina 34
http://www.c34.org/faq-pages/faq-polar-diagram.html
This likk has some explanation as well. By clicking on the little diagram at the page top, you can see the polar itself.
 
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