My 1980 30T has turned out to be a real pig in light air. The deck stepped mast has been a problem I am sure. I do not have an adjustable backstay and I am looking for anyone who might have experience getting more speed out of this rig. I have a new roller furler and a new plastic headsail. The main sail is old but has been recut. I plan to get a new main this winter. Any recommendations. Stephen Parfet Second Wind
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Questions ????
Are your actively racing this boat? Do you have a 'full spread' of tell tales (luff-mid cord- leech) on both sails? for shape, draft position, and 'flatness' in light winds, etc. Whats the venue - flat water or leftover chop? Hows the bottom? ... smoooth and faired as a babys backside or is the bottom paint put on with a roller? etc. etc. etc. etc. I dont know your boat but does it have lower shrouds than can be 'tweaked'? tell us more. If you're racing, go to www.arvelgenttry.com and start reading the sailtrim articles articles in the 'magazine articles' section: Achieving Proper Balance, December 1973 Sailing to Windward, January 1974 Are You at Optimum Trim?, March 1974 These 'articles' (and other gentry 'articles') set the sailing world on fire in the 70s. Just these three articles and their application will get you to 99% better output from your rig. If you are still a 'novice' then I'd suggest Don Guillettes "sail Trim Users Guide' ... sold here on SOwners chandlery website. http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detail.tpl?cart=1127855108216648&fno=400&group=316 hope this helps.
Are your actively racing this boat? Do you have a 'full spread' of tell tales (luff-mid cord- leech) on both sails? for shape, draft position, and 'flatness' in light winds, etc. Whats the venue - flat water or leftover chop? Hows the bottom? ... smoooth and faired as a babys backside or is the bottom paint put on with a roller? etc. etc. etc. etc. I dont know your boat but does it have lower shrouds than can be 'tweaked'? tell us more. If you're racing, go to www.arvelgenttry.com and start reading the sailtrim articles articles in the 'magazine articles' section: Achieving Proper Balance, December 1973 Sailing to Windward, January 1974 Are You at Optimum Trim?, March 1974 These 'articles' (and other gentry 'articles') set the sailing world on fire in the 70s. Just these three articles and their application will get you to 99% better output from your rig. If you are still a 'novice' then I'd suggest Don Guillettes "sail Trim Users Guide' ... sold here on SOwners chandlery website. http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detail.tpl?cart=1127855108216648&fno=400&group=316 hope this helps.
Some Answers
Thanks for the reference articles, I will give them a try. I actively raced the boat this summer on Narragansett Bay. In light air the bay is flat with the usual wakes from passing motorboats. Currents are important on the bay but I am familiar with them. My sails have a full complement of telltails and the stick is basically straight with a slight rake aft. The bottom is fair and it is cleaned before each race. I have some racing experience and have my share of silver in a number of boat classes. Every class is unique though and this 30T has some quirks I am sure. I can hold my own in heavy air and can out point the lighter boats in the fleet. The IOR design is great for that. Unfortunately, this was a light air summer and the lighter boats with higher PHRF ratings were killing me. Another weakness seems to be running down wind. Whether I go straight or jibe down wind, I always lose out to the fleet. Maybe a different weight distribution could help but I will take any suggestions. Thanks for your thoughts. Stephen Parfet "Second Wind"
Thanks for the reference articles, I will give them a try. I actively raced the boat this summer on Narragansett Bay. In light air the bay is flat with the usual wakes from passing motorboats. Currents are important on the bay but I am familiar with them. My sails have a full complement of telltails and the stick is basically straight with a slight rake aft. The bottom is fair and it is cleaned before each race. I have some racing experience and have my share of silver in a number of boat classes. Every class is unique though and this 30T has some quirks I am sure. I can hold my own in heavy air and can out point the lighter boats in the fleet. The IOR design is great for that. Unfortunately, this was a light air summer and the lighter boats with higher PHRF ratings were killing me. Another weakness seems to be running down wind. Whether I go straight or jibe down wind, I always lose out to the fleet. Maybe a different weight distribution could help but I will take any suggestions. Thanks for your thoughts. Stephen Parfet "Second Wind"
Downwind in light air.....
As you already know racing is a game of inches. Downwind sailing in light wind is 'hardest to do right' because everything happens soooooo sloooooow. Its also the most difficult to learn because just about EVERTHING you do is probably wrong. For some time, I raced a boat quit similar to a S30T and quickly found out that in especiallly in light air downwind: 1. the boat MUST be kept moving at all times to keep the apparent wind as high as possible at all times. Seems simple but VERY hard to do. For example when tacking/gybing/mark rounding, etc. all turns should be LARGE so that the momentum is kept at it highest. If you turn too shaprly you will bleed off all momentum and it may take a very long time to rebuild. This is especially true at the windward mark where most boats will snap around the mark .... and fall into a 'hole' about 3 boat lengths after mark .... and never quite be able to regain after that. NEVER EVER head dead down wind after turning at the windward mark .... go off on a reach (135deg)until up to speed, then turn down if you need to. The same applies to motoboat wakes .... you must do ANYTHING you can to avoid getting a wake head-on that will stop the boat (and destroy speed & apparent wind) - ease off, go up, go down anything but letting a wake hit you head on ....you have to keep the speed up. If you keep the speed/apparent wind up you can recover but if you dont ... youll sit there like a duck that just got whacked and take a loooooong time to rebuild speed. Just the opposite when the wakes are from behind .... use them to help your 'speed'. If you take a hundred wakes and each wake moves you forward or back by only 3 inches, you just saved or lost a whole boatlength. 2. Look for cloud shadows on the water .... the wind is usualy a wee bit stronger in such shadows --- sometimes just the opposite. 3. You MUST be on the favored side of course. Usually the favored side coming up the course is the un-favored course going down. Try to be the side of the course where the NEW wind is .... always seek out the 'lifts' (but dont sail off the course looking for one)
4. You must be very careful in covering .... so not to be trapped by the position of your own cover and so that you can 'head-up' for more apparent wind anytime you need. For light wind downwind I always find its better to cover by being to leeward of any competitor, if to windward your only alternative is to head off... which drops your speed and apparent wind. Better to take a modicum of someones turbulence (small in light winds) than get trapped and have to bear off and die. 5. Ride the shifts religiously, polarized glasses will help in spotting them before they get to you. Most folks simply dont look for shifts when going down the course - everyone is looking forward, hardly ever aft !!!!!!!!! 6. VENTILATE when gybing (most important tactic downwind) ... sometimes you can double your speed. Look at your polars and follow those angles downwind to get the highest vmg to the next mark .... and then enjoy the ride as the apparent wind angle moves towards the bow !!!!!! You need to have the telltales 'flying' (not dropped) to do this. If you have gps simply go to the VMG function to the next mark (waypoint) at the early stages of a leg/tack and when roughly between the two marks (waypoints). VMG (under the above conditions) is VERY accurate in determining the best sailing angle: optimize trim/shape for the conditions and start heading up until you reach the highest VMG value, note the magnetic course and follow it until you need to gybe, etc. As the boat speed increases, start tweaking trim and shape for faster speeds and vary the course angle a bit (slow 'scalloping' of the course held) to re-verify the maximum VMG. VMG is quite ineffective on the sides of a course or near the end of a leg so once set, follow that magnetic angle .... VMG from a gps works BEST in the middle between the two marks (waypoints on the GPS). If the wind shifts or the velocity increases then the VMG will change ... so simply repeat the VMG set-up to find the proper course to keep VMG at a maximum. This will make you travel more distance, but because the boat is sailing at its MAXIMUM speed you will get there to the next mark faster ..... because the 'apparent wind' will be *higher*. The higher the apparent wind becomes, the more the angle of apparent wind will come closer towards the bow !!!!!!!!! ... an artifically caused 'lift' simply because you are sailing FASTER. Dead-down-wind is the SLOWEST towards the downwind mark unless you are already at or above hull-speed, ditto sailing-on-the-lee. 7. Practice, practice, practice. Use your gps, set the marks into the gps, then ride the vmg function around the course .... records those speeds, angles, etc. for later use. 8. just like 'pinching up' near the end of windward tacking leg can sometimes save immense distance on the next leg/tack, some times dropping from a reach to a deaddownwind run before gybing will also save some distance travelled .... if you are watching your gps, you will see the difference if you're following the vmg function. 9. Use the topping lift to counteract the downward pull (gravity) of the boom .... dont forget the topping lift in light air !!!!!!!!!! these are things that helped me the most in sailind downwind in zephyrs. Generally in very light winds the flatter the sails the better .... reduced risk of flow stream separation. If the leech/aft teltales arent working then the sails are probably too full and the flow is separating (not a stall !!!) from the leeside of the sail. Watch the telltales vs. knotmeter VERY carefully. Flow separation is a silent/sneaky speed killer. For super light winds you may want to add temporary mylar tell-tales made from a destroyed mini/micro-cassette. Besides applying to the 'standard' locations, consider to run a row of telltales on the jib/genoa about 8 ft. high from the deck running from the front edge of the luff all the way back to the leech .... and use this 'row' to steer the boat by .... watching for small 'bubbles' of separation at the front of the luff and 'inactivity' of the telltales near the leech .... a "secret weapon' for racing in super light conditions. Upwind or down wind, once your get optimized trim/shape, simply steer the boat to keep the 'row' of tales properly flying !!!!!!! ;-) Im sure others will pipe in with thier personal tricks, you probably do many of these already .... just remember to win a race or place well you have to earn INCHES back on the course. The downwind leg is not a ''ride" its the MOST difficult leg to do well, especially in super light winds. Keep your speed up by what ever means needed and especially keep those telltales 'working' in light winds you usually need to bear off a bit and have good flow to BOTH sides of the sails - 'speed sailing' & not pinching. In that way you'll be 'making' your own apparent wind. good luck, hope this helps
As you already know racing is a game of inches. Downwind sailing in light wind is 'hardest to do right' because everything happens soooooo sloooooow. Its also the most difficult to learn because just about EVERTHING you do is probably wrong. For some time, I raced a boat quit similar to a S30T and quickly found out that in especiallly in light air downwind: 1. the boat MUST be kept moving at all times to keep the apparent wind as high as possible at all times. Seems simple but VERY hard to do. For example when tacking/gybing/mark rounding, etc. all turns should be LARGE so that the momentum is kept at it highest. If you turn too shaprly you will bleed off all momentum and it may take a very long time to rebuild. This is especially true at the windward mark where most boats will snap around the mark .... and fall into a 'hole' about 3 boat lengths after mark .... and never quite be able to regain after that. NEVER EVER head dead down wind after turning at the windward mark .... go off on a reach (135deg)until up to speed, then turn down if you need to. The same applies to motoboat wakes .... you must do ANYTHING you can to avoid getting a wake head-on that will stop the boat (and destroy speed & apparent wind) - ease off, go up, go down anything but letting a wake hit you head on ....you have to keep the speed up. If you keep the speed/apparent wind up you can recover but if you dont ... youll sit there like a duck that just got whacked and take a loooooong time to rebuild speed. Just the opposite when the wakes are from behind .... use them to help your 'speed'. If you take a hundred wakes and each wake moves you forward or back by only 3 inches, you just saved or lost a whole boatlength. 2. Look for cloud shadows on the water .... the wind is usualy a wee bit stronger in such shadows --- sometimes just the opposite. 3. You MUST be on the favored side of course. Usually the favored side coming up the course is the un-favored course going down. Try to be the side of the course where the NEW wind is .... always seek out the 'lifts' (but dont sail off the course looking for one)
4. You must be very careful in covering .... so not to be trapped by the position of your own cover and so that you can 'head-up' for more apparent wind anytime you need. For light wind downwind I always find its better to cover by being to leeward of any competitor, if to windward your only alternative is to head off... which drops your speed and apparent wind. Better to take a modicum of someones turbulence (small in light winds) than get trapped and have to bear off and die. 5. Ride the shifts religiously, polarized glasses will help in spotting them before they get to you. Most folks simply dont look for shifts when going down the course - everyone is looking forward, hardly ever aft !!!!!!!!! 6. VENTILATE when gybing (most important tactic downwind) ... sometimes you can double your speed. Look at your polars and follow those angles downwind to get the highest vmg to the next mark .... and then enjoy the ride as the apparent wind angle moves towards the bow !!!!!! You need to have the telltales 'flying' (not dropped) to do this. If you have gps simply go to the VMG function to the next mark (waypoint) at the early stages of a leg/tack and when roughly between the two marks (waypoints). VMG (under the above conditions) is VERY accurate in determining the best sailing angle: optimize trim/shape for the conditions and start heading up until you reach the highest VMG value, note the magnetic course and follow it until you need to gybe, etc. As the boat speed increases, start tweaking trim and shape for faster speeds and vary the course angle a bit (slow 'scalloping' of the course held) to re-verify the maximum VMG. VMG is quite ineffective on the sides of a course or near the end of a leg so once set, follow that magnetic angle .... VMG from a gps works BEST in the middle between the two marks (waypoints on the GPS). If the wind shifts or the velocity increases then the VMG will change ... so simply repeat the VMG set-up to find the proper course to keep VMG at a maximum. This will make you travel more distance, but because the boat is sailing at its MAXIMUM speed you will get there to the next mark faster ..... because the 'apparent wind' will be *higher*. The higher the apparent wind becomes, the more the angle of apparent wind will come closer towards the bow !!!!!!!!! ... an artifically caused 'lift' simply because you are sailing FASTER. Dead-down-wind is the SLOWEST towards the downwind mark unless you are already at or above hull-speed, ditto sailing-on-the-lee. 7. Practice, practice, practice. Use your gps, set the marks into the gps, then ride the vmg function around the course .... records those speeds, angles, etc. for later use. 8. just like 'pinching up' near the end of windward tacking leg can sometimes save immense distance on the next leg/tack, some times dropping from a reach to a deaddownwind run before gybing will also save some distance travelled .... if you are watching your gps, you will see the difference if you're following the vmg function. 9. Use the topping lift to counteract the downward pull (gravity) of the boom .... dont forget the topping lift in light air !!!!!!!!!! these are things that helped me the most in sailind downwind in zephyrs. Generally in very light winds the flatter the sails the better .... reduced risk of flow stream separation. If the leech/aft teltales arent working then the sails are probably too full and the flow is separating (not a stall !!!) from the leeside of the sail. Watch the telltales vs. knotmeter VERY carefully. Flow separation is a silent/sneaky speed killer. For super light winds you may want to add temporary mylar tell-tales made from a destroyed mini/micro-cassette. Besides applying to the 'standard' locations, consider to run a row of telltales on the jib/genoa about 8 ft. high from the deck running from the front edge of the luff all the way back to the leech .... and use this 'row' to steer the boat by .... watching for small 'bubbles' of separation at the front of the luff and 'inactivity' of the telltales near the leech .... a "secret weapon' for racing in super light conditions. Upwind or down wind, once your get optimized trim/shape, simply steer the boat to keep the 'row' of tales properly flying !!!!!!! ;-) Im sure others will pipe in with thier personal tricks, you probably do many of these already .... just remember to win a race or place well you have to earn INCHES back on the course. The downwind leg is not a ''ride" its the MOST difficult leg to do well, especially in super light winds. Keep your speed up by what ever means needed and especially keep those telltales 'working' in light winds you usually need to bear off a bit and have good flow to BOTH sides of the sails - 'speed sailing' & not pinching. In that way you'll be 'making' your own apparent wind. good luck, hope this helps- Status