Every time we go out for a sail, its a race whether the other boats choose to participate or not. I've found that our boat handles better when we extracting as much out of her as we can. But how to Hunter 25.5s do in real competition? Is its performance pretty consistent with its PHRF numbers? What are some of the basics to make her quicker (beyond the basics of sail trim)?
Racing a Hunter 25.5sk
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little things count
Is your hull clean and well faired? Have you removed non-essential weight? Are your sails in good shape? What about the cut or design of your sails, they may not be the best for your normal conditions. Do you consider sail shape (depth and location of draft, twist, ect. as part of how you trim the sail. How about the interaction of the sails. Yeah, there are a few things to consider. That's part of the challenge and the fun. Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo
Is your hull clean and well faired? Have you removed non-essential weight? Are your sails in good shape? What about the cut or design of your sails, they may not be the best for your normal conditions. Do you consider sail shape (depth and location of draft, twist, ect. as part of how you trim the sail. How about the interaction of the sails. Yeah, there are a few things to consider. That's part of the challenge and the fun. Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo
We do pretty well...
We race a 25.5 here in the western LI Sound. It's taken a few years of learning curve, but we now place in the top 3 or 4 consistantly. Our PHRF is 240, so we are ALWAYS the slowest rated boat, yet the 25.5 has surprising speed if sailed well - to, and better than that rating. Some here applies to any boat, some to the 25.5: The bottom must be smooth and clean - we have ours cleaned every week. The 25.5 is a very tender boat and slows dramatically much over 15 degrees of heel. I'm nuts about this, with a clinometer on each bulkhead to keep tabs. Sail trim is adjusted, traveller or mainsheet played, crew weight adjusted, to keep the boat on it's feet between 15 and 20 deg's of heel. At about 15mph true, we reef, when no one else does. Disregard others and do what makes your boat go. If you have 4 or 5 people on the rail, this boat really moves in higher winds. The telltales on the headsail and upper main are a big focus for the trimming and the driver. The 25.5 can point really well if you have the trim right - very tough for any boat to climb up over us at this point, even if faster. That being said, we avoid getting into boat on boat battles in PHRF - it's just a time-waster. Downwind - we pole out and keep her flat, maybe slight windward heel. In light air we move forward to get weight out of that plump stern. In heavy air we move back to put weight in it. The worst condition for us is light air and powerboat chop - at 4500lbs we can't plow through it like heavier boats - try powerful sailtrim settings and moving weight forward to keep her nose down. This seems obvious, but finish as fast as possible - being the slowest boat means you may sail in totally different wind from faster boats - or, as has happened to us a few times, none at all! Others can finish as the wind dies out and a hundred yards from the finish we're bobbing and cursing. We just did a 42 mile distance race in 30 to 40ft company, and were doing really well - 4 miles from the finish the wind died - we could see all other boats ahead finishing - took us two hours to cover that 4 miles. That DFL just killed us! Finally, there's nothing like a good start, keeping clear air, a clear lane so you can tack, picking the right side of the course, and hitting a few shifts correctly to win you a race. Easier said than done! Of them all, I'd say choosing the right side of the course is most important. We just won one - wind died as we rounded the windward mark, with the whole division ahead of us. They all limped left - we limped right, as the wind had been coming from there. After 5 minutes of nothing, little zephyrs filled in from the right, moving us but not quite reaching the fleet below - we moved along at a half knot till we passed everyone (scratching their heads). The wind continued to fill in, all from our starboard quarter - we were able to hold them all off. We were first around the leeward mark, and only one boat crossed the line ahead of us by some seconds, which we easily corrected over. She's a great boat - Good luck!
We race a 25.5 here in the western LI Sound. It's taken a few years of learning curve, but we now place in the top 3 or 4 consistantly. Our PHRF is 240, so we are ALWAYS the slowest rated boat, yet the 25.5 has surprising speed if sailed well - to, and better than that rating. Some here applies to any boat, some to the 25.5: The bottom must be smooth and clean - we have ours cleaned every week. The 25.5 is a very tender boat and slows dramatically much over 15 degrees of heel. I'm nuts about this, with a clinometer on each bulkhead to keep tabs. Sail trim is adjusted, traveller or mainsheet played, crew weight adjusted, to keep the boat on it's feet between 15 and 20 deg's of heel. At about 15mph true, we reef, when no one else does. Disregard others and do what makes your boat go. If you have 4 or 5 people on the rail, this boat really moves in higher winds. The telltales on the headsail and upper main are a big focus for the trimming and the driver. The 25.5 can point really well if you have the trim right - very tough for any boat to climb up over us at this point, even if faster. That being said, we avoid getting into boat on boat battles in PHRF - it's just a time-waster. Downwind - we pole out and keep her flat, maybe slight windward heel. In light air we move forward to get weight out of that plump stern. In heavy air we move back to put weight in it. The worst condition for us is light air and powerboat chop - at 4500lbs we can't plow through it like heavier boats - try powerful sailtrim settings and moving weight forward to keep her nose down. This seems obvious, but finish as fast as possible - being the slowest boat means you may sail in totally different wind from faster boats - or, as has happened to us a few times, none at all! Others can finish as the wind dies out and a hundred yards from the finish we're bobbing and cursing. We just did a 42 mile distance race in 30 to 40ft company, and were doing really well - 4 miles from the finish the wind died - we could see all other boats ahead finishing - took us two hours to cover that 4 miles. That DFL just killed us! Finally, there's nothing like a good start, keeping clear air, a clear lane so you can tack, picking the right side of the course, and hitting a few shifts correctly to win you a race. Easier said than done! Of them all, I'd say choosing the right side of the course is most important. We just won one - wind died as we rounded the windward mark, with the whole division ahead of us. They all limped left - we limped right, as the wind had been coming from there. After 5 minutes of nothing, little zephyrs filled in from the right, moving us but not quite reaching the fleet below - we moved along at a half knot till we passed everyone (scratching their heads). The wind continued to fill in, all from our starboard quarter - we were able to hold them all off. We were first around the leeward mark, and only one boat crossed the line ahead of us by some seconds, which we easily corrected over. She's a great boat - Good luck!
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