Racing an Oceanis 373

[rbccapecod]

I am in my 2nd season trying to race my 2004 Beneteau 373 (39 HP) around the buoys at my Club on Cape Cod. I have done nearly every upgrade I can think of to get her to perform to her PHRF rating. Her base rating is 126 and with adjustments the numbers are 132 racing and 138 cruising.
Thus far I have added a Gori folding propellor, a new Quantum 140 genoa, a new Quantum main, drained all water tanks, removed anchors from anchor locker, removed all excess weight, etc.
I have a good crew but what ever we do, we can't get even close to other boats with similar handicaps especially upwind. I obtained the 'polar' ratings from Beneteau and we aren't even close to their targets. I'd say were 2 knots slower at most wind speeds and in all directions.
Has anybody been able to make this model achieve it's rated speeds? Help!

 

[Philip_Oceanis 361]

What is your draft? I hope not the shallow version, because you have mentioned upwind.
Try race against similar boats rather than similar handicaps (rating can be wrong). This is how you will find out how good you are.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Practice

All the "good stuff" you bought for your boat will help.

However, only YOU can make the boat sail to its designed parameters.

I started racing in 1999 and took until 2006 until I came out from the back to the middle to the front of the pack. My friend and I sailed EVERY (and I mean EVERY) Friday afternoon, and then raced on weekends.

The answer to your question, beyond the last advice, is like learning to dock: practice, practice, practice. Only YOU can invest the time necessary to tweak your boat to get the best performance.

It don't come easy.

The UPSIDE is: you get to sail. A LOT!!!

Good luck.

 

[Don Guillette]

You've asked a very complicated question and one I've heard a million times over the years in conversations with sailors worldwide and each time I hear it at the start of a conversation I wonder where to start the answer because I honestly don't know where to start. You've made all the necessary boat refinements to obtain maximum speed so could it be your mainsail and jib sail trim? Maybe not, as you indicate you have a "good crew" whatever that means. When you get right down to it, what else could it be other than sail trim because it sure ain't the boat because she's giving you everything she can give based on the way you're trimming her?

One solution might be to ask one of the skippers that are consistenly ahead of you to take a test sail with you to determine both what you're doing RIGHT and what you're doing WRONG. Have an OPEN MIND. Many skippers I've worked, as soon as I step on the boat, immediately start telling me how great things are -- same thing happend when I was in the insurance business dealing with failing insurance agency and trying to help them make money and stay in business -- my first thought always was in both situations was "why am I here?". In a couple of situations, I listened to as much BS as I could take and when it was obvious the guy wasn't going to shut up and listen I just asked the skipper to take me back to the dock.

Picking up 1 knot is fairly easy -- 2 knots can be a bit of a problem and a lot to ask but not impossible. Good luck mate and let us know how you make out.

 

[jacrider]

Given you have invested in some new sails, I would ask your Quantum rep to come out for a race. Sailmakers are generally a good source to help with speed issues.

As stated in other posts .. practice really helps.