Hi I (try) to race my Hunter15 and seem to struggle when beating close. Just as we pick up speed she turns into the wind. The boat seems to lose rudder control. We sail at Rye (Mornington Peninsular Australia) and the boat is not very competitive. Any suggestions (apart from getting a new crew!). The boat looks gorgeous and gets many comments on the beach - we just cannot keep up with Sabres and Lasers. Finally is there any handicap rating for a H15? Thanks.
Racing H15
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Hi,
I am another H15 owner (Perth, Oz) and sail on the Swan River who has been thinking about getting back into racing.
Re your post;
Point 1- You are overpowered and are being headed up. When you try and correct that your rudder turns into a brake.
What have you done to give yourself some sail shape control? Have a look in the Boat info section or search my posts for a few of the articles/discussions where I have written about the mods to my H15 that address that issue. Some of that might be useful. If you want to discuss any of those mods contact me, I'd be happy to talk.
Point 2- IMO I would not compare your boat to a laser or sabre. A fairer comparison would be to the H15/H146 market competitors (Catalina 14's, Precision 15's) or even a GP 14 or some handbuilt 14-15 foot Herreshoff design.
Point 3- Re handicap, as we are probably the only H15 owners in Oz, that probably hasn't been worked out yet here.
I'd also like to hear from you about what the sailing is like on Port Phillip Bay as I expect to retire to your area in about 3-4 years and still expect to do a lot of sailing.
Cheers
I am another H15 owner (Perth, Oz) and sail on the Swan River who has been thinking about getting back into racing.
Re your post;
Point 1- You are overpowered and are being headed up. When you try and correct that your rudder turns into a brake.
What have you done to give yourself some sail shape control? Have a look in the Boat info section or search my posts for a few of the articles/discussions where I have written about the mods to my H15 that address that issue. Some of that might be useful. If you want to discuss any of those mods contact me, I'd be happy to talk.
Point 2- IMO I would not compare your boat to a laser or sabre. A fairer comparison would be to the H15/H146 market competitors (Catalina 14's, Precision 15's) or even a GP 14 or some handbuilt 14-15 foot Herreshoff design.
Point 3- Re handicap, as we are probably the only H15 owners in Oz, that probably hasn't been worked out yet here.
I'd also like to hear from you about what the sailing is like on Port Phillip Bay as I expect to retire to your area in about 3-4 years and still expect to do a lot of sailing.
Cheers
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Thanks for the info,I will look up your posts. I sail at Rye Yacht Club and the H15 handles well in tougher conditions. We have only capsized once and unfortunately she turned turtle due to the fact that the centre board did not have a locking system and retracted. Since we fitted one the boat has been fine.
You mentioned overpowering, we were thinking of making the mainsail larger as the boat seems to love a (broad) reach but doesn't like sailing too close to the wind. We've had her out in 25kts and copes. Very delicate with right weight balance though.
Ps. Happy New Year
You mentioned overpowering, we were thinking of making the mainsail larger as the boat seems to love a (broad) reach but doesn't like sailing too close to the wind. We've had her out in 25kts and copes. Very delicate with right weight balance though.
Ps. Happy New Year
The answer to never having your boat turn turtle is to 'noodle' the mast. It was the first mod I made to my H15 and I can testify that it woks a treat. The one time I capsized the mast floated with never an indication the it would fill up with water and drag the boat over.
Here is the link on this site to the advice I followed:
http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/index.php?option=com_kb&Itemid=267&cat_id=61&aid=7454&page=article&mn=146
I also squirted Sikaflex into every mast hardware attachment point and sealed the top and bottom of the mast with large amounts of Sikaflex. No water is EVER getting in that mast!
Re a larger main, I think you may need a longer boom to handle the longer foot. I find I have just enough length in the boom the use the outhaul I installed to use on windy days.
I'll be over in Melbourne in early March for my daughters wedding and then a bit of a vacation on the Mornington Peninsular (must always have a Sorrento Bakery Vanilla Slice when we are in that area). Would it be possible to visit the Rye Yacht Club to have a look? Very interested in finding a sailing venue on the Peninsular.
Cheers
Here is the link on this site to the advice I followed:
http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/index.php?option=com_kb&Itemid=267&cat_id=61&aid=7454&page=article&mn=146
I also squirted Sikaflex into every mast hardware attachment point and sealed the top and bottom of the mast with large amounts of Sikaflex. No water is EVER getting in that mast!
Re a larger main, I think you may need a longer boom to handle the longer foot. I find I have just enough length in the boom the use the outhaul I installed to use on windy days.
I'll be over in Melbourne in early March for my daughters wedding and then a bit of a vacation on the Mornington Peninsular (must always have a Sorrento Bakery Vanilla Slice when we are in that area). Would it be possible to visit the Rye Yacht Club to have a look? Very interested in finding a sailing venue on the Peninsular.
Cheers
I have a mast float but noodles seem a better idea. Having said that we only capsized once because apart from that time which was a combination of both losing our footing ( wrong weight distribution), high wind 20 kits and freak wave just in a tack.
Sorry pressed send before I was finished. The boat is quite forgiving and gives warning if it doesn't like what we are doing.
Love to meet you at Rye Yacht Club, contact me by email : michael@rhima.com.au and we can T something up. I may be away for work but there are plenty of members ( including my sailing buddy) who can show you around. It's a great club, unpretentious and fun. With the members it's all about having fun sailing not about the size and cost of the boat.
Love to meet you at Rye Yacht Club, contact me by email : michael@rhima.com.au and we can T something up. I may be away for work but there are plenty of members ( including my sailing buddy) who can show you around. It's a great club, unpretentious and fun. With the members it's all about having fun sailing not about the size and cost of the boat.
My boat came with the mast float also but I sold it because I wanted to put a windex at the top of the mast. My capsize was also a freak combo of factors (hit a sandbar with the centreboard locked down, hit by a gust of approx 20-25knts, spun us like a top and dumped us backwards into the drink).
Your club sound just what I am looking for, nice people who want to have fun as opposed to some sailors who are willing to murder you to get around the next buoy first.
I'll send you an email with my contact details so we can try and catch up when I am on the Peninsular.
Cheers,
Hollis
Your club sound just what I am looking for, nice people who want to have fun as opposed to some sailors who are willing to murder you to get around the next buoy first.
I'll send you an email with my contact details so we can try and catch up when I am on the Peninsular.
Cheers,
Hollis
While I'll agree that noodling your mast or having a float will tend to keep a Hunter from turtling, NOT having the center board locked down is a sure way to "head" south. That's the first thing I do when I head out.
The only other 170 I've seen on my lake turtled with the center board retracted into the hull when she went over. With a complete turtle, has anyone been able to right the situation WITHOUT help? The 170 I saw had to be towed to shallow water before it could be "righted".
The only other 170 I've seen on my lake turtled with the center board retracted into the hull when she went over. With a complete turtle, has anyone been able to right the situation WITHOUT help? The 170 I saw had to be towed to shallow water before it could be "righted".
What do you mean by 'lock the centreboard down'. In my H15 I can lock it in the up position but not down as a bungee cord controls the lowering of the centreboard to different positions. Is the H170 different?
Actually I would appreciate it if any H146/H15 owner sent me/posted a photo of the rigging of the bungee on the centreboard (particularly showing the attachment points, etc.
I removed all the fittings to install me hiking straps and don't think I put it all back correctly.
Actually I would appreciate it if any H146/H15 owner sent me/posted a photo of the rigging of the bungee on the centreboard (particularly showing the attachment points, etc.
I removed all the fittings to install me hiking straps and don't think I put it all back correctly.
The pic above shows the main sail boom laying in the bottom of the boat. IF I were underway, my centerboard would be cleated by a strong,short bungee to the fitting that the yellow arrow is pointing to, preventing the centerboard from moving toward the UP position if my boat were to "turtle". In the picture, the bow of the ship is to the left and the fitting just behind the place that I clip my centerboard is the attachment for the main sail sheet. Sorry to take so long to give you my input on this question.
Sadly, I may be giving up my 170 because we're moving to a smaller home that is NOT on a lake and I'm just not up for stepping the mast every time I want to go sailing. Anyone in the Northwest that want to buy a 170 ('08 model), leave me a message.
Thanks for the photo. Was that saddle something that you put in or are they standard on the H170's?
Also, sorry to hear that you will be selling the H170. I lift/drop my mast on my H15 every time I go sailing as I keep my boat in my driveway. My closest and best launching ramp is only 5 minutes away so I have never seen the necessity for raising the mast every time that much of a PITA. I realise that your mast would be heavier and you'd also have more set up than with a H15/146. I also would not want to keep my boat in the water all/most of the year. I did that when I had a larger boat and hated the extra maintenance such as renewing the antifoul. When I raced I noticed that the same boats as mine that were pulled out of the water after every sail and therefore had no antifouling were quicker most of the time (of course this could be just me rationalising my lack of competitive sailing skills - LOL). In that boat, a 21 footer, raising the mast was a challenge as it had a tall rig. Although I would have liked to have bought one of the new H18's I realise that any larger boat is more demanding. That is why I will most likely buy a Com-Pac Cat boat when I retire as they have some clever engineering that seems to make it quite easy to set up and break down.
Also, sorry to hear that you will be selling the H170. I lift/drop my mast on my H15 every time I go sailing as I keep my boat in my driveway. My closest and best launching ramp is only 5 minutes away so I have never seen the necessity for raising the mast every time that much of a PITA. I realise that your mast would be heavier and you'd also have more set up than with a H15/146. I also would not want to keep my boat in the water all/most of the year. I did that when I had a larger boat and hated the extra maintenance such as renewing the antifoul. When I raced I noticed that the same boats as mine that were pulled out of the water after every sail and therefore had no antifouling were quicker most of the time (of course this could be just me rationalising my lack of competitive sailing skills - LOL). In that boat, a 21 footer, raising the mast was a challenge as it had a tall rig. Although I would have liked to have bought one of the new H18's I realise that any larger boat is more demanding. That is why I will most likely buy a Com-Pac Cat boat when I retire as they have some clever engineering that seems to make it quite easy to set up and break down.
I don't know if the "saddle" is a standard fitting on the 170. My boat was bought used. The previous owner only had it for a few months before putting it up for a consignment sale. While I can't prove it, I think he "turtled" in and that was enough for him. The reason I think it was turtled was that there was sand in the top of the mast that jammed the wheel that the halyard runs through. When the centerboard is all the way down, the short bungee that clips from the centerboard to this fitting is maybe 6" long. It's the same bungee that acts like a safety strap to keep the centerboard up if the line that also provides this service fails or comes out of the fitting. That line lock is what the "dashed" purple line in my picture is pointing to.
I'm sure you're right about it being much easier to step the Hunter 15. And you're definitely right about storing your boat out of the water to prevent "snot" from growing on it. I kept my 17 on a fresh water lake which does "crap up" the bottom during the 6 months it's in the water. A nasty chore cleaning it after the season for sure.
My personal opinion is that the Hunter 17 can be a bit scary when the wind picks up to the point where there is just a hint of white caps. A couple of years ago I watched a 170 from the shore turtle in those conditions. I wrote a detail posting of that on this board. Basically, when the boat turtled, the centerboard was retracted. I strong suspect the board was NOT bungeed down which probably added to the boat going "over" and certainly prevented the 2 sailers in it from righting the boat. It had to be towed to shore to right it.
Because of what I saw, I NEVER cleat my main sheet (especially on a beat) when the wind looks like it picking up. Several times I felt my 170 would have at least gone OVER if I hadn't been able to "dump" the mainsail by releasing the sheet.
On my "test" sail before I bought the boat, the wind was so strong we only used the jib and there were a couple of moments when I felt it was going "over". I'm too old for that kind of excitement.
While I sail my Hunter singlehanded almost all the time, I think it's much better to have 2 hands on board if the wind starts to kick up. One to mind the rudder and the other the sheets. And if there needs to be any on the water reefing, the sheet man takes on that chore as well.
I'm sure you're right about it being much easier to step the Hunter 15. And you're definitely right about storing your boat out of the water to prevent "snot" from growing on it. I kept my 17 on a fresh water lake which does "crap up" the bottom during the 6 months it's in the water. A nasty chore cleaning it after the season for sure.
My personal opinion is that the Hunter 17 can be a bit scary when the wind picks up to the point where there is just a hint of white caps. A couple of years ago I watched a 170 from the shore turtle in those conditions. I wrote a detail posting of that on this board. Basically, when the boat turtled, the centerboard was retracted. I strong suspect the board was NOT bungeed down which probably added to the boat going "over" and certainly prevented the 2 sailers in it from righting the boat. It had to be towed to shore to right it.
Because of what I saw, I NEVER cleat my main sheet (especially on a beat) when the wind looks like it picking up. Several times I felt my 170 would have at least gone OVER if I hadn't been able to "dump" the mainsail by releasing the sheet.
On my "test" sail before I bought the boat, the wind was so strong we only used the jib and there were a couple of moments when I felt it was going "over". I'm too old for that kind of excitement.
While I sail my Hunter singlehanded almost all the time, I think it's much better to have 2 hands on board if the wind starts to kick up. One to mind the rudder and the other the sheets. And if there needs to be any on the water reefing, the sheet man takes on that chore as well.
I haven't sailed my H15 solo yet. Usually have one, sometimes two others sail with me. In strong winds (and they can get pretty strong around here in the summer) I am happy for the human ballast. My usual foredeck hand is getting quite good now shifting his weight when needs be. This allows me to be a lazy bugger and keep my arse on the seat most of the time. Only when it gets really hairy do I sit on the combings and slip my toes under my hiking straps and never ever cleat my mainsheet.
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