Too tippy?

[Neil Braun]

oops, correction, sorry

In my last post I said my boat was doing 12 knots, it wasent, it was doing a bit over 9 knots....sorry about that, I was not watching my typing or something....Cheers

 

[Alan Johnson]

I found out this weekend

The forecast on Friday was for 20+ mph winds today, but they turned out to be 15+ with 20 mph gusts. My wife couldn't make it, but my crazy brother was there. We used the main only, and it was a wild ride. I used a lot of I have learned from the list, and it was very helpful, althoug we did snap a pin off the vang. We sailed at about 20 degrees all afternoon with a few tips to 30 (According to my brother, that was when we started having fun!). I decided that 20-25 is my outside comfort level, but 10-15 was optimum for getting down lake. What a day. 70-75 degrees, a constant, strong wind and plenty of sun! This was likely the last best weekend for this season, but I'll be back on Turkey day. Thanks to all for the helpful hints and encouragement.This is a wonderful resource!

 

[SailboatOwners.com]

Final results

Final results for the Quick Quiz ending November 23, 2003:What degree of heel becomes uncomfortable for you or your crew?   34% 25 degrees 31% 20 degrees 27% 30 dgreees or more 07% 15 degrees or less

 

[Pirate Pete]

A No Brainer

This is a no brainer for a Wolfpacker from N.C.State.........way too much heel is a Tar Heel from U.N.C.

 

[Chris Burti]

Partly right

That's the real problem! Way too many 'no brainers' at State College. (snicker, snicker, chortle) Ummmm, mebee further comment should be directed to the soap box list, lest Phil revoke our keyboard priviledges for lack of sailing content.

 

[bygollytennessee]

tippy

Boat starts to loose efficiency (speed; pointing) after about 13 degrees, so why bother to let her go more? Release the traveller, flatten the boat out.

 

[Les Edwards]

Want to lose your first mate?

My first mate is exactly like Ms. Buckley, the only difference is the note. "When you get to here, I'm going there!" It was also at 20°

 

[Bob Buker]

I have the ONLY CORRECT ANSWER

180 degrees!Happy Thanksgiving

 

[Sugrue D 26]

Capsize

For me it depends how gusty it is. Some days when the wind is constant and there is no turbulence due to being in the lee of a land mass I have had it over at a constant 30 for 5 min or more and been totally relaxed (yes I know 30 is slower than 20 but I find it to be fun)but on days when it’s gusting 10 mph or more I get scared when we hit 15. I don’t think this is an irrational fear. I think it could go to 90I think I would like to take it out in the summer on a windy day and capsize the damn thing like I do with my Hobie cat. I suspect that it’s divergent after a certain angle (it starts to heel more ) but I would like to find out. I don’t think I will take the wife out on that trip. Just me and my buddy that I sail the Hobie with.Maybe a chase boat would be a good thing and scuba.Mmm this could work.

 

[Tom Wieken]

To Tippy?

I have always loved one thing about the Mac. No matter how hard you try to roll the boat it won't. I have slid sidways for sometime and it always came back up. What a rush. Too much heal is when the people with you say so. I adjusted the amount of heal to how much they felt good with.One time I went out with a friend of mine who just started sailing and he let me take the helm. He thought that I was going to roll his boat because he would never let it heal. That day he learned the importance of healing so that the boat will soom forward off the wind. That is the real rush of sailing.

 

[dave]

PUCKER UP!!!

I love to heel over to 25 or 30. Any more than that and my*butt eats a hole in the cockpit cushion*pop.

 

[Milton Johnson]

The need for speed

I think the best part of sailing is heeling as far over as you can without loosing speed. As long as you are a safe distance from everything and the seas are calm go ahead a loose control just a bit. I would advise having someone on the jib ready to release if need be though.

 

[Jack]

Oneida Lake, NY

Ken, we sail in all conditions on Oneida Lake from April till I have had at least 2" of snow on her. Wife gets a little nervous after that.She loves sailing as much as I do. We are in Maple Bay area and sail our Catalina 22(keel over) 3 to 4 times a week in all of the weather conditions. Regaarding Heel, until the tiller snapped on us we this fall with the waves comming over the cockpit we never questioned how much is too much. What a blast!

 

[David Delich]

New boat

When we got our new 311, it sailed different that our old First 29. First of all the 29 had a tiller instead of a wheel, and my wife felt more in control. Usually 25-30 degrees agreed with her on the 29, the boat had a groove in that angle range. The 311 is different. Different sail configuration, boat is driven by the main instead of the genoa. We found that out one gusty day on the lake. Now we know to reef at 17 degrees, and to double reef at 25 degrees. My wife is more confident now, even though she has been sailing all of her 12 years of married life.

 

[Chris Edmonson]

Healing the heel

Heeling is fun - fast is fun - crew leaving is not fun. I am definitely there for the fun! When I'm cruising it's easy to ease the main, reef the main or put away the jib. There isn't anywhere I would HAVE to be so too much heel just means the crew will be uncomfortable - unless it's my son. Everyone else gets that terror stricken look that says they aren't prepared to swim that day and even though I know there is about zero chance of testing my dog-paddle right then it's better to let things out a little. If everyone on board is giving it their best Yee-Haw then, by all means, continue at the edge of the rail down position!!When racing there is a clear point beyond which there isn't more speed or a higher point you will get out of the boat so there is no advantage to a huge angle of heel. The movable ballast (crew) is hiked out to the max and if it's gusty you're just as likely to reach an "automatic" round up with the next gust. There is not a good reason to heel that much unless there is a racing advantage... so, why go there? Stay in control as much as possible. On some boats I have enjoyed the edge because they are good boats in that position. They are stiff and reliable (think predictable). Other boats are twitchy and less predictable. In either case I would hope I could recognize when they are too close to the edge to continue a radical heel... if I can't feel it at the tiller or wheel then it's time to turn down the heat! When I'm by myself and on a good boat for it I'll happily charge along at whatever heel is comfortable for the boat, that is, the boat is "locked in" a groove and it's not gusty enough to get away from me. It's still about control and speed.Have a great sail!

 

[Augie Byllott]

Heeling???

Opinions are opions and they sure do abound. To me, heeling has one useful purpose. That is to discourage annoying guests from accepting my next invitation to go sailing. Other than that, I see heeling as being akin to burning rubber when the traffic light turns green.