CD25 very slow

[kevin]

I have a CD25 (outboard) and love it. However, it is very slow.
I know its a cruising boat, but exceeding 2 kts only once
per season is too slow. It is sailed in a inland lake, in winds
5-25 kts. Would redoing the bottom to make it very smooth help?
The boat doesn't have a boom vang. When the wind gets over 10-12 kts
I usually put a reef in the main to balance the helm.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
kevin
kaubuchon@worldnet.att.net



kaubuchon@worldnet.att.net

[C. Monaghan]

Kevin,

Carl Alberg purposefully designed the Cape Dorys
to be a bit tender. They are supposed to heel --
between 20 and 30 degrees is ideal. Your boat
should sail quite well in winds of 10-12 knots
flying all of her sail without needing to reef.

What kind of rig do you have? What kind of
headsail are you using? If your boat is a sloop,
a yankee is better in strong wind than a big genoa.
If you've got roller reefing, try reefing the
headsail only, to a bit less than 100%. If you've
got a cutter, roll up the genny and sail with the
staysail and main. If the wind continues to build,
put two reefs in the main. The double-reefed main
and staysail combination is balanced on my Cape
Dory 32 and should be on your 25 too. We can sail
with this combination until gale conditions are
reached, then the staysail needs to be reefed
as well.

Don't be afraid to put the rail in the water. The
Cape Dorys are really very seaworthy, safe little
boats.

You mentioned that your boat doesn't have a boom
vang. I believe that it is a piece of safety equip-
ment that every boat should have. A boom vang
would help flatten the mainsail during strong wind
conditions. More importantly, does your boat have
an adjustable traveller? This handy gadget helps
in all wind conditions especially when sailing
close hauled. If you have a cutter rig, an
adjustable traveller for the staysail is also a
good idea.

If the winds in your sailing area are routinely
light, less than 10 kts, you may want to invest in
a drifter or cruising spinnaker. They are poleless
and easy to fly. They make a BIG difference in
light wind conditions.

How old are your sails? Sails tend to loose their
shape with age. If your sails are over 15 years
old, it's probably time for new ones. Poorly
shaped sails will effect the sailing characteristics
of your boat.

Hope these suggestions help.

catherine_monaghan@merck.com

I have a CD25 (outboard) and love it. However, it is very slow.
I know its a cruising boat, but exceeding 2 kts only once
per season is too slow. It is sailed in a inland lake, in winds
5-25 kts. Would redoing the bottom to make it very smooth help?
The boat doesn't have a boom vang. When the wind gets over 10-12 kts
I usually put a reef in the main to balance the helm.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
kevin
kaubuchon@worldnet.att.net

catherine_monaghan@merck.com

[B. Phinney]

I have a CD25 (outboard) and love it. However, it is very slow.
I know its a cruising boat, but exceeding 2 kts only once
per season is too slow. It is sailed in a inland lake, in winds
5-25 kts. Would redoing the bottom to make it very smooth help?
The boat doesn't have a boom vang. When the wind gets over 10-12 kts
I usually put a reef in the main to balance the helm.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
kevin
kaubuchon@worldnet.att.net

Kevin,

If your Cape Dory 25 is like mine it has a roller reefing
mainsail. This is the reason for the lack of a boom vang.

Unless there is major growth on your boats bottom this
probably isn't the problem. Mine is certainly not polished
smooth and the boat has no problem achieving speeds higher
than the two knots you report.

What type of sails do you have? It takes quite a bit of
wind before I move down from the genoa to the working jib.
Like you, I start by reefing down the main as the boat
developes a strong weather helm with too much sail aft.
When the helm is out of balance, the added drag can slow
the boat down substantially. If you don't have a genoa
this could be the problem.

The boat heels a lot initially and generally sails at angles
of 20 to 30 degrees, especially going to windward. Once it
gets to this angle the boat stiffens right up.

In any case, a 2 knot top speed is not normal for a CD25.
I hope these comments are useful and look forward to
hearing what the problem turns out to be.

-Brad



phinneb@war.wyeth.com

[David Brownlee]

We used to have a the smaller CD 25 (outboard powered) and although she was no flyer, we covered a lot of ground at reasonable speeds. We bought it in Mamaroneck, NY, sailed it down the Jersey coast and up the Delaware River to Burlington (where we kept it for several years), cruised from there down to the Chesapeake on several occasions (getting as far south as St. Michaels), etc. We certainly maintained an average speed of about 4 kts when cruising long distances, using the outboard as little as possible, and making lots of 40-mile days. So I second what others have said. Make sure you have a good genoa (the original equipment sails from CD really are poor to start with, and they get baggy with age), don't shorten sail too soon, and get a boom vang (we shifted over to slab reefing, abandoning the roller reefing) to make it possible to use a vang when reefed). If you sail in a light air area, a drifter (very big, very light jenny) might also help. We dearly loved our CD25 and wish you the best.

David and Ann Brownlee
CD 27 'Windrush'
Havre de Grace, MD



dbrownle@mail.sas.upenn.edu