full keel are slow to weather?

[pedbed]

Carter,

You can never win a race when you have your fenders on deck!

Delphine was simply too embarrassed to walk past SQN with her fender cluttered decks.

[rtbates]

Randy,

I've never sailed in any kind of wind with just the jenny. When you burying your rail are you fighting the tiller at all without any main up? Just curious.

What a great thread you started.

Dick

Not near as much as if I had any main up, because the main, being aft of the mast will cause more helm as it attempts to pivot the hull into the wind. With just the genoa the only forces contributing to whether helm is the hull. The gonoa is actually helping reduce helm in that it's effort is all forward of the mast. If I can point well enough and obtain enough speed I don't use any main. That's the case in high winds I've found. Now if I find that I can't point and speed is down then I'll use a reefed main and a reefed genoa.

[rtbates]

Tiller vs. wheel and the resulting more responsive helm.

Give me tiller or give me death!!haha

Now you've started something Neil!

[Paul D.]

I remember several times in our old Typhoon HORNET passing MC scows and M scows in light air. I put it down to the Typhoon's easily driven hull and weight, she would carry through the lulls. I um... also had a mylar 150% that was far too sexy for my boat.

Also, in our 33, we have passed larger so called faster boats. I do race immediatly when another sailboat comes into view on the same tack, I do tweak and trim as much as our simple rigging let's us, but the other guys seem to do it too. Hell, even my brother does it.

I do think the cape Dory's are underrated for speed in many conditions. One old sailor friend of mine who has owned and sailed many boats and owns a Little Harbour, (That's a Ted Hood guys!) told me that he always thought the Alberg boats didn't "fight the waves" as much as other designs. I am starting to believe him. With new sails, a clean bottom and well crewed, the Alberg hull design shines.

Paul Danicic

[Stan W.]

Burying the rail can be exhilarating, and good for speed because you are increasing your water line length.

Good for speed (as long as you can balance out the extra weather helm) but bad for pointing. I would submit that the main reason Randy outsailed those other boats was that they were side-slipping and he wasn't.

[Sea Hunt]

I just looked at your picture.

I do not yet own a CD. But, one word, HUURRAAHH

Yes, it is a word.

[Dick Barthel]

Burying the rail can be exhilarating, and good for speed because you are increasing your water line length.

Good for speed (as long as you can balance out the extra weather helm) but bad for pointing. I would submit that the main reason Randy outsailed those other boats was that they were side-slipping and he wasn't.

We should listen to this guy...he won the Boston Regatta this year!

[Stan W.]

[quote="Dick Barthel"][/quote]

We should listen to this guy...he won the Boston Regatta this year

Actually, while Nonsly did have a respectable showing against the fleet, she only won the Cape Dory 28 class and the class consisted of her and two other boats. There is some pride, however, in knowing that the other two boats were skippered by first rate sailors.

[Neil Gordon]

There is some pride, however, in knowing that the other two boats were skippered by first rate sailors.

Thanks, Stan. Don't forget the first rate crews, either.

[Phil Shedd]

Hi All

This past summer on a rather windy day I had Mike (a fin keel boat sailor) out with me for a sail. We had the staysail and the new main up and were having a great time. We maintained a good speed but what surprised Mike was how well the boat tracked in such a wind . His comment was with his boat he would have to work very hard to keep a good line if that was possible. We were not working very hard at all. We had a slight amount of helm. A wonderful sail.

He was also impressed with the workings of a staysail as there was little work to do when tacking . Just change seats

Leeward v windward seating. I my self steer most of the time sitting to leeward. I learned early from a racer I crewed with and have done so ever since. The genoa is sort of a yankee cut so I can see under it . With a cushion I can sail for hours like that


Happy Holidays

Phil

[rtbates]

Reading the last post I just realized one the main reason why I sit on the leeward side when single handing is the fact that the genoa sheet winch is there!

Merry Christmas to ALL

[Troy Scott]

Seeing through the Genoa is always a problem when steering from windward.... and you can see under the yankee when steering from leeward.... but you can't see through a Genoa from leeward or from windward. One option is to wrap the genoa sheet one time around the leeward winch and then around the windward winch so you can control it from the high side. I used to do that a lot on smaller boats.

[s-dupuis]

Phil Wrote: Leeward v windward seating.

For those of us in the smaller CD's, 22' and under, where you sit will effect performance to weather particularly when singlehanded.

In stronger winds - upwards of 15 knots - I'm obligated to move my weight (180 lbs.) toward the weather rail thus postponing the need to ease off or reduce sail due to excessive helm or heeling at least temporarily. In light air - under 5 knots I'll intentionally move to the leeward side to force the sails to 'hang' in a fuller shape. This works remarkably well when there is only a whisper of a breeze.

Between 5 and 15 knots it doesn't seem to make much difference. When she's in the groove in 10 - 15 knot winds the 5 degrees my weight adds to the angle of heel has little effect on performance compared to all other factors - namely sail trim. At this point it's a matter of comfort and visibility. Leeward seating for comfort - Windward seating for max. visibility.

[Dick Barthel]

This has been one of those great threads that is loaded with good information for "newbies" and those like myself with some experience. Randy started the thread talking about a fully deployed jenny and no main and it progressed to a discussion on where you should sit, presumably most choose the lee side. But there still seems to be a question just how well you can actually see under a fairly low cut jenny, even from the lee side.

If you still have trouble seeing, couldn't you solve the problem (especially when single handing) by deploying the main with maybe a reef, and furling the jib some and still maintaining good drive? There would be less heel and sitting on the lee side would be a little more comfortable. For a newbie attempting to single hand, a reef in the main in all but the lightest of air seems sensible.

Someone earlier in the year (I think it might have been Randy) suggested that partially furling the jib before entering a harbor or port is usually a good practice for both greater control and greater visibility.

Dick

[Tod Mills]

...insert a tack pendant, as shown in the pic of my little boat below:

<img width=540 src=http://www.todspages.net/images/BBa02-BuscaSailing2.jpg>

Often, however, large gennys are cut to take advantage of as much of the forestay as possible, so to use a pendant would require a bit of loft work.

I often sit to leeward unless it's pretty windy. More comfortable being cradled in the seat plus good view of the sails.

Merry Christmas, everyone!