[alberg30] Tacking Angles

[Robert Kirk]

From: Robert Kirk <kirk at neptune.gsfc.nasa.gov>


>Tom Forhan wrote;
>Beating down Delaware Bay one night last August into a vaguely 20 knot wind,
>I was disappointed with tacking angles of about 120 degrees- i.e., one one
>tack we would be heading 180 degrees on the compass, after tacking the new
>course would be about 60 degrees.
>
>I think we had one reef and the genoa furled to about 90%, so surely that
>was not optimal. Also I'm sure there is lots of room for improvement on my
>boat: needs a new main, rigging could be tighter, needs wind instruments,
>etc.
>
>Still I would like to hear from you all about what your experiences are- how
>close winded are our boats, both in moderate conditions (full main and
>genoa) and reefed down.

Tom... I'm not sure your tacking angles are all that bad given the slightly 
shortened sail configuration.  Last year I took my trusty GPS out and did 
some close hauled  tack legs out in the Chesapeake Bay under controlled 
conditions: Steady course and evenly spaced half-mile tacks both upwind and 
downwind.  The resulting GPS tracks that I plotted later were regular and 
averaged ~90-100 degrees if I remember. Might have done better with tighter 
rig, closer sheeting, traveller adjusting, etc, but my conclusion: the 
Alberg 30 can't point much better than 45 degrees to the wind.

Do the racers have any comment?

Bob Kirk

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