[Public-List] Racing and heeling

Tue Sep 2 19:32:15 PDT 2008

Elyse

Is your speed data based on the GPS or the speed log? I find that my speed log data fits with yours but my GPS will say we are going about 6 kts when the speed log says about 5.8 or a little less. You may be doing better on speed than you think. The fact that your tell tails are flying properly indicates that your sails are not over trimmed. I have found that overtrimiing sails is one of the biggest mistakes sailors make. Letting the sail out till the start to luff is always a good approach to getting more speed, I think. 

When I got new sails, Ed Reyolds of Quantum in Traverse City told me that new sails are good at exausting wind and old sails are good at retaining wind. The implication was that exhausting wind is  crucial to having a fast boat. I think this means you might have a qualified person take a look at your sails to see what their current conditons is. They be holding you back more than you think.Based on your remarks, I fhink this may be a serious issue for you.

Should I assume you are racing in a system that is like PHRF in the US? If so, if you are keeping up with boats with similar handiicaps and are doing well on corrected time, that is good. If I were racing, I think my PHRF handicap  would serve me well,, especially if the wind were up. We have a lot of low wind race nights in our area, mostly  in summer. In those conditions, I might not be favored. So,one can ask whether you are sailing mostly in light, medium or heavy wind? My guess is that is heavy wind will favor your while lighter wind may not.  Do you have better results in the sring and fall races than in the summer races? 

Do you move the blocks to suit the wind conditions - forward in lighter wind and aft in heavier winds? doing that can make a big difference. It sounds like the blocks stay in the same place at all times. 

When you say the rail goes in the water at between 8 and 12 kts, that seems early to me. We were doing around 6 kts or so in  14 kts of wind today and the rail was not near the water - we were beating or close reaching at the time. We were flying a 110 genoa, but the result  would have been the same if we were flying the 130 genoa - though the heel would have been a bit greater.

Another question is: How well is Lady Heron tuned? I have found that tuning matters. This could be a problem area for you to consider. Good tuning makes a boat a lot faster. Some of the race stories in the Mainsheet support this conclusion.

When I asked a related question a few years ago, I was told that when  the cove stripe is in the water, it is probably time to reef. I am not sure how this relates to racing, but my experience suggests that the A30 can comfortably be sailed at 20 or 25 degrees of heel, maybe more. I am not sure when the angle of heel feels fast but is actually slower than if the boat were reefed. I would like to hear what others think on this issue. 

How do you do in the start sequence?  Where are you at the end of the upwind leg of the race. My racing "experience" suggests that races tend to be won or lost at these two points. Assessment of your performance on these two issues might be useful. I am assuming that this generalization applies to one design racing as well. 

My remarks are made as a cruiser who once raced (but not an A30). I have taught sailing and learned a lot from the expernece. Sailing the boat for six years has been a learning experience as well. Your description of your results suggested a number of questions/issues you might consider. I will defer to the many people on this list who have much more experience racing than I have. I am sure they will have much to contribute. Nontheless, I think your observations suggest some  issues that are worth considering - if  only to eliminate problem areas. 

I am eager to see what experienced racers will have to say. Given their experience and my relative inexperience, I suspect that my remarks may be somewhat bold, but I hope not out of place.

David, Scholarship II, 432

>>> "Elyse Pastor" <elyse.pastor at sympatico.ca> 09/02/08 9:16 PM >>>
Hello Racers,
I would like to get some opinions on trim and how to sail the A30 in races.
I have been racing our A30 "Lady Heron", hull 297 for the first summer every 
Tuesday and Thursday on Lake St-Louis here in Montreal. We have great fun 
learning about racing but also about trimming and fine tuning.
We started off with being last, last, last and last, but as the season 
progressed we have improved and now we average in the 3rd quater of the 
final results (handicap 0.929).
What I would like to know is the following. What is the proper heeling for 
maximum performance and when should we start to reef the main sail.
1.) The Main sail has a good shape for its age (no knowledge how old it is) 
and has 2 reefing points.
2.) The Jib (150) is on a roller furler (that is acceptable for our club 
racing) and is older. It seems to have a deep pocket when fully out but I 
would not consider it to be blown out.
However, I cannot partially furl it as it creats a back-wind pocket if I get 
to close on a beating. So we leave it at all time completely out.
3.) If we have about 4 - 8 kts of wind she heels a nice 15 degree and we can 
do a nice 4.8 - 5.2 kts on a beating. Very balanced helm (slight weather 
helm)
4.) If we have 8 - 12 kts (before white caps) the rail will go sometimes 
into the water and we might do 5.4 - 5.8kts (Weather helm increase but not 
to the point that we loose speed with the rudder). If we reef the main, we 
have less heel (again less weather helm) and do about the same speed. 
However, if the wind drops a few knots (from 12 - 8) we loose some speed and 
I wish we would not have reefed. So we are ambiguous about what is better - 
more heeling
Over 12 kts with white caps, we also have the first reef but we never go 
over 5.8kts.
5.) In comparrison to fin keel boats, we point very well and do not lose 
much. But in terms of speed, she seems to be stuck in second gear (on 
beating)
6.) On the down wind leg (we do 2 sausages and a race lasts between 45-60 
minutes), we have good performance and can keep up with all the others.
7.) The tell-tales on the Jib and the main are flying well (the blocks are 
set in the 17th hole fom the back on the outer tracks) but again, we never 
get over 5.8kts. I was told that the A30 is tender at the beginning but 
stiff thereafter. My friend has an A37 and even with his large Genoa (170) 
and full main, he never heels as much as we do with the same wind conditions 
and he is just flying past us.
So my question would be - what is the optimal amount of heel and what speed 
can you get on a beating if all is trimmed well?
Thanks for some suggestions on how to get the most out of our A30'.
Bruno & Elyse
Lady Heron 297

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