[Public-List] FW: Racers speed of A30

Fri Jul 23 11:53:56 PDT 2010

Gord

I couldn't agree more with your comments.

Bruno.

The only thing I would add to Gords comments is that when you are  
racing your sail selection should be for maximum performance in the  
least wind speed you are expecting during the race tha way you are  
still at full performance in the lulls. In the gusts you work the main  
sheet to keep the rail out of the water and the boat moving. This is  
counter intuititive to the cruising
Sail selection for a given wind strength.

When sailing with the big genoa and the boats is overpowered it is an  
effective strategy to feather the main and the genoa. This means  
steering a higher than normal course stalling both the inside and  
outside telltales. The boat will still get plenty of drive off the  
leech of the genoa and the heal angle is reduced cosiderably.  As Gord  
says you need to have the horse power for the lulls and manage the  
puffs.

Also. A30 are very sensative to weather helm. The class here has  
determined that a completely  neutral helm is the fastest upwind. I  
try to trim the sails so I can steer with just
a couple of fingers in all conditions.  I don't always succeed but  
that's the goal.

I hope this helps.

Larry Morris
Bosun Yacht Systems

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 22, 2010, at 16:53, Gordon Laco <mainstay at csolve.net> wrote:

> Hello Bruno and Elyse -
>
> I think that when racing you should not consider shortening sail  
> until the
> wind is getting up toward 20 knots.  At that point I would leave the  
> 150 on
> the headstay and take one reef.
>
> If your sails have good flat shapes with the draft forward... When  
> the wind
> is getting near 30 you can take a second reef and might set a 120 if  
> you
> have one.
>
> Cruising, it would be uncomfortable to drive the boat that hard, but  
> you
> won't win races if you don't.
>
> If you are changing to a 120 genoa in wind under 25 knots, you will be
> creating balance problems that will slow you down.  A basic rule of  
> thumb is
> that you should shorten sail from aft forward.   So the sequence  
> might be
> more like this
>
> First step - flatten main
> Second step - feather main (sail with a 'bubble' in it)
> Third step - take a reef (wind is over 20 now)
> Fourth step - remove 150, replace with smaller headsail
> Fifth step - take a second reef
> Sixth step - sail double reefed main feathered
>
> At this point you might be in over 30 knots of wind...
>
> Beware of memorizing tables with specific wind speeds and making sail
> changes based on that.  For example, the temperature will have a  
> huge effect
> on the power in the wind.  25 knots in October will have a lot more  
> bite
> than the same wind in August... Cold air is denser...  Piling crew to
> windward perceptably increases sail carrying power....  And back to  
> the old
> theme; sails with good shapes will drive your boat forward and  
> upright in
> the same wind that baggy sails (that still might look 'good') will  
> have her
> flat on her side in.
>
> Your indicators for when to shorten sail should not be a particular  
> wind
> speed... But angle of heel and amount of helm.  We raced quite  
> happily last
> night in about 25 knots of wind with a single reef and our regular  
> genoa.
> We shook the reef out on the reaches and runs, took it in again for  
> the
> beats.  We feathered it in the gusts and filled it again in the  
> lulls.  I
> told the fellow on the mainsheet "you are the man with his foot on  
> the gas
> pedal... Keep the rail just out of the water".  So he sawed back and  
> forth
> on the sheet keeping the boat under as much pressure as she could  
> stand.
>
> Cheers -
>
> Gord
>
>
>
>
>
> On 22/07/10 4:39 PM, "elyse.pastor at sympatico.ca" <elyse.pastor at sympatico.ca 
> >
> wrote:
>
>>
>> Dear Lawrence, dear Gord, dear Jonathan, dear David,
>> Thanks again for your detailed explanations about the reasons why  
>> we are
>> slower then the others. I will certainly take every point and look  
>> into it.
>> I have spoken again to my mentor of our club (who has been racing  
>> for more
>> then 30 years on his Alberg 37) and gave him your responses. What  
>> he asked me
>> again was with what size of sail in what wind are you sailing and  
>> what are the
>> maximum speeds that you are experience? He knows exactly what sail  
>> to take on
>> his A37 at any wind speed. And about the waves - we are on a fairly  
>> small lake
>> where the waves (if they build) are very close together and may-be  
>> max 3-4ft.
>>
>> Am I correct if I list the following (or please correct if you have  
>> better
>> data and I will go out and try them (with what sails I have)):
>> 0 - 10kts  150-170 jib with the complete main sail
>> 10-15kts  120jib with complete main sail
>> 16-21kts  120 jib with 1st reef on main sail
>> 22-26kts   120jib with 2nd reef on main sail
>>> 26kts - we would need a smaller jib that we do not have.
>> Maximum speed upwind: 5.8-5.9kts
>>
>> In any upwind setting, we have the jib as tight as possible (in  
>> perfect
>> shape), and try to have the toe-rail about 4" out of the water. If  
>> the wind
>> increases and we have the same size of jib, we also move the roller  
>> on the
>> track further backwards in order to spill some air on the top of  
>> the jib
>> (change the shape of the sail and let some wind drop-out on top).  
>> Another main
>> adjustment we do on the main sail depending on the wind-strength -  
>> we open it
>> to the point where we see that the main sail has a slight back-wind  
>> pocket
>> just after the mast. If possible we close it tight to the centre of  
>> the boat
>> (we also have a traveler that we use), depending on the wind force.  
>> Always
>> with the objective of the rail about 4" out of the water.
>> Again, the maximum speed we are obtaining (close to the wind) is  
>> about 5.8 -
>> 5.9kts under the above circumstances (we use a GPS to measure boat  
>> speed and
>> assume that the speed is accurate). Unfortunately, this will still  
>> leave me
>> towards the end of the race group even if our start is perfect  
>> (closest to the
>> committee boat within 3 seconds after the start over the line). For  
>> your
>> information, we race a triangle and then a sausage with the winner  
>> (last week)
>> in 55 minutes (Grampian 26), us (6th) with 1 hour 4 min and and  
>> last (Tanzer
>> 22) (8th) 1 hour 9 minute. On the net after correction: 1st 51  
>> minutes, us 59
>> minutes and last 1 hour 4 minutes.
>> For those of you who also race against many other sailboats, would  
>> you know
>> what rating a Grampian 26 "0.929" or a Mirage 24
>> "0.923" have in your club? I just would like to compare if these  
>> numbers are
>> similar or even the same (our A30 is "0.929").
>> So - that is enough. Our next race - next Tuesday.
>> Thanks again to all of you for your inputs.
>> Bruno & Elyse; Lady Heron 297
>>
>>
>>
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>
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