Thank you all for a most informative session! Can't wait to try my new found information.
----- Original Message ---- From: "Judith Blumhorst, DC" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 7:35:56 PM Subject: Re: catalina27-talk: Yesterdays sail oops. I meant "Phil A", not "Paul A"! I wrote: "Like Paul A says, when it's gusty and there's chop, you want to shape the sails for acceleration, not speed. I loosen the halyard/cunningham to put a rounded entry in the mainsail so it has a wider range of angle of attack without stalling, and it accelerates faster. " Other notes: When in chop and gusts, the boat speeds up and slows down alot, so I want to trim your sails for acceleration over a wide range of true and apparent wind speeds. I want a rounded entry near the luff , not a fine one, and twist in the upper half of the sail. Somebody already described how to twist off the mainsail by letting the boom rise up vertically (move the traveller up high (windward) and ease the mainsheet, with the vang loosened) Trimming the jib: put twist in the head of the ib by moving the sheet block aft. That depowers the top of the sail and provides acceleration over a wider range of windspeeds in the gusts. Also, I move the draft in the jib an inch or two forward (to round the entry) by slightly tightening the halyard to tighten the luff (and keep the forestay tight when beating upwind.) -- that also provides better acceleration in varying wind speeds and boat speeds (like getting walloped by chop) Keeping the forestay makes the draft in the jib relatively shallower, which also reduces power. Gotta go take the little'un swimming.... it's 90 degrees here and blowing about 20 mph in my back yard (I'm 20 miles inland from the SF Bay) Judy B Sailing San Francisco Bay in high winds, and lottsa lumpy water 1977 Tall rig, "Bijou" http://www.blumhorst.com/ ----- Original Message ---- From: "Judith Blumhorst, DC" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 3:08:14 PM Subject: Re: catalina27-talk: Yesterdays sail Hi all, I sail in 20-25-30 knots all the time. Got a tall rig with that giant foretriangle, and roller furler. Rear traveller and tiller. Most of the time, I've got a 95% jib on. That's roughly equivalent to a 110% on a regular rig. She's fine with that from about 10 to 35 knots with the 95% jib. As the wind builds and if it's gusty (which it always is here), we twist off the jib and mainsail first if it's gusty, then 1st reef, then take a 2nd reef. Her rig is tuned so that I can control her with just 2 fingers on the tiller. Putting a lot of twist in both the jib and the mainsail and playing the traveller takes care of heeling in the gusts most of the time. Like Paul A says, when it's gusty and there's chop, you want to shape the sails for acceleration, not speed. I loosen the halyard/cunningham to put a rounded entry in the mainsail so they have a wider range of angle of attack without stalling, and they accelerate faster. For the off-season in the winter (winds from 0-15), we use a 135% on a roller furler. That's equivalent to a 150% on a regular rig. We typically furl going up wind in anything over 12-15 knots, and maybe let it out going downwind. Sometimes we've got it up in higher winds and let it out all the way going downwind. It's a hoot going downwind in 20 knots on swells, and there's a danger of broaching -- but it's exhilerating . but I wouldn't want to try beating upwind with it! We don't race. We double hand. We're lazy, but pretty fast. Judy B
