Charlie, I sail and race Lake Michigan. I moved from a UK laminate to
Nordac in 2019. My previous UK was a 145, furled beautifully.I went with a 150
Nordac since I too felt I gave up too much on August light air days. It is a
MUCH heavier sail, but still furls nicely, though the furled profile is larger.
More weight aloft for sure. Unless your phrf area is different than Lake
Michigan phrf rules you will not get any additional credit (beyond the normal
3% for furling headsail) for going to a smaller head sail. Undersized sails
are not credited here. Check the rules for your area. I think the Nordac are
well made, good shape. I wasnt quite ready for the weight and bulk when
furled. Bill Walker CnC 36Pentwater, Michigan
On Monday, February 8, 2021, 11:23:05 PM EST, Charlie Nelson via CnC-List
<cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote:
Hello all listers.
I have a hypothetical for the racers among you.
I need to replace my 3DL headsail--its mostly patches after ~ 5 years of club
racing locally. This is about my 3rd laminate style headsail---and my last!
I am probably going with the North 3D Nordac which has replaced the former 3DL
technology with what they call a composite sail--not laminated but still built
over a 3D mold of the sail shape desired--if I understand this correctly. I do
not need the super light and costly Raw or Endurance.
Anyhow, I plan to move to a new sailing area off Southport, NC near Bald Head
Island at the mouth of the Cape Fear River--basically on the NC coast.
All my club racing to date has been in the Pamlico and Neuse Rivers,
occasionally racing to Ocracoke across the Pamlico Sound. For these areas, a
155% headsail is the largest you can race with locally without penalty and so
that is what I have always used.
The North sail maker suggested because of the higher coastal winds that I may
not need a 155% since the wind strength is higher at the coast. OTOH, a racer
there uses a 155% headsail and says he does well with it.
I checked the historical average wind speed for Southport and New Bern and the
coastal winds are from 20-25% higher than at New Bern. For instance, the avg.
wind speed varies from 5.5-8.1 knots in New Bern vs. about 7-10 knots in
Southport, or about 25% higher on average.
Further, I know from experience that my masthead rig becomes seriously
overpowered once the wind gets greater than about 12 knots true, when its time
to reef the main(I only have 1 reef point) and if it goes above ~ 15 knots, I
need to roll the headsail a few turns (or change down to a 135% or 90%
headsail).
I am not inclined to go less than the 155% allowed locally (PHRF) but maybe I
should--the local North guy suggested ~ 140%. This might better match the local
wind and is less expensive since less material is used. OTOH, I don't want to
be under canvassed on the light air days.
Further, there is the question of sail material weight to consider.
I plan for this to be my last headsail purchase and may use it some for local
cruising in addition to club racing. BTW, it will be used on a furler either
way.
So what would the listers do!!
Charlie Nelson1995 C&C 36 XL/kcbWater Phantom
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the
costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to
send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the
costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to
send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
