You know Charlie, I am guessing you probably have a Blade, or #3, or something around 110 – Why don’t you just do a season with that, and weigh all the pros and cons?
On one hand, I used to have the 135-140, and never felt the need for anything bigger. When the wind piped up, 18 – 20 out in the lake, we would just drop the main, and do great. I never rolled it up, I just feel it make for a terrible shape, and also it ruins the sail. For an afternoon cruise, It was simple to go out and not even touch the main. On the other hand, I have been sailing with a 100% the last few years, and my crew is just blown away at how easy their job has become. It you are quick with the sheets on a tack, you almost don’t even need to crank! I think in a race where you are tacking a bit, this can make up for all the time we would spend cranking the last 5 feet, trying to get back up to speed, that was brutal! Plus, that also weighed on my mind when I knew I needed to tack, but hung on B/C I knew how much we would lose in the tack. Also, if the crew was still huffing and puffing. As far as cruising, I used to think I couldn’t sail with just a blade, but found out last year it doesn’t do that bad in a breeze. Can’t go 45° go with just a blade, but it will do 50, if there is a little breeze and you are feeling lazy. One place you may lose a bit is going downwind wing and wing with a pole. I just think trying it for awhile might open your eyes to things you hadn’t thought of. Plus, you will have another year to save up for the new sail ! Bill Coleman Entrada, Erie, PA From: Charlie Nelson via CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, February 08, 2021 11:23 PM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: Stus-List New sails, new wind 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 Nelson 1995 C&C 36 XL/kcb Water Phantom
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