Hi David, I applaud your wife for putting up with you and soldiering on in the conditions you describe. Sounds like the wrong day to go sailing, but I envy you because my wife wouldn't be in that situation. She doesn't like it when the boat leans, so she would have taken the ferry or an airplane, home. I think the C&C 34plus is the best value on the boating market. It offers great amenities and probably the best saiing performance in a 36 foot long hull. Stiff boats are deep, like seven or eight foot draft. If you want better downwind sailing, think "Pogo structures" like their 12.50. They are amazing, but $$$$$ and require some muscle which is not as available in us older skippers. At out age, maybe a smaller and simpler boat is the answer, like a small catboat? One sheet. Chuck
> On 09/26/2025 1:14 PM EDT David Knecht via CnC-List <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > I have had my C&C 34/36 WK for 12 years and I love the boat. I race it > frequently single or double handed and cruise with my wife for a week or two > every summer. But at 72 and not getting any stronger, I am starting to think > about my next/last boat. Perhaps I need to be talked down by more > experienced sailors because this issue was precipitated by our last cruise. > I am by nature and experience a dinghy sailor and only came to keel boats > late in life, so I have limited experience on different keel boats aside from > mine and Caribbean charters. I don't have much of a sense of how different > designs and sizes of boats perform in challenging conditions. > > Last week, my wife and I cruised from New London to Cape Cod and back. On > the first day it was blowing 15+ from the east (so upwind route) when we left > and I had a 110 genoa and a single reef in the main. All was well until we > left Fishers Island Sound (relatively protected and calm) and entered Block > Island Sound (essentially the Atlantic-chop and large waves). First the main > reefing line broke and I was able to stow the main so we sailed the rest of > the way with just the 110 genoa. It was rough enough for my wife to get > seasick, but the boat was doing 6+ knots close hauled, so no big problem. > However, the thought I kept having was that it was "only" blowing 18 knots > true. If it had been 20-30 knots it would have been much worse and much more > difficult to control the boat single handed and no way to further depower. > We ended up motoring part way, but that was no fun either. I have never > tried furling the 110 partially and it certainly is not designed with that in > mind. > > Thinking about this experience afterwards I was reminded of a charter we did > in the Caribbean on a Jeanneau 50DS years ago. I was sailing the boat myself > in nearly 30 knots of wind with main and genoa under total control, healing a > bit, and having a great time. The water was not rough, but I was confident I > could sail that boat in much stronger winds and waves and be fine. I had > never really understood the concept of a "stiff boat" but I presume this is > what it means. The Jeanneau was a stiff boat and mine was not. > > On the return trip, it was all downwind and I had just the main up, and it > was supposed to blow 10-12 but by the time we hit Block Island Sound it was > blowing 20-30 with large following seas. It was a real challenge to steer > the boat in those conditions and I was running on fumes from hand steering > for hours by the time we hit Block Island. I didn't think the wheel pilot > was going to be able to handle it and never tried. I don't know if any type > of boat/keel/rig makes that situation easier to handle. > > Obviously the 34+ was designed to have 4-6 people on the rail for ballast and > sailing it single handed is going to have some compromises. Up to 15 knots, > it is no problem, but as it approaches 20, things get more challenging. So I > am thinking that I might need to start looking for a different boat for the > future. Something stiffer (is that the right term?) so I don't have to be > concerned about going out when it is blowing 20-30 (beyond that I just won't > go out by choice). But I am unclear on what characteristics to look for. Is > it mostly sail area/displacement ratio that determines this? Is it possible > to have good performance in various conditions and not be overpowered in > 20-30 knots? How much of a factor is size or design? Can a boat be "stiff" > and reasonably fast in a variety of conditions? I still want to race and > PHRF should compensate somewhat for performance, but in my experience, "slow" > boats lose to "fast" boats in PHRF racing. Perhaps that is just the price I w ill have to pay. > Anyway, I would love to hear the thoughts of the group on any aspect of this > issue. Thanks- Dave > > David Knecht > S/V Aries > 1990 C&C 34+ > New London, CT > [pastedGraphic.tiff] > Your contributions help pay the fees associated with this list and help to > keep it active. Please help by making a small contribution using PayPal at: > https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/stumurray All contributions are greatly > appreciated. >
Your contributions help pay the fees associated with this list and help to keep it active. Please help by making a small contribution using PayPal at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/stumurray All contributions are greatly appreciated.
