Re: M_Boats: Racing in breezy conditions
Rick, Both of those responses are very good advice - If you are committed to the furler (what type - brand/model?) and you have the use of a halyard for the 135 use it like you would with a hank on sail - mo breeze - mo halyard tension - to keep the draft from migrating aft. Flat mainsails are seriously underrated - and far more valuable than a drafty sail - upwind a large part of the mainsail is the leech and staying 'out of the way' of the slot (headsail). Ask Larry Yake - he makes a 17 go real fast with a furler ! If you do not have a halyard due to the furler design - then Jerry's advice regarding the BS adjuster - (love it!) is your next important tool. Make sure you have sufficient cunningham on in a breeze as this will keep the slot open and cut down on the mainsail luff bubble from a closehauled overlapping jib, the cunningham can come on 'pretty hard' when breezy in order to keep the draft forward. Again, keep the headstay from sagging off to leeward and the draft from moving aft in the sail by maintaining tension via the BS. That and reefing at the upper range - unless you have a big crew on the rail will be your best bet. When my family raced C-22's, we sailed into that wind range with a 150 and reefed main and HIKE! Try the combination that works best for you and compare it to the suggestions - use a compass and speed measuring instrument then go with the Fast High combo! Good Luck - Go get 'em! GO In a message dated 5/1/2017 8:35:43 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, swwheatley@comcast.net writes: Reefing the genoa adversely impacts the boat's ability to point but reefing the main does not. So, all other things being equal, reef the main first. A fully deployed 135, however, will be a handful in a 20 kt breeze. Hopefully you have some burly crew.
On April 30, 2017 at 9:41 AM Rick Davies <jdavies104@gmail.com> wrote:
GO, Jerry, and all the professional M17 racers out there, I need some advice. I sail my M17, Lynne L, in club races every Tuesday evening and occasional weekend regattas. I sail with a 135% genoa with a padded luff. Racing in the 15 - 20 kt wind range I find that I'm often overpowered if I keep both sails unreefed/unfurled, so I'm sailing a lot of the time with a luff in the main. I have the option to reef the main, which allows me to sail without depowering. A third option is to leave the main unreefed and take a few turns on the jib furler. The boat seems to sail pretty well under any of the three options, but it's hard to compare the performance of the three. Does anyone have any a priori opinions as to which, if any, is the best approach?
Thanks,
Rick M17 #633 Lynne L
Thanks for all the good advice. I have a CDI furler with the halyard and bolt rope inside opposite sides of the foil. I have a 3:1 backstay tension adjuster and a 3:1 clew outhaul adjuster, but no cunningham. We fixed-tension the main luff with crew-weight on the boom when making the downhaul fast, but we can't adjust under way. We're going to have a breezy (~20 mph) race on the Potomac tonight, so I think I'll start with a reefed main and a full 135 and see where we go from there. For the future I'm going to think seriously about the inboard sheeting, and would appreciate any tips on installation. Thanks again, Rick M17 #633 Lynne L On Tue, May 2, 2017 at 1:51 AM <GILASAILR@aol.com> wrote:
Rick,
Both of those responses are very good advice - If you are committed to the furler (what type - brand/model?) and you have the use of a halyard for the 135 use it like you would with a hank on sail - mo breeze - mo halyard tension - to keep the draft from migrating aft. Flat mainsails are seriously underrated - and far more valuable than a drafty sail - upwind a large part of the mainsail is the leech and staying 'out of the way' of the slot (headsail).
*Ask Larry Yake - he makes a 17 go real fast with a furler !*
If you do not have a halyard due to the furler design - then Jerry's advice regarding the BS adjuster - (love it!) is your next important tool. Make sure you have sufficient cunningham on in a breeze as this will keep the slot open and cut down on the mainsail luff bubble from a closehauled overlapping jib, the cunningham can come on 'pretty hard' when breezy in order to keep the draft forward.
Again, keep the headstay from sagging off to leeward and the draft from moving aft in the sail by maintaining tension via the BS. That and reefing at the upper range - unless you have a big crew on the rail will be your best bet. When my family raced C-22's, we sailed into that wind range with a 150 and reefed main and HIKE!
Try the combination that works best for you and compare it to the suggestions - use a compass and speed measuring instrument then go with the Fast High combo!
Good Luck - Go get 'em!
GO
In a message dated 5/1/2017 8:35:43 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, swwheatley@comcast.net writes:
Reefing the genoa adversely impacts the boat's ability to point but reefing the main does not. So, all other things being equal, reef the main first. A fully deployed 135, however, will be a handful in a 20 kt breeze. Hopefully you have some burly crew.
On April 30, 2017 at 9:41 AM Rick Davies <jdavies104@gmail.com> wrote:
GO, Jerry, and all the professional M17 racers out there, I need some advice. I sail my M17, Lynne L, in club races every Tuesday evening and occasional weekend regattas. I sail with a 135% genoa with a padded luff. Racing in the 15 - 20 kt wind range I find that I'm often overpowered if I keep both sails unreefed/unfurled, so I'm sailing a lot of the time with a luff in the main. I have the option to reef the main, which allows me to sail without depowering. A third option is to leave the main unreefed and take a few turns on the jib furler. The boat seems to sail pretty well under any of the three options, but it's hard to compare the performance of the three. Does anyone have any a priori opinions as to which, if any, is the best approach?
Thanks,
Rick M17 #633 Lynne L
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Rick Davies