How much wind to get you going?

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PhillM

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Out today in Solent. It seems to take 10kn + to get us moving. Anything less and speed fell to less than 2kn when close hauled.

Got overtaken by a wayfarer 2 up and a leisure 17 single handed.

We are 25loa 3.5 ton mab.

New Genoa but old main.

Does this sound right to you?
 
probably. I ghosted back into the chichester today, lucky the tide was with me. Yet the boat was flying along this morning. The wind dropped this afternoon to almost nothing at the top of the harbour. I had to motor back up to the mooring. Lovely day though...
 
The Kipper needs 10 knots to get moving, and we love 15 knots; but our best sail this year was all below 2 knots from the Orwell to the Deben, it wasn't our fastest sail by any means but drifting along in no particular hurry is a big part of family sailing for us. An X yacht will be perky in just 7 knots and I'd love to sail one, but the journey is definately the destination for us!
 
Sounds about right. We are a bit bigger and heavier but with more sail. I reckon that 12 knots is the minimum for reasonable passage-making offwind and 8 knots upwind. With those winds we can get 4 knots through the water. Much more than 12 knots and the rail goes in the water upwind, things that we have forgotten to secure (usually the grill pan) fly about the cabin and Mrs W D wants a reef in. Offwind I can get away with it up to 16 knots (true wind)

Dinghies and small cruisers are usually faster in winds below force 3. I used to sail GP 14s and YW Dayboats round the same courses as the keelboats and we regularly got tangled up with them despite starting 10 minutes later.
 
PhillM said:
Out today in Solent. It seems to take 10kn + to get us moving. Anything less and speed fell to less than 2kn when close hauled.

Got overtaken by a wayfarer 2 up and a leisure 17 single handed.

We are 25loa 3.5 ton mab.

New Genoa but old main.

Does this sound right to you?
Click to expand...

Try easing the genoa sheet and crack off 5 or 10 degrees.
 
E39mad said:
Try easing the genoa sheet and crack off 5 or 10 degrees.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the repliez, interesting I could only keep to within 15 degrees of the wind hawk. I felt that I was compromising ability to point to get speed up.

Heading out of the Hamble, tide against with wind on the bow and for about an hour we basically sailed on the spot!

It was good fun but did make me think about how to setup for light wind.
 
Wight Dawn said:
.... I reckon that 12 knots is the minimum for reasonable passage-making offwind and 8 knots upwind. With those winds we can get 4 knots through the water. Much more than 12 knots and the rail goes in the water upwind, things that we have forgotten to secure (usually the grill pan) fly about the cabin and Mrs W D wants a reef in. Offwind I can get away with it up to 16 knots (true wind)
Click to expand...

Interesting thread and interesting observations.

So 8 knots is the minimum to get you moving, but at 12 knots you are thinking of putting a reef in.

That seems an awfully small comfort range?

I'm new to sailing, this is only our second season. Our little boat will get moving in just a few knots, and at 15 knots we are at the top of our comfort range and heading for shelter. I thought that made our boat a bit tender, perhaps not?
 
If you'll excuse me saying, probably the most effective and easiest ways to set a mainsail up for flattening or filling would be a handy clew outhaul, same goes for reef lines which should pull well aft as well down; go on, treat the boat and yourself to some ball bearing blocks !
 
I usually don't bother in less than 10 knots. Less than 10 knots of wind means a flat calm, where motoring at low rpm's is a pleasure anyway. With a favourable tide, however, not in a hurry, and wind on the beam, I might put up all plain sail and potter along. On a beamish reach my boat will do from 1/2 to 2/3 the wind speed, so in 10 knots of wind I might see 5 or 6 knots if I exert some effort trimming.

There was not only less than 10 knots on the Solent today, there was less than 5. I was ready to potter along on a favourable tide from Yarmouth to Cowes at any speed with steerage, but even that failed. I ended up motoring, and immensely enjoying the sunshine and warmth.
 
In flat seas I can sail with 8 knots of wind quite well. Once the seas pick up (especially those created by motor boats) I need around 12 knots. I can hold full sail at an average wind of 20 knots, but ideally need to reef the main if the wind if constistently above this.
 
I helped a friend deliver a new (to him) 33 footer from Mallahide to Ardglass at the weekend, with winds up to 25 knots and never below 12 the 55 miles took 21 hours:mad: turns out that although we cleaned around the water line and as far down as we could reach it seems we were "smuggling" about a tonne of mussels and weed.
 
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PhillM said:
Out today in Solent. It seems to take 10kn + to get us moving. Anything less and speed fell to less than 2kn when close hauled.

Got overtaken by a wayfarer 2 up and a leisure 17 single handed.

We are 25loa 3.5 ton mab.

New Genoa but old main.

Does this sound right to you?
Click to expand...

Sounds a bit slow. In light winds (sub 10kts) you should sail faster upwind than downwind as you generate more apparent.

Were you trying to sail too high? You need to come down a bit and slacken sails in v light.

And have you checked for dirty bottom?
 
PhillM said:
Out today in Solent. It seems to take 10kn + to get us moving. Anything less and speed fell to less than 2kn when close hauled.

Got overtaken by a wayfarer 2 up and a leisure 17 single handed.

We are 25loa 3.5 ton mab.

New Genoa but old main.

Does this sound right to you?
Click to expand...

10knts of wind would get me to 4.5 knots boat speed in Feckless (17ft Seahawk) and about the same in my 14ft clinker dinghy.

4 or 5 knots of wind would drop me to 2/3 knots boat speed.

The other day I was pacing Claymore in his MicroGem (4 up) in sod all wind (probably 2/4 knots - no-one else was moving - and he was doing 4.5 knots boat speed.

I reckon the outboard on the back is just for show and he actually has a very quiet inboard.
 
Boatspeed

Bit of judicious frying pan washing down the lee side, out of the view of spycams and planes can do wonders for boat speed - that said, it was the daughter helming and she is a good sailor - better than Dad!
 
A bit more than this ... ?

DSC01153.jpg
 
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