Upwind performance 145% Genoa Furling etc!

[olly_love]

The rig dimensions are very simlar to the impala so prehaps try to get hold of a used Impala no 1? its more of a race orientated sail so will be a bit flatter and better cut.

 

[markhomer]

3pages in and no one has mentioned luff curve , if this is wrong , sail will never be good upwind , did sailmaker actually measure this , sail on boat before making sail ? ,

It makes huge difference , i had a new rolling genny made by local sailmaker ,he assessed luff curve onwater etc and produced a fantastic ,topquality dacron rolling genny that transformed the boat , even furled its good ,

Im in scotland too ,praps i could point you to my sailmaker , a recut is perhaps what you need , but , before you do anything ,get a sailmaker of repute to sail with you and check sailand what you do with it , priceless .

 

[lw395]

Luff curve is dictated by two things:
The tension in the forestay
The forces from the sail
A good sailmaker or experienced trimmer should be able to look at photos, together with notes of rig tension and so forth and give some feedback.

Taking a sailmaker sailing with you is fine, but in general they are only going to do that if they think you are going to spend a lot of cash.
And you need them to be out with you in the right conditions.

 

[markhomer]

And matching the curve with cut of sail is king !

 

[garvellachs]

Into our fourth season of racing in 2017. Club racing in a Parker 275. We are not that hot but have a super smooth hull for the upcoming season having spent last winter getting the multiple layers of cruiser uno off.

We are pretty rubbish so the obvious improvement is more practice......

But..... in previous seasons when we have looked at raceqs after the races our downwind speed is fine compared to others. If there is a reaching leg we are fine. But our upwind speed is pretty poor.

I bought a cruising laminate main and a cruising laminate 145% Genoa 2 years ago and then a number 3 laminate a year ago.

The number 3 is a revelation in the right conditions. We can actually sail upwind.

Where we suffer is that we just are rubbish upwind with the genoa even in light airs. It is on a furler and has a uv strip. Great for leaving on the boat and for going cruising but I am beginning to think not great for racing! I think it doesn't set fantastically in one tack.

So I think maybe the cut off for the number 3 is slightly lower than we think, say 15 knots?

So we have a crappy old rotostay furler.....

What to do? New number 1 with no uv strip to match the number 3?

Ditch the furler for races, get hanks put on the number 3 and the new number 1? But how to store the furler and a total hassle for changing over?

Buy a smaller genoa and accept poor light wind performance? We are in Scotland......

A new furler?

Also not spend too much money as the boat is not worth that much......!!

Hmmmmmm.

Came second in one race on handicap last year (our handicap is fantastic due to some bad results....), would love to win a race this season!

Some extra thoughts - we too manage on a low budget with s/h sails - have you got the lead right on the big genny? We have to move ours back maybe 2 metres. Have you tried sheeting the no 1 further out to give a flatter leech? Is the main really suited to light airs? Have you got it loose and baggy or flat?

 

[lpdsn]

3pages in and no one has mentioned luff curve , if this is wrong , sail will never be good upwind , did sailmaker actually measure this , sail on boat before making sail ? ,

It makes huge difference , i had a new rolling genny made by local sailmaker ,he assessed luff curve onwater etc and produced a fantastic ,topquality dacron rolling genny that transformed the boat , even furled its good ,

Im in scotland too ,praps i could point you to my sailmaker , a recut is perhaps what you need , but , before you do anything ,get a sailmaker of repute to sail with you and check sailand what you do with it , priceless .

I was racing on an OD boat once upon a time. Bowman emigrated and we got a replacement. After that we'd be in the top two or three around the first windward and first leeward marks and then we'd just fall back. We were losing quite consistently about 6 minutes per hour over the rest of the race, measured over several races. It took me a while to work it out.

The old bowman knew far more about sail trim than the genny trimmer so he used to get the halyard tension right. New bowman was relying on the trimmer to call it. I'd check the trim before the start but never had the time to do it at each leeward mark, hence dropping back on the second and subsequent beats.

Moral of the story, halyard tension does really make a big difference.

 

[wotayottie]

If your handicap system is adjusted according to results spending all that money is only going to get you one or two good results before your rating is adjusted to reflect them. Obviously it's not very rewarding to be sailing a boat that isn't performing well but sometimes there can be quite a challenge to be had making inferior equipment work for you rather than buying good gear and not using it properly.

I agree. Both a benefit and a disadvantage of NHC.

You have probably made a significant difference to the boat with a nice smooth clean bottom and the area where this would show up most is in beating where you often have the least power driving upwind. On my own boat it makes a big difference of as much as half a knot.

When you say " it doesn't set fantastically in one tack." I automatically wonder about rigging set up issues. Go through the rig carefully with a tension guage and to check that the mast is central / perpendicular with the correct amount of backward angle and of bend. The Selden on line guide is a good base to start from.

But the key issue is almost always the guys on the boat. Regul;ar crew, practice, crew who are good at their job, building a team. Throwing money at it only really works well with IRC.