| Author | Message | ||
     Lance Staughton New member Username: Twospeed Post Number: 13 Registered: 01-2001 Rating: N/A |
Thanks for the great feedback. Nice to see some chat going on with this site. I thought everybody was in hibernation back East. We've finished 2(of 3) races in our first race series out here in the northwest with a 9.1 2nd and 1st in class(Rubicon-which tied an Express 37 coincidentally which I crewed on extensively -for the #1 boat in the northwest in 2002)and us 3rd and 2nd -Drat. Anyway I feel like I'm cheating against the other 9.1's who have code 4's. My question out of curiousity is what are other people's mains measurements. Specifically the E,P and mgm and mgu and headboard-thus of course equalling the sail area? | ||
| Mike Bergmann Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
I do pretty much what everyone else is doing. I have a full-length top batten which touches the backstay on a tack in light air, but the only problem is that I have to renew the tell-tale periodically. I have not had a hangup in 5 seasons on this main. Like Scott, I tack slowly in light (and even medium) air, and bring the traveler up after the boat is almost close-hauled on the new tack. I ask my crew NOT to try to pop the genoa in without winching in light air. I prefer to leave the genoa outside the lifelines while the boat powers up. In the light east coast winds I sail in about 1/2 the time, the normal genoa trim is touching the forward stanchion anyway, so leaving it outside for power does not actually cost much on pointing angle. My own feeling on a reduced main to get 3 sec/mi is the same - a 3 sec. handicap is worth very little, and even a loss of 0.05 knots around the course costs more. Remember, for a 10-mile race at an average boat speed of 5 knots, you will be out there for 2 hours. The handicap will give you 30 seconds. A loss of 0.05 knots will cost you 0.1 nm at the finish, and it will take you 72 second to sail that distance. The moral of the story is: for every 3 sec/mi gained on handicap, you cannot lose more than 0.02 knots, or it is not worth it. It is virtually impossible to measure a speed difference that small unless you have two identical boats racing together. | ||
| John Stefancik New member Username: Jstef Post Number: 19 Registered: 01-2001 Rating: N/A |
Maybe somebody could post what the differences in mainsails are. I am unaware of the 'codes' for mains, I thought they only existed for headsails. As far as the battens, we try to do as much as Scott said, and only use mainsails with one full batten at the top. Frequently the top pocket was getting hung up on the backstay in light air. So we now use different battens for different wind conditions. The flimsy light air batten doesn't get hung up, and the stiff heavy air batten is easily flung across by the breeze. Hope this helps. John Stefancik | ||
| Scott Corder New member Username: Pastcommodore Post Number: 36 Registered: 02-2001 Rating: N/A |
Lance, Just a few thoughts on mains from me keeping in mind that we haven't spent much time exploring different types of mains here on the Great Lakes. It strikes me that if you're racing against 911s and other lighter boats, you'll want to avoid giving them any more advantage, at least in light air. RE roach and battens: We never buy full battens in a new sail, we always use that as a means of rejuvenating an older main after it has been used a while. The top batten is difficult enough to get through the backstay, let alone struggling with inverted battens all the way down in light air. Yes, the main can be difficult to get through the backstay, but we've simply worked out a tacking method that utilizes the traveller to help avoid the hang up. We've also found that allowing the main to tack through to a less than fully trimmed position on the new tack helps get it all the way through the backstay. We usually (especially in light air) tack to pretty broad angles to keep the boat moving, so having the main out a little for the first part of the new tack allows us to slowly power it back up as I gradually bring the boat closer to the wind as we speed up. Did you follow that? In simple terms, we let the main go all the way through to a sort of loose or sloppy trim on the new board and then trim that minimal sloppiness in as the boat speeds up on the new board. One last point: regardless of the main sail, be sure to have your sailmaker construct the top batten pocket end so that it creates absolutely as little resistance to slipping through the backstay as possible. The style of pocket and retention strap will greatly improve or degrade the sail's ability to slip past the backstay. | ||
| Lance Staughton New member Username: Twospeed Post Number: 11 Registered: 01-2001 Rating: N/A |
Does anybody race wuth a Code 4 main? In the northwest a couple of 9.1's went to a Code 4(extra 3 seconds PHRF)and they think there is not much speed loss. So I recut my old main to a code 4 so I could race even up. Now we are racing in a Performance 30 class-level rated against Olsen 911's and Santana 30/30's for all major regatta's.I'm getting a new main this week and can't decide on the code 5 or Code 4 since there will be NO rating difference in the P-30 class. One of the biggest issues I had with my old code 5 and even still with the code 4 was the sail hanging up on the backstay in light air .What do other racers do about the backstay issue? How bout full battens vs. one full batten at the top (which is what my sailmaker recommended)? Quick input would be appreciated. Lance Symbiosis #51 |
