Ok, conditions are patchy wind, out of the west
Location, Halifax river, Daytona Beach (flows N to S) West side has condo's, trees, etc...
Wind was 8-10

My boat is a 5.5, sailing uni.

I couldn't get the boat to drive on a reach to save my life. I had the traveler down about 3", the mainsheet was sheeted pretty hard, and the car on the sail was full aft (Max sail shape) I wasn't using an over rotator. No matter what I did with the sail, traveler, mainsheet, my weight, etc.. The boat wasn't driving at all. It seemed like I was dragging an anchor. Gawd, I was passed on the low side by a H17 ?!?!?!. What gives? So frustrating......
Wind/Lew Triangle courses this boat is usually very fast. Excellent boat speed, yet going on the reach (both ways) I could barely hang with a H17.

Help guys, please!

We 17's aren't that slow

wasn't meant as an insult. But when I rate a 69 and a H17 rates a 74, and he passes me on the LOW side. Makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong....

I'm no expert, but sailing on a lake offshore breeze can confuse the heck out of me sometimes, especially sailing into a bay. It seems to blow in to the centre of the bay and no matter how hard you try to get in there the wind twists as you get closer to shore and pushes you back. Lots of tacks to get back. Also wind at 20' high can be a little different angle than at 10' and I wind up testing both angles to see which has best drive. It may also be that for whatever turbulent blow came offshore onto the river, the H17 cut was superior in capturing the wind. I'm sure the ratings are averages where boats have their strengths and weaknesses - maybe you just found your weak spot.

Help guys, please! [/quote]

Theo:

First off there is almost never a time to put the clewboard traveler max aft. Set it at the second bolt in the traveler attachment and leave it.

Upwind:

Center the traveler. Depower with main downhaul.

Reach:

Rotate 80' on rotation control. Leach traveler at center unless it is a deep reach and then that's a different deal.

Spreaders: 1/2" rake
Diamonds: 37 lb on a Loos guage or 650 linear lbs.

Mainsheet: A little twist helps if the water is bumpy and you need to drive around waves.

Mast rake: 10" aft of centerline.

Windward rudder up if it's a long reach.

Bring weather rudder up over 12 knots of wind if you are light weight (Under 175 lb).

Downwind settings:

Traveler down to the footstarp and no more.
Leave the clewboard traveler at the second bolt unless the wind is really light (Under 4) and the waves are generally flat.

Ease downhauls off completely.

Over 12 knots try the wild thing technique.

Drop me a note with any questions.

Mark Michaelsen
Sailing Pro Shop

.

hi

quote>{3", the mainsheet was sheeted pretty hard, }

Sounds like oversheeting ,-the most common mistake catsailors make .

Wind slows considerabley and is very different at the lower portions of the sail in comparison to the upper .
Some twist in the upper area is required ,
try adding some added telltails and practise with these ,
add some along the leach as well ,-get them flowing.
You will find the only way to achieve this is to sheet out and allow twist ,--When any oversheet the sail in tight it causes partial stall ,--that is the air seperates from the sail earlier and causes eddies and drag off the leeward side and trailing portion sooner.

Superior C Class solid wings sails have been built to induce twist as example, and proved to be faster than the non twist type .

Watch the very best helming any uni , they never oversheet and always keep the leeward side in flow and pull away from the fleet .
It takes some disipline ,your insticts are to sheet in to go faster ,-but take a deep breath ,relax in those situations and really tune into the wind and feel of the boat , let it sail free loose and fast with a very light feeling on the helm and as little rudder movement as possible ,-just as in any stick -ball type sport ,Hockey etc -soft hands ,particularly reaching , not cranked in tight or jerky motions which slow you down .

practise --actual racing ,-and the desire to learn are the key things ,-so your already 75% there ,
,- be sure to have fun with it all too .

hope that's helpfull

Yeah, or like a friend of me.


He startet with his beach-dolly below the boat.

Well...at least the dolly is better than doing it with the trailer!

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll stick with it until I figure it out. Sailing uni is def the way to go for me as I never have a crew. Uni rating is 69.8, SL with one person is 65.8! Me thinks I'll eventually add a chute and end up with a 66.65 (Sq top + chute on uni) That ought to be able to compete...IF I can figure out how to sail the darn thing!

I keep reading about these ratings. (69.8 etc.)

I assume they are like a golf handicap.

Where do you find the lists or how do you figure the numbers out for a boat?

I think your ratings may be off. The 5.5 Uni has taller carbon mast and more mainsail area than the sloop and rates 69.8! The platform is the same.

Frozen,

You are correct. Different boats have different 'handicaps' based on their designs. A list of thse portsmouth (or DPN) numbers can be found on the US Sailing website under racing handicap systems (on the top menu choices under "racing")

Jay

http://www.ussailing.org/portsmouth/

SL with main only is class legal Uni. Mast on a unit is ~9" taller than the SL mast, and most of the area is down low. I did a lot of research on the carbon mast, and it seems since I'm heavier, the alloy one would probably be better for me as the carbon one I hear depowers too much.

Hopefully soon I can get a new SqTop main with more area on it.

Theo---Find out where Rush Bird is sailing his 5.5 uni, go there, follow him around and keep your eyes open. Rush sails way under the PN numbers, which is why he keeps winning National Championships. PS: Other advice in this thread is excellent too.

None of the sloops with main only could keep up with the Unis, even before the carbon mast (CRAM experience). The carbon has proven to be faster than the aluminum for everyone in CRAM. Now it looks like the 99 and newer vinylester boats are faster than the older ones. Most of this is not reflected in portsmouth numbers. You might have grounds for negotiating an appropriate portsmouth number with the race organizer. It probably won't help much at a major regatta, but the smaller regattas may be open to the discussion based on experience in CRAM which regularly gets 10 NACRA 5.5 Unis to the start line for most of its regattas. If I were sailing a NACRA 5.5 Sloop with only the mainsail, I would be talking about a more reasonable number with the regatta organizer. The 5.5 Uni number was lowered primarliy based on the CRAM data and the winning Unis in CRAM are all vinylester boats with carbon masts.

BTW, Uni mast is more than 30' tall. I thought the sloop was less than 29' tall, more than a foot difference.

Hi All!

Went out today, I'm learning. Figured out the mast was raked too far aft, fixed that, most of the helm went away. Still having some problems with the clew traveler, but I'm working on it. If I could only see the sail from several different angles while sailing......

btw, I'm seraching for an alloy mast from a uni. I can't spend 3000$ for a carbon stick on a 10 year old boat, but I understand that there are some alloy sticks for sale?!? I just need the extrusion, so if anyone might know where one is FS, I would APPRICIATE IT

That, and I have to find some way to get it to FL. I want it so bad at this point, I might just drive to pick it up!

I'll be going to NC early June. Hopefully Maughan will still have the H17 masts lying around for me. I also plan to drop by Panama on the way back and hopefully pick up that ARC22 mast (scavenging mast sections for the F14 I plan to build this summer). If you find a mast somewhere along my route, let me know and I'll transport it for you.

I hope you haven't forgotten about the Bahama's trip this summer. I just got a box from Murrays with everything I needed to put the TheMightyHobie18 rudder system on my G-Cat. After installing that and reinforcing the beams where they bolt to the hull, my boat should be ready to hit the 'Stream

Yeah dude they're just sittin out there next to the boat... hopefully little creatures haven't setup camp inside them yet.