I am just learning the ins and outs of sailing my Pindle 19. I have noticed that my upwind performance is terrible. Perhaps I am used to monohulls, but the "No-go" angle into the wind that I can't travel is probably around 140 degrees. Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong?

I find myself wanting a traveler system like the monohull that allows me to bring the sheet all the way to the windward side to get me further upwind.

Thanks for any advice...

Prindle 19's are reputed to have poor pointing characteristics, but that sounds a little extreme, guys won't adding a little mast rake help point a bit better?

I just changed my P19 for a Mystere 6.0. The difference upwind is HUGE. Mystere sails about 20 degrees higher. My Mystere has the mast almost straight up and rudders rake far forward...it STILL has a lot of weather helm. It's very easy to start sailing too sharp and loose speed.

Some folks have said P-19's have "poor" pointing performance. Well, that's just not true. The boat sailed properly should have a tacking angle of around 90-100 degrees dependent upon the wind strength and sea state.

I started sailing multihulls in P-19's and did quite well with the boat when I owned it. It is a very fast two man cat especially in breeze and it is well built.

Here's some tips:

1. Set up your mast with about 5 degrees of vertical aft rake. This is a good starting point.
2. Traveller centered always upwind.
3. I'm a little rusty on this but jib leads about 10"-12" inboard in light air (less than 10 knots), about 4"-6" inboard in 10-15 knots, all the way out to the hull inboard shear line in over 15 knots.
4. A good starting point for the fore-aft position of the jib leads is to project a line from the mid-point of the jib luff through the jib sheet to the track. Another method is to sheet in the jib and sail upwind. Slowly luff into the wind and see if the jib breaks evenly along the luff. If the lower portion of the jib breaks first, move the lead aft, if the top breaks first move the lead forward.
5. Setup your upwind mast rotation for about 45 degrees in non-trapezing conditions, 40 degrees when you come out on the wire, and about 30-35 degrees when it gets windy.
6. Outhaul should be setup with about 4" of foot camber in non-trapeze conditions and then pull it tight once you go out on the wire.
7. You should be sailing with tight diamonds and some pre-bend, measured with a Loos gauge, around 32-34, about 1/2" of pre-bend.
8. The downhaul and mainsheet are the throttles of the mainsail. Sheet the mainsheet tight to almost stall the leeward top telltale (you'll probably only be able to do that in lighter air). The downaul controls the position of the draft in the mainsail and opens the top of the sail effectively depowering it. When you are sailing from the trapeze with the mainsail sheeted tight, you should only have to play no more than 12" of sheet in a puff. If you are, pull it on tighter. Likewise, if you feel underpowered upwind, make sure the downhaul is eased.
9. Weight positioning is critical. The boat sails best with both crew on the windward hull in light air. The crew should be on or forward of the front beam when not trapezing, the helmsman just behind him. When trapezing, crew in front of shroud, helmsman just behind. If the wind is really strong, helmsman and crew are just behind shroud.

The boat is best sailed upwind with the crew playing the mainsheet when trapezing. Two hands can play the mainsheet much quicker than one and this frees up the helmsman to focus on driving.

Hope this info helps.

Everything you said is correct. The only thing that is worth repeating is getting the weight WAY forward and sheeting the main tight. You'll be tacking thru 90-100 degrees. It's a well-made boat that still goes like hell and can give these newer designs a run for their money. Especially with the MX sails.

What they said; also: Your centerboards are not terribly efficient, and your rudders are small. The hull design, however, is terrific for cutting thru chop. The key to making decent vmg upwind is to sail FAST; 8-10 knots is good. The daggerboard boats will outpoint you, but only by 5 or 10 degrees; however, you'll be going noticeably faster thru the water. I try to keep far enough off the wind to keep my jib just pulling. Have fun!