General Category - Pearson Owners and Enthusiasts > Boat Handling

When do you reef??

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Valor:
I guess without hijacking my own thread, but i wonder if anyone has installed inner jib car tracks off the rail and onto the deck to get a higher angle? I was out this afternoon and regardless of what i tried  i cant get the boat higher than 60 degrees.  Tacking requires 120 degrees which is almost a u-turn!!

selene:
I share your pain. With care I average 105-110 degrees.

Sucks when the race is a beat.  But put me on a beam reach or deeper, and I can sail at our rating....

Like I said: Shrouds to the toerail, short stubby keel, skeg = poor tacking angle. High freeboard = windage which doesn't help either. One of my crew keeps asking me to remove the dodger...and extra couple of degrees when tacking?

But in some races, I can go deeper into the shallows than any other boat, and get a better layline. People have learnt not to try and follow me :-)

p

Alma:
Before I drilled holes in the side decks for another jib track I'd experiment with a Barber Hauler to see if it is going to be worth it. I believe our ALMA sails better without the dodger, and last year I was thrilled when we were overtaking a neighbor in an Alerion Express-

Until I realized he was heading towards us!

If you want to race take the 911-

If a road trip with the family is on the agenda take the Volvo.

Trying to make a Volvo a 911 is a recipe for disappointment.

selene:
Alma - Very true...but I enjoy racing Selene, as it has taught me - and continues to teach me - a great deal.  Trying to get the best out of the boat is the objective.  I always tell my crew that there are three objectives when racing with me:

1) Stay Safe
2) Have fun
3) Win

In that order! I rarely win, but it gave me a kick to hear one of the competitive boat crew briefings - "Okay guys, let's *at least* beat Selene this week" :-)

And when I came in the other week from a race, and chatted to the crew of a J92 - they looked like drowned rats, I told them got splashed - once.

So yeah, the 323 is not a 911 - and the PHRF is sometimes not much help. But she is a dry, seaworthy boat, and for now I'll continue to race, continue to experiment - would a gently used (cheap) laminate sail help that much? How does a decksweeper benefit me? 'Cos the learning is half the fun!

Alma:
Good for you! We used to race offshore out of Atlantic City with a very loose group. So loose a surgeon on a Cal 40 was fond of cheating... Can you imagine? We found him tacking a full 1/4 mile BEFORE the windward mark one day- LoL

I'm not the one to ask about laminate sails. I DO agree that the 323's jib handles more work than a modern boat- That said- it is also true that you'll point higher with a smaller Genoa. ALMA has a huge Genoa and we also have a Flasher we rarely use unless conditions are perfect and we expect to be on the same line for over an hour. Upwind downwind is torture for us-

It IS enjoyable to keep up with the best of them on a reach!

Stay Safe-

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