TUESDAY RACING SEMINAR (TRS)
NOVEMBER 19, 2019
IMPROVING BOAT SPEED
WITH TOM CONERLY
Tom started his talk describing the difference between
“racing sailboats” and “cruising sailboats”.
This was something I had never considered. We all know that racing boats are lighter and
narrower beams. But I had never thought
about the way the weight is distributed.
A racing boat usually has 50% of its weight in the keel, which is
usually deeper on a race boat. This
difference makes the race boat more stable both at anchor and while
sailing. The fact that the weight is
more centrally located makes it easier to sail through wave (with less
hobby-horsing).
Tom had many tips about boat handling and basically dealing
with problems that can occur on a boat.
He described how it is better for the boat to be flatter in high
winds. The boat sails better this way
and it is a dryer ride for the crew. As
wind increases it is better to flatten sails by using the outhaul, backstay and moving jib fairleads back. Since cruising boats are heavier in the bow
and stern, it is best to compensate for this by getting the crew centered in
the boat and on the rail. The worst
place for crew to be is in the cockpit on any point of sail since this
increases the wetted area on the boat.
Going down-wind the crew should be forward to help catch waves.
Tom discussed the whole “mentality of racing”. There are times for leisure sails and there
are times for racing. Is the crew
earnest about racing? Does the crew get
the jib sheets in quickly and winched In quickly (upper chest over the winch
grinding in using both hands?) Is the boat as light as you can get it?
Tom went into depth describing the best points to sail for
best speed. He pointed out that sailing
10 degrees off course only results in 1% more distance sailed. This means if
you can sail 10 degrees higher or lower AND increase your speed, you will come
out ahead of the boats that sail dead down wind.
Tom went into length about how the things you learn from
racing can be applied in all types of sailing, including cruising. If you race a lot, you will learn how to deal
with all the things that can go wrong on a sailboat, from dealing with
spinnaker wraps and spinnaker halyard breaks to dealing with winch over-wraps.
I found the subject of over-wraps to be interesting. Over-wraps happen when the jib sheet does not
coil around the winch as it should and over-wraps on itself. With the loads on a jib sheet in a strong
breeze, these forces can be formidable.
There are several ways to undo the over-wrap. You can lead the tail of the wrapped line to
another winch and use the leverage to undo the wrap. You can luff up momentarily to reduce the
load and allow the wrap to be untangled, or you can even ease the jib halyard
to ease the tension. The last resort is
to cut the jib sheet (with the owner’s permission😉).
One last takeaway that I got from Tom is dealing with the
Jib Halyard. Most of us have roller
furling jibs. I have known for some time
it is best to ease the halyard when coming in from a sail to keep the jib from
getting stretched out. Tom also
indicated this is good practice, but also pointed out that if you loosen the
jib halyard when you come into the harbor, you will have to TIGHTEN it when you
sail again. When you are tightening the
jib halyard for the new sail, it will be tightened appropriately. For many boats, this adjustment is frequently
a “set it and forget it” setting.
Tom laid out a lot of ideas for improving boat speed. If you can apply these concepts your sailing
will definitely improve.
Thank your Tom for your time and expertise.
_) _) _) _) _)
Next Tuesday will be Thanksgiving week but we will forge
ahead with our TRS series on Tuesday night November 26. Though the topic does not pertain to racing,
we will talk about “BARE BOAT CHARTERING”.
Personally, I have done quite a few of these and I encourage others that
have experience to show up for the discussion.
I would like to discuss topics such as which company to rent from, tips
on anchoring and getting mooring balls (if available). Please come if you can. This will be an open discussion about bare
boating.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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