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Submitted
on December 6, 2004 by Kevin Churchill
Question: We
have a C&C 39 which is now a only moderate performance cruising boat,
the rod rigging was changed to 1x19 wire ( with changed spreaders) and
the intermediate shrouds now terminate in a separate chain plate. The
boat has a wind vane, manual windlass, lots of chain etc and weighs an
overweight 21,000# We also like to race this boat in the cruising category..
and it seems to do well. We use hanks on all sails. Our largest sail is
a 139% LP and the boat has a non standard boom with a main with a 14'3"
foot (not 13').
It badly needs a new #3 Genoa. The existing one is a 22 year old 'bag' and is of the old low aspect design. A friend on a high performance J-boat says we should get a 100 % Jib ( which is possible because we have a baby stay... not fore and aft lower shrouds) with 2-3 battens, made of some Spectra laminate. This would entail adding tracks near the existing chain plates which we are prepared to do to get the right sheeting angle. He says with our large J, we will 'haul' our windvane anchors etc, right past most of newer 'performance cruising' boats of similar length with this sail, if we add the new tracks etc.
Question: We are looking for performance(and durability) in the 20+ (apparent) knot range. Is this enough sail area for this wind range. Is this the right sail? We seem to carry our 139% dacron genoa up to about 20 knots with about 30 degrees of heel, before changing to our present #3.
The boat does the Regatta des Amigo every second year and will do other upwind passages (every nice place is upwind from Galveston) in the off years.
Regards,
Kevin Churchill
Answer: Hi Kevin, I think your friend is mostly correct. Your boat will sail to windward more efficiently with a non-overlapping headsail in 20 knots of true wind speed. If you are heeling at 30 degrees with your 139% headsail, you are making significant leeway. The flatter, non-overlapping headsail will allow the boat to sail at much reduced heel angle and your effective tacking angles will be smaller. You will also see a big improvement in the amount of mainsail backwinding. With the smaller headsail you will be able to trim the mainsail with a little more sheet tension and carry the traveler a little lower.
If your spreaders and shrouds are in line with the
mast, you will not be able to fit a full 100% LP headsail forward of the
shroud base. You will probably end up with a sail measuring about 95%
LP with the clew about 2.5' above the deck.
Regards,
Dan Neri
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