[Rhodes22-list] Ballast ?

[Ronald Lipton]

It does get hard to tack in high winds.  When we sailed across Lake Michigan a few
years ago the wind really picked up about halfway through.  We ended up on a
broad reach with about 4 feet of the main rolled out and no jib and were moving
at 4.5 knots.  Taking the jib sheets to the inboard tracks helps a lot in high winds,
as does lowering the boom.  I moved from the 175 to the 150 about two years ago
and have been happy with it.  It is not as heavy a sail and works reasonably well in
light winds and seems to be easier to find the right adjustment.

Ron


On 1/23/12 9:38 AM, Lowe, Rob wrote:
> Rob,
> I believe I am one of the few that had a hank on jib. I say "had", since it went with the old boat when I upgrade to my newer Rhodes.  I only had the single head sail, I believe it was a 175.  In high winds I wish I had the ability to furl the jib, the 175 certainly over powered the boat.  I've tried sailing with main only during high winds but you (well, I did anyway) need the jib to be able to complete a tack.  I ended up gybing to tack with only the main.  A smaller headsail would have helped, but at the same time I couldn't see myself changing headsails.  That's why I wanted (and got) the furling jib and IMF, so I could adjust sail area as needed. - Rob
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Rob Granger
> Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2012 9:11 PM
> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Ballast ?
>
> Wow...  this is disappointing to read...
>
> Is it because of the relatively large amount of freeboard the Rhodes has?
> I've taken my MacGregor V22 out in 20+mph winds (with gusts to 30) on several occasions.  I spent a day sailing across the Albemarle with a steady 25mph And yes..... I've had people question the actual wind strength so I checked it with the weather records for my areas.  When the winds picks up..I hank on my small jib (25%)  and put two reefs in the main.  She punches right through.  I try to keep her relatively flat and we pick up speed....once she is moving forward I take in on the main sheet just a bit we just slice on through the chop ... it is magic.  The Mac is significantly smaller boat than the Rhodes.  It has a foot less beam, about 6" less free board an weighs about half of what the Rhode weights.  The interior accommodations are frankly Spartan but she sails really well....
> and fast... and have even gotten her to plane on a run in winds like that.....
>
> So let me ask you Rhodies something.  How many of you use the roller furled head sail and how many of you have hanked on head sails?  I'm hoping the performance deficiencies you are describing here are a result of the fact that most of you try to roller REEF your head sail and have not actually sailed your Rhodes with a properly sized and properly drafting head sail in stronger winds.
>
> I hope this does not sound condescending.  I really don't mean it that way.
> Email can sometime read really badly and I don't consider myself a sailing expert or anything like that...I really just want some performance data for the Rhodes for how I plan to set mine up... I'll be using hanked on head sails and reef points in my main.
>
>
> So for those of you who hank on your head sails... can you get the Rhodes to perform well in 25 - 30 mph wind with a smaller head sail and a deeply reefed main? (The boom on a Mac can be rolled so I can reef the main as much or as little as I want -- but I prefer reef points).
>
>   I'm in the middle of a Rhodes restoration and would really like to understand what I'm going to have when I'm done.
>
> When I purchased my Mac (three seasons ago) it came with three different head sails (25%), (75%), (130%).  It also came with a light air main in addition to the working main....  And sailing with this boat's compliment of sails is when I fully came to appreciate the importance of a balanced rig.  So I'm no longer envious of my roller furled brothers.
>
> I hope to repeat this experience with the Rhodes.  So if please share if you got a story.
>
> Fair winds,
>
> The other Rob
>
>
>
> On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 10:30 AM, Leland<LKUHN at cnmc.org>  wrote:
>
>> Dennis,
>>
>> 20-30 knot winds are too much wind for the Rhodes.
>>
>> Stan says you can't make headway after 28 knots which is probably
>> accurate since I struggle after 20.
>>
>> The more I sail the more picky I am about conditions.  I usually don't
>> go out if the winds are more than 15 knots.  Where I sail the chop is
>> usually more of a problem than the wind when it gets too breezy.
>>
>> Lee
>>
>>
>>
>>
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