[Rhodes22-list] Ballast ?

[Rob Granger]

 I have a roller furler system on the Rhodes I'm restoring but I was
thinking of abandoning it.   But another option would be to rig a second
forestay (a baby stay) and leave it disconnected and tied to the mast when
not in use.When the wind picks up, I could roll up the genoa, tie off the
baby stay and fly a storm jib from that.  I could even leave the storm jib
hanked and in a sail bag at the base of the mast.   That might give me the
best set of compromises.

I guess I'm thinking that most of our sailing occurs in less than 15 mph of
wind and the ease of a roller furled genoa has obvious advantages.. but the
thought of getting caught out in a blow with a poorly balanced rig
decreases the fun/risk ratio even when the wind is not piped up.

Any thoughts??????????

r

On Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 10:58 AM, Ronald Lipton <ronald.lipton at gmail.com>wrote:

> 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,
>