[Rhodes22-list] 175% vs 150% vs 130% Genoa?

[Rick Lange]

Although my limit is now 15 knots and 3 foot waves, I've discovered a
single jackline laid midships is better than jacklines along each gunwale.

Regards,

Rick Lange


On Tue, Nov 24, 2020 at 4:10 PM Jesse Shumaker <
jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com> wrote:

> While I'm used to wearing a PFD, that's the first I've heard of wearing
> safety harnesses on a Rhodes 22.  Then again, I've yet to take Zephyr to a
> very large body of water.  Hopefully there are some bigger adventures for
> Zephyr in my future!
>
> Jesse Shumaker
> S/V Zephyr
>
> On Tue, Nov 24, 2020 at 11:02 AM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Jesse,
> >
> > Yes, we’ve had a few “HOLY SHIT!” moments, primarily when my sons were
> > learning to helm and trim.  By the time they were teenagers, they both
> > regarded S/V Dynamic Equilibrium as their own personal amusement park
> > ride.  But, only when their mother wasn’t on board!  I always told them
> it
> > only gets really interesting when the small craft warnings are posted!
> > When dad put his safety harness on, their eyes would open wide and they’d
> > scramble below to find their harnesses. They both knew firsthand that dad
> > was nuts and there was some fun in store.  I like to wear my harness over
> > my PFD.  When you’re sailing this aggressively, you frequently get tossed
> > into hard “stuff”.  The PFD provides some cushioning.
> >
> > Roger Pihlaja
> > S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> > > On Nov 24, 2020, at 10:19 AM, Jesse Shumaker <
> > jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Roger, thanks for the details on the sail trim.  You had mentioned
> some
> > > configurations where the boat would tend to heel further rather than
> > round
> > > up if conditions strengthen.  I'm curious, have you had any knockdowns
> in
> > > cases where the helmsman didn't ease the mainsheet in time or feather
> up
> > > into the wind when there's a sudden gust?  I'm always trying to read
> the
> > > water for wind, but there are cases when things get busy and I have
> been
> > > occasionally surprised by a gust when I was distracted.  I wasn't sure
> if
> > > you had any memorable HOLY SHIT moments as you alluded to in your note.
> > We
> > > always enjoy your advice and tales of adventure!
> > >
> > > Jesse Shumaker
> > > S/V Zephyr
> > >
> > >
> > >> On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 5:39 PM ROGER PIHLAJA <Roger_Pihlaja at msn.com>
> > wrote:
> > >>
> > >> Hi All,
> > >>
> > >> Let me state up front that S/V Dynamic Equilibrium’s sail are not OEM
> > >> stock and neither is the roller furler.  I have owned the boat since
> > 1987
> > >> and will tell you what I’ve ended up with after a lot of
> > experimentation.
> > >> The main sail is a very roachy, fully battened, club racing HD dacron
> > >> sail.  It has 3 rows of jiffy reef points.  The headsail is a 150%
> genoa
> > >> made of Bainbridge’s Cruise-Lam sailcloth in a Bi-Radial construction.
> > >> Cruise-Lam is composite sailcloth with dacron outer layers, a Kevlar
> > scrim,
> > >> and a core of mylar.  The sail has a foam luff pad to enable it to
> take
> > >> full advantage of the upper and lower swivels on the Harken Unit 0
> > roller
> > >> furler it’s flown on.  As the winds build, my 1st move is to lower the
> > >> mainsail’s gooseneck to the lower position.  The next step is to put a
> > reef
> > >> in the mainsail.  This configuration allows the boat to be sailed with
> > the
> > >> leeward rub rail in the water and virtually no weather helm.  However,
> > you
> > >> must keep your hands on the sheets and steer to the waves because a
> > gust or
> > >> helmsman error will put the leeward cockpit gunnel under water faster
> > than
> > >> you can say, “HOLY SHIT!”!  It will NOT round up in this configuration
> > and
> > >> the sails will not distort, spill wind, or save you.  Gusts cause so
> > much
> > >> acceleration that it sets you right down in your seat.  It’s really
> > quite
> > >> addictive!  Roller reefing the genoa down to ~130% will allow the boat
> > to
> > >> sail more up right, not scare my wife, and allow the autopilot to
> drive
> > the
> > >> boat.  The next step is to put a second reef in the mainsail.  As the
> > wind
> > >> builds, leaving the genoa at 130% with 2 reefs in the mainsail will
> > enable
> > >> maximum boat speed with minimal weather helm at the expense of
> constant
> > >> required manual vigilance on the helm and sheets.  Roller reefing the
> > genoa
> > >> down to ~110% in these conditions will make the boat docile enough
> that
> > the
> > >> autopilot can still control it on any point of sail with the wind
> > forward
> > >> of a broad reach.  Roller reefing down to 110% is about as small as
> the
> > >> Harken Unit 0 roller furler can reef the sail while still maintaining
> > >> reasonable sail shape.  When the genoa is roller reefed down to <
> 110%,
> > the
> > >> mainsail needs a 3rd reef in order to balance the helm.
> > >>
> > >> In summary, reduce mainsail area or lower the center of effort first,
> > >> either by lowering the boom, or reefing.  As the wind builds, the
> > strategy
> > >> of leaving maximum possible sail area forward of the mast will reduce
> > >> weather helm, maximize boat speed, and pointing ability.
> > >>
> > >> Here on the Great Lakes, there is a lot of light air in the summer,
> > >> punctuated by periods of heavy weather.  I cope by flying cruising and
> > >> tri-radial spinnakers during the light air.  I found the 175% genoa
> was
> > cut
> > >> too heavy to fly well in light air and the sail could only be reefed
> > down
> > >> to ~130% before the shape was hopelessly compromised.  Remember this
> was
> > >> with a Harken Unit 0 roller furler with upper and lower swivels and a
> > foam
> > >> luff pad.  The OEM roller furler and sails will not be able to do as
> > well.
> > >> But, my sail shape standards might be higher than yours.  I never
> found
> > the
> > >> 175% genoa to be particularly difficult to tack.
> > >>
> > >> Roger Pihlaja
> > >> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> > >>
> > >> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
> > >> Windows 10
> > >>
> > >>
> >
>