RedHerring
Member II
My context is short- or singlehanded ocean cruising, majority of which is going downwind. The sails I've got are main, 135% genoa, a conservatively-sized (I'd say, 120% of J) asymmetric chute and a storm jib on its own stay. Have a J-sized spinnaker pole.
So far, for true winds from 10 to 20 kt we just set a poled out genoa and drop the main and point the bow straight down. Less than 10, the genoa is replaced with a chute (still no main). Above 20kt, I start furling the genoa in, and somewhere around 30kt furl the genoa all in and raise the storm jib.
Questions for the collective wisdom, especially to those of you who race an E35-2, in no particular order:
* What can I do to sail faster in light/medium winds, without adding much crew workload or sail inventory?
* If I try broad reaching with genoa and main, instead of running, what should my angles be? I kind of feel that I end up steering far off course for the genoa to stop collapsing in the mainsail shadow.
* Where are the optimum sheeting points for the genoa and spinnaker (for downwind sailing)?
* How to reduce the main slatting in a swell?
* How to balance the boat when broad reaching? At hull speed with 10ft swell from the aft quarter, the stern gets kicked around when a wave crest passes, the windvane oscillates quite a lot under these conditions, and my (vintage) electric autopilot simply can't cope.
So far, for true winds from 10 to 20 kt we just set a poled out genoa and drop the main and point the bow straight down. Less than 10, the genoa is replaced with a chute (still no main). Above 20kt, I start furling the genoa in, and somewhere around 30kt furl the genoa all in and raise the storm jib.
Questions for the collective wisdom, especially to those of you who race an E35-2, in no particular order:
* What can I do to sail faster in light/medium winds, without adding much crew workload or sail inventory?
* If I try broad reaching with genoa and main, instead of running, what should my angles be? I kind of feel that I end up steering far off course for the genoa to stop collapsing in the mainsail shadow.
* Where are the optimum sheeting points for the genoa and spinnaker (for downwind sailing)?
* How to reduce the main slatting in a swell?
* How to balance the boat when broad reaching? At hull speed with 10ft swell from the aft quarter, the stern gets kicked around when a wave crest passes, the windvane oscillates quite a lot under these conditions, and my (vintage) electric autopilot simply can't cope.