Regattas and obsession with weight

[gadangit]

I am not oblivious to the fact that in a theoretical world a lighter boat will be faster than a heavier boat with the same sail plan. What I'm trying to resolve is the absolute obsession with weight on production "race" boats that are 20,000lb+. Does removing 100lbs of ancillary galley items, extra plastic spoons, extra potable water, toilet paper, etc. make any difference? At what point does choosing lighter sporks over titanium utensils make a difference? Is there a formula for this type of thing?

I was slightly amused last week when after our regatta it was discovered that one water tank was completely full when it should have been empty. Nobody dared tell the skipper. But I can recall a few tactical decisions over 186 miles that (probably) impacted the results of the race far more than a few extra lbs of water. But I could be wrong.

Love to hear from the racers out there.

Chris

 

[supersailor]

Racing

From an old guy that used to race a lot and is now more relaxed (well mostly), if you are in a completive class and have a very strong desire to win, any weight reduction is beneficial along with new sails, crack crew, etc. The small speed increase adds up over time. It can even make up for some oops in the strategy department. If you are more of the Club race/ occasional race type (me now) the advantage is much smaller. The race is supposed to be fun. Do you really care if you are #1? If you do, you will remove the weight. Me? Now I have fun mixing it up a little and enjoying the comradeship afterwards. Wednesday night races (beer can) are great.

 

[Loren Beach]

I used to race a lot, almost all OD and Level Fleet. I know a number of ocean racers nowadays.
I view "weight watching" in two parts:

1) reducing actual weight is proportionate to the length of time racing. i.e. if are worrying about smaller poundage, like under 5#, it would factor in only if the time is longer, like a race to HA or similar. Even those much-laughed-about nano-knots do add up in hundreds of miles a day. But even then there is a point of vanishing returns where other forms of boat prep are more important, like reducing weight and windage aloft.

2) getting everyone on board to really focus on total boat weight - I know a successful ocean racer who always asked crew to cut off the handle of their tooth brushes before coming aboard! This did not make the boat any faster, but when they looked over their kit bag they were ready to listen to the skipper's demands for limiting clothing changes, sundries, and etc.

Example: When we were buoy-racing our prior 26 footer, we quickly found that we were noticeably quicker after I took all the cruising "stuff" ashore, like pots/pans, canned goods, spare anchor and chain, and, well, you get the idea. Drained almost all of the water tank.
I figured that I removed around 250# or more from a 4K# boat. I recall that we lost only one race all summer.

You still have to be going in the right direction more often than your competitors, however!


Cheers,
Loren

 

[Christian Williams]

Ocean racing multihulls had bathroom scales on the dock and weight of everything brought aboard was recorded. It's a really big deal with multihulls.

For racing boats with carbon fiber and pipe berths and no hatches, light weight is also critical if you want to keep up with the other Farr 40s.

For a Swann 60 I don't think it would make any difference at all. Not much on my little boat, either.

But crew weight, ah. Skippers don't pay enough attention to that. Lots in heavy air, few in light. Move them fore and aft and out over the rail like the dead weights they are.

I have a friend whose experimental aircraft, a Berkut, was nose heavy and out of trim. The experts told him what the problem was. He needed to lose 30 pounds.