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Great success racing an E34!

sailingdeacon

Member III
Just had to tell of the great success racing my '87 E34! While I cruised for many years I got into racing a few years ago(at ate 64) and started slowly with this boat - with an old shortened roller furling 140. Then bought an ill fitting 150 short genoa off ebay for nearly nothing and the boat responded far better than anyone expected. Finally I got a pentex 155 (I measured incorectly so it is likely a 150) this year with adjustable lead cars and WOW! Just this weekend beat a racing Beneteau 40 and accomplished skipper in a 20 mile race. Am doing super in round the buoys. The boat is really quite fast (132) but we are doing even better relatively. And this with a 155 ROLLER furling triadial. If you have one of these boats your really ought to give racing a try. The boat is driven almost completely by the headsail. Also I remove the heavy 60' chain and 120 rode and anchor, empty the water tanks, clean the bottom and watch her go!
 

ccorcoran

Member II
Excellent!

So nice to know that we've chosen wisely! Congratulations; sounds like you're really having fun. We've been racing our E34 intermitently for the past few years in the north end of the San Francisco bay. We replaced the main and last year and installed a new Harken Big Boat traveler with significant improvements. However, the jib, an original cut down that resembled a storm sail on steroids, wasn't really working. We just had Quantum build us a new 120 and the difference is unbelievable. The winds here in the SF bay area are notoriously strong (average 16 to 25 knots), so the 120 us actually on the large size. The good news is that the Quantum jib works beautifully when furled (there are 2 furl marks on the jib). Long story short, with the new sail, the boat is a rocket. It used to be really tender going to weather in 17 knots of wind. Now, going to weather in 25 knot winds and the boat is sailing upright! We used to be hard pressed to make 6.5+ knots; now, we're routinely in the mid 7s! SailingDeacon is right on the money -- the late 34s are truly driven by the their jibs! Now, if I could only trade the SF bay rating of 122 for a more realistic 140+...
 

escapade

Inactive Member
rating!?

Chris;
Wow, a 122. We get a 135 JAM & 132 spin rating here in the Great Lakes. Sounds like you need to take the fleet measurer out for a couple cocktails or something. I'm finding the same thing with Escapade. Over 20 kn the #1 needs to be rolled up a bit or we are too overpowered to sail fast. Really need a new one but maybe next years budget will allow. The boats are suprisingly fast, especially in lighter air. Was getting 5.2kn in 6 kn true wind yersterday. I sense Doug is really getting the "bug" now. We started out just cruising but now find we really enjoy the competion, also.
Have fun & sail fast
Bud E34 "Escapade"
 

Seth

Sustaining Partner
34 Racers

Great work guys! Just a few other tips from the peanut gallery:

All Ericson racers and wannabe racers take note of the "deacon"'s last line about removing the anchor and rode(from the bow-not from the boat!), emptying the water tanks, carrying only as much fuel as you need, and in general get as much uneeded gear leaning stuff as you can off the boat. This will make a HUGE difference-huge!

If possible, use an adjustable backstay-even a "crank" style which uses a winch handle-anything is better than nothing when it comes to reducing headstay sag when the breeze is up (or inducing it when it's not!), and flattening the mainsail (by bending the mast) in heavier air.

Finally, although you are loving how much the Genoa drives the boat, I think you will find that with a properly shaped and built mainsail (that can be flattened with a backstay adjuster) you will find another "gear" that the boat can "shift" into when going upwind, and reaching and running in light air a full sized roach (which few if any oif you have ) will make a big improvement!

Best of luck all! You know where to find me if you have questions!

Good sailing all!
Seth
 

sailingdeacon

Member III
Right on Seth!

I keep a smaller danforth and rope for emergencies. Before leaving the dock I simply let the big anchor/chain pay out and coil the rode on a piling. Very easy to put back aboard.

I agree on your main comments. Luckily I have a flattening reef line and a shelf that can be adjusted and we do take advantage of it where we can. And I forgot to add I found a used hydraulic backstay adjuster that definitely adds to pointing - and consider that I have a shoal draft version. A local sailmaker insisted I get the backstay adjuster even before the new 155 (!)

And by the way, perhaps I should confess that my id of "sailingdeacon" in no way implies piety. My second love is Wake Forest Deacon sports. So I connect the two.
 

ccorcoran

Member II
You are correct sir...

Seth, et al,

Thanks for the additional comments. You're 100% right about the backstay adjuster. I just installed a Sailtec and Bud was kind enough to supply photos of his Sailtec installation of a year earlier; I'm not sure if Doug has an adjuster. On our boat, the difference is clear and the quick adjustability (getting rid of headstay sag upwind and flattening the main) is really nice. As for excess weight, I couldn't agree more; lose the anchor and rode, empty the bow and starboard water tanks and keep any excess weight available on the rails, not below! BTW, as many of us 34 owners know, there's a slight list to starboard inherent in the E34s. After a good deal of research, I've found that the factory (PS, not Ericson) added approximately 200 lbs. of weight under the galley/cooler to correct this probem; I've added about 120 lbs. and I keep the port water tank full which about evens thinks out.
 

Nigel Barron

Notorious Iconoclast
A dead horse

Just wanted say again how I can't agree more about how important it is to keep weight out of the ends of the Ericson. On my 27, we move everything from the bow and stern to the center of the boat when racing. In the Puget Sound, where there is not much sea state, but rather more chop, the boat has a tendency to bob around and come to a complete stop in chop. As such, centering the weight as low as possible, and getting as much weight out of the rig as possible will help. In some conditions, we even have all the crew except the driver sit on the floor!

nigel
 
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