Keeping the Scot flat with a light crew

Submitted by johncallis on Mon, 07/09/2007 - 15:41
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Racer's Rap

My wife and I weigh 115 lbs. and 180 lbs. and we sail on the Great South Bay of Long Island where we frequently encounter 15 - 20 mile per hour winds. We can control the boat but it requires constant easing of the main. I'm sure we are healing too much, and our speed is compromised.
I recently observed two guys that did not weigh much more than us. May be 20 lbs. and their boat was flat and fast. How can we flatten our boat out. We are already working the vang, cunningham and outhaul, and trying to hike out. Maybe we aren't working these things properly, or maybe there is something we are missing.
Any advice would be appreciated, as sailing with a third is not the solution we are looking for.

Thank You
John
3873

johncallis

Sun, 07/15/2007 - 06:49

quote:[i]Originally posted by Gallus 102[/i]
[br]Everything that Tripp said.

Feathering is the most important after you do the other things. What seems to work is to first ease the main till the boom end is over the transom corner. When that alone will no longer keep the boat flat, feather up. Sheet in every chance you get, even if it is only for a second or two.

NB--Don't forget to ease the vang before rounding the windward mark--you'll probably break it if the wind is that strong as you bear off.
Thanks, I have been pulling on the vang quite hard but I will try to pull on it a little more. Feathering the boat to windward sounds a little bit like pinching, and I've always thought that you don't want to do that. I will try it, but if feathering is nothing like pinching than maybe you could explain how it is done.

John
3873

Dave812

Sun, 07/15/2007 - 17:50

My wife and I face a similar challege, we weigh about 310 combined. We have pretty good speed in lighter air but when the breeze gets to 15 we start to slip back in the pack.
I think it is important to consider the waves when deciding how to sail in breeze. In flatter water it is ok to help manage heel by pinching a bit after easing the main to try to keep the boat on it feet. Once the waves get up pinching should be avoided, this is when you need to keep the boat driving fast. The best way to do this is hike, play the mainsheet constantly and move the jib leads back a bit to open the jib leach (along with the other controls mentioned). Snug rig may be better than loose in areas like the great South Bay where it is frequently breezy.
Having said that, there is no substitute for weight on the rail. It is really hard to hang with a boat that has 425 or 450 lb crews when the breeze is on. We feel we must make gains on the spinnaker runs to help make up what we lose on the beats. I hope to get better at this but it isn't easy. Sailing with a third is not something we will be doing very often. Good luck.

Dave812

Fri, 07/20/2007 - 03:51

Agreed. I made my comments specifically regarding the great south bay on the south side of Long Island.

I sailed there quite a few times (not on a Scot) about 15 years ago. They get a healthy seabreeze of maybe 15 on average but 20 is not unusual from the SSW. I would guess the fetch is 4 to 5 miles from the south to north across the bay. In those winds the waves would be around 3 feet, fairly steep and close together, some breaking, some not.

This seems like it would be a very challenging place to sail a Scot especially at 300lbs. Getting caught by those waves in pinch mode would really slow the boat down. I think you would have to keep the jib powered up and work the main constantly to manage heal, boat speed would be my priority.