Forums, Mast, Rigging and Sails, new resolutions racingsails

christophe at 19/03/2011 19:31:43
Within 6 weeks we’ll start racing again, first race Itchenor! Will there be already boats with exotic headsails? We’l be racing with classic dacron nr 1, 2 and 3. I suppose there will be a kind of transition period?

gregcope at 20/03/2011 20:22:53
I cannot seem to find the updated rules – have they been published?

moongirl at 20/03/2011 20:29:16
Christophe
We will all be sailing with the ‘normal’ sails I believe. Its interesting that we competed in the Portsmouth SC Autumn Series using the conventional sails whilst Concerto used her ‘high tech’ rig. In conditions where the Number 1 would be used we were signifacantly faster but over 20 knots when we were using Number 2 Concerto was faster. See you at Itchenor

christophe at 20/03/2011 20:42:48
Thanks Colin..looking forward seeing you all again!

George Isted at 21/03/2011 12:01:42

Hi Christophe,
The rules for the alternative racing sails are being finalised, in order to get these correct it takes a bit of time and we are consulting with sail makers to ensure that the rules are “robust”. The technical committee are aware that it is important to get these out and available as soon as possible and we are working on that.

NickVBaker at 05/07/2011 17:51:27
Dear George

I’m just about to order a laminated smaller roller genoa, mainly for short-handed cruising. But I would obviously like it to comply with any forthcoming class rules. The sailmaker has suggested a 130% genoa – would this comply, or are the exact dimensions specified?

I’ld be very grateful for your comments.

Regards

Nick Baker
French Herring

Richard Ritchie at 06/07/2011 08:43:39
Nick,
Just a caution about laminates for a cruiser: the sailmakers admit they are very much more susceptible to mildew when rolled. You can pay even more for treatments, but…
I did not want to have to dry and remove my sail each time I leave the boat for a week in harbour.
I went the route of a vectron woven sail which is both lighter and meant to be almost the same performance… Speak to Peter Sanders if you wnat to explore this side of teh discussion: others push laminates but I was unconvinced for cruising.
We went for a No 2 size: 29.5m2 which handles very nicely.

George Isted at 06/07/2011 17:25:23
NickVBaker
Dear George

Nick Baker
French Herring

Hi Nick, I think a 130% genoa is a pretty good compromise on size for cruising. The new rules will state that the size should be no more than 33sq M which is about the maximum size of the current No2. The laminate genoa I had made by Sanders was primarily for the AZAB and family cruising and is just a smidge smaller than 29sq m, this gave me a lower IRC handicap but in retrospect I wish I had gone for 31sq m for a bit more light air performance. That said when cruising in light airs the engine tends to go on if the wind goes really light and progress is slow. For information, when sailing alongside Carolina last week (who had a new Dacron No2) in around 6-9kts of wind there was no difference in boat speed (we were both trimming like crazy). As for materials, A Pentex laminate sail cloth is now legal (and is what I have) but it is up to you if this is what you want to go for as they do suffer with mildew more than a woven material as it does not breath. I tend to remove my genoa and store below if I’m not using the boat for a couple of weeks. The rule wording will allow any woven and/or laminated polyester/Dacron so no Kevlar, Carbon or other Aramids allowed. If you go for a laminate it must have a taffeta coating on each side, this adds weight but is absolutely worth it for a cruising sail – again I have this on mine. Having done more than 4,000 miles over two years with my furling laminate headsail from Sanders I am very pleased with it. I hope this helps but feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.

NickVBaker at 07/07/2011 09:42:42
Dear Richard and George

Thank you very much for that helpfull information. Its good to be warned about the mildew problem – I shall discuss it with the sailmaker Gowen Ocean. Because we do quite a bit of short handed sailing, I’m being a bit of a wimp and going for a sail smaller than a No2 – probably about 26sqm. I shall still keep my furling No1 for racing.

Thanks again and good sailing.

Nick Baker
French Herring

George Isted at 07/07/2011 16:33:56

No problem Nick.

I can’t help thinking that 26 sq m is a bit on the small side even if it is just for shorthanded sailing. for general use I would not want to go any smaller than what I have at 29sq m which rolls down to a No 3 size sail very nicely, then on to a No 4 but with a lump of sail around the forestay.
Last month I spent about 48 hours under triple reefed main and genoa rolled up to approx. No 4 size and we were still making good progress at 5 kts and would have been faster if it wasn’t such a horrible sea state!

Richard Ritchie at 07/07/2011 17:21:31
I would support that.
We are finding our 29.5m2 vectron (Also from Peter Sanders: his recommended size) is very handy too: I would not want it to be smaller for use by myself and my wife.
It reefs down well, but I would like a No 3/4 on a separate stay for inshore gales. My 6m2 Storm jib balances well with 3 reef main, but not quite enough punch for F7/8 and a real Solent wind against tide chop.

christophe at 10/07/2011 10:24:15
Are the new resolutions accepted already or is there still a new vote to come? I’ve talked to some members who said it was not yet sure that the rules will change…

Alastair Pugh at 10/07/2011 11:01:32
George Isted

Hi Christophe, I doubt that anyone will turn up to Itchenor with a laminate headsail or main but they would be entitled to do so as long as they meet the new rule.


Seems a bit woolly to me. The rules are as published and they specifically ban laminates from class racing. The “new”, yet to be finalised, version may be known to the cognoscenti but doesn’t seem to be available unless a copy of the AGM proposal was kept – and I didn’t.
In March the new rule was to be available in the “next couple of weeks”. How can anyone order a new sail with the uncertainty of complying with the material and size?

George Isted at 12/07/2011 17:52:31
Alastair Pugh

Seems a bit woolly to me. The rules are as published and they specifically ban laminates from class racing. The “new”, yet to be finalised, version may be known to the cognoscenti but doesn’t seem to be available unless a copy of the AGM proposal was kept – and I didn’t.
In March the new rule was to be available in the “next couple of weeks”. How can anyone order a new sail with the uncertainty of complying with the material and size?

Hi Alastair,
First of all I completely understand how you feel, we have not done a great job of getting these “new” rules finalised and published – life and offshore racing seem to get in the way. However from conversations I have had with sailmakers new sails are being built to the “new” rules as voted on at the AGM.

I am assured that the wording is going to be finalised shortly, once the committee are happy that the wording is suitably robust and clear it will be put on the class website.

While the rules where agreed at the AGM the exact wording was not, that is why they are not part of the current rules on the website and will need ratification at the next AGM. However I believe that they are a step forward in making it easier for owners to race and they are applicable now. When Concerto if fixed (I broke her a bit on the way to the Azores) we will be racing with my Pentex furling headsail (that is approx 29sqm).

For information my Pentex furling genoa has now done over 4000 miles and is still in excellent condition, more importantly it is as fast and the same shape now as it was when new.

Best wishes