Posted by clivaday (clivaday@…>)
Is anyone actively racing a deep keel Freedom 21? If so, I would like
to know the rating handicap of your boat, and your overall
performance with that handicap; also, any suggestions for go-fasts,
equipment, sails, location of jib/genoa leads, upwind performance,
etc. Thanks. Charlie, F21 #212, Windfall, Mobile Bay, Alabama
Posted by Charles Rush Arasim (crarasim@…>)
I’ve been racing my F21 DK 1983 #104 for about a year now. I’m
running in our Portsmouth class…but I have run in the PHRF class
also…they have given me a 228 in PHRF. I’ve been using the
large staysail (200%) and have been giving 2 Catalina25s, a US26, and
a Hunter26 WB a real run for their $$. I sail the boat fairly flat,
like a dingy and this helps with the unpwind performance. She really
goes great off wind and downwind with the spinnakar (with the gun
mount system you can reach with the spinnaker and use it like an
asymetrical). Been doing this mostly single handed and it really
cooks my competition that I can fly a spinnaker alone. I have an
autopilot that I use when running to the fordeck to move the halyard
on the headsail changes (be sure you tuck the staysail under your
spinnaker snuffing sleeve so it wont get caught in the headsail
halyard turning block on the deck)… I’m thinking of making a bag
tied to the oppisite side of the pulpit to stuff the staysail in.
If you play around with the main trim and hold your course you’ll see
the boat come up with the main sligtly eased. I try to keep the
traveler down, just to the edge of the companionway (use the vang to
control the main and rig the 1st reef as a cunningham), it seems to
work well and I can point right with the other boats.
I took the Rio Grande Sailing Club’s RGSC fall series (set of 4
weekend races) Portsmouth champoinship last year. The boat seems to
do well in almost any kind of wind…the more wind the better. We
had one weekend where even the J24’s didn’t fly their spinnakers and
I did (30mph+ winds)…I had a fellow helming for me that weekend
(his first time) and we where doing 10kts downwind. Don’t think I
would have done that alone, would have been to much to handle and
spinnaker broaches are not too much fun…
I’ve laid off this spring due to a knee problem and I ordered a new
set of sails from Steve Haarstick. The knee is better and the sails
came last night…I’ll be going racing again this coming weekend.
Now I have both the large and small staysails.
I think the biggest trick in keeping in the lead is to get good
starts, I have a tendency to lay off the time a few seconds and barge
down the clear end of the line while the rest of the fleet is all
tied up together “on time” somewhere farther down the line. This has
given me clear air starts and I just tack away from the rest of the
fleet and I’m gone. I then keep any of them who challenge me in my
dirty air all the way to the mark…I get the spinnakerer up fast and
I’m gone on the downwind…then I have such a lead there is nothing
they can do. If I get shadowed on the downwind we just trade the
lead back on forth…eventually someone on their crew makes a
mistake and I’m gone again. At least thats what happened last
year…
I have bags in the cockpit to keep all the lines in…after each
headsail change I use the autopilot for a short time so I can clean
all the lines up…I’m very methodical on every tack and
gyb…making sure no mistakes will be made…the boat works…
Charlie A.
Rio Rancho, NM
RGSC Elephant Butte, NM