With the lack of a true winter in the Northeast, I’m looking to start working on my newly acquired F25 in the next couple weeks. Though my wife thinks I got it solely for crusing with her, in truth I’m going to race it (or a friend of mine will) as much as possible, though we’ll definitely day cruise. I’m going to make a new main for the boat with a slightly fat head, and also a new kite that will probably be just a touch bigger than the standard measured kite. The boat has a wing mast and an inboard engine. My problem is I have to submit a PHRF certificate and I’m realy not sure where the boat is going to rate, it may not even be worth it. What do other F-25’s rate in PHRF around the country? I’ve looked thru the US Sailing lists, and many area lists, but few have the F25 rated.
I think right around 200 is what I’ve seen for the round mast; a little lower (e.g. 190) for the wingmast and staysail versions. I think there is a PHRF list somewhere on this site.
I think what you’re looking for is
http://www.freedomyachts.org/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=10302&p=40804&hilit=Phrf#p40804
– Geoff
I just mailed my application and check yesterday. I’ll be racing Wednesday nights with the Cottage Park Yacht Club (I belong to Winthrop Yacht Club) in Boston Harbor. I’m expecting around 204. Round mast, inboard, fixed two blade, and a staysail.
I just bought the boat in November and am looking forward to just getting out without worrying about crew like my last boat. I’ve got three new Haarstick sails.
Jack
Moose,
I just got my certificate back from the Boston Harbor fleet. Base is 201 plus 6 for the prop (inboard) so the rating is 207.
My Wednesday night group just voted to allow spinnakers so I’ll be getting an update.
I launched last Thursday and motored it from Beverly to Winthrop on Saturday.
Jack
I just got the designs for the main and spinnaker, now I have the areas so I’m sending all that in to PHRF-NB. In an old rating on the bay the F25 was 222 but I think I’m going to be in the 196 range with the spinnaker and 204 without.
Well, I ended up getting a 237, which I think might be generous (though I don’t have a jib, which would really help speed wise, I do have the inboard, wing mast version) but I have to sail a couple times to get it figured. I did a 29 mile race Saturday around Aquidneck Island (Newport is on the south end, we started north near the Mount Hope Bridge). The start was a run, downwind we had a great duel with a C&C99, F3 and Sabre 38, we were all Spinnaker. I was surprised that we sailed away from J-30’s and other ~30’ers so that was good. I was able to do a couple quicker maneuvers and actually led boat for boat after the first 12 miles, which was pretty slick, but then we had to go on the wind. I have a new Technora fat head main and I immediately two-blocked the mainsheet so we had to beat about 15 miles with the main only partially trimmed, at least we got to watch all our friends sail by us. I have to either cut some off the leech of the main, which I don’t want to do, or figure a better way of configuring the mainsheet which I’d prefer to do since I hate the build up of blocks (about 15" worth) from the current system. If I can figure a good way of leading the mainsheet off a double block to either side with ratchets I think I’ll be pretty good. Just have to noodle it a little.
I’ve seen F25’s with main traveler in the cockpit, which takes a lot of space. But I am thinking about running a much more simple system which will lead it back to the mast and along the deck, my biggest concern with this is the rotation of the mast verse boom while having a tight sheet connecting the 2.
I have thought of the same thing and can’t figure out how to get around the mast arm getting in the way. Setting the blocks further aft on the boom will keep the mast from rotating. Bit of a poser.
Hello Moose,
Could you post some pictures of your new sail.
Thanks
Jim D
If I can find some, sure. I think thre was someone taking pictures at the start, then you can see the new kite as well.
I have a nice beam on shortof the boat going upwind with the fat head but I can’t upload it, anyone have a guess as to why it’s invalid?
I havd been racing the boat with mixed results. Most of the racing has been in very light conditions which killed me on a pursuit race where I was the first starter and didn’t help in the other races as the breeze filled from ahead, I don’t have a jib so I get killed until the breeze fills. I’ve been very impressed with the downwind speed, I go about as well or better than a J-30 which owes me almost 100 secs mile in Narragansett Bay. I get crushed upwind in all conditions though the 10-14 range in flat water I’m not that far off. I sailed a regatta this weekend with just my daughter crewing in about 15-20, the first race we port tacked the fleet (4 J-30’s, a Pearson 36, a Kirby 30 and two Graves Constellations) and though they all passed me by the first mark I was close. Downwind I passed the Kirby, one of the J-30’s (who was using an Assymetic on a prod) and the Graves, and caught up to another of the J-30’s and P36. As we rounded the leeward mark, with a fetch to the finish, the Spectra strap I had holding the main sheet block on the boom broke so we floundered for a bit while I jury rigged, in the long run we couldn’t pull the main in far enough and sort of reached our way back up wind. That said, we were still 3rd corrected, 2 minutes out of 1st (and we sat luffing for 3 minutes and didn’t lay). In the 2nd race we port tacked the fleet again, got passed by everyone again and were close at the weather mark. Unfortunately, while I was fixing the main block between races I didn’t have enough time to straighten out the kite and the take down line got snarled on the hoist. While I was trying to get it undone the foot of the kite got stuck on the pole blocks on the gun mount and ripped the foot tape off so we dropped out. Could have been worse but it shows there are times when the boat goes OK.
maybe the picture size is too big. I think 100KB is the max size.
I would love to see the picture of your new sail. Would you be able to email it to me at jim3bk@comcast.net
jim D
Here’s a shot of the boat with the kite up. The boat in front of me is a C&C 99, this is after 8 miles of sailing, he owed me 1:43 mile. I passed him about 5 minutes later, but then we turned upwind for a 16 mile beat and he kicked my ass.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_hopkins/7616373636/in/photostream/
Actually, I just looked, he owed me more than 2 1/2 minutes a mile so at this point I was sailing 20 minutes over my rating. Too bad it didn’t last.
I’m learning a lot more about how to sail the boat, which has been interesting. I did a single handed race this weekend, I have set up a small line that goes to the mast arm and I can pre-rotate the rig as I go into the tack. It doesn’t go as far as I thought it should but proved to be much faster to have the mast less rotated, this was how Yarrow thought it should look when we did a race earlier this year. By under rotating it the mid leech is standing up better and I have more power and point. This does make the tip more flexible but I put the runner on to stabilize it and that seemed to do the trick. In 10-15 knots I was just a little lower than the boats with headsails and staying between 5.2 and 5.4 over the bottom against the current, best the boat has felt.
With the boat set up this way I was able to stay within sight of the lead boat in my class, and smoke a J-24 (which wasn’t very well sailed), on a 6 mile beat. between reaching and running to the finish, without a kite, I caught back up 6 minutes on the lead boat (an O’Day 34), pass a double handed C&C 99 and almost caught a double handed Pearson 28 (he beat me by 30 seconds across the line), both of which started 5 minutes ahead of me, so the boat is definitely going better. Great fun, the only time I sail the boat is when I race so I’ve got a good guage with other boats as far as how well they’re being sailed, at this rate I’ll be competitive in a couple years.
That is great to hear,
I launch Gonzo in 1.5 hrs, so we will have to do a bit of match racing. old verse new, so you can see what it feel like to beat boats by a lot 
. send me an email of your new line for prerotation of rig, I also feel yor mast bears are not working properly, but sounds like the rig settings are getting refined which is great to hear.
Actually, if I spray dry lube into the collar it’s very slippery and rotates easily. I did this for the weekend and the mast rotated ver freely. I’m thining that I should replace the metal collar with Delrin, this would take care of the rpoblem for the most part.
For the tacking line, I just put bullet blocks on the stanchions just aft of the mast, I have a continuous loop that runs aft behind the traveler. When tacking, as the boat goes head to wind I just pull on the new leeward line and it pops the mast right over, quick and easy. It doesn’t work as well for gybing, still working on that one.
My 1st sail of the season was really great, I just upgraded my upper bearing with new material a bit thinner and for the 1st time it tacks by its self which is really great.
what material did you use?