Reefing a F35 Wing Keel

Posted by sitchmo (sylvanm@…>)

We were coming home from Cuttyhunk today under full sail on our 1993
F35, Apsara. This boat is still rather new to us. It was blowing
around 10 to 13 knots and we were moving along nicely. It started
gusting to 18 and we got immediately headed-up. I decided to put in
one reef, only to shake it out shortly thereafter.

Any thoughts on this? Should I have just waited for the gusts to past?
Dropped the jib or let the main out more? Any advice on what to do
when you get getting headed-up like this?

Thanks - Mac

Posted by michel.capel (michel.capel@…>)

Mac,
I think you did right; you followed your gutfeel. To keep the boat
balanced, keep the jib in place as long as you feel wise. Most yachts,
and certainly all Freedoms I know, want a reef as soon as they heel
more than 20*. These boats want this to keep steerage and prevent
headers-up. If after one reef heeling becomes more than 20* again, put
in the second reef and the boat keeps moving at its optimal speed.
It’s not a sign of good seamanship or experience to keep sailing with
a boat that’s heeling 30* or more. People perhaps do this just to
scare off girls? I don’t know, I always reef as soon as the kettle
starts rattling on the stove. ;^) And my butt doesn’t like sliding off
the cockpit seat…

regards,
michel capel

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “sitchmo” <sylvanm@…>
wrote:

We were coming home from Cuttyhunk today under full sail on our 1993
F35, Apsara. This boat is still rather new to us. It was blowing
around 10 to 13 knots and we were moving along nicely. It started
gusting to 18 and we got immediately headed-up. I decided to put in
one reef, only to shake it out shortly thereafter.

Any thoughts on this? Should I have just waited for the gusts to
past?
Dropped the jib or let the main out more? Any advice on what to do
when you get getting headed-up like this?

Thanks - Mac

Posted by Fred Molden (fredmolden@…>)

Hi Mac, In our Freedom 35 we put the first reef in at 18kts apparent and a second at 23 kts (sometimes the second goes in at 18 and the boat moves just as well, in fact I think it is better balanced with two reefs).
Fred

----- Original Message -----
From: michel.capel
To: freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 04, 2006 4:17 PM
Subject: [freedomyachts2003] Re: Reefing a F35 Wing Keel


Mac,I think you did right; you followed your gutfeel. To keep the boat balanced, keep the jib in place as long as you feel wise. Most yachts, and certainly all Freedoms I know, want a reef as soon as they heel more than 20*. These boats want this to keep steerage and prevent headers-up. If after one reef heeling becomes more than 20* again, put in the second reef and the boat keeps moving at its optimal speed. It’s not a sign of good seamanship or experience to keep sailing with a boat that’s heeling 30* or more. People perhaps do this just to scare off girls? I don’t know, I always reef as soon as the kettle starts rattling on the stove. ;^) And my butt doesn’t like sliding off the cockpit seat…regards, michel capel— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “sitchmo” <sylvanm@…> wrote:>> We were coming home from Cuttyhunk today under full sail on our 1993> F35, Apsara. This boat is still rather new to us. It was blowing> around 10 to 13 knots and we were moving along nicely. It started> gusting to 18 and we got immediately headed-up. I decided to put in> one reef, only to shake it out shortly thereafter.> > Any thoughts on this? Should I have just waited for the gusts to past?> Dropped the jib or let the main out more? Any advice on what to do> when you get getting headed-up like this?> > Thanks - Mac>

Posted by Thomas Wales (twales@…>)

Hi Mac,
Our sail on Saturday off Pemaquid Point in Maine was in steady
winds of 18+ kts with the wind speedo reading 23k apparent. We had full
sail throughout. In weather like that we simply lower the traveler which
lessens the angle of heel. We also keep the outhaul tight helps flatten
the sail. We did get some spray on the foredeck, but we sailed at 15
degrees (of heel) quite comfortably and stayed dry in the cockpit. Our 32
gets into a groove at 15 degrees in these type of winds. We do get a bit
of weather helm, but nothing too serious. We will reef after the true wind
sustains itself at 20+ kts.
You might try lowering the traveler during gusts to see if that
helps.
Good luck,
TW F32 #20 Anoush Koon


At 07:54 PM 7/4/2006 +0000, you wrote:

We were coming home from Cuttyhunk today under full sail on our 1993
F35, Apsara. This boat is still rather new to us. It was blowing
around 10 to 13 knots and we were moving along nicely. It started
gusting to 18 and we got immediately headed-up. I decided to put in
one reef, only to shake it out shortly thereafter.

Any thoughts on this? Should I have just waited for the gusts to past?
Dropped the jib or let the main out more? Any advice on what to do
when you get getting headed-up like this?

Thanks - Mac

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Posted by lance_ryley (lance_ryley@…>)

Mac,
you didn’t mention what point of sail you were on when you got headed
in the gust.

To follow up on the other posts about your sail trim, as the wind
comes up you want to flatten the sail with the outhaul and vang
tension. Your ‘proper’ sail trim is to get all of the leech telltales
flying evenly - most cruising sailors tend to sail overtrimmed, so if
your telltales look listless, try easing your main out until either
they’re flying or you’re main is luffing badly (a little luffing is
ok).

To make sure that your Jib is properly trimmed, you want the telltales
at the LUFF to be flying evenly - ease or trim the sheet to the side
that’s not flying.

To regain control of a roundup, when you start to feel it happen, ease
the Main sheet but you don’t want to ease the jib unless absolutely
necessary - the pressure on the jib is going to bring the bow down,
easing the pressure on the main will allow that to happen, as well as
reducing your heeling angle so that the rudder will ‘bite’ again.

Definitely heed the reefing advice from the other folks, but keeping
your sails in balance will go a long way in keeping you from being
surprised by the occasional puff.

Lance
Bright Star
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “sitchmo” <sylvanm@…>
wrote:

We were coming home from Cuttyhunk today under full sail on our 1993
F35, Apsara. This boat is still rather new to us. It was blowing
around 10 to 13 knots and we were moving along nicely. It started
gusting to 18 and we got immediately headed-up. I decided to put in
one reef, only to shake it out shortly thereafter.

Any thoughts on this? Should I have just waited for the gusts to
past?
Dropped the jib or let the main out more? Any advice on what to do
when you get getting headed-up like this?

Thanks - Mac

Posted by sitchmo (sylvanm@…>)

Thank you to everyone for the responses.

Lance - I was just a little bit downwind of a beam reach. Mac

— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “lance_ryley”
<lance_ryley@…> wrote:

Mac,
you didn’t mention what point of sail you were on when you got headed
in the gust.

To follow up on the other posts about your sail trim, as the wind
comes up you want to flatten the sail with the outhaul and vang
tension. Your ‘proper’ sail trim is to get all of the leech telltales
flying evenly - most cruising sailors tend to sail overtrimmed, so if
your telltales look listless, try easing your main out until either
they’re flying or you’re main is luffing badly (a little luffing is
ok).

To make sure that your Jib is properly trimmed, you want the telltales
at the LUFF to be flying evenly - ease or trim the sheet to the side
that’s not flying.

To regain control of a roundup, when you start to feel it happen, ease
the Main sheet but you don’t want to ease the jib unless absolutely
necessary - the pressure on the jib is going to bring the bow down,
easing the pressure on the main will allow that to happen, as well as
reducing your heeling angle so that the rudder will ‘bite’ again.

Definitely heed the reefing advice from the other folks, but keeping
your sails in balance will go a long way in keeping you from being
surprised by the occasional puff.

Lance
Bright Star
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com, “sitchmo” <sylvanm@>
wrote:

We were coming home from Cuttyhunk today under full sail on our 1993
F35, Apsara. This boat is still rather new to us. It was blowing
around 10 to 13 knots and we were moving along nicely. It started
gusting to 18 and we got immediately headed-up. I decided to put in
one reef, only to shake it out shortly thereafter.

Any thoughts on this? Should I have just waited for the gusts to
past?
Dropped the jib or let the main out more? Any advice on what to do
when you get getting headed-up like this?

Thanks - Mac