Racing F36/38?

[brico]

hi,

I read mixed opinions about racing with Freedoms. Of those that race F36/38, what is the minimum crew you take out for an "round the buoys" spin considering the self tacking jib and of course those that do not fly a spinnaker. i do have a pole but not the chute itself. I am thinking of giving it a try with 4-5 interested souls and believe we should be OK.

any hints?

regards/petar

[sailmon]

We don't race our F38... but the previous owner of the F30 we owned before the 38 campaigned her pretty seriously. He used a gunmount spinnaker and also had a hanked on 130% genoa. On the F30 he didn't even need winches for tacking the genoa... just used ratchet blocks on the toe rail and cam cleats on the combings. Same blocks and cam cleats were also used for spinnaker pole leashes. I'm guessing you might want some small winches for a genoa on the 38.

In terms of crew - if you are racing JAM fleet with self tacking jib alone, you could theoretically single hand. Nice to have a second person to navigate, watch for marks, crossing boats, etc. With genoa, would be nice to have second person to handle tacks. Once rigged (somewhat of a pain), a gun mount spinnaker can also be set, jibed and doused by one person - so one additional crew could do the trick. The 38 is a pretty stiff boat, so you wouldn't need that much in the way of rail meat under normal wind conditions. If they get extreme, of course, added weight on the windward rail is helpful. I think a crew of 3 (skipper plus 2) would be minimum for campaigning effectively. That said, there is an important social aspect to racing - so one could argue the more the merrier.

If you really want to get competitive, you can begin installing hardware on deck for barberhauling the genoa sheets to maximize pointing ability... but you need to decide how crazy to get. If you are racing for fun, the boat will more than make up for shortcomings up-wind on reaching and running legs. Don't forget to have fun!

[Hans]

If you do'nt fly a spinnaker or gennaker and sail only with main and camberspar jib: 2 is enough; one at he helm the other sailtrim and navigation.
Bring more only for encouragement and fun. Not having a selftacking jib and sailing with spi or gen is a different matter. Most important: have fun.

[sailmon]

Hi Hans,
Sounds unanimous - 2 votes for "fun".
Bob

[Hans]

Hi Bob,

We sure seeems to know what's most important about boating,

[RW Rawles]

hi,

I read mixed opinions about racing with Freedoms. Of those that race F36/38, what is the minimum crew you take out for an "round the buoys" spin considering the self tacking jib and of course those that do not fly a spinnaker. i do have a pole but not the chute itself. I am thinking of giving it a try with 4-5 interested souls and believe we should be OK.

any hints?

regards/petar

As I have aged far more quickly than my F-38, I have come to feel comfortable with 4-6 abled-bodies for round the buoy racing with spinnaker. Fewer is easily possible but fewer is slower.