[frers-list]Reflections on 2012 Branford / Pine Orchard

[Dave Nauber]

Thanks for your observations Edgar. I loved your last sentence: "...but =
when I analyze the Kattack tracks, boat handling is the elephant in the =
room for us.  Pachyderm" That's pretty funny.

I agree that there is a lot to be gleaned from watching/studying the =
tracks. I also know lots of examples where we have made gains in a race =
with boat handling, so I attribute a lot of our success to good crew =
work.=20

Scott makes some excellent suggestions and we will definitely plan to =
put something together at least for next year, but maybe for the local =
guys we may still be able to arrange a get-together sometime this =
season.=20

We had a good weekend in Branford so it feels a bit awkward for me to =
say what I think we did well/right and what others didn't do as well. =
But based on your comments about boat handling, it might be worth =
including this subject in some more detail in the tuning guide and =
discussing among the owners how best to attract, cultivate and retain =
crew. It can be a problem for some of the boats to get crew together and =
when there is inconsistency in the crew, even when good crew are aboard, =
I think it is harder to be at the top of your game. If anyone has =
something to contribute or ask on this subject, I think the owners would =
all benefit from the discussion.

Thanks to all of you who sailed the regatta in Branford. It is a =
critical part of keeping the class active and vibrant. A special thanks =
to Jack Greifzu for getting Jim Mormile's old boat the ex More Magic, =
now Sling Shot on the starting line and to Art Kelley and crew for =
bringing Brilliant from Centerport, Long Island.

One last housekeeping note, I would like to thank those of you who have =
paid 2012 dues to support the Frers 33 Class Association. 2012 class =
members include:

Michael Argyelan, Mystify
Bob & Sue Connell, Heartbeat & Black Hawk
Ted & Janet Dombroski, First Edition
Jack Greifzu, Sling Shot=20
Art Kelley, Brilliant
Scott Marino, Risoluto
Phil and Frances McMann, Ragman
Dave & Kathy Nauber, Wolverine
Edgar Smith & Margaret Jones, Pachyderm

If you have not yet paid and would like to contribute, please send $50 =
payable to David Nauber, 86 Coyote Trail, Higganum, CT 06441. Your =
support of the class is needed and appreciated. Thanks.

Regards,

Dave Nauber
Wolverine


-----Original Message-----
From: frers-list-admin@lists.frers33.com =
[mailto:frers-list-admin@lists.frers33.com] On Behalf Of Edgar Smith
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2012 1:54 PM
To: frers-list@lists.frers33.com
Subject: [frers-list]Reflections on 2012 Branford / Pine Orchard

Great idea Scott, I'll jump in to the discussion. Our main take-away =
from the races and Kattack tracks was how many boat lengths we lost with =
unnecessary tacking, and that boat handling makes a huge difference. I =
knew this before, but I was still surprised at how obvious it was. We =
made one ill timed cover tack after crossing ahead of Wolverine, got =
pinched off and were forced to tack to clear our air. Next time we =
crossed we were far behind.  In another race we botched our tack on the =
layline, had to shoot the mark and then hit it anyway. Doing the penalty =
turn took us out of a close second ended a potential shot at first for =
that race.  Each of these mistakes along with a collection of extra =
tacks added minutes to our time. While Wolverine has a boat speed =
advantage on us in some conditions, we have one on them in others, and =
Black Hawk does too. I think Wolverine won the series by out handling us =
in 3 out of 4 encounters. That's something they get from ten plus years =
in the boat.

As far as boat speed goes, I noticed that the speed and headings on the =
top boats were more consistent on the Kattack tracks. On Pachyderm we =
watch the speedo constantly starting right out of the tack. In lighter =
air, we don't finish sheeting in until we are within a few tenths of our =
average speed on the previous tack. This takes at least a minute after =
the tack. Any time speed drops, we head off a few degrees, ease down the =
traveler and when the speed climbs, we use a yank on the traveler to =
head us back up to our higher heading. If the drop is due to a decrease =
in wind velocity, we adjust the sails, both sheets and leads. This also =
applies in heavier air when we've feathered too much and stalled out. =
These adjustments actually levels out our speeds and I think this =
difference shows up clearly on the Kattack tracks and the VMG graph.=20

Downwind we did better with Wolverine than at Off Soundings this spring. =
There we saw a big difference in how smoothly we could jibe the chute in =
light air and we've been working on it to good effect. There is no doubt =
that Wolverine is good at sailing deep angles without losing speed, but =
if you add back what we were losing on our jibes, it put us right back =
with them.

Two things do make a big difference; sails in good condition, and enough =
weight on the rail in windy conditions. Anyone sailing with a short crew =
and blown out sails, has an up hill climb. Personally, I don't think =
there is a special sauce of equipment, rig tune numbers or lead settings =
that will make a big difference. We tune our rig in the spring and leave =
it alone. One exception is failing to get enough halyard tension before =
the upwind leg. That happens to us often and we find we cannot =
adequately adjust halyards once we are going upwind. There is great info =
in the tuning guide on the website about sail choice and tuning, but =
when I analyze the Kattack tracks, boat handling is the elephant in the =
room for us.  Pachyderm



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