[Rhodes22-list] The test results are in.

[Jay Friedland]

Rummy-
Other than my original posting, I had to wait in the wings until 
someone other than first-time buyers reported results. I sailed in NC 
last year with what Stan had made by Bainbridge, the protoype 
"humpback" sail. first, I had to separate out what a new stiff sail 
felt like, and add in a few months off the water (late Feb.). Factoring 
those in, the flatness helped the pointing ability, but speed also 
seemed better on Stan's demo (read: no frills) boat. It had much less 
weight than most R22's, but not sure about "diamond" centerboard, 
although not much was used.

I had 12-15 kts. and full sails. While nothing seemed as dramatic as a 
new engine in an old car, there was a definite difference. If I closed 
my eyes briefly, the boat felt "perkier". The batten, even though in 
that design was 1/3 in from the clew, it stiffened 3/4 of the sail 
area. Plus the "humpback" added roach, and sail area to the standard 
100 sq. feet of either 20 or 30 sq. feet, if I remember.

Also, Doyle, City Island, had one designed the may have 2 vertical 
battens that were staggered, the inner one (near center) higher than 
the one near the clew, similar to what they design for bigger IMF 
systems. I wonder what the differences are, as only some Doyle lofts 
share designs, and how this Doyle version compares to the original. 
Stan I'm sure has fully tweeked this one for this function. In any 
case, it was a good upgrade/replacement when I tried it.
Jay

On May 30, 2004, at 8:33 AM, R22RumRunner at aol.com wrote:

> Yesterday afternoon the winds picked up to around 12 mph out of the
> Southwest so we went back out to put the new sail through some 
> rigorous  testing.
> I had the 175 furled to around 110 and brought the sheets inside for 
> better
> sail shape. I have to admit, that in spite of my skepticism, I was 
> pleasantly
> surprised by the performance. Kimberly and I both noticed a much 
> improved
> forward bite (forward speed) and increased pointing ability. Obviously 
>  the
> newness of the sail made for much of the performance, but I believe 
> the  increase
> in sail area and the vertical batten had a lot to do with it. The odd  
> shape
> to the sail attracted a lot of attention from other sailors. Many came 
> by  just
> to see what the heck we were flying with. You could see them pointing 
> and
> discussing it.
> My hat is off to the old salt at GB for once again coming up with a 
> winning
> design.
> My recommendation is that if you are replacing an IMF Doyle or Lee  
> sails, go
> with the Doyle with the Batten. It's a little goofy looking, but  I 
> think the
> rest of the sailing world will catch on in due time.
> Rummy.......goin sailin again today. Winds 10 to 15...can't  wait.
>
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