[Rhodes22-list] Stan on Pointing

[stan]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Effros" <bill at effros.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 Email List" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2008 10:31 AM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Stan on Pointing


> Stan,
>
> I know absolutely nothing about pointing, and I'm planning to learn
> about it on my boat next year.
>
> It seems different people on this list mean different things by the term
> "pointing".
>
> Peter refers me to my GPS, which measures the direction the GPS has
> traveled.
>
> Others refer me to my compass, which measures the direction the bow is
> "pointing".
>
> Others speak of how well catamarans "point" while some of the literature
> I read says they don't point as well as mono-hulled boats.
>
> I have never noticed a pointing problem on my boat.
>
> I can point directly into the wind...Of course, I sail backward when I
> do that, so this skill is useful only in certain situations.  As I point
> closer and closer into the wind, I go slower and slower, until I begin
> to think "maybe I would arrive at my destination faster if I took a
> longer route with more favorable wind."  I understand this to be the
> central issue in racing.
>
> When you heave-to you can cause your bow to "point" almost any angle
> into the wind, while the boat itself slips sideways.  Unable to point by
> one definition, great pointing by another.
>
> Instead of simply moving a lot of junk forward, I have removed a lot of
> junk from my boat.  It sails very high in the water, bow down.  I have a
> light engine, and I keep your anchor on the bow for ballast.  I sail
> single-handed most of the time, and always when I'm experimenting.
>
> Also, I sail the boat flat, as designed, and I read that sailing flat
> improves pointing.
>
> Of course, the centerboard must be down for pointing.
>
> There is no question that a J-24 will sail better than an R-22 into the
> wind under most conditions.  On the other hand, I was recently competing
> with a J-24 for bragging rights on getting back to our moorings and I
> won because the J-24 grounded itself, and I didn't.
>
> Congratulations on Cindy's book.  I'm ordering a copy from Amazon:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Bubble-Economy-Profit-When/dp/047175367X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222439170&sr=1-1
>
> Bill Effros
>
>
> > __________________________________________________