[Rhodes22-list] 175% vs 150% vs 130% Genoa?

[Tom Van Heule]

Pics Roger? Sounds good.

We gotta have a lake michigan r22 summit.
There are a few of us that are pretty active.  And I know the least!

On Tue, Nov 24, 2020, 4:04 PM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:

> Jesse,
>
> We have a 1” wide nylon strap running up the center of the cockpit floor.
> It’s attached to thru bolted padeyes with big backing plates on the cabin
> and lazarette compartment bulkheads.
> Then, we have 1/2” double braided nylon rope running down the deck port
> and starboard from the cockpit to the bow pulpit.  It’s anchored to the
> base of the lifeline stanchions on each end.  The safety harness tether has
> a carabiner on the end of a 6’ nylon strap.  In the cockpit, you clip the
> carabiner onto the nylon strap on the floor as you come aboard or leave the
> cabin.  The carabiner will slide along the strap and let you get anywhere
> in the cockpit, even hike out on the gunnels.  To go forward, you unclip
> from the cockpit and clip onto the 1/2” nylon rope on the side deck you are
> going to use.  The carabiner will slide along the rope and the harness
> tether is long enough to enable you to do almost any task at the mast or on
> the foredeck.  I have good 30” high rails and stout handholds to hang onto.
>
> We have a firm rule that everyone wears a PFD whenever they are on deck
> and the boat is not at anchor or at a dock.  Growing up, since everyone
> wore their PFD’s, the boys never had an issue with wearing theirs.
>
> 22 ft LOA is a pretty small boat for the Great Lakes.  You can’t always
> count on fair winds!
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
> Sent from my iPhones
> > On Nov 24, 2020, at 4:10 PM, Jesse Shumaker <
> jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > While I'm used to wearing a PFD, that's the first I've heard of wearing
> > safety harnesses on a Rhodes 22.  Then again, I've yet to take Zephyr to
> a
> > very large body of water.  Hopefully there are some bigger adventures for
> > Zephyr in my future!
> >
> > Jesse Shumaker
> > S/V Zephyr
> >
> >> On Tue, Nov 24, 2020 at 11:02 AM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> Jesse,
> >>
> >> Yes, we’ve had a few “HOLY SHIT!” moments, primarily when my sons were
> >> learning to helm and trim.  By the time they were teenagers, they both
> >> regarded S/V Dynamic Equilibrium as their own personal amusement park
> >> ride.  But, only when their mother wasn’t on board!  I always told them
> it
> >> only gets really interesting when the small craft warnings are posted!
> >> When dad put his safety harness on, their eyes would open wide and
> they’d
> >> scramble below to find their harnesses. They both knew firsthand that
> dad
> >> was nuts and there was some fun in store.  I like to wear my harness
> over
> >> my PFD.  When you’re sailing this aggressively, you frequently get
> tossed
> >> into hard “stuff”.  The PFD provides some cushioning.
> >>
> >> Roger Pihlaja
> >> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >>> On Nov 24, 2020, at 10:19 AM, Jesse Shumaker <
> >> jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Roger, thanks for the details on the sail trim.  You had mentioned
> some
> >>> configurations where the boat would tend to heel further rather than
> >> round
> >>> up if conditions strengthen.  I'm curious, have you had any knockdowns
> in
> >>> cases where the helmsman didn't ease the mainsheet in time or feather
> up
> >>> into the wind when there's a sudden gust?  I'm always trying to read
> the
> >>> water for wind, but there are cases when things get busy and I have
> been
> >>> occasionally surprised by a gust when I was distracted.  I wasn't sure
> if
> >>> you had any memorable HOLY SHIT moments as you alluded to in your note.
> >> We
> >>> always enjoy your advice and tales of adventure!
> >>>
> >>> Jesse Shumaker
> >>> S/V Zephyr
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 5:39 PM ROGER PIHLAJA <Roger_Pihlaja at msn.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Hi All,
> >>>>
> >>>> Let me state up front that S/V Dynamic Equilibrium’s sail are not OEM
> >>>> stock and neither is the roller furler.  I have owned the boat since
> >> 1987
> >>>> and will tell you what I’ve ended up with after a lot of
> >> experimentation.
> >>>> The main sail is a very roachy, fully battened, club racing HD dacron
> >>>> sail.  It has 3 rows of jiffy reef points.  The headsail is a 150%
> genoa
> >>>> made of Bainbridge’s Cruise-Lam sailcloth in a Bi-Radial construction.
> >>>> Cruise-Lam is composite sailcloth with dacron outer layers, a Kevlar
> >> scrim,
> >>>> and a core of mylar.  The sail has a foam luff pad to enable it to
> take
> >>>> full advantage of the upper and lower swivels on the Harken Unit 0
> >> roller
> >>>> furler it’s flown on.  As the winds build, my 1st move is to lower the
> >>>> mainsail’s gooseneck to the lower position.  The next step is to put a
> >> reef
> >>>> in the mainsail.  This configuration allows the boat to be sailed with
> >> the
> >>>> leeward rub rail in the water and virtually no weather helm.  However,
> >> you
> >>>> must keep your hands on the sheets and steer to the waves because a
> >> gust or
> >>>> helmsman error will put the leeward cockpit gunnel under water faster
> >> than
> >>>> you can say, “HOLY SHIT!”!  It will NOT round up in this configuration
> >> and
> >>>> the sails will not distort, spill wind, or save you.  Gusts cause so
> >> much
> >>>> acceleration that it sets you right down in your seat.  It’s really
> >> quite
> >>>> addictive!  Roller reefing the genoa down to ~130% will allow the boat
> >> to
> >>>> sail more up right, not scare my wife, and allow the autopilot to
> drive
> >> the
> >>>> boat.  The next step is to put a second reef in the mainsail.  As the
> >> wind
> >>>> builds, leaving the genoa at 130% with 2 reefs in the mainsail will
> >> enable
> >>>> maximum boat speed with minimal weather helm at the expense of
> constant
> >>>> required manual vigilance on the helm and sheets.  Roller reefing the
> >> genoa
> >>>> down to ~110% in these conditions will make the boat docile enough
> that
> >> the
> >>>> autopilot can still control it on any point of sail with the wind
> >> forward
> >>>> of a broad reach.  Roller reefing down to 110% is about as small as
> the
> >>>> Harken Unit 0 roller furler can reef the sail while still maintaining
> >>>> reasonable sail shape.  When the genoa is roller reefed down to <
> 110%,
> >> the
> >>>> mainsail needs a 3rd reef in order to balance the helm.
> >>>>
> >>>> In summary, reduce mainsail area or lower the center of effort first,
> >>>> either by lowering the boom, or reefing.  As the wind builds, the
> >> strategy
> >>>> of leaving maximum possible sail area forward of the mast will reduce
> >>>> weather helm, maximize boat speed, and pointing ability.
> >>>>
> >>>> Here on the Great Lakes, there is a lot of light air in the summer,
> >>>> punctuated by periods of heavy weather.  I cope by flying cruising and
> >>>> tri-radial spinnakers during the light air.  I found the 175% genoa
> was
> >> cut
> >>>> too heavy to fly well in light air and the sail could only be reefed
> >> down
> >>>> to ~130% before the shape was hopelessly compromised.  Remember this
> was
> >>>> with a Harken Unit 0 roller furler with upper and lower swivels and a
> >> foam
> >>>> luff pad.  The OEM roller furler and sails will not be able to do as
> >> well.
> >>>> But, my sail shape standards might be higher than yours.  I never
> found
> >> the
> >>>> 175% genoa to be particularly difficult to tack.
> >>>>
> >>>> Roger Pihlaja
> >>>> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >>>>
> >>>> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
> >>>> Windows 10
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>
>