the first time i sailed Poppy i went downwind under genoa alone for a mile. when i turned to go back upwind she handled like there was no centreboard down with huge leeway, is it not possible to sail upwind under genoa alone?
Sat, 09/06/2012 - 8:57am
#1
sailing to windward under genoa alone
It sounds to me as if Poppy isn't well balanced with only your genny pulling. As I understand it, [and I am far from being knowledgeable about sailing, although I used to be a proffesional windsurfer 25 years ago :roll: ], the rig needs to be balanced, in other words if your centreboard or keel is the fulcrum, the effort in the front and back sails has to be equal for it to work properly. Boats will sail with a main or a genny alone, mainly off the wind, but as soon as you want to go upwind close hauled, you need to balance the sails.
Does that make sense? :(
Paul
[Ex 'Crackerjack' - 26M]
yes thank you Paul, i thought as much but i have some recollection of once getting a boat to go to windward under jib alone and i thought Poppy might do the same but next time i will make sure i have some main up too, (it was quite windy that day and i didn't want to bother with the main)
Apart from proper rig tuning (incl. mast rake, shroud tension, adequate reefing) another factor on our Mac 26 Classics are the daggerboard (does your C stand for centerboard or classic ?) and the rudder. The S (swingkeel) can reduce weather helm by tilting up the keel a bit. The rudder (IMHO too small and not balanced for the boat) can be modified to reduce the weather helm significantly by bringing the leading edge forward and lengthening it. Google "Macgregor 26 rudder modification", you'll find lots more about this there : http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Macgregor+26+rudder+modification
One day I'll have one of these great redesigned Ida Sailor rudders shipped over ... maybe or I might just stick a stainless steel sheet on the edge of mine ;)
Now did I just mix up weather helm and lee helm :oops: :oops: :oops: ???
No, you were right first time. :-)
Weather helm = rounding up. Moving the centerboard aft a bit helps counteract.
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
thank you Immo i am not sure if C is for classic or centreboard but Poppy has a lifting keel that could be a centreboard. from the tension in the raising rope it felt like the board was down, but she sailed as if the board wasn't down
Might be worth checking the centre board is all there, i lost the bottom foot of my 26X and she handled as you discribed into wind.
If your board is okay You may need to furl a little head sail away until she balances, without any aft force she may have to much forward drive for the CB to counter act.
si
thank you all for your advice. i sailed Poppy on Sunday with full sail and she performed very well. i was obviously mistaken to think a boat can sail to windward under headsail alone