Not too shabby

[Thomas1985]

Not too bad upwind

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Thomas1985

Not too bad upwind

Pretty similar to what a $1,000 - $2,000 Bristol 27 will do even with old and reefed sails.

I do like to be at 5 knots or above though going upwind in a decent breeze.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRzpei2hZf8

[SailingHarmonie]

Only VMG matters. Most boats can easily sail at 37 AWA.

But... if you are making 15 degrees of leeway, that all goes to hell.

[psk125]

The 4 is shaded, so it looked like 8 knots at first, not 4.8. Eight knots would be surprising for a boat with a hull speed of about 7.25 knots. A Downeaster 38 only doing 4.8 knots in any breeze would bring into question how much growth is on the bottom. Of course if there was only six knots of wind, a boatspeed of 4.8 would be OK. But the photo doesn't show the anemometer. How much wind was there?

[Thomas1985]

Moves really well further off wind. She feels like a freight train plowing through the water.

[Thomas1985]

Ya thomm, but I can do it with trailboards

[rls8r]

Originally Posted by psk125

But the photo doesn't show the anemometer. How much wind was there?

Doesn't the wind gauge show 11.3 kts AWS in the first photo and 12.9 kts AWS (with speed of 7.5 kts) in the second photo?

Yes, Thomas - not too shabby!

[Don C L]

Was that with Genoa or jib and staysail?

[Thomas1985]

Had jib, staysail, and full main out.

When it started blowing over 15 kts I took in the stay sail.

15-20 was good with full main and jib. 20-25 id probably furl the jib and go main with staysail.

If its was a consistent 20+ knot day id probably throw a reef in main, but if its only going to pick up to 20-25 for a bit I think id keep a full main and use headsails to limit heeling.

Boat also sails shockingly well under head sails only.

[Don C L]

Yeah I was often pleasantly surprised with the DE’s performance too; she was fun to sail especially in bigger winds and seas!

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Thomas1985

Moves really well further off wind. She feels like a freight train plowing through the water.

She is a freight train at nearly 20,000 lbs. displacement.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Thomas1985

Had jib, staysail, and full main out.

When it started blowing over 15 kts I took in the stay sail.

15-20 was good with full main and jib. 20-25 id probably furl the jib and go main with staysail.

If its was a consistent 20+ knot day id probably throw a reef in main, but if its only going to pick up to 20-25 for a bit I think id keep a full main and use headsails to limit heeling.

Boat also sails shockingly well under head sails only.

Headsail only is really good downwind at 25 knots and above. Even a partial headsail.

[Thomas1985]

I have not sailed beyond a broad reach downwind yet, but I was thinking I would try jib only first in decent breeze.

I was going to try chicken wing with both headsails in light air too. (headsail over each rail… “chickenwang” might be more of a redneck than nautical term)

In 5 knots I bet you need a spinnaker deployed

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Thomas1985

I have not sailed beyond a broad reach downwind yet, but I was thinking I would try jib only first in decent breeze.

I was going to try chicken wing with both headsails in light air too. (headsail over each rail… “chickenwang” might be more of a redneck than nautical term)

In 5 knots I bet you need a spinnaker deployed

A spinnaker would be nice, but since I sailed engineless for about 15 years with and without a spinnaker, I have no problem using what sails I do have now plus the engine in 5 knots or so downwind.

I did allow the sails to fall their own way though a couple years back sailing across the lower bay to get home after a few days sailing.

Luckily for me the wind stayed steady and kept increasing for a few hours.

I left anchorage around 1200 after a hike with my son then he headed North in his vehicle, and I paddled my kayak back to the boat, loaded it, pulled anchor, and headed home to the South.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejcp-rCYz3U

[Thomas1985]

I didn’t think it was that wavy out there, Don.

Then my daughter and I were watching a 30’er motoring off our port side when it launched off a wave and I saw the keel.

Not that the waves were huge, but lake does get choppy. Wave period is short by ocean standards.

You can tell this boat is going to stand up to the big stuff though