Boat doesn't budge in light winds

[thomm225]

Your problem is you are trying to point too high.

Your second problem is you are trying to point too high.

45 degrees off the wind for your boat is wishful thinking. After you tack, you are trying to point too high and probably sheeting in the sails to fast and too tight and stopping the boat

After 400 plus buoy races, I know the tendencies of beginners. They want to do well and cannot help but point too high.

For speed and pointing ability, you must fall off a bit for speed then come up.

In light winds, ease the sails also …… the whole race. Don't race with flat sails.....that's for heavy wind

And lastly, don't ask a cruiser how to race.

You wouldn't go to the racers forum, Sailing Anarchy, and ask them about anchors or anchoring

And Btw, did I mention that you are pointing too high?

Race start similar to ours back in the day. Everyone on the line:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swvtXAPIX4U

(check the prebend differences on the various boats)

[wmac]

Your PHRF is around 165 so the 10.7 isn't that much of a slug. High aspect ratio rig means all your power is in the genoa. Thomm 225 has got it right, ease your genny sheets, maybe even ease your genny halyard just a little. When in doubt, ease it out. If you tack and sheet everything down flat and point to high you will stall and stay stalled in light air. Good luck.

[wmac]

Two other things; have the crew sit/lay on the low side to let gravity give the sails some shape and make sure all crew move slowly so as to not rock the boat and dump what little air there is in the sails out.

[GILow]

I’m sorry, but I can’t figure out the rationale in telling the OP he is sheeting wrong or pointing too high.

If he was having trouble on BOTH tacks this would make sense but he clearly states this only happened on one tack.

Does he have a Jeckle and Hyde moment every time he changes tack? I doubt it.

[kmacdonald]

The anchor fell overboard when you tacked.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by GILow

I’m sorry, but I can’t figure out the rationale in telling the OP he is sheeting wrong or pointing too high.

If he was having trouble on BOTH tacks this would make sense but he clearly states this only happened on one tack.

Does he have a Jeckle and Hyde moment every time he changes tack? I doubt it.

No he's a guy that is new at sailing. Then started racing without a lot of experience and wanted to do well.

He tacked and then freaked out. Got in too much of a hurry and wanted to WIN!

So he's like "I'm just gonna go for the mark!"

It's quite hard to sail away from your destination when you are trying to get there...………..

Things happen really fast on beach cats when racing which helps you learn fast. watch the boats on the far right. They sail away first then come back up but they have a sail area to displacement ratio of like 75 as compared to the Op's 14. This takes much longer on a monohull and you have to be patient

and I'm guessing the pin end was favored if you know what that means

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swvtXAPIX4U

[apirate]

This whole thread makes me chuckle... At 47,000# dry, our Seamaster 46 hasn't a chance. We'll stick to the cruising plan, racing isn't our game.

[markpierce]

Hope you have a favorable handicap..

[GILow]

Originally Posted by thomm225

No he's a guy that is new at sailing. Then started racing without a lot of experience and wanted to do well.

He tacked and then freaked out. Got in too much of a hurry and wanted to WIN!

So he's like "I'm just gonna go for the mark!"

It's quite hard to sail away from your destination when you are trying to get there...………..

Things happen really fast on beach cats when racing which helps you learn fast. watch the boats on the far right. They sail away first then come back up but they have a sail area to displacement ratio of like 75 as compared to the Op's 14. This takes much longer on a monohull and you have to be patient

and I'm guessing the pin end was favored if you know what that means

Wow. What a patronising load of twaddle.

He’s a guy who posted a pretty clear description of some odd perceived problems and you managed to turn it into THAT?

Seriously?

Really glad I don’t feel I have to denigrate someone’s sailing abilities.

I wonder why?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by GILow

Wow. What a patronising load of twaddle.

He’s a guy who posted a pretty clear description of some odd perceived problems and you managed to turn it into THAT?

Seriously?

Really glad I don’t feel I have to denigrate someone’s sailing abilities.

I wonder why?

It appears you've never raced.

Beginners do some strange things because they want to do well.

It sometimes takes a while to be able to sail away from the mark to get to the mark.

If you get a chance try a race when you learn a bit more about sailing

[Bigjim]

It's always fun to have a lively discussion.

Some new info for everyone. Someone suggested we check our progress with a GPS or cellphone. I don't have a GPS at the moment, but using Navionics Boating we checked our speed during the last race. Here are the facts:

We had another light wind race last week, We experience the same situation as described earlier. When the wind drops below 5 knots, we make progress (2-3 knots) on one tack but sit in place on the other. The knot log says Zero.

We checked the app and indeed we were moving between zero and 1 knot during that tack. I have a feeling we are fighting the current and losing.

None of this happens when the wind is above 5 knots. But we have been cursed with low wind conditions almost every week for 10 weeks. This boat is just not designed for light winds, period.

FYI, I have been sailing for over 40 years, but never in a boat this big (that I owned).

[GILow]

Originally Posted by thomm225

It appears you've never raced.

Beginners do some strange things because they want to do well.

It sometimes takes a while to be able to sail away from the mark to get to the mark.

If you get a chance try a race when you learn a bit more about sailing

Wow. You really know how to make a fool of yourself.

Not only have I raced but my boat’s name is carved on a 110 year old perpetual trophy with me as the skipper. You get that for coming first, in case you didn’t know.

But hey, unlike someone I don’t feel the need to prove anything.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Bigjim

It's always fun to have a lively discussion.



Some new info for everyone. Someone suggested we check our progress with a GPS or cellphone. I don't have a GPS at the moment, but using Navionics Boating we checked our speed during the last race. Here are the facts:



We had another light wind race last week, We experience the same situation as described earlier. When the wind drops below 5 knots, we make progress (2-3 knots) on one tack but sit in place on the other. The knot log says Zero.



We checked the app and indeed we were moving between zero and 1 knot during that tack. I have a feeling we are fighting the current and losing.



None of this happens when the wind is above 5 knots. But we have been cursed with low wind conditions almost every week for 10 weeks. This boat is just not designed for light winds, period.



FYI, I have been sailing for over 40 years, but never in a boat this big (that I owned).

That does start to sound like the rigging adjustment theorists are on the right track. [emoji106]

Is it possible to easily check that the mast is indeed vertical?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by GILow

Wow. You really know how to make a fool of yourself.

Not only have I raced but my boat’s name is carved on a 110 year old perpetual trophy with me as the skipper. You get that for coming first, in case you didn’t know.

But hey, unlike someone I don’t feel the need to prove anything.

The point is many new racers get so in a hurry they make mistakes.

You should know this since you claim to have some racing background.

Normal mistakes include oversheeting and trying to point too high.

Others are misjudging the favored end of the start/finish, improper boat setup for the conditions, wrong sail selection, incorrect batten selection, etc

As far as the rigging, that's part of boat setup which is usually adjusted whenever the conditions change. Sometimes every race

He'll do better with more experience...…...racing

[GILow]

He has 40 years sailing experience.

I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he knows what he is doing.

I have absolutely no idea why you feel unable to do the same.

Some kind of insecurity there.