Greg,

The only answer I can give you is whatever it takes to keep the boat flat. You should carry as much sail area as you can until you start to heel too much. You should be able to tell if you head down a bit the boat will take off on a plane. Then you can work the boat back to windward while planing. If you can't keep the boat going fast, then you have too much sail area up. The way the spinnaker is cut will make a big difference on how high you can point. With our usual fractional runner, we can not do as well at a beam reach. If we were to use our shykite, then we would be able to point higher and still keep the boat flat.

Keeping the boat flat and planing is the key. If the wind is not heavy enough to plane then you will have to just feel if the boat is going fast enough or not. The polars will help you there as well.

What was the wind speed?

:: Hi all,
::
:: I'm curious what the general thinking is regarding beam
:: reaching. How high should the boat be pointed while
:: flying the spinnaker before going back to the #1 - and
:: which spinnaker (masthead or frac) for that matter?
::
:: I'm asking because we lost some serious distance on a
:: beam reach during a recent PHRF race - and I don't know
:: if it was due to us being on the wrong side of the
:: course from when the wind filled in, current, or having
:: the masthead spin flying (it came with the boat in 2003,
:: and though this is the first season I've really used it,
:: I can't tell if it's a little bulgy or not.) The rest of
:: the fleet (including a couple of J27s) were to 15-20
:: boatlengths to windward of us with significantly better
:: boat speed. Our speed improved when we put the #1 back
:: up about halfway through the leg (I didn't try to carry
:: the masthead above 90deg), but this may have just been
:: the filling wind finally reaching us. What's the general
:: thinking?
::
:: Thanks,

:: Greg Hanket

:: #44 rhumbnutz

:: Havre de Grace, MD