Thanks, I am forwarding the info to my sail maker now.One more
question how or do I need to worry about the mast step raising off of
the bottom plate when I rake back? one of many questions to come
:: I use the North rake number or even a bit more. In my
:: opinion you definitely need a toggle or a longer
:: forestay. Also, you need a #1 genoa that is fuller than
:: the ones made for San Francisco. And you want plenty of
:: headstay sag upwind and less jib halyard tension in
:: light and medium air. The main should be built
:: relatively flat, because if you try to flatten a full
:: main with the backstay adjuster you also tighten up the
:: headstay too much and depower the genoa. Everyone in our
:: fleet and most of the boats in San Francisco use flat,
:: loose-footed mains.
::
:: We sail on Lake St. Clair which usually has medium-light
:: air and a steep chop due to the shallowness of the lake
:: (6-15 ft.) Going upwind into a chop or big waves is the
:: most difficult condition for the E27. Former dinghy
:: sailors do it best. Our base PHRF rating is 144 with a
:: six second pole penalty for one design. That is, we race
:: with a 138 one design rating, and boats from our class
:: manage to do okay in PHRF, especially when there is a
:: big breeze for distance races and when the wind is light
:: and the water smooth. A couple of very good Snipe
:: sailors sailed my boat to a PHRF first out of 50-60
:: boats in 40-mile race in medium breeze and fairly flat
:: water. They said they played the backstay quite a bit to
:: keep the boat on its feet.
::
:: We had to battle to get our rating up to 138 because our
:: PHRF committee initially looked at the San Francisco Bay
:: rating which as I recall was 126 at the time our fleet
:: was formed. After five years or so experience we spent
:: nearly an entire winter once a week at PHRF meetings
:: lobbying for an increase from 132 to 138. We made our
:: case by comparing with the J30 Detroit rating of 141, as
:: I recall and with some unfavorable comparisons with S2
:: 7.9s and Santana 35s. Most of our racing is one design,
:: but we sail PHRF in some week night beer can races. Some
:: of them are double handed main and jib races. This year
:: we successfully got a 144 rating for these races on the
:: theory that why should we have to pay a 6-second
:: spinnaker pole penalty when we weren't using spinnakers?
::
:: Crew weight is critical when there is any kind of a
:: breeze. Before the class limit of 880 was established
:: the top boats in San Francisco sailed with 1000-1100
:: pounds. With enough weight on the rail the boat goes
:: upwind like Gangbusters. I think Ruby My Dear had over
:: 1000 pounds last year at Key West (third in class).
::
:: Finally, it helps a lot to rock the mast forward
:: downwind. To do this you need in line lowers so you can
:: ease the aft lowers way off (before the start only) and
:: rock the mast forward by attaching the jib halyard to
:: the stem and cranking on the halyard winch.
::
:: Excuse me for going on so long about stuff you probably
:: already know! And good luck! You got yourself a great
:: boat! Why not bring it up to the Detroit NOOD next June?
::
:: Ps, If you haven't entered you name and boat info on the
:: roster on this website, please do so. It helps us keep
:: track of where all the boats are.
