I had a disappointing weekend, as far as sailing is concerned. I drove to the boat ramp, only to find the wind was weak and shifty. Bummers! So I drove home, dropped off the boat, and drove back to the beach.

I realize a big part of my problem is that for the last umpteen years I've looked at weather forecasts and wind maps from the standpoint of trying to fly large kites, not from the standpoint of sailing. So my gut-instinct is to go for light wind. Wrong wrong wrong! That's fine for kites, but makes for a boring day of sailing.

So I figured I'd ask: What's your wind sweet spot? 10kt? 15kt? (20kt?!) And what kind of sailing do you like to do in your sweet spot? Comfy cruising? Flying a hull non-stop? (Trying to hold on with your bare fingernails?)

I'm not quite ready for the double-trap screaming reach with everyone holding on for dear life. But I wouldn't mind re-calibrating my internal anemometer so I can get SOME kind of excitement on the water.

Thanks,

Tom

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Tom Benedict
Island of Hawaii
P-Cat 18 / Sail# 361 / HA 7633 H / "Smilodon"
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Really enjoy sailing in force 3 on the beaufort scale (7-10 kts). Thats a little tame for most. I will go out in up to the low end of force 5, but 15-16 kts is about the limit of my cojones these days. Thatmight change with my new boat and more experienced crew.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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It's not fun if it's not a little scary..

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Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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i stop enjoying soloing the 20m2 of sail on my 5.2 at about 15knots

it's an old boat and if it doesn't bust it could easily turn over, and i've never been able to get it back up unassisted, both things kind of nag at me while i'm on the wire watching the bow go deep...

much more fun to take out the 12 foot wide, 14 foot long weta, work it up wind while the bendy carbon mast top goes ape, pop the shoot at the top, go deep until as far at the back corner as possible then steer across to a reach until it's up on the plane and squirting across the lake, point as high as possible until it starts doing stoppies, then bearing off to recover and doing it again and again and again

much less likely to go over and much easier to right if it does and muc less likely to break anything as it's new!



Edited by erice on Jul 17, 2012 - 03:06 AM.

my "sweet spot" is 8 - 18 mph wind. As long as its over 5 or 6... i can deal with it. I dont need to be howlin to enjoy myself.

Light wind sailing is much more technical than med air and it's a great time to learn or practice on the small details. Even more fun with a spinnaker for sure.

But to answer the questions specifically a 13-15 mph Westerly is my fav wind speed and direction (an easterly is disturbed by land here in the gulf) . enough to power up my cat... but not so much i am fighting it in the gusts



Edited by MN3 on Jul 17, 2012 - 07:32 AM.

I have had far more success racing in light air, as I have much more time to think about tactics instead of working about just controlling the boat. I like about 12-15 for cruising.

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Greenville SC

Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
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it was 11-15 this past sunday and that was the most fun i've ever had on the boat.

Chicago/Lake Michigan NW Winds 15-20 kts, waves 1 to 3 ft I start to feel a slight fever and need to leave work and only going to the beach will correct. The weird thing is about 5 or 6 guys will also be at the beach with the same affliction. 20-25 kts is good too, over that you can't goof off as much, but it's still fun.

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nacra inter-18
CNBP
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I'd Rather be sailing than sitting most times even if I'm just barely moving. I have been getting better sailing in light winds where before I felt I was bobbing around and not moving I can now better tell where the light winds are coming from. Casset tape on the shrouds is awesome for light winds. They move when my yarn is hanging limp.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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10-15. More than 20 becomes lots of work. Less than 10 is time for floating and drinking beer.

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Uwe
94 Prindle 19 - "überKat"
DFW, TX
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Quote

Cassette tape on the shrouds is awesome for light winds. They move when my yarn is hanging limp.

even better is ribbon. just like they use on leach tails works great and it doesn't loose it's color like cassette tape does

I just tie some new tape on every few sails. Keep some Oingo Boingo or whatever floats your boat in the Boat box on the trailer.

--
Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
--

15-20 sw winds, 3-5' seas steady rollers...beam reach to and fro horn island west end...catching air on the way out and surfing in. when your fat, it takes a lot of wind to get exciting. you should be a little scared that the boat will blow up, even when it's in top shape. that's what keeps me checking the 5 different weather forecast and bouy data. i really don't mind fixing the boat, these things are cheap compared to some other hobbies and simple to work on. definetly the most exciting 18mph in sports!!!

favorite moments: when your surfing and you drop in the next wave, the "OH S#%t!!!" feeling you get every time when the boat lurches over...the it takes off like a bottle rocket!!!

--
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Thanks, guys! This helps a lot. I'm sailing with small kids, so I think I'll skip the 20+kt speeds. But getting something between 7-15 sounds like a good plan.

We're under (yet another) small craft advisory at the ramp I've been using. Feast or famine. I'd like to get a Goldilocks day with something right in the middle.

Tom

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Tom Benedict
Island of Hawaii
P-Cat 18 / Sail# 361 / HA 7633 H / "Smilodon"
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One thing to keep in mind. The heavier air will always seem like too much air until you've given it a go. You can't really find your feel for it until you've done it. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious about doing it.

--
Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
--

Quote

when your fat, it takes a lot of wind to get exciting.

That is for sure. Only time I have ever flown a hull solo is in wind that I would have avoided a year earlier.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
--

Bill !! Love when she’s blow’en (when your fat, it takes a lot of wind to get exciting) Some folke are a "little fat.. Some like U get weighted down by the extra stuff on board. Kegs.. Make up kits for the Hotties... BBQs.. and c'coal.. Co Co Butter lotion… AND WHAT IS THE "LITTLE FAT" thing. My folks speak with your folke on a regular basis for dealership consulting.. Little fat is not the general feeling.. We bee thinken your way over a tenth of a ton.. Other wise. Why prindels?? Blowen 20.. (U be doing that) Steady as she goes Bill.. and when she goes… sheet in and hang on" And when she lurches it time to head for the prize.. U Got to finish next!! She prolly be OK with it 4 sure.. Safe Harbor Pal.. Hal

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Hal Liske
Livermore CA
H 16 (6+ 1.. Friends) H 3.2 N 5.2 (2) H 17 (2) H-18
Nacra 5.8 (son's) H 20 (Friends)
It's a Sickness

I Need a A Cat Please
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I like 10-15 solo and 15-20 with crew. I can sail those conditions all day. Over 20 it gets much more "busy" and the sails get shorter but more exciting. Depending on how small your kids are that is a completely different equation, but hopefully you can find days that build from 5-10 up to 10-15 while on the water. That always makes for a nice day.

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Scott,
‘92 H18 w/SX wings
‘95 Hobie Funseeker 12 (Holder 12)
‘96/‘01/‘14 Hobie Waves
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Quarath

One thing to keep in mind. The heavier air will always seem like too much air until you've given it a go. You can't really find your feel for it until you've done it. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious about doing it.

I can't tell you how true this is.

Actually, I can. You're all gonna laugh when you read this, but this is how my first two sessions went with this boat:

Day 1:

I hadn't been on a cat in over twelve years. (Keep in mind my previous boat was a P-16.) The ramp where we launch has no beach, so someone has to stand in the water holding the boat until the sail is up. Then we have to turn the boat out of the wind, hop on, and go. I was terrified of powering up inside the harbor with only 100' or so of room to maneuver in, so we went out under jib alone. I almost clipped the @#$% harbor wall because we couldn't point for squat. Eventually we made it out and got the main up.

While we were out we blew every tack. Every single one. We'd go from clipping along to a dead stand-still. Some of the tacks we attempted, our only fix was to fall off to the original tack and try again. It was atrocious. But keep in mind that we spent the entire day bringing a boat to a dead standstill, almost at will. If there's one thing I should've learned that day, it was that I knew how to stop a boat. (Remember this point.)

When we went back in, I had this bizarre mental image of being powered up and out of control in the harbor, with no way to stop. (No way to stop? Cripes! Didn't I just spend the ENTIRE DAY learning that STOPPING the boat was the only thing I was doing right?!) Nope, even after an entire morning of stopping a boat in less than twenty feet, for some reason I thought this would be a problem in the harbor.

So we dropped the main and tried to sail back into the harbor on jib alone. (No, I really didn't learn.) This time we completely missed the opening to the harbor and had to fall off. Eventually I just said screw it, raised the main, sailed in, turned into the wind, and stopped within about a foot of where I wanted the boat to go. Just like we'd done on our P-16. >sigh<

All of this provided an amazing amount of free entertainment to everyone else at the harbor that day. I'm sure the stories are still being told.

Day 2:

We raised both sails, sailed out of the harbor like normal people, had a great day of sailing, sailed back, stopped on a dime, dropped sail, and pulled the boat out on the trailer. No added entertainment value to the onlookers.

End of story.

So yeah, I figure wind is going to happen along the same lines. Until I've done it in THIS boat, in THIS decade (ok, in this millennium), I'll completely forget that I used to sail in heavier wind in a smaller boat with less crew.

On a good note, a friend of mine with a power boat offered to spot for us so we can go out in deep water and capsize. Righting this boat is another one of those things that's going to loom over my head until we just go out and do it.

Thanks again for all the input. And thanks for the reminder that it's gonna be scary until I'm sailing in it.

Tom

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Tom Benedict
Island of Hawaii
P-Cat 18 / Sail# 361 / HA 7633 H / "Smilodon"
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That's pretty much how I feel about this Marina. Less than 10 min form my door and I have never sailed there because I am not sure I can get back in if the winds pick up to much and they can be really pick up out there. And that is the only place go where I could get my boat back on the trailer.

Great Salt Lake Marina
https://maps.google.com/m…A&sqi=2&ved=0CKgBEPwSMAA


This one is not too bad I have done it once.
https://maps.google.com/m…A&sqi=2&ved=0CKgBEPwSMAA



Edited by Quarath on Jul 18, 2012 - 11:39 PM.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
--

CRAP! Yeah, that first one looks like it would be hair raising to do under sail. I'm trying to avoid sailing places where I have to paddle or need a motor. Motor + beach cat = strange.

Tom

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Tom Benedict
Island of Hawaii
P-Cat 18 / Sail# 361 / HA 7633 H / "Smilodon"
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I dunno yours with the solid deck would be ok with a small troller on the back

--
Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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