Safe Heeling Angle???

[Harrison]

I have the exact gauge that Frank is illustrating. Many times the little ball is pegged to 45 deg across the whole lake, so it’s hard to say just how far over we are. While it’s not too comfortable, or efficient, it IS very exciting! At no time do I ever feel as though I was at a “point of no return”. You can feel it in the helm.

I refer to it as the "heel o meter"!

---Harrison

[Frank C]

. . . or Scream-ometer.

West Marine

[kmclemore]

Oh, dear, Frank... we're not going to get into that 'dead center' vs 'off center' thing again are we? IMHO, you can mount the thing wherever you like, so long as it is perpendicular to the boat's midline. I have mind mounted to the left of my slider, because I have a handle in the middle. Still reads the same angle there as it did in the center.

[Moe]

While the large meter on the hatch may be better for most folks, I didn't think I'd be able to read it with the hatch slid open from the Mac's helm seat. So we put the smaller Lev-O-Gage on the pedestal above the inexpensive Ritchie V-57 dash compass that didn't have an inclinometer.



For the C-18, we've installed a white 6" x 2-1/2" Riecker 60º unit below the companionway. I mention it as an alternative for those who may prefer white rather than black (if it fits the Mac hatch).

[on edit] I forgot to mention, while the Lev-O-Gage attaches with double-stick tape, the back of the Riecker unit is webbed rather than flat. It must be installed with screws.
--
Moe

[Frank C]

Moe ... that's one is fine, too, though I'm partial to the notably 'lemon' yellow.
Anything of similar size, I think!

Kevin ... yeah, it was a simplistic solution.
I have a handle at dead-center, so mine's mounted to STB~!

[Moe]

I updated my post about the Riecker gauge to note it must be installed with screws, while the Lev-O-Gage only uses double-stick tape. I think that's useful info for someone not wanting to drill holes. I apologize for that omission.

--
Moe

[Mikebe]

I LIKE heeling over. I TRY to get water to come in the cockpit, but have had no luck so far. If I ever master it, I want to get my picture taken walking on the hull outside the lifelines, while holding the mainsheet in my hand. My porta-pottie is the only inclinometer I need.

[Lease]

My X has an inclinometer, and it is the subject of much hilarity when sailing friends see it.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

I LIKE heeling over. I TRY to get water to come in the cockpit, but have had no luck so far.

I notice in the Mac-M DVD shows an extreme heeling event when trying to show the Centerboard, and rudder functions. It appears close to having water in the cockpit.

[Bawgy]

My wife thought a perfect sailing day was when the sails didnt move and you could see your reflection in the water . That was when we started sailing a few years back . Just the other day on our 5 time out she took the wheel while I went to turn on the radio below. She sailed for about an hour at an average heel of 15 -20 degrees in 12-15 MPH winds,. e have a compass with the built in inclinometer (Contest 101) I think Anyway she knew we were safe at 25 and would turn up to reduce heel when we got there. She said NOw I know why you like to sail so much this is FUN!!!

Yes I AM a LUCKY MAN

[delevi]

Anyway she knew we were safe at 25 and would turn up to reduce heel when we got there. She said NOw I know why you like to sail so much this is FUN!!!

Yes I AM a LUCKY MAN

Yes you are Kenny [/quote]

[marsanden]

the best performance with an x is between 0-15 degrees. downwind 0-10 degrees.
More degrees means loosing VMG.
Reduce sail area, reef your main, play with wang, cunningam and backstay . least, but not last, remember the mac doesnt like strong wind.

[kmclemore]

Marsanden, that's always been MHO... I've found that nearly every boat I've ever sailed has the best performance when you've achieved a 10-15º heel. Any more than that and you're spending more effort driving down the sail and/or losing wind out the top of the sail.

[Lease]

play with wang

Must try that...............

[Moe]

I'm not disagreeing with the goal of not exceeding 10-15º, but found it hard not to exceed with the full main at 14-16 knots (top of BN4). The deep factory reef point seemed overkill at those speeds and even at 17-18 knots (bottom of BN5).

I think if 10-15º is your goal, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, installing an additional reef point between the foot and the factory reef point would be a good investment for good performance in the fairly common 14-18 knot winds. The factory MacGregor sails come with what most would consider the 2nd reef point.

The C-18 was the opposite. It only had the 1st, lower reef point. We had SailCare add a second, deeper one, when we had the sail cleaned this past winter. While it's pretty clear I would prefer hanked on foresails with a downhaul, I/me is a subset of we/us, which wants roller furling. So when we had the new genoa built, we went with a 135. That's a compromise between 100 and 150, and is 100% at 75% deployment. We also had a foam luff pad installed. Until it gets broken in a bit, it does make furling tightly a difficult task. But I hope it performs as advertised.

--
Moe