MacGregorSailors.com

Works every time.

You are changing tack anyways, just make that part of your routine if you want. As you are changing sides, just give the ropes a little tug. It doesn't take much, just enough to center the mast and let the wind do the rest.

Again, only needed in light winds.

BTW, just me being me, if the wind gets too light, I have to be in a rare state of mind to stay sailing and not douse the sails and either just sit there or power up and cruise for a while, even at only 6-8 mph.....

Maybe it's and age thing.... not much patience to just sit there at 2 mph with the sails up......

G

beene wrote:Maybe it's and age thing.... not much patience to just sit there at 2 mph with the sails up......

1-2 knot winds are when I feel most challenged when sailing. Sail trim is critical and it requires everything in my bag of tricks to get the most out of what little wind there is. It really makes me think, as well as keep an eagle eye on the water surface to find the puffs.

Our little boat ghosts along pretty nicely, especially downwind wing-on-wing even without a whisker pole. It goes upwind pretty well, too and what amazes me is the amount of rudder authority it has to get through a tack without having to backwind the jib, even with almost no way on. That also really helps coming into our slip very slowly with no reverse gear for brakes.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
--
Moe... on vacation this week and it's raining.

Moe wrote:Different strokes for different folks, I guess ...

How true!
But I'm w/Geoff. Winds at <8 knots deserve 4 strokes!

I also have a similar boat to Moe (Catalina 16) which I may sell - not sure yet but it has a somewhat similar wing keel - probably a slight bit higher aspect than the Catalina 18. These are relitively low aspect foils so dont stall easilly and the wing limits the induced drag but the high aspect foil of the Macs (which I like) is going to have a lot better L/D once moving. My little Catalina is just a fine sailboat but for anyone who thinks the Mac classic 26 models is cramped compared to the X or M, you should try and even fit in a Catalina 16 cabin.. but its actually got a larger cockpit than the 26S and the Catalina 18.. FYI, my Mac 26S is actually faster to set up and get in the water than the Catalina 16 and since I pretty much only trailer the boat, Im probably going to sell the 16 - but it sure sails nicely.

A recent discussion on this site got me thinking about something that the X, S, and 25, ect) could do for very light wind and that is possibly sail with the centerboard raked back as this should allow the centerboard to work at higher angles off attack without stalling. When the boat is moving slowly, the high aspect vertical foil needs too much angle off attack to generate the lift to keep from sliding sideways and at some point the foil stalls and the boat goes sideways. But its possible that with the centerboard raked back, the threshold for boat speed where the centerboard stalls could be pushed down. Ill probably never find out because I also fire up the motor in this wind range.