CP 23 2nd reefing

[JF AIR]

I am contemplating the posibility of a 2nd reef in my original main...Last season I encountered excesive heeling under 20-25 knts
Are there any specs to follow
I sail a 135 genoa on a CDI furler....what is a safe surface reduction coupled with one reef or 2nd reef in the main
tks in advance for the specs if any existing
jf air

[dawntreader]

grinder,

second reefs are good.  made sure that was included when I ordered my new main.

Re: foresail area,
There is no set formula.  It is a factor of how your boat balances out.  It will take some experimentation on your part to determine this for your boat.  Excessive weather helm (the tiller's pull in the direction of the wind) means not enough foresail.   

There is a concern with roller furlers, (less so on high end one's like Harken).  If anything slips in a hard blow, they come unfurled and you have a lot of sail very quickly, at a time you need it least. 

good luck with this,

mike

[Bob23]

jf:
   My main has only 1 set of reefpoints and I really could've used a second set this past summer. Thanks for the reminder...I'm gonna get the points put in this spring.
   As far as excessive healing, the 23's are designed to heel. I sailed in a friends 19 once last summer and was surprised it didn't heel more. The 19 seems to have more of a hardish chinned hull than the 23's. That being said, my 23 seems to like to heel a bit, as monohulls will. At about 10 degrees, she seems happy. At about 18 knots of wind and above, I find that reefing the main results in better performance and more speed. I guess it's just a matter of matching the sail area to the wind speed. Having too much horsepower just results in excessive healing and more strain on the rig.
   I have a CDI roller furler on my 23 and have had no problems with it. Gotta keep the lines clear and in good shape. If it's maintained correctly and nothing breaks, it should not come unfurled by itself. Of course, Mr. Murphey sometimes is a stowaway and  just waits for the right moment to strike.
   In high winds last summer (25-30 kts) I sailed under 1/3 of my genoa and no main- felt great-maintained control and plenty of speed. (5-6 knots)
Bob23 in NJ, on the hard and waitin' for spring!

[curtisv]

I had a second reef added.

http://www.faster-light.net/remote-access/projects_S_S.html

Curtis

[kchunk]

Hey there Curtis! Thanks for catching up on all those replies and thanks for the link to your site!!! That's going to be great a reference for me! We had quite a thread going here about the second reef point. My boat was rigged just like yours, two reef points on the sail but hardware on the boom to rig only one at a time. Rigging the second reef line hardware on the other side of the boom is a great idea...not to mention most of the modifications you've made to your boat.

Let me ask you this...was there any mods you made to your boat that you regret or wish you had done differently? I love to see how people modify their production boats and you certainly appear to have done an outstanding job! Thanks again for the info.

--Greg

[curtisv]

Let me ask you this...was there any mods you made to your boat that you regret or wish you had done differently? I love to see how people modify their production boats and you certainly appear to have done an outstanding job! Thanks again for the info.

Greg,

I'd have to think about that.  None come to mind right away as being big mistakes.  I bought my CP23 new and a few things I got with the boat originally were a mistake.  The 150 genny is one.  The CDI furler is another.  I originally had an 8HP Honda and later decided to go engineless.  I regret not finding the time yet to build the sculling oar that I've wanted to build for two years now.

I do regret cutting down the 150 genny to a smaller size before getting North Sails to make me a new headsail.  I could have sold the 150 as it came and saved a bit.  As is I won't sell that sail because the recut didn't work out.

I'm still not happy with the wiring to the mast.  I keep getting corrosion in the VHF wire and have to cut it back and put a new connector on each year.  Eventually it will get too short and I'll have to run another wire to the masthead.

The trolling motor modification has not worked out so far.  I've only tried to use it a few times.  The first time I had spade lugs break inside.  I fixed that a year later.  Last year it refused to work again, this time after only a few minutes.  I think the space lugs are jammed in too tight in the plastic control enclosure and bent at 90 degrees and I may need to replace all four of them rather than one at a time.

I have yet to try the water towed generator.  I got a refurb from Hamilton Ferris at a good price but I haven't done any big sailing where I'd spend a half hour to an hour on the same tack in deep water just to play with this toy.  Before I had it I went on a sail where I wished I had better charging.  Now that I'm set with that I haven't been on any two weeks sails to make use of it.  It should work ... but then the trolling motor also should have worked.

I still have interior work that is unfinished.  For now with my time being limited I'd rather put what little time I have into sailing.  The interior projects  will have to wait.

If I were to do something different I might go with hank on headsails.  The ProFurl is a real convenience but I'm wondering how long it will be until I experience a real nasty jam at the worst possible time.

More often I finish something and wonder why I didn't do it sooner.  I've wanted to add a traveller for quite a while and that is fairly easy to install and not outrageously expensive.  Sculling oar first.

Curtis

[Bob23]

Curtis:
   Are you using one of those gold connectors on your VHF cable? I've had no corrosion with the gold one.
   I've been thinking about a mid-boom traveller for my 23, a 1985 23/2. I suppose I could get some improved main sail shape with this but I just love all that cockpit room. I guess one can't have it all.
   Just got done looking at your site. Great! Your Red Siberian Husky looks just like an enlarge version of ours. Wonderful dogs, not much for the water but smart as a whip. Occasionally, I'll take "Scarlet" out for a row on my Annapolis Wherry here in NJ. She just likes sitting in the bow looking beautiful!
   Heres to a wonderful 2008 sailing season...mine starts today!
Bob23

[edbuchanan]

Hi Curtis,

I have several tricks for keeping our VHF antenna cable functioning perfectly for many years now.  I use more-or-less-traditional phenolic dielectric UHF connectors with a UG-176 reducer.  It might be difficult to find marine grade versions of these items today.  The Teflon type PL259 can occasionally have the center pin (or whole dielectric) move shift out of position, so I don't use them on the boat.  The connector is soldered to marine grade (that means non-wicking) RG-8X.  I use Cross Devices "STUF, dielectric waterproof Connector Filler" on the center pin before connecting the deck connector to the mast PL259.  Then I tighten the connector using mild force with slip joint pliers.  I cover the assembly with rigging tape.  The completed joint is tested with a VHF antenna analyzer (about $300).  There is no sign of corrosion after at least 10 years of salt water sailing/storage.

Ernie (Molly, 23/II 1984)

[curtisv]

The VHF connector seems to be fine.  The VHF wire is not tinned and the copper turns green.  The problem I am having is with the connector side inside the boat.  Must be the salt spray in the air.  The connector at the masthead is completely enclosed in shrink tubing so it has no problems.  I need to make sure that the VHF wire is tinned next time.  This was sold as marine VHF wire but isn't working out.

Curtis