angle of heel

[roland cobine]

      ive read much about sailing over the past few years and have heard some about the optimum angle of heel in regards to a cp16. i have only sailed my boat about 6 times since i bought her late last summer and i think i know when shes "in the groove" so to speak. last week i bought a clinometer partly to see what that angle might be and partly like every sailor to have something else to "fiddle with".seems like i once read a posting that said the best angle of heel for a 16 was about 15 degrees. i have also read that keeping the heel angle down increases speed. i would appreciate any enlightenment on the subject. thanks as always and a have a safe and fun sailing day.

[Craig Weis]

The straighter she stands the faster she goes. She will heel. It's a sail boat you know. skip.
Additionally it is nicer to sail with the sheets relaxed a bit. Sail loose go fast. Choked in the sail and the sail shape is no good.  Unless the wind is abeam. That is what you can play with. Down haul. out haul, sheet block placement. For a big head sail keep the sheets on the outside of every thing, like the standing rigging. Find a good knot meter if you wish to max out in speed. But it is not really necessary if discretionary cash is tight. Why is my post on top of the post I wanted to reply to?

[kchunk]

Hi there Roland. I don't know any specifics regarding the 16, but generally speaking, a displacement boat's hull speed is a function of the length at the water line. Since the wind is almost always trying to blow a boat over, boat designers take advantage of that and design the hulls so the length at the water line is longer when heeled. So, theoretically, a sailboat's max speed is higher when heeled.

Now, how much heel is too much? This depends on a lot of things, but IMO, its primarily dependent on weather helm (the tendency for the boat to want to turn into the wind) and rudder position. Weather helm is a function of hull design and rigging. A little weather helm is a good thing for safety, but the more the boat heels the stronger the weather helm. Our CP's tend to have more weather helm than most boats. To counter the weather helm requires increase opposite rudder. More weather helm requires more rudder to maintain course. Eventually, you have so much rudder countering the weather helm that the rudder is now act more like a speed brake slowing the boat. If you insist on heeling even further (over-powering the boat), eventually the rudder will lose the battle, stalling or coming too close to the surface to be effective, and the boat will "round up", turn into the wind. Usually you can feel the rudder stalling through the tiller, or hear the turbulence behind the transom.

The exact best angle of heel will vary boat to boat just as rigging can vary boat to boat even if the hulls are identical.

Once you figure out YOUR best angle of heel, your main sheet becomes your throttle. I almost never cleat my main sheet at sail. In good winds and sailing close to the wind, the more you sheet the main the more power you're transferring from the wind to the boat. Sheet too tight and you can over power the boat. Ease the main and it's like taking your foot off the gas pedal. In good winds, when I'm trying to make my best speed, I'm constantly trimming the main.

Now consider ballast...that's your crew, your beer cooler, YOU, anything you can move from side to side. As you increase power to the boat by sheeting the main, the boat heels. Get your butt to the windward rail and the boat will right itself a bit and you can add more power by throttling or sheeting the main (stepping on the gas pedal). Get the first mate to the windward rail and you can add even more power. Get the beer cooler, the port-a-pottie, the spare anchor to the windward rail and, well, you get the idea.

You can also consider your ballast in another way. If one of your crew is susceptible to the queasy feeling of a boat healing more than just a few degrees, or doesn't fancy the idea of bounding from rail to rail every time you want to tack, you can just as easily accommodate them with the main sheet. Sheet the main, heels the boat; ease the main rights the boat. You won't go as fast but your crew may not be interested in going fast. Besides, who other than a true sailor can appreciate the difference between 5 kts. and 5.5 kts?  

[roland cobine]

     i appreciate the input. thankfully i dont have crew that is queesy and is uncomfortable with excessive heel. i think the greatest thing about sailing a monohull is the feel of the boat as she heels and the sense of the sweet spot that we feel when she hits the groove. as always wonderful advice. now can you guys straighten out the weather so i can go?