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Racer needed, Alexandria VA

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Bruce Baker
Captain

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USA
402 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/05/2003 : 15:54:35

Tuesday night, we were rather comprehensively outsailed by another C-25 in our regular Tuesday night race on the Potomac. I was wondering if there is a C-25 skipper out there who might be able to show us how to make the boat go fast? I don't know if we were pinching too much, had the main set wrong, or what, but we were dead in the water while our competition was off like a scalded cat! Anybody out there want to give us a little "rock star" advice?

Bruce Baker
Falls Church, VA
"Yee Ha" 3573
'83SR/SK

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5909 Posts

Response Posted - 06/05/2003 : 17:36:35

This is a guess. The likelihood is that the other boat has recently stripped his bottom and keel and repainted it, and you haven't. Take Patrick (sv "Luckystar") for example. He did a complete bottom job and finished second in the first race he ever entered. As I recall, the only person who beat him was the club champion. A thorough bottom job will make you look like a "rock star." Nothing else is likely to make that great of a difference...not better sails, or better sail trimming, or racing savvy, or hi-tech bells and whistles. If your boat has more raw speed than the competition, you can make mistakes and still run away from them. It's a lot of work, but it pays off.

It's possible that you were pinching or doing something else that caused you to lose speed, but without having been on your boat, there's no way of knowing.

Steve Milby "Captiva Wind" C-25 T/FK #2554

Edited by - on

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3324 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2003 : 00:02:49

Bruce - does he,perchance, have a Tall Rig??? If not, then Steve is correct - a clean (i.e. baby bottom smooth!) hull will always gain you a knot or two. Don't attempt to sail too high, especially in light air, footing off a little will often make a huge difference in speed (although you will lose a boat length or so to leeward). Keep an eye on your telltales - they "talk" to you, but you have to listen!<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
Derek

<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3dc30b3127cce942c608d6f1e0000001010" border=0>
TRFK#2262"This Side Up"

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2003 : 09:00:55

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
This is a guess. The likelihood is that the other boat has recently stripped his bottom and keel and repainted it, and you haven't. Take Patrick (sv "Luckystar") for example. He did a complete bottom job and finished second in the first race he ever entered. As I recall, the only person who beat him was the club champion. A thorough bottom job will make you look like a "rock star." Nothing else is likely to make that great of a difference...not better sails, or better sail trimming, or racing savvy, or hi-tech bells and whistles. If your boat has more raw speed than the competition, you can make mistakes and still run away from them. It's a lot of work, but it pays off.

It's possible that you were pinching or doing something else that caused you to lose speed, but without having been on your boat, there's no way of knowing.

Steve Milby "Captiva Wind" C-25 T/FK #2554
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Milby has a great point. Most racers will jump in an clean the bottom with a sponge before a race or pull the boat and hose it down. Last year, the boat on which I race was 8 weeks late getting into the water. We had redone a lot of the deck and the boat was definitely lighter than in previous years. Plus, we had a fresh bottom going against boats that had been in the water for 2 months. We took the first 3 regattas (9 races) handily.

Our first regatta of the season is tomorrow and this past year we sanded the entire bottom (32 footer so it took some time) down to nothing, applied 2 barrier coats, sanded with 220 grit and then applied three coats of Interlux Regatta Baltoplate which we wet sanded with 800 to 1000 grit. I will let you know the results on Monday, but I am willing to bet that the smooth as a baby's a$& bottom is going to give us the competitive edge to put us over the top.

Coupled with that - Was this guy on the same side of the course as you? He may have had wind the you didn't have, lifting him to the mark, while you were being knocked down away. Just another thought.

DW

D. Wolff - "The Flying Wasp" #401 sr/sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 National Assn.
<img src="http://www.flags.com/dreamimages/Flags/measurer.jpg" border=0>

Edited by - on

Bruce Baker
Captain

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USA
402 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2003 : 09:44:06

As a matter of fact, he did have a new bottom job, and my bottom is a bit suspect. When I bought the boat, there was a coat of bottom paint on that looked pretty good, so I put two more coats on top. I used Petit Ultra SR (stands for slime resistant). No fancy sanding. No special fairing of the keel.

Last week, I used a "dry diver" on the boat. In hindsight, I don't think there was a lot of slime on the boat--I got a big cloud of black paint--Ultra being an ablusive paint.

Any thoughts on how various bottom paints do in racing conditions?

Bruce Baker
Falls Church, VA
"Yee Ha" 3573
'83SR/SK

Edited by - on

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3324 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2003 : 11:35:43

Bruce - I keep "This Side Up" on a hydro-hoist, so the only part in the water is about 90% of the keel. It has VC17 Offshore on it (recommended by my boatyard whose owner is a hard core racer). The more you clean it, the harder and smoother it gets!
Derek

<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3dc30b3127cce942c608d6f1e0000001010" border=0>
TRFK#2262"This Side Up"

Edited by - on

RobRothwell
Deckhand

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USA
1 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2003 : 15:36:58

Where do you race on the Potomac and how can I get information?

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 06/06/2003 : 17:44:59

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Any thoughts on how various bottom paints do in racing conditions?<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Like Derek, I also use a hard Teflon paint, VC-17M with biolux(although I do not use the vinyl paint that he uses). This paint provides a nice slick surface and the biolux additive that they incorporated this year should help on the slime.

<img src="http://www.catalina25-250.org/c25sm.gif" border=0>Don Lucier<img src="http://www.catalina25-250.org/c25sm.gif" border=0>
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2d904b3127cce9f7cd9ffdf1d0000003010" border=0>
North Star SR/FK

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