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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Sailing 'characteristics'

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Waterboy
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USA
204 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/25/2004 : 16:45:28

There's probably a thread(s) on this already, but I haven't found it yet, 'tho I have found many scattered tidbits.

Generally, I'm trying to understand the similarities and differences in general sailing characteristics 25's compared to 250's, water ballasts to wing keels, swing and fixed keels, etc.; specifically how the water ballast stacks up.

I will again expose my naivete' here by stating what I'm guessing the general characteristics of a 250 WB are compared to the others:
- WB points as well or better than its brethren
- WB is more tender and heels more easily 'cuz of how the ballast is distributed, and as such cannot carry as much headsail
- WB may less tender fore-to-aft 'cuz of ballast distribution, for whatever this may be worth

Also - doesn't a boat with a hanked on jib generally point a little better than a roller? 'seems like the leading edge of the wing might be better somehow.

I'd love to learn how to 'crunch the numbers' if that's possible, at least understand the fundamentals of what makes a particular design of boat sail the way it does. If anyone can recommend references I can read and comprehend without trying to relearn differential calculus, I'd appreciate it.

I posted this in the genral forum because I'm curious about the 25/250 comparison and because I believe the genral forum taps the widest and deepest pool of knowledge and experience.

Thanks folks,

Greg C250WB 'Sabrosa'

PS - the WB is the easiest to load and tow

Edited by - Waterboy on 09/25/2004 16:48:54

MattL
Admiral

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990 Posts

Response Posted - 09/25/2004 : 17:04:13

I haven't sailed on a sk or wk, but a friend sailed on my fk and said it is a bit more stable than his sk. In regards to pointing I don't think there is a noticible difference between the sk and fk. I think a 110 jib will point higher than a 150, because you can pull it in closer and therefore might go to windward better. But the larger size of the 150 makes up for this diffence in the down wind leg of a race.
Just my opinion

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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5909 Posts

Response Posted - 09/25/2004 : 21:31:16

My C25 is a fin keel, and I've sailed C25 swings and wings, and raced against all three types. The fins and swings point about the same. The wing doesn't point quite as well. I haven't noticed any significant difference in the tenderness of the three keel types, but the tall rigs are slightly more tender than the standard rigs.

I've sailed C250 WBs, but not, to my recollection, a wing. I've raced against both. The C25 is a little faster than either C250 and coasts farther. I believe the fastest C250 I've raced against was the wing keel, but I have also raced against a WB that was fast, and I don't know whether the difference was because of boat preparation or the skippers' sailing ability. I've never seen the two race against each other, so I can't be sure which is the faster. I don't know which of the C250s is more tender. The C250s are much more tender than the C25s, and, when overpowered they round up more abruptly than the C25s.

Edited by - Steve Milby on 09/26/2004 10:02:51

Waterboy
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Response Posted - 09/25/2004 : 23:03:20

I'm finding more and more tidbits, so to speak, and a few discussions in pretty good detail. Although I **bonkselfonhead* neglected to mark the thread, Arlyn (not surprisingly) gave a nearly exhaustive comparison, and there were two other threads titled '25 or 250' and '250 or 25' on the 25 and 250 specific forums, respectively.

It's interesting trying to ferret out the info I know is already here. Usually the search function times out for whatever reason, but when it doesn't, the list of threads is interesting and varies dramatically by search term. The best discussion of centerboard maintenance involved a typo/mispelling! Not complaining mind you; I offer up as many typos and mispellings as anyone.

I guess the reason I started this thread had to do with (oddly enough) draft as much as anything else. I've loved the 250WB thusfar, and we had it in some (for me) pretty heady stuff on Lake Superior this summer. But we may be semi-permanently located on a single fairly shallow lake, and the 250WB draws almost 6 feet board down, and from what I've read here, trying to sail with it trimmed up more than a tad ain't such a good idea (bang-bang-bang).

I should be happy I have a sailboat at all and the luxury of pondering this minutia.

Greg

PS - upon further reflection, I figure it's a better investment to a) learn to become a better sailor regardless of the boat I'm on, and b) worry more about where I am on whatever body of water and know where the shallow places are, rather than worry about the draft of my boat

Edited by - Waterboy on 09/25/2004 23:57:27

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