Leaderboard

I just finished a fun week of sailing my Core Sound 17.3 in Pensacola with the Florida 120 group. Going up wind on Saturday I thought my tack angles were good but felt like I was going slower than I should. I had everything sheeted in and tight for a close haul but the slot was really narrow. Even a slight turn left or right and the boat depowered. Is that normal? Should I have sheeted out more to a close reach for a faster over all time to destination (Velocity Made Good)? Recommendations or thoughts appreciated. Please ignore the terribly poor first few tacks. GPX tracks can be seen with more detail here: https://www.viewgpx.com/route/vZyLmctP

Lots of good advice. I adjust the sails and centerbord to get neutral or just a slight bit of weather helm. In gusts I slowly point up. But I watch the water to ease off and keep the boat driving as the puff eases. The key is to keep rudder movement to a minimum. Lastly, avoid trying to point with sloops. Set an unwind way point and put your GPS in VMG mode and play on a day with fair wind. I had a Sea Pearl 21 that took me years to really sail to its potential. Same with Skeena.

As a basic rule I sheet in my main to just inside the gunwale and then the mizzen comes in more. This opens the slot and increase wind speed through it. I set the main first, then tweak the mizzen till the tell tales stream smoothly. Sail shape is based on wind speed. In light winds it is easy to stall to weather by sheeting in too much or over flattening the sails. As to reefing, I find that the easiest decision to make. If I can't keep the boat flat, or near flat most of the time I reef. In a gust I sheet the main out a tad and dump some wind rather than feather up too much. This keeps the boat driving through waves. In really light winds I move way forward and to lee to reduce wetted surface area and the heel helps keep sail shape ready for the next puff of wind. I am always testing the wind, from falling off a tad much to feathering up a tad much, always looking for the sweet spot.

On a boat with as many parts as the Marissa, I would hesitate to sign up for measuring and cutting. It will more than double your build time. That’s fine if you’re more of a builder than a boater,, but I’ll bet you’d actually want to use this boat sooner rather than later. Just my opinion. I also believe the Marissa is one helluva boat.

Another mistake I've made is not reefing in strong winds and waves. When I'm not reefed like I should be I pinch too much which slows the boat down, and then the waves slow the boat more. Reefing properly prevents those problems and you pick up speed and punch through the waves better.

I'll bet you were sheeted in too tight. I used to make that mistake. The way to know is to watch your tell tales. If they are streaming straight back you are getting good air flow over your sails. I had a bad habit of sheeting my mizzen in too much and I wasn't looking at the tell tails. Sheeting it out just a little bit while watching the tell tails made an improvement. Flattening your sails with the snotter helps as well. Graham and Allen have made some great posts on upwind sailing; do a search for upwind and read them. They helped me. When I sail upwind with similar length boats they can point higher but I can sail faster which compensates.

When I ordered my plans for a Spindrift 11', I was able to order full paper templates. If you are good with saws, block plans and step by step instructions you will do just fine. What I meant about the plywood is that it does make a difference in the end product. The extra upfront cost will pay dividends in the end. I think B & B will sell you the okoume plywood in full sheets. I think making the hull and deck is probably only 10% of the whole project. The closer you get to the end the more work there seems to be.

Standard big box plywood is normally heavier, has voids in the inner cores and to generate a good finish it requires a lot more fairing, translating to more material cost, more hours . Of course some people seek out different levels of finish and levels of paint products. When you are done with the hull, your performance sometimes suffer from the design criteria.. Big box plywood does not bend in the same manner as dedicated marine grade plywood either. So you will struggle , in some cased even breaking in critical bending area. Of course the planned build may not experience this. But the surface of big box plywood is horrible.