Performance tips

[Donizetti]

Hi all,

 

I thought it would be interesting to have a discussion about perfomance tips. I know we have a cruiser boat... but it's always fun to get the best out of it!

 

My first tip would be to fine tune the sails using the Beneteau Sail trimming guide that can be found here:

 

http://www.neilprydesails.com/pdfs/b40%20tuning%20guide.pdf

 

Feel free to share your tips with us!

 

Regards,

 

Don.

[Mike Brown]

The 40/43 like to be sailed fairly flat with no more than 10-15 degrees of heel. The boats have plenty of sail area and I find I need to pay close attention to both the mainsheet and traveler to maintain control and speed on our 43. Once the mainsheet is set I usually just play the traveler. Get it set up right for the conditions and they fly. Hard on the wind in 15-20kt winds I've sustained 8.5 to 9kts. Thats through the water, not GPS over the ground. Falling off to a beem reach speeds go up to 9+ touching 10 in the puffs. Don't have a gennaker yet so can't speak to what she'll do on a run other than to say playing the vang and flying the genoa like a kite provides respectable speed. Earlier this summer did a 6 hr run seeing all sort of wind speeds 5-15kts and angles and averaged 7.5kts all while dragging the dinghy/motor behind. Not to shabby.

[Mike Brown]

Mike next time try bringing her back up on her feet and keeping her flat by working the traveller. I think you'll find she's a tad faster with a more balanced helm. Flat is fast!

Mike

[Mike Brown]

Mike, with winds of that speed you'll need to wrap the windward traveller line around a winch to handle it. Ther's just too much tension on it otherwise. I take just a bit of pressure off so I can release the clutch then ease it down moving it in small increments until I'm happy with the way the boat handles and moves. Optimum heel angle is 10-15 degrees. Any more and the helm will be a handful and you'll actually start to scrub speed. Paying attention to mainsail twist is also key to a balanced helm.

As for the jib sheet tension I find mine to be the same. Far more tension that I expected. I went with New England StaySet sheets this summer and so far believe they handle the loads better than the stock sheets. They're also softer on the hands and wont leave marks on the gelcoat like the others did.

Have fun with the boat, play with the settings and let us know what you find.

Mike

[Michael Boyle]

I have had our 43 for a year now and have really been impressed with performance. She is not set up for regualr racing with the primary winchs in such a position that any crew has to face aft to winch and the lack of winches for traveller or spinny/asymetrical but still a joy to sail. Like Mike I believe that she needs to be flat 15 degree of heel is about the max before helm becomes heavy an less effective also I think that she loses some waterline length when heeled any more because of the beam carried so far aft. My sails are Elvestrom with a slab reef main (think that decision might have been a bit macho should have had a furling main). The genny needs to a long way forward on the track on mine about 6 holes from front with full genny and moving to 2 holes from front when reefed--I think that the track is too long and too far aft. The main needs to be trimmed with little twist in the mainsail and the boom adjusted for centre line as the wind increases we trim using the traveler but you need to use the winches as in anything over 15knots even with the multiple purchase it is too heavy. I usually have to reef in anything above 16/17 knots to keep her flat but can then bring the main back toward the centre line. One of the problems is that the first reef is enormous. As the wind increases let the vang off and ease the main to induce some twist but I still use the traveler to trim and keep the boat flat and fast. I am not getting the speeds that Mike is (could be annoying and will have to practice more) but certainly on channel crosiing and longer runs have averaged 7.5 kns fairly consistantly occasionly have speeds of 8+ an 9+ off wind but have yet to achieve 8 on the wind.

Its a great boat well mannered  and very comfortable ours is 60% cottage in the Solent and 40% sailing cruiser. She fits both uses well. Enjoy and play thats whats its all about.

Michael

PS When playing the main on the traveler make sure the crew doesn't winch back toward centre against a jammed leeward side traveler sheet, a size 8 (US 4/6) lady winched the cheek block off the  coach house roof

[Donizetti]

I sail on the St-Lawrence river, with tides and current, so it's very hard to determine if this is my speed or the speed with the current.

 

With my B40, the best I did so far is 10.2 knots on SOG (Speed Over Ground on GPS) downwind at 20 knots... current helping. The season is over, but I'm looking forward to try using the traveler next year,  according to your comments it seems to add some speed. So far, I was only using the mainsheet to ease the boat when heeling too much.

 

Also, I think that my hull speed indicator is inaccurate, so I will have to calibrate next spring.

 

I'll come back with new data then.

 

Happy sailing!

 

Donizetti.

[James Taylor]

10.2 SOG sounds pretty quick to me,with or without current in a B40 or B43. We had our B43 up to 10.5 SOG in Delaware Bay with winds of 18-20kts apparent on a nice reach and to be honest, it's about as fast as I care to go in this boat.We were sailing the Delaware Bay to New York via Annapolis Md with sails full out. I believe our boat would have increased speed had I reefed the main and genoa sails earlier to flatten the boat.It also would have been less stress on the equipment. Using the traveler to flatten the boat will work but,with full main sails but you still have a lot of sail area out there and if the wind increase in strength significantly it might get very interesting. I now reef early to keep the boat flat and fast and under control. Use your traveler, vang, cars,sail trim to achieve optimum performance and these boats will go fast. We can pretty much get our boat to do half of the wind speed plus or minus current when properly trimmed. With that being said you had winds of 20kts and speed of 10.2. Sounds to me like you were doing okay but you do want her to be as flat as possible with proper sail trim to get those speeds and avoid undue stress on the equipment.

James

[Jeff Shukis]

Has anyone figured out a way to help the B40 point higher? The standard tracks dramatically limit how close I can sheet the jib. I can use the opposite sheet to "inhaul" my 105% summer jib, but the 140% winter jib would need a different solution. I've even thought of putting a second set of tracks onto the cabin top - which unfortunately would spoil the nice clean lines.

 

Jeff

[Jeff Shukis]

I'm no racer, but here is my collection of tips:

1) Get a folding prop +.75 knots

2) Keep the bottom clean +.5 knots

3) Don't get the roller furling main. I love the convenience, but I really notice the poor sail shape.

 

In lighter winds, the biggest speed improvement is between our ears - knowledge and experience. My friends who are racers or ex-racers can sail my boat quite a bit faster than I can in those conditions. Spending a bit of money on lessons or participating in some friendly racing might be the cheapest "speed boost" for those who sail in relatively light winds. 

 

For 20+ knot winds, I have some very specific tricks that I've learned.

1) Come up with a specific plan for depowering the boat as the winds build. The goal is to control sail power, keep the boat flat enough to be efficient, and avoid all but minimal weather helm. I have built up a plan for my boat for different wind speeds that includes headsail furling %, mainsail furling %, jib lead position, halyard tension, traveler position, and outhaul tension. I think of it as a matrix that includes the settings for each wind strength.

I regularly sail at full speed close hauled in 20-25 knot winds with the boat heeling perhaps 15-17 degrees and with the rudder at 3 degrees and near zero weather helm. When I get a 30 knot puff, the boat barely budges - no drama whatsoever. The boat will not do this without specific settings. By default, weather helm kicks in at about 15 knots and gets overwhelming at around 20.

 

Jeff

[Mike Brown]

Mike, sounds like you're getting to know her quite a bit better. It does take time to do so doesn't it. Now that you've got some experience what kind of speeds are you seeing? What heel angles are you finding work best?

Mike

[Mike Brown]

Mike, it sounds like you're getting in a lot of sailing. Nothing like it to hone the skills. It's taken 3 years for me to get comfortable with trimming her but well worth the time and effort. Just a suggestion but try reducing heel even more. You'll have to drop the traveller to do it but once she's on her feet (anything under 15 degrees) I think you'll see even more speed out of her. I pay close attention to the main as it's the driving force behind speed and a balanced helm. I've seen 1/2 kt speed increases just by trimming the main and reducing heel. While I haven't done so yet the next time I'm in winds in the high teens I'm going to reef the main just a bit. Enough to allow full trim and still produce both full speed and a balanced helm. We have the roller furling main which allows infinite reefing options so it should be easy enough to do. Do you have Neil Pryde sails on your boat? If so I can share their Sail Trim Guide, which is also available by googling Neil Pryde, then searching for Beneteau. It's informative and provides a good starting point for setting both genoa and mainsail trim. Again these are great, fast sailing boats.  Good luck and have fun.

Mike

[Mike Brown]

Mike, yes no doubt the first reef takes up a bit more than perhaps you need. Sounds like a good plan to try both and see which works best. I'll be interested in seeing how you make out.

As for heeling more than 15 when cruising, just ask my wife what she thinks. Actually there's never a need for her to comment, it's always written plainly in her expression. Fortunately for both of us it's rare to see anything to that degree.

Have fun and keep us posted!

Mike

[foster]

Hello Ed,

Like you I was disappointed by the standard sails and got a new set made of hydranet triradial from Bainbridge by Delta Voiles in France. The main has three reefs and the genoa has a much better cut and stability. We also have a removable staysail with a dedicated solent for going upwind in strong winds.

The boat has to sail no more than 18-20° of heel with a moderate weather helm of around 5°.

I am trying to find a way of stiffening the front stay for going upwind.

Could you post pictures of your adjustable backstays.

Thank you for your help.

Denis

s/y HIBERNIA