Sun Odessy 37

[force4ormore]

Hello, I am chartering a Sun Odessy 37 (whitesail) in St. Martin in March (Heinekin Race Week). I am looking for specifics on this boat including the following:

Instrumentation (what to expect above board)
Jibing angles (Polar diagrams)
Barber Hauling (when/how to do it)
Tips on heavy air trimming (how to work through the wind ranges for this boat)
Any other tips to sail this boat fast!

Thanks,
Tim

[paulk]

It appears that Sun Odessys may not get raced much? The best place to answer most of your questions may be your charter broker. He should be able to tell you what instruments there are aboard, and which ones work. (Things in the Caribbean can sometimes break, and there is this island mentality about not rushing around to fix them... ) Barber hauling? First, how old are the sails? If they''re baggy and blown out (quite possible on an older charter boat) a barber hauler may be the last thing you''d want, especially in a good breeze. Are there even extra snatch blocks and lines aboard you could use to rig up barber haulers? The ones I''d use on my boat would be the same ones I''d use for my spinnaker guys, and if you''re chartering whitesail... no spinnaker gear, eh? Better check with the broker.

Other than that, if it''s the good looking boat I think it is, the best advice may be to keep people and their gear OUT of the aft cabins and cockpit, and to center all possible weight right over the keel. I believe the keel may be cast iron, rather than lead, so it can use all the help it can get. If you can get the slot to create nice parallel leeches in both the main & jib, you''ll be headed in the right direction. It might be counter-productive to close off the slot too much; the boat is pretty heavy and won''t move if you starve it. Bon vent ŕ St.Martin!