Pearson 34 Jib selection

[Alegria110]

I have a 1984 Pearson 34 - she's a great boat but I am in a dilema - go with the 150% jib for racing or stay with the 135% she's tender as is wiht the 135 but we lose so much downwind wiht the smaller sail - anyone else have experience racing one of these?

[JaredC]

Jib? Downwind? Therein lies your problem.

[Alegria110]

Marblehead Wednesday night racing - non sinnaker wise ass

[blt2ski]

Do you have crew? if so, go with the 155, if not, then stay with the 135. Not sure about you PHRF region, but here in the NW, you will probably be hit with a 3 if not 6 sec faster rating with a 155 over a 135. Along with, here we deal with the XXX% in terms of sq ft vs some going by LP length. I can use a sail up at 155% of the foretriangle before going to a code 6 ie -3 from base rating. A 155 comes to about a 152/153 full cut LP. These do help down wind vs smaller if in light airs. You may also wish to make this one on the light side, so if you are sailing in zephers it will catch them, then use the 135 upwind, switch to the 155 down wind in say 10-20 knot winds. I can use my 155 down wind in upwards of mid 20's with gusts to 30. Just as fast and safer than my spin in those winds.

Marty

[Alegria110]

I do have regular crew -and yes I will take a 3 sec/mile rating hit if I go with the 155 - problem is we've never really felt the lack of sail area upwind - only downwind in really light air & that is in part because the sail that came with the boat has a really high cut clew - so all that potential sail area between the deck & the clew is wasted with the original sail -

a potential issue is simplythe extra effort to get a sail that much bigger in quickly enough after a tack - is it really worth it enough to take a 3 sec rating hit?


The boat herself is a bit tender in anything over 10 kts unless I've got a ton or weight on the rail - since I sail genrally with a crew of 5-6 this is petentially a problem since we really can't fit anymore crew anyway.

I really feel torn on this one - assitionally our recreational handicap does not allow me to switch jibs depending on conditions - its either the 135 for the season or the 155 -

Frankly I wish I could go sail the boat with a 155 & test it before committing the the purchase either way...

[zz4gta]

Total(calc.)SA: 550.38 ft2
SA/Disp: 17.58
Disp. 11500 lbs./ 5216 kgs.
Ballast: 5800 lbs. / 2631 kgs.

This is not anywhere near a tender boat. Get the 155. Make sure you have tracks and adjustable leads to use a 155.

its either the 135 for the season or the 155

I'm having a hard time believing this. Could you provide a reference for this info? If that's true, make a lot of noise and get it changed, or find another handicap system to race under. One sail for the entire season? That is asinine.

[Alegria110]

recreational handicap - 6sec/mile - If I wanted to lose that & go with several headsails that's a different program - one I can't afford & would not do with this boat anyway. PHRF New England....

[JaredC]

Maybe a deck-sweeping 135% would be a nice compromise?

[Alegria110]

right - that's where I think I'm going....
Frankly I've never felt like she was underpowered upwind even with the existing 135 wit the really high cut clew - unfortunately that sail was not cut for racing & can't be flattened out at all.

If I buy the deck sweeper I get both the 6 sec mile recreational plus the additional 3sec/mile for 135% frankly based on where I sail I think that this 9 sec/mile is a better play -

Not to mention it's nearly $400 cheaper.

[blt2ski]

I can see where you are going with this. One thing to keep in mind.....if your area is LIKE my area, a deck sweeper may still have a bit more SA potential. If you are using 135% of the fro triangle as used here where I am, then the deck sweeper may be better. Another option, is to have a deck sweeper out of lighter better cloth than the HCC(high cut clew) 135 you have now, or splurge for a laminate to race with, save the HCC for daysails and cruising. Also, look to see if you can go to say a 140 or 142 potentially and still keep the 9 sec credit you have. IIRC here in Puget sound a 130-142 is a code 4 as you seem to be describing. So you may be able to go slightly bigger than what you have, keep the rating, gain some speed up and down wind with a larger genoa. Talk to your clubs rating person or whom ever did the rating for you, to see if you can go bigger and not take the hit. If you are going to have a new sail made, max it out for the code size you are trying to stay with in.

Marty