should i increase jib size on frac rig oyster 26 for racing?

[Oysterbob]

Hi all,

i have a 26 foot Oyster sloop with 3/4 fractional rig, enjoy club racing & looking to increase speed if possible. Looking at the pros & cons of increasing sail sizes, the mainsail doesnt go to the ned of the boom so the foot could be extended by about 10" , also wondering about increasing the jib size, obviously not tooo much to get an undesirable lee helm effect.. any thoughts?

some of the club racers that do well seem to have enormous genoas, but most are masthead rigs

cheers

[Faster]

Bob, we are sailing a version of the Nicholson 345, also a 3/4 frac and are currently running an extra roach mainsail and a small non overlapping jib.

I do feel we are underpowered until about 10 knots true, and would also like to go to a 135% or so headsail for those times. I doubt going to a 150 would be all that much better given the proportion of power than is in the largish main.

The ease of handling and tacking the smaller headsail is a big bonus, but we generally are cruising doublehanded. For racing I'd say you would do well with a variety of headsails to match conditions... some racers will even have a 'light #1" (153% or so) and a heavy #1 (same size) to optimize for the day.

Keep in mind, too, though, that your rating will be affected by the sails you carry, and often the trade off can be acceptable in terms of settling for the smaller sail and getting the rating break. Once you know the benefits of your own boat and how she performs in various conditions you can make those kinds of calls.

[paulk]

You also need to watch where the black bands are on your spars, and not have your sails go past them. Your handicap rating is based on the sail area defined by the black bands. If you exceed that, your rating will have to be recalculated, and you may not like the result (or the cost of re-re-cutting your sails.)

[Oysterbob]

@ Faster & paulk thanks for replies much appreciated

im going to check what percentage size jib i have this afternoon & get more info, dont know where my marks would on the boom regarding max sizing, im sure there is a way to find out

one question i have is if i went for a larger jib/genoa using a roller furling would it compromise the sail a lot of it was rolled up a bit in a blow..?

also is there a normal standard for fractional rigs regarding what percentage headsail to go for?

[williamkirk]

I have had a couple of 3/4 frac boats and have one now. I have always found that the boats sail better with a larger headsail because bigger headsail helps to balance out the main. Using various controla like backstay, outhaul, halyeard tension and jib car position helps depower sails up wind and now you have enough sail up to be competitive when you get to the upwind mark and turn the corner.
I have a Pearson Flyer, 3/4 frational, pretty light for the sail area, main and 155%, and when we go upwind and overpowered we do what we like to call controlled roundups. Rather than fighting the boat to try and get the bow down, we gently let the boat come up and when she starts to fletten out we bring the nose back down. We make great strides upwind with this technique because we are not dragging the rudder throguh the water sideways trying to control the boat.

[Oysterbob]

@ williamkirk, many thanks for reply i will try that controlled roundup technique & see if it goes with our boat

we do well on reach, broad reach & runs, just upwind is a nightmare

do you ever change sails during a race, like with dual foil system?