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Apr 19, '04 1:00 AM
by usprelude2 for everyone

I have recently started racing my 1978 Ballad. We have made great strides in upwind performance and hope to continue..however downwind is another matter. We consistantly lose ground and are passed by what should be slower boats. I use a 150% genoa for downwind and recently added a whisker pole. This definatlly helped but we still need more. At this point we are sailing with the wind over over stern quater on the side opposite that of the pole. The main, which is fairly new is let out until it is just touching the rear lower shroud. I ease up on the main halyard and outhaul. We also loosen up the backstay tension and try to keep the weight centered or aft.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? Has anyone seen polar curves for this hull? It would be great to have a base line to work with so we know what we are shooting for. Any suggestions would be helpful....

Tags: general sailing

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6 CommentsChronological Reverse Threaded

msn-vcjones wrote on Apr 22, '04

I'm not a racer, strictly a cruiser, but my experience is that the boat does not perform very well downwind, particularly in light air. I recently purchased a spinnaker, and find that that increases downwind speed by about a knot and a half.

One thing I wish I had not done is replace the sacrificial dacron on my roller furling 150% genoa with sunbrella. When the dacron finally rotted, my sail repairer suggested the sunbrella fix. The added weight on the headsail led to loss of about half a knot both upwind and downwind.

msn-jc0tton wrote on Apr 26, '04

Racing against various classes of boats and except in the lightest of winds I have never thought that my Albin Ballad is at a disadvantage downwind. I do have a fairly big spinnaker and try and avoid a dead run whenever possible. Without a decent spinnaker I think the boat suffers from having such a small mainsail

msn-usprelude2 wrote on Apr 26, '04

I race under a PHRF rating that is supposed to compensate fro my lack of
spinnaker..the difference in rating is about 23 seconds per mile. Perhaps I
would do better to get a spinnaker and suffer the penalty. I may gain enough
to make the differnce worth while.

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msn-misstress6 wrote on Jun 15, '08

I noticed on some of the photos that some Ballads were using Spinnaker snuffers. How are they rigged and what are the pros,cons and any other advice

Brendan

msn-basinet wrote on Jun 22, '08

Brendan,

I've been using using a snuffer for 4-5 years. Initially, I had grand plans of being able to set my spinnaker while sailing solo. A few attempts at doing so convinced me that my skills level was not up to that sort of thing. A strong sense of self preservation prevented me from further attempts.

Snuffers are very easy to rig and it allows one to very rapidly kill the spinnaker and quickly deploy your jib. They are not, by any stretch, a subsitute for a well trained crew. And I am sure there are some drawbacks; but at my age safety is of prime importance to me.

If you wish, next week week I will take several "how to" photos of and post them to this site.

Regards,

Dan

Acqua di Vita

msn-misstress6 wrote on Jul 6, '08

Hi Dan,I have not yet used the snufferand as holidays approach and Western Is;es of Scotland beckon (weather permitting) some photos would be appreciated. I have raced full crewed on other racing machines so am aware of spinnakes drills but not with a snuffer and short handed

Brendan

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