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When we shorthauled the 35s5 the surveyor and a few of us got into a
long discussion about the IOR influence on the 35s5. Her sucked in
tail
section, how she picked up generous waterline when heeled...a big
debate broke out about downwind sailing.
"They're pigs downwind and it takes a lot of talent to go fast." A few
nods of agreement. The boat's name, Windward First is a joke about how
fast she is on that tack. Dead downwind can be rough. Other discussion
about how it was important to keep her nose up with a modified set of
the chute, sacrificing some shape for downdraft, but I don't have
enough experience with chutes to understand the nitty gritty. Her
owner
says we'll fly the chute the day before we decommission her.
I found the boat fast downwind, but I wasn't racing of course. Racing
is sometihing we'll try with her, but it's far from a top priority. As
a cruiser she'll be faster than most.
Then another discussion started about her wing. The owner said she was
quicker to semi-plane with the wing than his previous deep draft
model.
"But there's more wetted surface and the foil is for lateral
pressures/lift and can be counterproductive downwind", came another
remark. Her owner said this wasn't the case.
Anyway...thoughts on this? I'm no performance hound but I listened
with
interest to all. None of it matters much for our intended usage, but
this will be my first "performance" boat so I want to know more!

Robert B
35s5
NY



"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
ups.com...
A superior helm is necessary because it's tough to control that thing
downwind.


When I sailed the 35s5 downwind in 20 knots (In St. Pt, FL) I had no
problems at all. In fact she was very easy to handle. I think part of
the problem is that I actually sailed the boat and you haven't. Also,
no one anywhere said that the boat is tough to handle downwind. What
they did say is that she's not a top notch speed demon dead downwind.
Then again, compared to most full keel beasts like yours, which have
zero performance, any light racer will be hard for you to deal with.
Get some sailing lessons and get back to us.
May we say ANY shots of your boat under sail, Joe?

RB
35s5
NY