Boat Trim

Sailing against the local Guru yesterday, led to a discussion on boat trim. We were working our way up to the top mark in winds of 10-12 knots and I was sitting a little to weather and ahead doing my best to crap all over him. Every time he bore off a little, I came down to try and keep him in the dirty stuff. Eventually though he crept through with his better boat speed and that moment of hesitation on my part had him through and away. I asked him how come he had the better boat speed, and his response was that we sit to far forward. This led to a discussion on the merits of keeping the transoms out of the water against his concept of sailing the boat flat (my take is that the flat transom creates drag when submerged).

When he talks flat, his weight is aft of the shroud and the windward transom generally submerged at the base (in fact with the stern wave, it looks like he has at least half the gudgeon submerged). So, in the second race I went out and tried this, and boy did we suck!

Was I thrown a line or is there some merit in his argument?

This guys been winning almost as long as I've been alive, so I know he has skills that he aint sharing. I'm happy to believe that it's more about how he never stops following the lifts and headers and how he rigs up (he always slacks everything the moment he hits the beach, so I've not managed to gain much intel on that front) than the idea of what he said for boat trim. But am curious what others reckon.

Reading the likes of Phil Berman, Rick White and others, the idea I come away with is that the bows should be 4-6 inches away from the water, with your weight up forward by the pylons and this seems to result in the windward transom being clear of the water at least. Validating my trim more than his I think. But..... he's faster so is obviously doing something I'm not.

I know some of you race, so am hoping you'll share.

Cheers, PT.

Keeping the rudders in the water (deep) is better for several reasons. Better lateral resistance, better handling / steering. Mast raked aft also preforms better to weather. You want to move further aft as the wind increases to the point of nearing standing on the rudders when double trapped and ripping. If you sit forward, movement of the rudders sometimes causes drag if not fully immersed.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Thanks Matt. Guess what works for me in light winds needs to change for moderate ones.

We're not double trapped in 12 knots. Must be eating to many pies. Time to eat a carrot or tell the wife she has to diet. Have a fair amount of rake in the rig already. Although the hulls are old the rest of the rig, including shroud setup etc.. are all based on current specs. Will keep tweaking.

Not a lot of race focus on here. Guess the wily ones are keeping their secrets close to their chests.

Cheers, PT.

I am not into racing currently, but have done plenty in the past. What I find when solo (most of the time) is that if I am out on a 10-15mph day, in smooth water, if I move forward to just aft of the shrouds, the boat picks up speed (I can tell from the whine of the rudders). If it is choppy and I am in danger of burying the leeward hull, I go aft and pull the bow up alittle and that seems to work best. When it is really howling I am always as far back as I can get (survival sailing).