MACGREGOR 26 M, Owner'S Instructions Manual

Page: 26 / 28

these lines just tight enough to keep the rear edge of the sail from
fluttering. If you get the lines too tight, the rear edge of the sail
will cup toward the wind and slow the boat up a small amount.
The time to reduce sail area is when you first think that it might
be necessary. Even with less sail, the boat will be faster if the
heeling angle can be kept below 25 degrees. Beyond that, per-
formance goes all to hell.
The reefing sequence goes like this:
1. If you can’t keep the leaning angle below 25 degrees, flatten
the mainsail with the halyard and outhaul. Flatten the jib or
genoa by tightening the halyard. Loosen the vang to allow
the top of the mainsail to twist downwind and spill wind.
Move the jib deck pulley to the rear of the track to let
wind spill out of the top of the jib.
2. If you still can’t stand up straighter than 25 degrees, roll the
genoa about 1/2 way in. If you don’t have roller furling,
change from genoa to jib.
3. After that, put a reef in the main, and keep the partially rolled
genoa or the full jib.
4. If it still leans too much, roll in more genoa, (or get rid of
the jib) and keep the reef in the mainsail.
5. If that isn’t enough, consider pulling down the sails and
powering home. Or pull down all of the sails and ride it out
until the wind lets up. If you are sailing downwind, you can
use just the jib or reefed genoa. (This doesn’t work well
upwind.)
When sailing into the wind, try leading the genoa sheet between
the upper shroud and the lower shroud. This will allow the boat
to point 5 to 7 degrees closer into the wind.
When racing in heavy wind, have at least a 4 man crew. In light
air, the fewer the better. Remember it is against the rules to throw
crew members overboard to lighten the boat.
The boat’s bottom, rudders and centerboard must be clean and
shiny. A few days of marine growth will slow the boat dramati-
cally. Any bumps at all, even microscopic, will create turbulence
and destroy the orderly flow of water across the surface, and real-
ly screw up performance.
Keep the boat moving. With the small daggerboard, forward
speed is essential to keep the board lifting the boat into the wind.
No speed, no lift, and the boat will just slide sideways.
Be sure to get rid of all extra weight. Crew can be moved to the
windward side to keep the boat level. Junk in the boat is hard to
move, and it will just slow the boat down. Light weight is very
important downwind. Going upwind, added weight can some-
times be helpful. Waves and chop tend to slow up a light boat,
while a heavier boat can plunge right on through. Keep rudder
motion to a minimum. Steering creates lift from side to side. Lift
is always accompanied by drag. Keep the rudder angle steady.
When trimmed properly, the boat should want to head up into the
wind when you let go of the wheel. When sailing into the wind,
the front of the rudders should be turned about 5 degrees toward
the upwind side of the boat.
When sailing with the wind, avoid sailing straight downwind.
Point up into the wind about 20 degrees, until the jib is not smoth-
ered by the mainsail, and starts to work. If your destination is
straight downwind, tack back and forth as shown below. The boat
will go a lot faster, which will more than make up for the fact that
you have to sail a bit farther.
Tacking downwind
This will also reduce the risk of accidentally jibing. When you do
want to jibe, pull in the mainsheet until the boom is near the cen-
terline of the boat, and gradually let it out on the other side. Don’t
let it slam over hard. Keep the crew off the cabin top if there is
risk of jibing. The boom can whack them.
Rotating the mast.
Allowing the mast to rotate, as shown below, gives a major boost
to the power of the mainsail.
Mast rotation
With the mast centered, there is a major amount of turbulence
over the first third of the mainsail. Rotating the mast gets rid of
the turbulence, and allows a smooth flow of air along the backside
of the sail. This reduces drag. It also caused the sail to direct its
force more forward, creating less tipping force and more forward
push.
Weight and crew position.
When sailing, make sure the ballast tank is full. When under sail
in heavy winds, keep the crew weight aft and to the windward
side. In light wind, keep the crew forward and positioned so the
transom is almost out of the water and the boat heels about 5 to 10
degrees. This heeling reduces the amount of hull surface in con-
tact with the water. In light wind, the surface area touching the
water creates most of the drag. The more surface in contact with
the water, the slower the boat will go. A 10 degree angle of heel
reduces this area significantly.
It has been said that the art of seamanship is not getting your-
self in a position where you need seamanship. Be careful.
Page 26