[C38] Boat Speed

Fri Jul 10 03:10:53 EDT 2009

Bill, 

We have had ours for a 18 months and just this year are racking up the experience with her.  What I can share is a race from last year when our boat still had very very old and tired sails we took her up to Barkley Sound on Vancouver Island for a week of low key NFS racing.   My family had never raced so the first part of the week was getting them into shape, On the last race we were in the back of the pack, the wind stopped nada nothing, we made up so much distance on the fleet it was amazing not a ripple on the water and we were doing better than a knot we closed the gap nicely, then the wind picked up and the fleet raced off, this time however my crew was trimming the sails to the course and had a better idea about how to race, the fleet consisted of everthing from a SC 50, Js 42-46, Catalinas, custom boats etc.  We finished 3rd in our class and 3rd in the fleet.  This year we have gotten more serious in our racing (still cruiser/racer class) and got a full cut spinnaker at the end of the last series, The first time we flew it the captain was suffering from a slight dullness due to some wine the night before, made a bad tack at the start and was last over the line, as the fleet sailed away, My bowman and I walked the crew through the spinnaker deployment (the rest had never flown one before), up went the sail, we got it trimmed and passed the 8 boats in front of us and left them in our wake when we passed them we had a good 1-2 knots on them.   Ive crewed on CCs in the past and  never on a one of them were we able to sail near our rating.  Our C38 is phrf at 140 (135 for the headsail and fixed two blade prop)  with a 155, full spinnaker, and folding prop our rating will be 125, thats a very good rating for the way our boats perform and you should have no problem sailing to it.   We hit some really bad weather on our delivery March, 33 degrees and 30+ winds we were motoring because the rig was in such bad shape I didnt want to be tempted to sail so I took the sails off (Good decision after seeing the rigging when the mast was down)  On the delivery we were heeled over by the gusts pushed around by following 5 foot seas but never did I feel that we were in anything to be concerned about .  A bit uncomfortable to say the least but from a safety standpoint never a concern.    Hope that helps in your decision,  I have been very pleased with the light air performance this year.  

Steve
Peregrine #312
Seattle

________________________________

From: listserve-bounces at catalina38.org on behalf of Joseph Launie
Sent: Thu 7/9/2009 10:47 PM
To: Catalina 38 Listserve
Subject: Re: [C38] Boat Speed

Bill,
    Every boat is a compromise. If speed is all you want, buy an Olson 40 or Santa Cruz 40 (more bang for the buck than newer boats) A couple of things you should consider. Look at the bow of the C-34 and C-38 from ahead. Notice the C-38 has a much finer entry. That means that she will cut though waves when going to weather while the broader bow of your C-34 will pound. That is one reason you spend so much time reaching. The Santa Cruz 40 has a fine bow too but is an ultralight so does not have the weight to cut thru the waves like the C-38. That may be one reason why they built 15 SC-40s and 366  C-38s. The Santa Cruz 40 will move very quickly in light air. When the breeze comes up, if there are 2 people on the SC-40 you will have to shorten sail to a non-overlapping blade. Some wives enjoy smashing to weather heeled 35 degrees while getting soaked with every other wave but others do not. The C-38 will carry its sail when shorthanded very well and is quite dry while doing so. Downwind, the SC-40 will fly because it is here that the ultra-light really shines. She will surf very quickly and give you big numbers on the fun meter. However, going to weather on an ultralight means working your way thru the waves. If you hit a wave head on you will stop. I raced an Olson 30 for 10 years so am familiar with the drill. 
    In short, you have to decide what kind of sailing you are going to be doing and how many folks you will be doing it with. The C-38 is a dry, relatively fast boat, easily sailed in all conditions by 2 people. Probably why there are 366 of them. Joe Launie/Macavity

w humphrey wrote: 

Hello, I am a new user of the listserver and an owner of a 34 Catalina. I have heard that the 38 is a fast boat and there may be a possibility that I may purchase one in the near future. My question is: how fast do these boats sail normally. Do owners really see 8-9knts consistently in moderate winds. I am in the great lakes and see 5-6.5 boat speed as an average with winds 10-20 and sometimes 7 or a bit more in 20+. The reason I am considering a 38 is for more speed so any realistic real world experience would be appreciated, including performance in lighter winds.
Thanks, Bill 

________________________________

	_______________________________________________
	Listserve mailing list
	Listserve at catalina38.org
	http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org

________________________________

	No virus found in this incoming message.
	Checked by AVG - www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/>  
	Version: 8.5.375 / Virus Database: 270.13.6/2221 - Release Date: 07/06/09 17:54:00

Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.375 / Virus Database: 270.13.8/2227 - Release Date: 07/09/09 18:07:00

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: winmail.dat
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 7653 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://catalina38.org/pipermail/listserve_catalina38.org/attachments/20090710/a6c14a44/attachment-0001.bin>