David Many of us are facing the same issue.
My Hylas 49 is heavy and stable but I’m not sure if I would call her stiff. In 20+ I use the staysail and a triple reef main upwind. We try to avoid anything over 25 because the combination of wind and sea state gets unpleasant. I’ve never sailed the Jenna’s 50, but we chartered a 44 in the islands. It was beamy but not stiff. Downwind you might have been better off with just a headsail. It makes driving easier. Keel design and depth make a huge difference. Look at the ratings for Bene First with shoal and deep keels. If you want to downsize a C&C 30 is about as stiff as you can find. Joel On Fri, Sep 26, 2025 at 1:15 PM David Knecht via CnC-List < [email protected]> wrote: > I have had my C&C 34/36 WK for 12 years and I love the boat. I race it > frequently single or double handed and cruise with my wife for a week or > two every summer. But at 72 and not getting any stronger, I am starting to > think about my next/last boat. Perhaps I need to be talked down by more > experienced sailors because this issue was precipitated by our last > cruise. I am by nature and experience a dinghy sailor and only came to > keel boats late in life, so I have limited experience on different keel > boats aside from mine and Caribbean charters. I don't have much of a sense > of how different designs and sizes of boats perform in challenging > conditions. > > Last week, my wife and I cruised from New London to Cape Cod and back. On > the first day it was blowing 15+ from the east (so upwind route) when we > left and I had a 110 genoa and a single reef in the main. All was well > until we left Fishers Island Sound (relatively protected and calm) and > entered Block Island Sound (essentially the Atlantic-chop and large waves). > First the main reefing line broke and I was able to stow the main so we > sailed the rest of the way with just the 110 genoa. It was rough enough > for my wife to get seasick, but the boat was doing 6+ knots close hauled, > so no big problem. However, the thought I kept having was that it was > "only" blowing 18 knots true. If it had been 20-30 knots it would have > been much worse and much more difficult to control the boat single handed > and no way to further depower. We ended up motoring part way, but that was > no fun either. I have never tried furling the 110 partially and it > certainly is not designed with that in mind. > > Thinking about this experience afterwards I was reminded of a charter we > did in the Caribbean on a Jeanneau 50DS years ago. I was sailing the boat > myself in nearly 30 knots of wind with main and genoa under total control, > healing a bit, and having a great time. The water was not rough, but I was > confident I could sail that boat in much stronger winds and waves and be > fine. I had never really understood the concept of a "stiff boat" but I > presume this is what it means. The Jeanneau was a stiff boat and mine was > not. > > On the return trip, it was all downwind and I had just the main up, and it > was supposed to blow 10-12 but by the time we hit Block Island Sound it was > blowing 20-30 with large following seas. It was a real challenge to steer > the boat in those conditions and I was running on fumes from hand steering > for hours by the time we hit Block Island. I didn't think the wheel pilot > was going to be able to handle it and never tried. I don't know if any > type of boat/keel/rig makes that situation easier to handle. > > Obviously the 34+ was designed to have 4-6 people on the rail for ballast > and sailing it single handed is going to have some compromises. Up to 15 > knots, it is no problem, but as it approaches 20, things get more > challenging. So I am thinking that I might need to start looking for a > different boat for the future. Something stiffer (is that the right term?) > so I don't have to be concerned about going out when it is blowing 20-30 > (beyond that I just won't go out by choice). But I am unclear on what > characteristics to look for. Is it mostly sail area/displacement ratio > that determines this? Is it possible to have good performance in various > conditions and not be overpowered in 20-30 knots? How much of a factor is > size or design? Can a boat be "stiff" and reasonably fast in a variety of > conditions? I still want to race and PHRF should compensate somewhat for > performance, but in my experience, "slow" boats lose to "fast" boats in > PHRF racing. Perhaps that is just the price I will have to pay. > Anyway, I would love to hear the thoughts of the group on any aspect of > this issue. Thanks- Dave > > David Knecht > S/V Aries > 1990 C&C 34+ > New London, CT > > [image: pastedGraphic.tiff] > > Your contributions help pay the fees associated with this list and help to > keep it active. Please help by making a small contribution using PayPal > at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/stumurray All contributions are > greatly appreciated.
Your contributions help pay the fees associated with this list and help to keep it active. Please help by making a small contribution using PayPal at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/stumurray All contributions are greatly appreciated.
