David. Will you haul at Fort Rachel again? The Jenny 44 will as well. Mccrea and I will.as well. John Read
On Fri, Sep 26, 2025, 4:08 PM John McCrea via CnC-List < [email protected]> wrote: > My dad is 86 and has 100k on his Freedom 32. Raced singlehanded to Bermuda > 15 times in a row and did the Atlantic circle in it. My mom has not been on > the boat in over a decade, but he still sailed it all over Maine > singlehanded each year (including this one)The 40 is also a great boat. > They also made the Legacy powerboats, and they are pretty. > > > > Friends here in Mystic just bought a 2021 Jenny 44. It has power and is > as stiff as nails. Since you are local, I can connect you if you want. > > > > John McCrea > > Talisman > > 1979 36-1 > > > > *From:* Don Kern via CnC-List <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Friday, September 26, 2025 3:50 PM > *To:* David Knecht via CnC-List <[email protected]> > *Cc:* Don Kern <[email protected]> > *Subject:* Stus-List Re: Is there a new boat in my future? > > > > David, > > If you are no longer racing, have you considered a Freedom. One of my > racing crew has a Freedom 38. This summer he and his wife (both late 60s) > cruised from Bristol, RI to the coast of Maine, all the way to Bar Harbor > (Acadia). They only dropped one day of sailing by staying in port due > inclement weather (drizzle & fog). > > I have avoided sailing on his boat, because my wife would want to come > along. That would be a disaster for me since I am still racing my boat. > I'm in my early 80s, sail as the helmsman and try to avoid > grinding/tailing. That's for the racing crew, all over 55. I do cruise > with wife, flying just my only roller furl sail (135%). > > Don Kern > *Fireball*, C&C 35 Mk2 > Bristol, RI > > On 9/26/2025 1:14 PM, David Knecht via CnC-List 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 > > > > > > > > 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.
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