Asymms for the O30
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Apologies if this has been covered before. If so, kindly point me in the right direction…
Do people have a view and the effectiveness of switching to all asymms off the standard pole for distance and mid-distance racing? If I understand our local PHRF regs correctly, I can do this without penalty so long as I use one or the other (all symmetricals or all asymmetricals). Seems a running asymm designed for setting off a squared back pole wouldn’t be much of a performance give versus the standard S2 since on LIS and maybe elsewhere, the difference in luff and leech lengths can be as little as 5% while the average of the two can be up to the rated luff length for the symmetrical all without penalty. So a running asymm could be made to look a lot like the running symmetrical assuming we’re setting of a pole we can square back. Or am I missing something? If not, is the only drawback a more involved gybing process? Then having an A1 and A3 would certainly seem to be an advantage versus the symmetrical counterparts.
Thoughts?
Jonathan,
I picked up an A3 and and A2 for distance racing and here is why. The shape is a bit more efficient and when squared back on a pole it does fly better than my equivalent symmetric spin. But the main reason I am using them is because they are much easier to trim and steer to when shorthanded. To keep my symmetrical spins flying nicely it takes a lot more work. Another thing is when offshore and dealing with constant swells and changes in apparent wind angle the asyms handle this MUCH better. I am still having a hard time figuring out what the best option is at night (especially with squals – hawaii race). The added complexity of gybing is very unattractive and during some situations it the easy of gybing teh symmetrical make it a winner. Not sure if this is what you wanted, but I hope it helps.
One last thing – if you find yourself on a reach, these make the boat fly.
I don’t have a lot to add personally but here are some articles:
http://www.ullmansailssandiego.com/sailing-news-san-diego-southern-california.php?news_id=181
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