7
Sailing toward the Newport Bridge in 14
true and smooth water. The main is
trimmed perfectly with the boom on
centerline and top batten parallel to the
boom. The genoa is at the top of its
range just touching the chainplates and
approximately 2” off the top spreader.
The heel angle is shown by the bridge
abuttment. This is a little too much for
the highest pointing angle, but good for
optimum VMG , especially without any
other boat on the lee bow. With a boat
on your lee bow, 18° of heel angle will
be better.
UPWIND SAILING - LIGHT/MODERATE AIR
AIRBORNE (right) is sailing with optimum heel angle for the
best VMG. In a fleet start and close quarters it will pay to
point higher, trim the sails in harder and reduce the heeling
angle. NOTE: The nice, light touch on the helm. Cindy Hirsch
(owner) steers with minimal tiller motion and is looking for-
ward at the open water between the hiking crew and the
mast. Her focus must be well in front of the bow to see waves
and puffs early enough to respond.
HIKE! The difference between sitting
and hiking on a J/35 is just under
1000 ft./lbs. IF you are hiking hard,
and feel this isn’t contributing to
anything except a sore butt, here‘s a
short list of the positives of hiking.
Allows harder sheeting... more point-
ing, will cause the keel to be deep-
er...more pointing, less pitching...
more pointing and less rudder angle
which contributes to more speed
and.... you guessed it, more pointing.
So when you‘re out on the rail,
encourage your crewmembers to
HIKE! First to finish means first back
to the dock for all the shoreside fun.
25°
J/35 Tuning Guide
20°
HEELING ANGLE
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