28+, 30+, 30-2, and 32-2 as PHRF Racers?

[Pokey]

Hail all,

When I was a young man, it was all about speed. But now...

Well, suffice it to say, toddlers don’t race in the A1 fleet. And these days, much less of my time and income are allotted to sailing.</SPAN>

Now, I'm looking for a boat that will fare well in the C fleet. I'll be racing with Santana 27s, Cal 29s, Ranger 29s, and the </SPAN>ubiquitous</SPAN> Catalina 30, which seems to be the boat to beat. </SPAN></SPAN>

The rating band for the C fleet is approximately 160-200. I sail out of Long Beach CA, where moderate winds (8-18 knots) and fairly flat seas prevail.

My getting-in budget is $10-20K. All the subject boats fit this budget and rating band.

I'm looking for opinions on chosing an Ericson for racing in PH fleet.

Who's your competition? Can you correct on the Cat 30s?

I'm partial to frac rigs of the 28 and 30+s, but am a little worried that the 30 will have to give the Cat 30s too much time. The 28+ will race them almost straight up, and to me, that match up looks good for the 28.

What's your take?</SPAN>

 

[tripper_dave]

Let you know tomorrow.....

Well, it might actually take longer than that....
Our first race on Dragonfly is tomorrow evening. She is currently rated 199 (NFS with a 140 Genoa). PHRF-LO just re-ranked all their boats with data from US Sail's VPP, so it may be different in your area. Last year she rated 189 NFS with non-folding prop, but she didn't race.
There is a Cat 30 in the fleet, so I'll keep an eye on him, though I'm more concerned with a J28 and a couple of Niagara 26's (and a few C&C 30's).

 

[Loren Beach]

N-26 memories

Hay Dave,
My previous boat was a reasonably well equipped Niagara 26 (#80, and said to be the last Hinterhoeller one from his own shop).
I was racing in a level fleet (i.e. no handicap, like racing one-design) and my strongest competition was a well sailed and equipped Newport 28-2 and a Santana 27 with a templated keel.
I usually beat them both, but often by a couple of lengths after a two hour race.
It was loads (!) of fun.
There were about 6 to 8 other boats but those guys were my closest competitors.

At that time there were no Ericson's in my class, but there was an agressively-sailed E-29 in another fleet that we used to trade tacks with regularly.

Loren

 

[windjunkee]

There are two Catalina 320's that regularly race in our fleet and are often in the same races in which VOR participates. We key on them. They have good crew and experienced skippers. We know what their chutes look like and we essentially run our race strategy to keep up with them or at least stay close. They both rate 150. We rate 180.
Seldom do we find a number of boats with similar ratings to ours in the races we compete in.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32-2 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

 

[Matey]

While we do mostly shorthanded races, I've had like results with crew. Many are in big breezes. You can see we corrected well and our elapsed time was close to many of the faster class.Set up well the 32-2 sails well to it's rating in all but huge or no breeze and is a comfortable cruiserhttp://www.jibeset.net/racedoc/JACKY_T002906941r1.html?t=1337186876Regards, Greg

 

[tripper_dave]

Well, it might actually take longer than that....
Our first race on Dragonfly is tomorrow evening. She is currently rated 199 (NFS with a 140 Genoa). PHRF-LO just re-ranked all their boats with data from US Sail's VPP, so it may be different in your area. Last year she rated 189 NFS with non-folding prop, but she didn't race.
There is a Cat 30 in the fleet, so I'll keep an eye on him, though I'm more concerned with a J28 and a couple of Niagara 26's (and a few C&C 30's).

OK, so we did surprisingly well, corrected out to less than a minute behind one of the Niagaras and burried the Thunderbird and the C&C 30.
We would have likely done much better had we not been over early..... sigh.....
The 30-2 appears to sail to her rating, points like a witch and accelerates well. Definately worth considering if you can find one. I'm very impressed with the build quality and the double-spreader masthead rig really drives the boat.

The Cat 30 didn't race tonight, I'll let you know over the next coupld of weeks.

 

[Pokey]

Thanks for the input guys.

I see votes for the 30-2 and 32-2.

Anyone with race experiance on either the 28 or 30 plusses?

 

[Frank Langer]

While I haven't raced our E30+, I have been very pleased worth her performance in both light and heavier air. Informally, though not racing, we pass many boats as we cruise, so I think this boat would do really well in a race.
Frank

 

[Seth]

30+ over 28/28+

Both are nice boats, but if performance is a consideration the 30+ is a much better boat. The 28's mold was basically a cut-off 30+, so the transom/stern treatment is less than optimal. It is not as well balanced overall, and does not seem to carry sail as well in breezy conditions (although both have pretty big rigs and you want to reduce from full main and 150/155 in around 12 True-flatten the main with the backstay and outhaul, and go to a smaller jib.

The 30 has a bit more room for crew also, making boat handling easier, and the 28 has a really small cockpit and it is more important to get weight fwd -with either boat you want to get the weight (crew and gear) over the keel as much as possible, and out on the rail when it gets breezy.

This is not to say there are not a good number of 28's which have been raced with success-it is a good boat for sure when properly rigged. I'm just saying that between those 2, you will find the 30+ easier to sail fast.

If it were me, and I really wanted an Ericson, I would buy a 27 (tall rig if you can find it) and trick it out like the one up in the PNW (shown in the photo gallery). This would probabaly be the cheapest, most competitve choice for your rating band.

All that said, a well rigged Cat 30 with a good bottom and sails is very hard to beat!:0

Have fun!

 

[Pokey]

Thanks for the great input Seth.

I've seen more of the 28s than the 30s around. Hadn't considered the 27. But I will now.

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"Never get off the boat" - Cheif