It is time to optimize our PHRF rating, as IRC/ORC is still born on Lake Ontario.
Over the weekend, I went out to Mike's farm in Dunnville with Mark and Phil to do some sail measuring.
ZAMBONI has the following sails:
- main
- light #1
- heavy #1
- #2
- #3
- #4
All of these are in good shape (except for maybe the light #1).
When we had a new main made by Durk Steigenga in 2019, we had him maximize the roach for the most sail area without penalty. In 2020, PHRF added a requirement for the Mid Girth Measurement which is the girth at 7/8 height of the sail. Durk calculated this measurement from the sail design program that he uses, but we were assessed a 2 sec/mile penalty for being 102% oversized.
We layed out the sail in the barn and confirmed MGT dimension is smaller, so therefore no penalty.
MAN it is a big sail! Also surprised by the weight of it.
We also measured our headsails:
- #1 153% (this is on our PHRF cert)
- #2 142%
- #3 95%
We never have measured our smaller foresails.
ZAMBONI sails really well with a #2.
http://svstilltime.blogspot.com/2021/10/mumm36-zamboni-asym.html
The main drives more and gets less of a backwind bubble.
So we are thinking of dropping our #1 sails which would result in an adjustment of +2 to our rating. Heck our next new headsail could be 135% for a PHRF adjustment of +4.
We also measured our spinnakers:
- fractional "Aloha" (standard size)
- fractional "Evo" (standard size)
- fractional "Big Blue" (oversized)
- masthead "Franken Chute" (oversized)
- masthead "Tiffany" (oversized)
- masthead "Code0" (oversized)
We purposely use a 10% oversized spinnaker pole so that we can have more sail area in light winds.
The standard sail area for spinnakers for a MUMM 36 is 832 sqft.
Fractional "Big Blue" has been measured and is the biggest spinnaker we fly for PHRF racing. Big Blue is 915 sqft (or 198%) for a PHRF ratings hit of 4 sec/mile.
We are fine with this because a MUMM 36 is designed for ocean racing where the wind is always 15-20 knots. On Lake Ontario, the average wind speed is definately less and 10 knots and many times under 5 knots. We need this additional sail area to be competitive.
When the wind is blowing 15+ aft of beam, we can be competitive with any boat on the lake using regular fractional chutes! This doesn't happen too often however.
When we lost the mast in 2018, we had Steve Killing design and Klacko Spars build us a new mast that will allow masthead spinnakers for more sail area. These masthead chutes can only be flown in less than 10 knots of breeze because the top 9 feet of the mast is unsupported.
We had our relatively new fractional oversized AIRX600 (same size as "Big Blue") chute built by Durk recut for a masthead hoist. The additional cloth added to the middle is lighter than the rest so we call it "Frankenchute". This made the chute 988 sqft (or 214%) for a PHRF ratings hit of 7 sec/mile. We DO NOT carry this chute for PHRF racing (only IRC/ORC).
We also purchased a oversized Asym and a Code 0 from UK sails when they closed their loft in Toronto in 2019. The A2 "Tiffany" (because of its colour) is an oversized asymmetric chute that we only fly under IRC/ORC. If we were to put it on our PHRF cert, it would come in at 1112 sqft (or 241%) for a penalty of 13 sec/mile.
We have never been able to fly the Code 0 successfully.
It is too short for a masthead hoist, and too long for a fractional hoist.
Designed for a Beneteau First 10R.
We should have it re-cut to fit fractionally. A code 0 puts too much force on the bowsprit and the unsupported masthead. This would make up for dropping our #1 headsails in light winds.
The standard PHRF rating for a MUMM 36 is 48.
Last year our PHRF rating was 42.
-2 for oversized main
-4 for oversized spin
Optimizing PHRF rating for next year has a couple of options.
+2 drop #1
-4 for oversize spin (PHRF 46)
-7 for masthead spin (PHRF 43)
We could also drop the symmetric chutes and pole for a +6 rating adjustment.
+2 drop #1
+6 drop pole
-13 for A2
For a PHRF rating of 43.
Hmmm, we would also need some fractional asyms to round out the inventory.
NOTE: we still have to get our sails officially measured.
