Time to make Shorty faster?

[Bob Hughes]

So I raced my SR 33 in the sportboat section in the Chicago to Mackinac race this year. We did alright with a 3rd in section, but was mostly due to a lot of heavy air upwind in which Shorty goes really well. A little under half way through the race, we were only a couple miles behind The Cone and Peerless....even with Say Uncle (Hendo 30) and Power Trip (Synergy 1000). Then the breeze clock around from behind and went lighter....and as expected, the true sporties pulled away. Shorty was way underpowered with the frac kites and I'm thinking of going masthed with the kites. Already got my estimate for reinforcing the rig with a diamond....$1600 which isn't too bad. Anyone ever done this? Worth it? It sure would make the boat a lot more fun downwind and the PHRF hit won't be bad, 3 seconds, 6 max. I'm going to have an ORR trial cert run as well.

[Ballard Sailor]

Sounds like a good idea to me, go big or go home.

[doghouse]

I though SR's had a diamond already? I guess it's just the one here on the bay then. You should talk to Sol Rosenberg Shortha... I mean Bob... Anyway, yeah, talk to him.

[Bob Hughes]

I though SR's had a diamond already? I guess it's just the one here on the bay then. You should talk to Sol Rosenberg Shortha... I mean Bob... Anyway, yeah, talk to him.

Nope, they came with the standard hoist at the hounds. Previous owner went up another couple of feet which was well worth the 3 second hit. After racing tonight in 12-14 knots, I think I definitely need to go to the top.

Sol and I have crossed paths and I know he went with a fathead main and non overlapping jib. I want to keep the original upwind configuration as the other mods result in too much of a hit.

Hey, Dog. How do you think that Farr 36 would be for distance racing? What's it like down below? Can't be even close to the coffin like quarters that can be found on Peerless.

[Shife]

Burnsy has done a ton of research into this incluing some invaluable insight pryed out of a certain BYC rig engineer via rum & coke. Hopefully he'll stumble across this thread.

[doghouse]

Nope, they came with the standard hoist at the hounds. Previous owner went up another couple of feet which was well worth the 3 second hit. After racing tonight in 12-14 knots, I think I definitely need to go to the top.

Sol and I have crossed paths and I know he went with a fathead main and non overlapping jib. I want to keep the original upwind configuration as the other mods result in too much of a hit.

Hey, Dog. How do you think that Farr 36 would be for distance racing? What's it like down below? Can't be even close to the coffin like quarters that can be found on Peerless.

Well, I can tell you how it is for distance racing, we've raced ours p 2 p a lot. A coffin doesn't describe accurately what it's like below. It's very small. Very, very small. I think it's great, because over the years, I have learned that the less below the better. Shit down there just gets in the way of racing the boat. Unless you want to roast a duck and enjoy a nice pinot, bare is a lot more efficient. The thing to remember on this boat is that, one, it's a flush deck, so no headroom, and two, the cockpit is about half the length of the boat, so there is not much area left below.

All of this is either a plus or a minus, depending on what you want. I don't have any photos of below decks on my work computer, but I'll put some up when I get home. War Pony just did the Pac Cup, and we have done plenty,a nd are getting ready for the Pineapple Cup, so yeah, offshore can be fun for some crazy folks.

[Bob Hughes]

Burnsy has done a ton of research into this incluing some invaluable insight pryed out of a certain BYC rig engineer via rum & coke. Hopefully he'll stumble across this thread.

Cool, thanks Shife. I'll get in touch with Burnsy. Offshore Spars can do it provided that I get the rig to them over in Chesterfield...not that big a deal. I checked with BT up in Muskegon, but haven't heard back. Maybe he doesn't want to help his competition get faster? Not his style.

[Bob Hughes]

Well, I can tell you how it is for distance racing, we've raced ours p 2 p a lot. A coffin doesn't describe accurately what it's like below. It's very small. Very, very small. I think it's great, because over the years, I have learned that the less below the better. Shit down there just gets in the way of racing the boat. Unless you want to roast a duck and enjoy a nice pinot, bare is a lot more efficient. The thing to remember on this boat is that, one, it's a flush deck, so no headroom, and two, the cockpit is about half the length of the boat, so there is not much area left below.

All of this is either a plus or a minus, depending on what you want. I don't have any photos of below decks on my work computer, but I'll put some up when I get home. War Pony just did the Pac Cup, and we have done plenty,a nd are getting ready for the Pineapple Cup, so yeah, offshore can be fun for some crazy folks.

That's what I like about the SR 33....it does have standing headroom making it easier to move around and it has a very racer friendly cockpit. My buddy and I were looking at possibilities for my next boat (which won't be for a few more years) and the Farr 36 looks intriguing. The ORR rating looks pretty harsh, but I'm not sure of its speed relative to other boats with a similar ORR rating. I thought I had a shitty ORR rating, but after the last couple of Macs, I think it's pretty fair. Distance racing is a different animal compared to around the cans. When we get reaching conditions we have no problem hanging with 40 footers of the same vintage...in some cases faster.

If you ever get a chance to crawl around Peerless, do it. It will make the Farr 36 seem huge down below.

[doghouse]

Peerless is a modified Melges 30, right? Should be a bout the same. Less headroom on the Farr though.

I can't say enough about the Farr, it's probably my favorite boat that we have ever had. Pound for pound it's no contest. The ORR number is a bit harsh, but in races like the Mac, you can sail to it. The boat eats up light air downwind.

[Bob Hughes]

Less headroom on the Farr though.

Ouch! I was spoiled with my first boat - J/35...later model with nicer interior. SR 33 felt cramped, but getting used to it. Less headroom than Melges 30....hmmm. But, there is something to be said about sailing fast, eh!

[doghouse]

Absolutely!

Will try and dig up some inside shots tonight and post for ya.

[doghouse]

You can see how big the cockpit is here, takes up most of the boat, so not much room forward for belowdecks space

[doghouse]

Shot below. That's pretty much it.

[doghouse]

Yours truly. I'm about 5'11", and this is how much I can stand up to give you some reference.

[Bob Hughes]

Thanks for the pics. Does look pretty tight, but gotta love that cockpit. Does she have quarter berths? And look....no runners! Those things are a pain in the ass, but they do come in handy upwind.