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Questions about sailing the Hoyt F32

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 8:01 am
by Drew_Sea
Hello everyone,

I am a relatively new Hoyt F32 owner. Now that I have had a chance to try her in various amounts of wind and sea states, I have some questions for the more experienced F32 owners.

1. I solo sail quite frequently. On my old, smaller, boat this was easy as all the sheets and lines were led back in to the cockpit within reach of the helmsman. On the F32, this is not the case. I find myself wanting to adjust the main sheet while I'm in rougher seas or when I'm in varying wind conditions. Of course, I tend to use the autopilot and then go forward and adjust... but, this is not very efficient or effective sometimes. What are other F32 owners doing? Perhaps there's a better way.

2. When down wind, this thing loves to surf! This is something that I am getting use to and am starting to get a decent feel for. At first, it was a bit daunting as my old boat only surfed when the wind was high and the waves were big. This Freedom though, anything above 12knts and 1 meter swells and I'm surfing. My question is this: this leads me to a lot of hand steering as my autopilot struggles with it. How do the F32s take to a Hydrovane?

3. Dousing the sail downwind: Alright so, in my older boat when the wind picked up, I would normally drop the main first and furl the large 150 jib as needed. Worked great - if, for whatever reason, I wanted to get the sail down and motor on I would just furl it in and that's it. On the F32, however, this isn't the case. In 25knts apparent wind, while running with my 3rd reef (maintaining 6.5-7knts), I couldn't get the sail dropped. It was pinned and I couldn't slow down. I started the engine put her in the wind so the sail would drop, but this isn't a great solution in that much wind and sea state. Any suggestions?

4. I find I need to put the main up directly in to the wind or the battens get caught in the lazy jacks. Sometimes, this means doing a 180 degree turn to get going in the direction I want to go in. Simple enough in light winds, but as the winds pick up this can be a hairy maneuver; especially while solo sailing. I've been leaving the main sheet clutch wide open, completing the turn with engine on and then adjusting the main. When the wind is above 15-20 knts I feel that this is not a great way to do things. Any thoughts or suggestions?

As someone who is learning to sail a larger, more powerful, boat in heavier conditions. Any help would certainly be appreciated!