how to improve performance

i need to maxamize the performance of my boat for the least amount of money. i own a merrit 25 and i can spend a decent amount of money as long as its worth it. i was wondering if possibly new sails or a carbon fiber mast would be worth it. or if anyone has any other ideas i'm open. thanks.

-dylan

 

i dont know much about your boat, but carbon fibre spars and new sails would probably cause an positive increase in performance.

 

Start by hauling the boat and cleaning the bottom, then put on a good antifouling paint designed for your type of use. This can give from 5% to 40% speed increase, depending how many barnacles you kill.

New sails might help if the old are deteriorating; also, new ones might be lighter and less porous, hence more efficient. Carbon-fibre's advantage is a slight weight savings over aluminum or other composites; unless you're already pushing the boat's limits it probably won't be of much help.

A displacement-hulled sailboat generally can't be pushed much beyond its natural hull speed. Cleaning it up, making sure everything's in proper trim, and using good-quality sails will give you better all-round performance though (ie. low wind, acceleration, etc.)

 

Merit 25 is a great little boat. A great value for the price. I raced on one when they first came out and cruised the Southern CA islands. The bottom is flat enough to plane downwind. Fun boat. I remember that many came with a trailer. Like "marshmat" said, cleaning the bottom will definately increase performance and if you can keep it on a trailer !- then you can keep the bottom looking like glass with some wet/dry paper. I remember them being a little heavy but solidly built. I don't know how much more a carbon mast will get out of it. New sails for sure! And experiment with different sheet layouts for trim if it is still factory layout. I think we had to install a track inboard to trim the No 1. Look for fleets on the web (Google search) that might still be racing. They'll help. Good luck. Post pictures.

 

Check the shape of your keel and rudder. Do they have a proper airfoil-like shape? And how about the symmetry?
This requires some work, but it'll pay off. We have done this on several boats and they have won an olympic bronze, a world championship and a couple of national championships.

 

I like keel bulbs a lot, but experienced posters on this forum have warned that adding a heavy bulb can overstress the keel and/or rigging, and a light bulb can set the boat too high up on her lines, reducing initial stability. The only other option would be to sell the boat and put the extra money into buying a faster one.

 

well as far as the boat being cleaned, it is cleaned just about once every two weeks(we have a diver go down and clean it) and its the begining of the season and i just use top of the line paint. so the bottom is in perfect condition. and how would i tell if the keel and rudder would have a perfect air-foil shape??? i aslo know that getting new sails would increase performance but what type would be best??and i have also thought about buying a new boat but i don't know if it would be worth it. here is the boats names etc. that we race against, we are in the fith division; inazuma(link):

http://www.breakwaters.org/Breakwater%20notice_files/BI%20Scratch%20Sheet%205-21-05.pdf

what division would we be in, i mean my crew is a very good crew but many of the higher divisions are more advanced sailors then my crew, although my crew are no rookies. i mean i would love to just make my boat faster because i know it well. keep the ideas coming though i'm loving them so far!

-dylan

 

Simple things to check are that any inlets/outlets/prop backets/prop shafts etc. are all faired into the hull cleanly. Also, check the keel, is there a sharp corner? if there is get rid of it. These things may only be chasing the last 0.5% but they do add up. New sails might help, I found my boat went faster when the blocks were free and the ropes were new. Also, see if there is a rig-tuning guide, or ask a sail-maker or designer.

Good luck,

Tim B.

 

Cleaning is both cheap and effective. Repaint it, get new sails and spring for some lightweight spars! Also, get rid of any non-essential items (propane tanks for stove, etc.).

 

Yes, it can, but that doesn't mean that it will... You'll have to do some calculating to ensure that the structure can withstand the extra load.

Why on earth would anyone put a light bulb (or a lightbulb ) on their keel?

 

You measure the thickness at a number of points (about 20 will do in most cases) along a number of chord lines.
Use these coordinates to draw the section shape of each chord and compare them to sections found in for instance Abbott & van Doenhoff Theory of Wing Sections or elsewhere.
If you don't know what characteristics to look for, then search these pages - there's a lot of information to be found here!

 

Night sailing. Or to avoid overstressing the keel & rig.

 

Get a big *** spinnaker.and get all the junk out of your boat if you have any.And a folding prop if you have a inbord motor. I dont know about this but can you tweek the shrouds and stays to put a bow in the mast to bet a fuller sail?Or go out when the wind is blowing like hell.

 

Dylan,
Check out this web site for some info on the boat. Seems there might be a possible structural problem with the keel you should look into (at least to rule it out) before you go spending money on other things. Otherwise it seems like a great boat with lots of potential.

http://www.well.com/user/pk/M25.html

Good Luck!

 

Biggest performance improvement I have seen on most boats is to get a set of teltails in the sails at many places and USE them!

You can't see the airflow , and optimize it with out them.

Fibre tufts cost loads less than carbon fibre and are a surer performance enhancer.

Then Trim , Trim , Trim.

FAST FRED