Articulating v Fixed Prods

[Warren Nethercote]

i550 class rules allow articulating prods, and in principle there should be performance advantages over a prod fixed on the centreline. Boats on this forum have been built both ways.

Fixed prods are simpler (one or two less strings to pull) and a receiver tube could be arranged to drain to the cockpit, which is no small benefit.

Ignoring principles for the moment, does real-life experience of those boats being sailed indicate that an articulating prod allows best VMG angles sufficiently deeper than those for a fixed prod to make the complication (and the leaks?) worthwhile? Have fixed and articulating prod i550s ever sailed against each other, boat-for-boat?

[jray]

Good question. Might be early to give a definitive answer. I know that Carbon Offset which I believe has a fixed prod has done well against some of the NW boats with articulating set ups. I'm running a fixed and enjoy it, mostly because it's less complicated and I'm normally sailing one up or with limited crew.

Most of the boats I know of using a articulated prod can lock it down, making it for all intents fixed if needed. If I was building again I would make the prod articulating. There's been many times I would have enjoyed running a little deeper, especially when racing in lighter conditions.

[i550sailor@aol.com]

Carbon offset has a deck mounted articulating pole, so is pretty apple to apples with the PNW boats.

I am also curious what the advantage will be against fixed bowsprits,,, I can say this, the fixed bowsprit U20's can sail pretty low, if there is enough air, otherwise they have to keep it up, to make any VMG. We may be able to tell the difference between the fixed and articulating pole i550's after I talk Jon Raymond into bringing his boat to Colorado for a regatta?

[Warren Nethercote]

Adding some background:

My home club is on St. Margaret's Bay which benefits from a reliable seabreeze. The club tends to sail a lot of windward-leeward legs for PHRF, but in sea breeze and waves a big asymmetric on a fixed prod should have no problems; indeed, with its big spinnaker an i550 would have to go deep to keep the boat under the mast.

On the other hand, I crew on a modified Jeanneau Fun (also sold as Ranger 23 many years ago ..) at the head of Halifax harbour, mainly in the failing winds of the evening. We are very successful with an Etchell's chute on a higher hoist (again in PHRF) but were absolutely hopeless when we installed a fixed sprit and tried an asymmetric kite, albeit one nowhere near as big as the Etchell's chute. We went from beating J24s boat-for-boat to seeing them disappear on the first deep downwind leg. An articulating sprit would have helped there, I think, although the experiment was tainted by different sail areas.

So a reworded question might be: For i550 owners with articulating prods, when you pull the prod to windward do you feel that you get to the leeward mark quicker (in less time - your boat speed may be less) than with the prod on the centreline by being able to sail deeper?

[slowpoke]

I think an articulating prod would be at a disadvantage in windward-leeward races, due to the added work as you round the mark. Also, you might check with your local phrf to see if you are allowed to articulate the pole; I'm pretty sure here we're only allowed to use the pole in the dead ahead position, at least for the local races.

[Warren Nethercote]

PHRF Nova Scotia is silent on the sprit being on the centreline. Is it better to ask permission or forgiveness?

[slowpoke]

Always forgiveness ! ! !

[micah202]

Good question. Might be early to give a definitive answer. I know that Carbon Offset which I believe has a fixed prod has done well against some of the NW boats with articulating set ups. I'm running a fixed and enjoy it, mostly because it's less complicated and I'm normally sailing one up or with limited crew.

Most of the boats I know of using a articulated prod can lock it down, making it for all intents fixed if needed. If I was building again I would make the prod articulating. There's been many times I would have enjoyed running a little deeper, especially when racing in lighter conditions.

...actually,,Carbon's got a rotating prod,,, and it's above deck, so it gets a bit more rotation than the other boats in the fleet.

There's been a tendency in the Portland fleet to downplay the value of rotating the prod,,or to not rotate each gybe in order to keep things simple, whereas I rotate Carbon's prod fully in all but stronger winds, ~over mid teens. Between this,,and some monster-size chutes that people snarl all the regularly,, I'd say Carbon retains an advantage downwind over the fleet, -rarely- get passed downwind.

...the ' added work as you round the mark' is worth it. Sailing 2 up, I don't find it difficult to play the spinn sheets and steer through a gybe while the crew rotates the pole and then takes over the spinn sheets.