What Boat?

I'd be surprised if J80s have a sufficiently high (Stablility Screening System Number) SSSN for overnight offshore racing. J92s can't do some of the longer offshore races for that reason.

if you are thinking Mustang 30 and OD then look also at the Impala and the laser 28

Both have some OD and sleep their crew. The impala is far sweeter on the helm than any other Thomas designs I've sailed including the now ageing and hard thrashed sigma 33s. ( which are pigs, do not sleep all their crew and do not rate on IRC)

Nice up wind, good on the reach but dead down wind the Impala rolls like only David Thomas designs know how to. But they were used in JOG with success.

If you want to sit up and plane, but have some more work cut out for you, then the laser 28 also features in JOG. Having  sailed both the impala is more of a helmsmans boat IMHO. but the laser (or redfox later builds) is comfier downstairs  and will get you up 'la manche' at 14knts in a force 5-6

Mustangs - seem to be many modified or with odd sail sets, and don'tt sleep all their crew. Also havee an SBR rating.

Impala- quite strict OD but ca use your local sailmaker, as with Laser 28.

Originally posted by damp_freddie the now ageing and hard thrashed sigma 33s. ( which are pigs, do not sleep all their crew and do not rate on IRC)

S/33s do sleep the full crew of 7 (OD maximum). 4 saloon berths, 2 forepeak berths, one quarter berth. It is cosy and you have to be fairly flexible to get in and out of the upper saloon berths. I wouldn't call them pigs either - a bit rolly-polly on the run maybe. They are depressingly slow downwind though. 

S33's...pity the owners and those who sail them have never learnt much about the rules. The windward mark was more digem's than yacht racing -  creating lots of work for repairers.

My main gripe about the class was that having gone to all the trouble to have the required number of plates, knives, forks etc, then spent a merry half-hour moving the anchor and chain 50 cms to the rear, and having had to do a long delivery trip to the "European Championship" the class is then offered 5 days of windward leeward races.

What is the point of going to the trouble of having a cruiser-racer if  you then get the  kind of racing more suitable for a Mirror or FF15 fleet (no disrespect intended). In a true test of sailing for such a boat there should be at least one race where the navigator is the most important member of the crew!

I was disappointed to go to Cork and not get a race through the Harbour entrance. If I went to a big Sigma event on the Solent I would expect to get a Round the Island Race. Surely that is what this type of boat is designed for!

 

Gordon

PS We don't say "depressingly slow down wind". We prefer to say " the runs are tactically challenging!"

 

 

 

The Mumm isn't expensive to buy just to run, and they are a lot harder to sail than a Sig 33 Elan or X332, but are by far the best boat to sail.