We are currently not sailing under ORC, however the ORC Speed Guide is the latest tool I have fallen in love with. Let me tell you more.
During past seasons I have gone crazy trying to obtain polar diagrams and target heel angles from Jeanneau for Veloce (polars available here). Not satisfied with target speeds for unknown sails and a crew of 6, I looked for a ORC certificate with similar sail configuration and doublehanded crew. During the last seasons I have also collected loads of figures on the water and adjusted my polars.
New headsails will be soon delivered and we need to start over. Almost by chance, looking at the new ORC Sailor Services website, I realized that I could request an ORC Speed Guide for a small price. In fact about 60€ at the moment of writing.
But what is the ORC Speed Guide?
The ORC Speed Guide is a numerical analysis provided in graphical and tabular format. It shows potential boat speeds at several TWA and TWS with any sail. It also shows target heel angles and flat (the percentage of max draft in a sail), the amount of reef of the mainsail, beat and jibe angles. The latest version allows to easily find out the best sail configuration at any given TWA/TWS. Here the official example.
Now, you might think “great, but what’s in it for me? I don’t sail under ORC”. Neither do I.
The register contains tons of yachts though. If you can find a sister boat, which happens to be fairly easy if you sail a “production boat”, you can re-use its hull!
Just look for a boat of the same make/model and save it in “My Boats”. At this point, you can edit ANY parameter, but keep the hull shape and measurements. If you are aware of any deviation, adjust rig dimensions. Provide total crew weight, especially if you sail doublhanded. Now configure your own sail inventory.
The next step is requesting a test ORC certificate for “your” boat on the website. Once the test certificate is generated, a Speed Guide request can be submitted.
The analysis is executed by ORC’s very accurate VPP (Velocity Prediction Program) and it provides a theoretical view of your boat’s performance. Most importantly, it provides practical suggestions on how the yacht should be sailed with your current configuration. Heel, flat, reef, beat, jibe… good stuff!
I am now eagerly waiting for the new headsails to arrive and run the numbers. I expect this analysis to be a very valuable support and numerical benchmark in addition to my sailmaker’s help and recommendations. And a lot of time on the water, of course.