Sunrise light air performance

[Galley Ho]

   I am seriously looking at an early Sunrise 36 (1989 model; hull #4, I think) which is up for sale here on the east coast of the US.  My wife and I have been fascinated with the Sunrise ever since we saw the first Sunrise that Solaris sent to the US, at the 1989, I think, Newport Boat Show.  We talked with the crew who had sailed her over, and they had nothing but good things to say about her. We were also impressed with the interior layout. We had just bought our Sabre 28 a few months before, but we agreed if we had not, we would have sold our condo and bought the Sunrise to move onto. We are retiring and moving onto our boat.  We are looking for something a bit bigger than our Sabre, and wow, there is a Sunrise available!
   Anyway, I am curious about the light air performance of the Sunrise. We dislike using the engine, much preferring to sail, even if slowly, if at all possible.
   It's hard to get information on the Sunrise. The only information I have is an article by Dave Greenwell in the February, 1990, issue of Practical Boat Owner (thanks so much to  Roger Morgan of the forum).  I was intrigued by Greenwell's comment that "With the wind about force 2 [3-6 knots], close hauled she made around 4 knots," with a sailing angle of around 45 degrees true.
   So what I want to ask is, does the experience of forum members comport with this? Any other comments on the light air sailing performance, especially to windward, of the Sunrise would be greatly appreciated.

[Jadzia]

Hi Billy Lee,

Although I have not read the article you mention, I would guess that it was written about a new or fairly new boat. As such I do not expect it had accumulated all the junk and consequent weight that a cruising/liveaboard boat may have. I am sure it would have been much lighter! It therefore probably sailed a good deal better than the average Sunrise. Although we do not yet live on board Jadzia we have certainly increased her displacement weight with a ridiculous amount of 'necessities'. She therefore does not sail as well as the boat in the article, more like 4-5 knots in force a 3-4. However I would say that we are pleased with her windward performance as she points well, and off the wind in anything over force 4 she really comes alive. She also is surprisingly manouverable when sailing at slow speeds, or any speed come to think of it, probably due to the large rudders.
As for heavy weather sailing we spent 2 weeks on her during our recent summer holiday and found ourselves offshore on a beam reach in 30-35 knots, gusting 40 knots, and she did not give us any surprises. We made up to 8 knots through the water with barely half the Genoa unfurled, and were quite comfortable.
If light airs performance as liveaboards is a requirement I think I would look at something else. If comfort and steadiness is important go for a Sunrise. We have only owned Jadzia for just over 3 years but have never regretted buying her.
Good luck with whatever you decide, and enjoy your sailing with whatever you buy.


Nigel & Sheila.

[Galley Ho]

Nigel & Shiela

Thank you very much for the response. Great light air performance is not a requirement,  just one more factor in choosing a boat.  I thought that the performance described in the magazine article didn't seem too credible, but if it was realistic, that would be one more big plus in her favor.

Jadzia is a beautiful boat. Is she a Sport, or a conventional Sunrise?

On another note, I would like to ask about people's experience with the slot in the foredeck for the anchor.  I make the following comments with all due humility, never having used such a setup. 

1.  It seems to me that running the rode through the deck like that makes it harder to attach a bridle to the rode ,since it requires reaching down and over the bow to attach the bridle. This obviously becomes more problematic in bad conditions and/or if a chain (i.e. heavy) rode is used.

2.  It also makes changing anchors more difficult. Since it seems that the main anchor can't be removed from the slot without going under the boat, another anchor roller would be needed on the bow.  Interestingly, the boat  we are looking at has two anchor rollers on the bow, one on each side of the forestay.

3.  Also, if one doesn't use a bridle and runs the rode directly to the anchor from the slot, the effective attachment point is moved aft of the bow, which reduces stability and makes the boat more susceptible to sailing around the anchor line and the like. 

We fly down to Florida to look at Duet next Wednesday, and we are very excited.  Wish us luck!

[Jadzia]

Billy Lee,
Thanks for your comment on Jadzia. She is a 'conventional' Sunrise.
I agree with your comments on the configuration of the anchor set-up. We have fitted a bridle once, by reaching over the bow and securing the bridle by me lifting the anchor chain with a boathook and Sheila securing the bridle. Much effort  it took too and that was in fairly calm conditions! However I would say that we did not notice any difference with the boats behaviour. We did not sail round the anchor but then we do not find that she does that without a bridle.
Changing anchors would be a problem, if we did it! We don't. We always use the main bower anchor, even for short stops in calm conditions. We do however have an electric windlass, so there is no effort involved for the foredeck crew (Sheila!). We have a fairlead fitted on the forward beam, just off centre, so could deploy a lighter anchor on a rope rode if we needed to for short stops. We have an all chain rode on the main (bower)anchor incidentally, 40 metres of 10mm.
Good luck with next Wednesday, We hope Duet is all you want and more.

Best regards, Nigel and Sheila.

[tidalstreams]

Read my input re the bridle

Peter