Rare bird - A Beneteau First 260 resource

This turned up today.... interesting details of a rudder mod for the First 260 drawn by none other than Pascal Conq! Understood to be the actual designer of the First 260 at Conq/Finot, this work was done as a favor for a First 260 owner who happened to be an editor at Voile et Voiliers magazine, the largest sailing magazine in France. The 200mm extension of the rudders is said to ease the helm pressures and angles when sailing under maximum sail pressure. This in practice should yield better speed through the water. Although this has not been short-listed on my 260 projects queue, I would be very keen to see it in action. You can download the drawing and work guide HERE . This was originally made available only to VetV subscribers; if you set out to mod your rudders to this plan, may I suggest you buy the current copy at your newsstand? I would be interested if anyone takes this project on.

I have been able to get out a few times by ourselves this fall. During the summer with Kestrel on Lake Superior and the WYC racing on Thursdays, we don't get too many days just sailing on BlueJ. But in October, after kestrel is done for the season and before the Frostbite Cup and the Shackleton races, there are some truly awesome days; nice winds, open waters, and amazing light. We had another the Sunday after the last Commodore Cup. The Vikings (American football team for my European friends) were playing keeping even more boats off the lake, so shared it with only a few sailboats. As much as we like full-crewed sailing, we really love the pleasure of effectively double handing a powerful sailboat. Good times.

The WYC Commodore Cup is a 4 week series held in the fall. The typical October breeze is good, and gives us a chance in a multi-week series. The trick is not to miss any, or you have to use your one discard on a DNC. We sailed very well... in the picture below from race 4 we are actually the leading PHRF boat and in the midst of the fleet that started before us. As to results; 3rd place, one point out of 2nd. Of the 4 races we won one outright, and had a 2nd. If we had been able to beat Stinger in the last race (1st and not 2nd) we would have taken 2nd from Synergy on the tiebreaker. Factoring in we had to use our discard on a DNC I'm rather pleased at the result. Interesting that we had a BLAST short handing the 3rd race, but light airs and limited ability to swap spins probably cost us a few places in that race. Best moments were surfing downwind behind the island in 20+ knots in race 2, and leading the PHRF fleet around the Lafayette buoy in the final (light ai...

Looking for a nice read? Jean-Marie Finot's designs and career are reviewed in this nice piece by Peter Poland of Practical Boat Owner. Among other interesting details, it points out that the MAN once owned a First 260. He always said he fancied boats 7.5M long; this proved he put his money where his mouth was. Full of fun facts to know and tell. The PDF file is HERE .

Because the 260 can only fly an non-overlapping headsail, it allows the jib sheeting angle to be very tight. This allows for great windward sailing. In a good breeze the best VMG windward angle is often inside 40 degrees true wind. The downside is when you are off the wind. In decent breeze while jib reaching, the narrow sheeting angle holds the clew too close the center-line, hooking the sail back to windward. It also narrows the slot between the jib and main, decreasing the effectiveness of the mainsail. This is very slow and needs to be addressed for optimal forereaching. There are two options. The first is to rig a out-haulers; a line that pulls the active sheet outward to make a better (wider) angle. On the BlueJ we have looked at this but cannot find a great place to mount the needed hardware. The 2nd option is a dedicated reaching sheet, sheeted to an outboard point. This is the approach we have taken on BlueJ  We mount a dedicated block onto a shackle on the chainplat...