CHUCK COYER used to own ACCOMPLICE and he did pretty damn well with it, too.

Here are some tips he offers for what can usually be considered "challenging" conditions for an Evelyn 32-2:

ON HEAVY AIR:

The Evelyn can be made to go much faster in heavier air by reducing sail more than you would normally think. With a reef and a three it's pretty quick up to the high 20's. You cannot pinch the boat at all, it's all traveler. Don't try vang sheeting either, it doesnt wok. The boat goes into wild lee helm and goes down faster than you can get it back up.

The problem was the hard turns in the keel sump and the lousy mast step which was plywood. Cut out the mast step and the inner skin in the sump and glass it solid up at least halfway to the bunks. Then build up the step so that it is solid under the butt of the mast all the way to the outer skin. Last, replace the tie wires with something other than lifeline material with some real turnbuckles and add a tie down under the deck just behind the mast down to the rebuilt step. That stiffens the whole section a ton and keeps the boat from wiggling through the waves.

I found that once we figured it out the boat was pretty competitive up to just less than 30. You lose some upwind and make it up downwind. You will never beat a long WL boat like a reasonably sailed Navy 44 in those conditionions though. Just not enough boat. It's faster than a Soverel 33 on a tight reach, less so as the reach opens up. The reverse is true downwind. The boat is sticky in the light stuff and requires that you work up a bit further than you might think and let it cook a bit longer before you drive back down. It stops acceleration as soon as you bleed off.

I loved the boat for what it was. I wouldn't go far offshore in an Olson or the Evelyn. Both are just a bit dainty for my taste.

ALSO:

Try reefing. It allows you to set the leech much firmer and the traveler higher, giving a bit more helm than sliding the traveler down further. It was a desparation move for us that worked better the steeper the chop. It may have something to do with the general low helm loading combined with the very flat sided entry.