It seems that the past few weeks a theme has been about changing gears with the changing wind velocities so I will talk to how I set up my boat. My boat is set up the old fashion way without the new vang, cunningham and outhaul arrangements. I guess it is also important to note that I weigh about 175 lbs. Cunningham- I use this control as the throttle of the boat. As the breeze comes on I pull tighter on the cunningham so that I am at a full out hike but not letting the boat get out of control. Many people start to pull the cunningham on too early so they don't have to hike as hard (I am definitely guilty of this), but again if the boat is out of control then your not going fast so set according to how you feel. Outhaul- This is the control I use the least. I set the outhaul to five finger lengths from the boom at the deepest draft. I think that a few people in the fleet have their outhauls set way too far out. Having the outhaul out is good for power but affects pointing. I generally just leave the outhaul in the same position going down wind but then again I don't have the new system to easily adjust it. I really only pull the outhaul tight in the really big breeze. Vang- I usually just set the vang by pulling the slack out of it when I pull in my mainsheet. Traveler- Always tight. In the real light stuff is the only time I loosen it, just so the mainsheet can travel over the tiller extension. Mainsheet- The mainsheet tension is a major factor in the changing wind velocities. In my first write-up I go into detail in the light stuff (See Winners Write-Up 11/20) but as the breeze comes on a go to a two block (I guess at about 7-10 knots). I am not really sure if those are the right numbers I just go by feel but if you feel slow then let you mainsheet out and just keep adjusting until you feel faster. Centerboard- All the way down upwind and usually about half way on the downwind in breeze above 5 knots, below five I pull it all the way up. This is where I usually differ from most people I usually leave my centerboard lower than most people downwind but that might be from the way the I was taught how to sail. Some of the tactics that I used this weekend was to keep my bow pointing towards the windward mark at all times (Bow on the buoy). The wind was oscillating so much at the beginning of the day, that if I felt that I was sailing away from the mark at any time I tacked. Downwind in the light stuff I just tried to position myself in front of the breeze coming from behind. One thing I tried this weekend as I was sailing downwind was pinning my rudder and trying to use my weight and the sail to steer the boat and I seemed to be really fast but then again using your rudder as little as possible is always fast. Again these are my opinions and this is how I set my boat up. Won't be around this weekend so everyone have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you on the water in '06! -Erich |
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