zeflyguy Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 I sail the only 16ft sq at Plam Beach against a large fleet of hobie cats and A class. I find I am out pointed against both classes. My sail is hard in with the traveller pulled in to center position. The top of the sail with a small twist has its tell tale flying level and with a steady breeze I am flying a hull barely a foot off the water. My boat speed would be maginally faster then the 2 up hobie 16 but my pointing angle is a few degrees lower loosing overall ground against the hobie by the top mark. Just after any advice I can experiment with to get the upper hand..? Should I be worried about setting the top tell tale or pinch up to the point where only the lower tell tales are set...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmatelot Posted November 8, 2006 Report Share Posted November 8, 2006 hi, re your 16sq. pointing and overall performance. the yardstick for a 16sq. is lower than for a h16., but at palm beach there are some good hobie sailors, and if your boat is not set up right you are at a major disadvantage. you need to get some better information re-setup etc. the 16sq is a very ,very good cat and should be very competetive. that said, are you coming to the nacra nationals at RQ Brisbane??, you will pick up more sailing skills there and the you will see the difference. pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeflyguy Posted November 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2006 I cant make brisbane this time round but next year I plan to travel more to make Nacra events. As I read in the other post about the Nacra 5.0 the expectation of pointing a sloop rig as high as a hobbie with a jib is not likely. I did try rake the mast a little but found the helm far to heavy and the tacks difficult to make. I do feel the hobbie should loose ground without the Dagger boards but they are suprisingly good at maintaing ground. I will try next time to pinch as high as them ignoring my top tell tail to see how my boat speed compares.. I also noticed the yardstick shows the 16ft sq to be slightly faster than the hobbie but the rating was tentative. It would be nice to prove the rating to probable...I'll keep you up to date with my progress.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Just a quick question.. Do you adjust your diamond wire tensions to the breeze/ wave condition on the day? If no maybe you should read up abit of flat water strong breeze/ light wind slop ect ect and adjust accordingly, how much you weigh is a factor also on how tight loose your diamonds should be. Pointing will come with a well tuned boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warbird Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Assuming you have set the downhaul well try either letting the main out an inch or the traveller and don 't pinch. Give the boat its head and sail more on feel and keep your bow well down in the water. If the boat feels fast sail that way, don't look at the other boats and see if it helps at the top mark and not before. If it loses you ground, so what, you have eliminated another theory. Originally posted by zeflyguy: I sail the only 16ft sq at Plam Beach against a large fleet of hobie cats and A class. I find I am out pointed against both classes. My sail is hard in with the traveller pulled in to center position. The top of the sail with a small twist has its tell tale flying level and with a steady breeze I am flying a hull barely a foot off the water. My boat speed would be maginally faster then the 2 up hobie 16 but my pointing angle is a few degrees lower loosing overall ground against the hobie by the top mark. Just after any advice I can experiment with to get the upper hand..? Should I be worried about setting the top tell tale or pinch up to the point where only the lower tell tales are set...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeflyguy Posted November 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 At a body weight of 100kgs and flying a hull with the bow barely above water she does feel good and fast and the main is a season old and reasonably flat with lots of downhall so she is humming nicely. I do focus my attention to my boat to keep it stable and humming so its after falling behind from 3 consecutive races to the top mark I start to notice off the start line the hobbies are pointing higher than me. So with all that said its time to experiment. As I have noticed in previous posts diamond wire tension plays a role and mast rake. I have set the rake to the point where she tacks well and has a small amount of weight on the helm. My diamond wires are set to 30 on the gauge. I assume adjusting this effects mast bend but in which aeras of the mast and I assume its to change sail shape but in what way? I have noticed a fair amound of sideways bend with the downhall on. Is this an important factor and why? As the main is cut reasonably flat I feel mast bend backwards would acheve little in my case never the less there is a slight bend with the main sheeted in. I also intend to spend some time investigating my daggerboards for slop and angle so as always my sponge for a brain needs any droplets of info you can spare?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warbird Posted November 11, 2006 Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 I would want back bend using downhaul. Which side does it bend out to? Side bend in my experience is above hounds only. Sounds like diamond tension probs but I am not a 16 squared sailor nor an epert on setting mast diamonds. Originally posted by zeflyguy: At a body weight of 100kgs and flying a hull with the bow barely above water she does feel good and fast and the main is a season old and reasonably flat with lots of downhall so she is humming nicely. I do focus my attention to my boat to keep it stable and humming so its after falling behind from 3 consecutive races to the top mark I start to notice off the start line the hobbies are pointing higher than me. So with all that said its time to experiment. As I have noticed in previous posts diamond wire tension plays a role and mast rake. I have set the rake to the point where she tacks well and has a small amount of weight on the helm. My diamond wires are set to 30 on the gauge. I assume adjusting this effects mast bend but in which aeras of the mast and I assume its to change sail shape but in what way? I have noticed a fair amound of sideways bend with the downhall on. Is this an important factor and why? As the main is cut reasonably flat I feel mast bend backwards would acheve little in my case never the less there is a slight bend with the main sheeted in. I also intend to spend some time investigating my daggerboards for slop and angle so as always my sponge for a brain needs any droplets of info you can spare?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Diamonds should be firm you don't want prebend.Mast rake should be just behind the rear beam. Outhaul cart middle of the track so it lines up with the top of the mast. Spreader rake should be in line with the back of the mast. Make sure when going upwind the mast is rotated not siting in the middle sometimes with downhaul on you have to pull the spanner around. If your out on trap sheet on hard and point up don't worry about the teltales. You should out point the hobie 16s and go as high as the A class. Hope this helps shame you can not make the Nats as there is a training day before hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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