berny Posted May 22, 2006 Report Share Posted May 22, 2006 A few kite questions some of you more experienced pilots might like to have a go at; Is a turning block under the tramp at the eyelet a good idea? What's a good method for getting the halyard/retrieval line through the sock when rigging? are all windward / leewards port courses? what's the best tack to be on going into the a. top mark, b. bottom mark, when sailing port hand windward / leewards? What downwind angles give best VMG with a kite and how best to judge without a compass? I have a 2/1 tack line which gets the tack out easily but puts a bunch a excess halyard on the deck when the kite is out. remedies? how are knots to keep the patches apart in the retrieval line tied in during rigging? What's a good measure to set the luff tension to? Best jibing procedure? Best bailout if the kite gets stuck up? Knife? Best righting procedure in a ditch with kite up? I think that's enough for now. Might promote some discussion at least. Any takers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado Posted May 22, 2006 Report Share Posted May 22, 2006 Rolf answered all your questions quiet well @ catsailor.com I will also add that Windward Leeward or any other races you may encouter are usually port courses, but will see a starboard every now and then. That being said, for a one man boat make the spin halyard system accessable from both sides. On a 2 man boat it is not as critical. Even if you don't plan to sail..... Come down to Woollahra this saturday to check out some of our systems and ask questions. There will be a gook variety of set ups and you can talk to each of us regarding what our likes and dislikes are with each set up. Bring you 430 down also and we can have a look over it and make suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berny Posted May 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2006 Yes that's a good idea, I'll be there for sure, thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berny Posted May 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 I sailed at Balmoral today. I had a much better day coming to grips with the spinnaker. Only a light breeze around 5/8knotts probably gusting 10/12knotts but I was able to fly a hull downwind quite easily after a couple of runs. Good fun. A couple of problems. Halyard has too much stretch resulting in luff sag in the gusts. Gotta get some decent rope. Recommendations? I changed the tack line to 1:1 and it works better with less surplus on the tramp when the kite is up. I got a strange spi sheet tangle during one deployment. It got tangled around the snuffer mouth somehow. I re-stowed and re-launched the kite and it fixed it. I need to try to figure out what happened there. It took me an age to rig the thing. Anyone care to help with the best procedure for hooking up the halyard and retrieval lines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Halyard and Kite sheets are things that are awesome when right but shithouse when they go wrong. After much testing I reckon we have a top setup we use a line made by cousin trestec in France for the halyard and its awesome, no stretch at all and no tangles. the Kite sheet is made by Cousins as well and is light but grippy and wont tangle either. The cheap ropes are awful for twisting. you will also notice with a cheap halyard that the case will spin over the core after a while and then you will have constant twists in the rope and it become un useable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berny Posted May 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Do they make it in 3.5mm and where can I get some? What about spectra? Too stiff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 rope manufacturers are all over the place when it come to sizes, one manufacturer's 4mm is anothers 5mm so when you find a rope you like its worth getting enough to do you a while. The kite halyard we use from cousins is vectran as it has no creep, dynema (spectra) has a little creep so its not perfect. I have some more rolls of cousins coming in shortly, I can let you know when it gets here if you like, until then I might have enough to get you by from some old halyards from the T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berny Posted May 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Next question; Do I need a halyard guide on the front of the mast at the spreaders? I've had no problems sailing but occasionally on the hard, the halyard ends up behind the spreader arm. I doubt there would ever be that much slack on the water but I'm not sure. I'm trying to adhere to the K.I.S. principle, so if it ain't absolutely necessary, I ain't puttin' it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berny Posted May 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Done. Put a small interconnecting string across the spreaders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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