Guest Eric Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Hi Guys, I bought a maricat 4.3 last week and took it for a sail over the weekend. It is a very nice boat to sail except that it is a dog to tack. I have sailed cat rigged Hobies and maricat 4.0's before and while not fast to tack it wasnt a big problem. The 4.3 i have now is very, very poor. With good boat speed going into the tack it would pass through the wind but coming out the other side it would round up into "irons" immediately. When in irons i could backwind the mainsail and reverse the rudders to bring it around, but again as soon as the mainsail began to make any forward drive it would just round up again. I tried various combinations of rudder angles and sheeting or freeing the mainsail before and after attempting the tack, but every time the result was the same. I suspect that i have a rigging/setup problem but i dont know where to start. The boat currently has the mast raked with its mast tip set at about 500mm from the rear beam and the rudder leading edge is vertical when lock down. I was wondering if anyone would have any suggestions on how to fix the problem. Thanking you. Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAX Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 The cat rigged maricats with the mast racked aft such as yours do not tack easily. There is a technique to tack the boats but it seems as though your rudders need to be raked more forward since the boat wants to round up immediately. Do you notice the rudders are heavy and you need to pull them towards you with significant pressure (weather helm)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warrier Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Some wise sailors at our club say that if you can tack a cat rigged Mari 4.3 you can tack anything. I have found it particularly hard when the waves are lumpy and quite close together. I use the following method. 1/Sit as far aft as possible(this lifts the bows out of the water) 2/Turn the rudders approx 45 degrees not all the way. 3/As the main swap sides let the main sheet out approx20-30cm. 4/swap sides as quick as you can,dont let the rudders move from the 45 degree angle until you have swapped sides, bring in the main as you feel the boat moving foward. You can can give the rudders a couple of small push and pulls if its a bit sluggish moving away(seems to help). It also will make it easier if you reduce the rake of the mast as much as possible. Pull the front stays on and loosen the side stays.This will reduce performance but will make your sailing experience a little less frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Eric Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Thanks ZAX, Warrier Yes it does have significant weight on the tiller. I was just looking through some of the other topics about balancing the rudders like you suggested. I will bring them forward and see if it makes a difference. Last weekend the boat would simply round up and ignore what ever the rudder angle was. I think some practice this weekend sounds good. Cheers, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat scratch fever Posted May 16, 2005 Report Share Posted May 16, 2005 Eric I sail a Mari and through trial and error i find the easiest way - and fastest - is to tack by pulling the tiller towards you, previously i was told you tack by pushing the tiller away. I'm no technical sailor though have found that this simply works and by keeping the ropes on until the last moment to keep speed and keeping hold of the ropes so your traveller and main don't run too far - as i say this works for me - keeping control of the ropes and close in. Do you have a job fitted ? couldn' remember ?? Cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samelle Posted May 16, 2005 Report Share Posted May 16, 2005 Originally posted by cat scratch fever: Eric I sail a Mari and through trial and error i find the easiest way - and fastest - is to tack by pulling the tiller towards you, previously i was told you tack by pushing the tiller away. I'm no technical sailor though have found that this simply works and by keeping the ropes on until the last moment to keep speed and keeping hold of the ropes so your traveller and main don't run too far - as i say this works for me - keeping control of the ropes and close in. Do you have a job fitted ? couldn' remember ?? Cat I think you are jibeing ( pulling the tiller towards yourself )rather than tacking (which means you go through the eye of the wind rather than bear away and run from the wind), and I think it is a jib you are meaning to ask if he is flying not a "job" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat scratch fever Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Yes, Jib not job - typo. So why tack at all ?? It just seems sooooo slowwwww, and again just from trying it myself, gybeing seems to get you through and around a lot quicker. Cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmessee Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 You tack upwind and gybe downwind. If in a race and you gybe, you would lose way too much ground on the guys tacking upwind as they are always moving forward, and to gybe you would lose about 15 metres everytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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