Pointing up wind

[zed280]

On a weekend sail with some Hobies they sailed way closer too the wind than I could as I had to bare away or stall

then had to tack to regain corse again this has happened on two other trips

  my rig setup is

 

Raked mast , shortened shorouds , rig tension per tuning guide

Jib with clue plate     this trip set to netural luft and leach tension

Rudders are raked and tiller rubber joints replaced with nacra joints

Down haul   standard tight as I can pull

Vang loose       little understanding

Out hall tight enough to remove wrinkles

Boom block hanger standard position , block when  close halled is at 45deg pushing back on boom and the mast to full rotation      do I move this ???

I think I should be able to stay on the same tack as the Hobies am I sailing wrong or am I setup wrong

help or ideas would be good , I am not the best sailer just trying hard and enjoying it

 

[Pointed Reply]

What was the wind strength?

Where did you have the traveller - how far from centre ?

 

[zed280]

Wind 1 light 5 knots or less

         2  10/15 konts

Traveller centered , jib slot close as I could get

[darcy1945]

To much down haul can be detrimental to pointing ability, coupled with batten softness or incorrect batten shaping, it can bring the power/depth of your sail to far forward.

Deepest part of the sail should be 40% back from the mast with downhaul just removing wrinkles from luff. Throw the vang away.

Flatter sails are faster and point better , but if you are a heavyweight you need the power in the fuller sails

Give me a call on 02 43591729 .

[knobblyoldjimbo]

VANG

PRO's  Dead downwind - it prevents the leech from bowing in gusts giving small increase in speed.  In my old Mk 2 I've caught foamies this way.

CON's 1. If you capsize you have to take it right off in order to right. 2. if you've got it on tightish it'll prevent the mast from tacking (rotating) when you tack.

Going upwind you need speed, speed and more speed.  If the jib is in tight and the main is tight (remember that hard in on the mainsheet bends the mast which flattens the sail = good) then you sail for speed.  It's quite remarkable when you notice the boat suddenly pointing and then you're back on track.  It's very easy to point but the downside is loss of speed and then loss of pointing.

In light, traveller should be centred (main tight) and in brisk let the traveller down a handwidth (main tight).

If you have a Redhead sail then don't even bother with the downhaul - if the goosneck works it goes up and down for you.  Otherwise only enough to get the crinkles out of the luff.

What are the Hobies?  16's have to sail quite low to get the speed, they go faster though.  I've only sailed against one 14 - it was sloop and I was cat and I overhauled and outpointed it.

[knobblyoldjimbo]

Oh, and thanks for asking, it's always nice to get the brain cells going.

[Pointed Reply]

Sheet tension to keep the leech more or less straight.

If you have an older style sail then you can’t use too much rake or you won’t get sufficient tension on the main sail.

Don’t use too much mainshert tension especially in lighter wind or you will hook the top of the main over.

if you attach a picture of your boat with the sails up, then you will get better advise.

where are you located - if you are still sailing then it must be somewhere warm !!

[zed280]

Brisvagas  Morton bay Woodie point to Morton island and back

in the group was Hobie 16s , 14s ,Hobie Getaway  and a Calypso 16

I have the orignal Lee sails in good condition

will set the boat up in the yard on the weekend for a pic of the setup ect

[Pete]

In my experience older tired sails are significantly slower upwind. I have a couple of older mainsails (I sail cat rigged) that have successful histories, but with my newer Chris Cairns sail my Maricat is minutes faster around a course.  Upwind the newer sail allows me to sail higher and faster. I am overweight so need all the power I can get.

A new sail is probably the best go-fast investment you can make on these old girls, along with some mast rake, and aligned and no-slop rudder system.

One of the best Maricat sailors from the early days, Richard Eveleigh (one of the contributors to our tune up guide) had great success with a black Lee sail. He was super fast upwind. He now sails a foiling A class.

[knobblyoldjimbo]

You can do things to old sails to get some life out of them.  One is to cut the bolt rope from its anchor at the bottom ( a few stitches).  I did this to my Eastwind sail and the rope disappeared about a foot or so up the slot.  A tight rope means the luff is crinkled and the body of the sail falls back which isn't fast.

+1 on the rudder.  Look up Ackerman steering.  This is why the tillers are bent inwards.  There's a measurement (which I don't understand!) but on cats your hulls go at different speeds and radius when turning.

Stays 5.5m front and 5 rear.

Remember that the tighter you have the mainsheet the tighter the jib luff will be. 

I would think you'd be in front of the Getaway and the H14 but behind the 16's.  The Sailing Australia yardsticks should be an indication.  Just as a guide we did a long race at Speers Point on Anzac Day.  The line winner was a Maricat Super Sloop (foam) and was quite a long way ahead of me (2nd over the line).  Once they'd unstuffed the handicaps (they did me as a SS foamy!) I won it.  My calculation was about a minute ahead, Mark was a good five minutes in front on the line.

I also noticed Mark (SS) sailing off the start line with jib literally flapping in order to get height.  Once clear of other boats he bore away to use the jib for speed.

Sand the hulls - don't need to go too far but maybe 120 then 600 makes them smooth.  Same with the rudders they have quite a large whetted area - fill in the chips with Epoxy Filler.  They talk about toe-in and I think this refers to hulls as well.  I've seen rear beams that have the bolt holes drilled oval so the gap can be adjusted. Not sure what the gap should be though.

Tramp should be as tight as possible.

[knobblyoldjimbo]

In superlight weather I pull the main in tight, then to counter the hook in the leech I pull the downhaul.

When rigged do this - sheet in tight then downhaul - you'll notice the leech will fall away which in light is good but in medium means you'll not be able to point.