Recent content by yell0wd0g

Here's Rule 17.2, so that we're all on the same page: 17.2 Except on a beat to windward, while a boat is less than two of her hull lengths from a leeward boat or a boat clear astern steering a course to leeward of her, she shall not sail below her proper course unless she gybes. The situation...

I used to have knee problems until I changed my hiking style. I used to hike with bent knees; I now hike with legs almost perfectly straight. _Sail Fitter_ has some notes on this, as does Ben Tan's book, and Steve Cockerill has evidently done a number of studies on the damage to the knee joint...

Perhaps it bears mentioning that you don't want to turn downwind too quickly. You need to fall off to a reach first to pick up speed. The reason is that if you simply spin your boat downwind in 20 knots, with virtually no speed, your sail will feel all 20 knots of breeze-- hence tend to be...

Al, Set up the kicker with some version of the 8:1 macrame job, if you haven't already. I use the old-style vang, and have experimented with several different line materials. It works quite well if you use a high-performance single braid-- i.e. no cover. It jams well in the V cleat, doesn't...

J.D. The UCLA MAC at Marina Del Rey runs a Tuesday night series starting around early April. We rig at about 5 and sail for two hours or so; if you don't have a boat, you can borrow one. A typical turnout is 8 to 12 boats, though we've had as many as 20 and as few as 5. It's a friendly group...

Both Torrid and Stick are right. The Laser (of course) won't fall off in a breeze if it's heeled to leeward, so dumping a bit of sheet in advance helps. Dumping sheet before you need to fall off-- several seconds before you yank on the tiller-- will heel the boat to windward and actually do...

There are two reasons (that I've heard) for sealing the edge of the bailer. The first is to smooth the transition between the bailer and the hull. Many sailors put sealant around the edges of the bailer, then smooth out the material which squeezes out from around the edges with a fingertip or...

I just read both your posts-- yours and Tim Clark's. I often wondered what percentage of the weather-helm felt from heeling the boat was due to the center of effort, but I couldn't think of an easy way to test it. It never occured to me to try the question backwards-- what percentage is due to...

I see that you've already answered this question, but thought I'd pass along my experiences with this issue. As a sailing instructor, I have to answer this question all the time. If you look in a sailing manual from about twenty to fifty years ago, you will see an explanation which addresses...