Starboard cunningham

A young, talented Laser sailor told me to rig my cunningham on the starboard side so I could start with it slack and then tighten after the start. He claimed you climb better with it off in the critical post-start minutes. thoughts? is this a common approach?
 
I rig the cunningham on the port side. That way it's easier to grab the single line when going downwind to take it off.
 
As long as you have the new rigging, what difference does it make which side it's rigged on ?
 
his point was that the side nearer you is supposedly easier to reach - but point taken, the two are only a few inches apart and if you have the line to starboard you'd be in about the same spot. The bigger question is to the ability to climb with a slack cunningham in a blow vs a taught one.
 
The simple answer is yes, little or no cunningham means the leech is staying closed up top, which will increase your pointing *

* - As long as you can keep the boat flat without pinching... It's pretty common to hike a little harder for the first couple of minutes after the start to help with this.
 
It doesn't make that much difference but, I like to rig it on starboard to make it an extra inch closer and since you can see where the tack is at starting time when conditions call for a great deal of cunningham, I keep the vang and cunningham tails on the starboard side for the start, then toss them over on each tack.
 
always rig customers boats with it on the starboard side. Important to be able to reach in as you round the top market and easy it off.

Those couple inches are a couple inches of hiking as you are on lay-line and then hiking it to windward to bear off.

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I have one or two customers that use it on the port side, but almost all rig on starboard side for the above reasons.
 
I have always rigged my cunningham on the starboard side. This is the opposite way around to the rigging guide you get with new boats (or did when I got my new boat a few years back).

Most other boats at my local club are rigged opposite to me, it can be fun when someone borrows my boat :D.
 

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