Hiking Problem

N

NZsailor123

New Member
Hey everyone,
I'm a sailor down in boston MA and frequently sail. I have just started getting into laser sailing and its amazing! But when im sailing on a "red" flag day(high wind)[close hauled] I start to heel over far! I hike out as hard as I can but I cant really keep the boat flat It's really hard to keep the sail in far without constantly going over or just completely losing my speed... (I weigh about 160) My bud's say I should not be having this problem . Anyway, If anyone could help me out on my Q that would be great or just giving me a link to a different site
Thnx
-Matt
 
Yesterday, the third time out now on my radial, out practicing amongst Oracle and Alinghi no less. I questioned whether in sailing the laser that despite all the technical skills and knowledge, my boat speed is so limited by my weight. Are there any non-syndicate sailors in Npt this summer who might prefer to go lasering?
 
I dont know what your problem is. have you tried to pull on your cunningham? This will help to depower your sail and make it easyier for you to keep your boat flat.
 
Yes, with a flat sail it is easier to keep the boat flat in strong winds. Another thing is, if the boat is already healing it's really hard to get it flat again. Once it gets beyond a certain point it will continue to heal, the pressure on the rudder will become hard to hold and your boat will turn into the wind. The idea is to make sure that your boat is always flat, as once it begins to heal, it will continue to heal.
When pulling on the sheet, make sure that when you begin to feel some pressure, start hiking in accordance to how much pressure is against the sail. Also, when you feel gusts, hike in accordance with them aswel. If you are already fully hiked and a gust hits, let out small amounts of sheet, just to make sure your boat doesn't begin to heal. When letting out sheet, you don't necessarily have to let it slip from your hand; when the sail is fully hauled, hold the sheet in your hand up close to your chest, that way when a gust hits you can simply extend your arm towards the block. This should allow enough sail out to prevent healing, then once the gust has passed, bring your sheet hand up towards your chest again.
Just remember the key rule, never allow your boat to heal at all... as once it does, it will continue to, and will be very hard to bring back to a flat position.
 
and its slow! the best thing that i find is let the boat heel slighlty to windward, say about 10-15 degrees (steve cockerill's idea) and then when the gust hits the boat will become upright and sail flat! when the gust goes quickly move ur wegiht in unless you can see another gust coming. but i find you need a strong upper body otherwise ur bum will drag in the water and you will go really slowly!
 
When you hike, is your butt over the side or are you just sitting on the boat bending back like you are trying to touch your head to the watter? the boat flattens out a lot nicer if your butt is over the watter.
 
Re: Fixed Hiking Problem

Thnx everyone!
All brilliant answers! :D I never knew that you cant stop it heeling over when its that far :p "my bad" I spent sooo much time trying to stop it heeling :(
-Matt :cool:
 
In gusty conditions raising the daggerboard slightly can help by making the boat tend to slip sideways in a gust rather than heel quite as much. This is a tradeoff: you gain more boat control, and keep up your speed through the water, but at the expense of making more leeway.
 
Re: Fixed Hiking Problem

NZsailor123 said:
I never knew that you cant stop it heeling over when its that far.
Click to expand...

The Dinghy Mantra: "Ease, Hike, Trim"

Ease - to get the boat flat
Hike - to keep it there
Trim - to get power back up

In the Laser, the vang is key. It should be tight enough so that the boom doesn't rise (much) when you ease the sheet. That way the sail doesn't get more full just when you don't want it to.

Cheers,

Geoff S.
 
When its super windy (35knots) you can do everything in your power and your still gonna have some heeling going on, causing weather helm. One big thing people starting out do is fight the helm and try and bear off, causing tons of resistance on your rudder.
Once you have eased your sail about 10 inchs, let the boat steer its self into the wind while still hiking untill the boat becomes flat, then once flat steer down back down and re-sheet your sail. This is the fastest was to sail upwind in heavy air. if you watch any of the lighter weight sailors they all do it.
 
Re: Fixed Hiking Problem

GeoffS said:
The Dinghy Mantra: "Ease, Hike, Trim"

Ease - to get the boat flat
Hike - to keep it there
Trim - to get power back up
Click to expand...

Was my first time in a Laser this yesterday, this mantra came in very usefull. Only on capsize and that was after hiking out too far and then losing the wind, fell into water to windward !!!
 
Re: Fixed Hiking Problem

SteveV said:
Was my first time in a Laser this yesterday, this mantra came in very usefull. Only on capsize and that was after hiking out too far and then losing the wind, fell into water to windward !!!
Click to expand...

Me too – I have been told that I either need to get in quick or if it a short wind drop, float my self on the water hoping for the next gust to lift me and the boat. I have not been successful at either yet.
Phil
 
Looks like I need to learn to move faster, also struggled with the length of the tiller, seemed to get in the way during tacks. At 6'4" I felt I didn't really need all this tiller length.

Does everyone tend to use the same tiller length or do some cut them down to size ?

Maybe I just need practise to get used to length, what i found was holding the middle of the tiller, it kept slipping through my hand, how do I stop that ?
 
hey philip i only live a couple of miles down the coast from you, im in eastbourne! wat is your tiller extension? is it the XD one?
 
yes laser xd about 2-3 years old. i now think rooster is the a better supplier for all laser bits
Phil
 
i agree! definately! but do you not find that the xd one can slide through your fingers? it does certainly on mine!
 
No problem yet. I am still new to all this and have only just learned the merits of keeping the boat flat. This does reduce the pull on the tiller.
I also have an old laser with the aluminium extension. I was thinking of putting the self adhesive tape that is intended for squash racket handles.
Phil
 
yeh i think dave cockerill from sailing solutions provides some sort of shrink wrap tape or whatever its called with his tiller extensions so u can position it on the carbon extension at different intervals where you mite want to grip the extension. His carbon extensions are for the topper though but i am going to ask him whether hes has any spare bits i can purchase!
 
Re: Fixed Hiking Problem

Philip said:
Me too – I have been told that I either need to get in quick or if it a short wind drop, float my self on the water hoping for the next gust to lift me and the boat. I have not been successful at either yet.
Phil
Click to expand...

Any advice on how to "get in quicker" as the wind drops? If I'm hiked way out flat during a gust and then try to do a big situp to move myself back inboard as the wind drops, I find the force of doing the situp tends to roll the boat way to windward on top of me.
 
to get in quicker your gonna need a lot of upper body! so a lot of sit ups and arm workouts might be nessicary for some people.
As soon as the wind dies and your hiking really far out you pivot your body from a straight out to vertical, so use your abs to bring our upper body up. Then with your mainsheet hand, lean forward and grab the cockpit grab rail and slide your butt in. It can be done very fast and is really usefull.

I Have been sailing in gusty and shifty conditions a lot lately and it has seemed to pay off a lot.

Another thing i have seen done is bringing your aft leg out of under the hiking strap and putting it over top, hooking foot around it and pulling yourself in with your leg, but i have never tried it because uncase another gust comes i want both my feet under the strap.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top