sitting forwards?

M

mattradial155315

New Member
this is in a radial i dont know about full rigs.

i weigh 150lbs

and have all the controls (i.e. cunnigham vang outhaul) in the right spot so this is purley about body weight


when it is light chop or no chop in about 5-10 knots i sit extremly far foward. basically the front of my butt is as far forward as leading edge of the centerboard. i personally think this is fast, because you are getting the flat back part of the hull out of the water a bit more and also weighing down the bow a bit so the knuckle of the bow is in the water. by weighing down the bow a bit it doesnt bounce around as much when you hit the chop the bow just tends to slice right through it.

is this fast?

or is this slow?

i really want to know beacause i am going to canadians in a couple weeks and i dont want to be getting killed in 5-10 knot conditions
 
I know in flat water upwind you want to be at least at the front of the co-pit at the very least. Not sure if this follows in chop.
 
I use the bow to push through waves in chop. The difference in speed is minimal, in that you aren't going to pass people as if they were standing still, but overall it's "faster".

The proof of this is the extreme, if you are sitting say mid cockpit, and hit a really good wave and the nose goes


UP



then Down

and bang

your sail shakes and you stop. So somewhere between sitting too far back and sitting too far forward so you bury your nose in water will be "fastest" for you.

Mine is a full rig so I don't have to sit to the leading edge of the board when beating, as you describe. Front of cockpit is enough for most light wind/chop conditions round here.

To put your mind at ease you need to speed test against someone similar wieght to you and experiment.

There is theory (?) that sailing nose down "tightens the groove" and promotes weather helm. Haven't personally noticed any extra weather helm, but there is a different feel of control compared to sitting transom down - for sure.
 
I find in waves its good to heel to leeward a bit so that the boat slides through the waves, and in light winds it also help keep the sail full.
 
In any flat water conditions its good to sit forward as it does put the bow down, reduce drag in the back and the bow down position helps the boat point.

When you get into waves you start moving aft a little, but for the most part you're going to be up against the forwad edge of the cockpit. In light air its good to have a little heel and sit forward.

In real chop I sit about 10" inches back from the forward edge of the cockpit and drive aggessivly over/around the waves using rudder and some body movement.
 
Interesting that this thread should start now, as I've just started trialling it at my local club. Sadly i'm the only full rig laser sailing regularly here, but compared to the other boats in the fleet (albacores, scorpions, kestrels etc) the sitting right forward thing seems to help a lot.

I've also tried sailing with the boat heeling to windward loads....feels weird at first, and never worked for me before, but combining weight as far forward as poss, and windward heel, it feels like I move up a gear!

So far i've only tried it a few times in the last month, but have good results from it, 2 wins in light stuff, one win and a second in 20+ knots and 2ft high chop.

That said, the windward heel goes out the window in that sort of wind, but I still keep the bow down. I've found I have to move a lot more tho, sliding back to the cockpit in the rougher water (which being a slightly wider part of the boat helps give more power) and rolling my body actively to lift the bow for those funny lumps of water! then its forward again for the flatter spots.

I remember reading an article by Steve Cockerill ages ago where he said sitting forwward and heeling to windward was fast, I just didnt realise he meant THAT far forward! dont know if its on the rooster site or not.
 
i had practice last night and i realized i dont sitt that far fowards but forward enough. and i talked to my coach and he said that was fast and i tried it out and won 4 minute practyice race by 7-10 boat lenghts. and my upwind speed is now very good. but you deffianlty have to work the boat alot upwind to be fast.
 
I fit the same description as you... im 6'0" but the same weight (145-150 lbs.) I like to sit very far forward upwind like you, and I thnk it works great in little to no chop. BUT: sitting this far forward gives you the tendency to let the boat heel a little bit to leeward, even if you're not noticing it from where you sit (it helps to have your coach watch from behind). It's even good to have a windward heel in the puffs when its blowing up to 9 kts. I'd be more cautious in chop, because the deeper you dig the bow the wider the cutting edge is. Watch out for boat wake. that stuff is dangerous.
 
i recently talked to my coach at practice and he said that it is fast.
idealy in flat water you want your weight centered over the centerboard. however you should be in a postion where if you needed to tack you can do so. and viktor can you explain what you meant by "cutting edge" are you talking about the bow when the boat is heeled? and also i have heard this helps with pointing. but i dont know about windward heel i have heard that it isn't that effective in a laser, but still worth a try.
 
I weigh 240 LBS obviously sail full rig. When I got back into Lasers I always seem to sit too far forward. I have had to make myself sit back more than I want in my mind. I am generally sitting about even with the front of the cockpit. I have found in chop that you want to sit forward unless your cockpit starts to fill with water coming over the bow. A full cockpit is VERY slow. You can also use your upperbody to help the bow up and down waves. I just use my head since im so heavy.
 
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