Pretty much, yeah. As a rule of thumb though, it's better to sheet it too loose than too tight. On a reach, sheet it so the lower telltails are flying (or the luff is nearly flapping a third of the way up); the top of the sail will invert but that's not a problem. On a run, just keep both jib sheets loose enough so that the sail doesn't obstruct the air flow too much. You can actually use the jib as a big telltale: if it wants to move to windward, then you're sailing too low in most conditions and situations. You may also want to tie the stopper knots on the sheets so that the clew can't go forward of the luff (so you don't get the jib wrapped around itself).do you sail the jib under the spin the same way as you would without the spin?
I am out of touch with what people are using in the class nowadays, but a good general rule of thumb is to go for the longest stick that you can tack comfortably, with the outboard end of it near the mainsheet cleat when you're head to wind. So it depends on your tiller length, too. If you're making it yourself, you might want to set the rudder at a typical mid-tack angle and measure the joint-to-mainsheet distance, as a starting point.What’s the ‘proper’ length of the extension?
The skipper moves in the same way as with a crew. Of course, in lighter air the movement starts closer to the centreline, and ends there as well on the new tack, so you play part of the crew's role then.Roll tack with no crew? What does that look like?
I'm sure it's not - if you feel you need to grab something, try something more rigid, like the traveller track.I usually use the main sheet between the boom and block as a handle (though I’m not sure if this is good practice).
Most boards do get scratches. However, there are shimming materials on the market to tape along the top and bottom of the centercase (this would be lengthwise to the hull). In the end, much of it depends on bolt tension. If the board is tight on land, then it will be too tight on the water. Ideally, the board wants to drop a little on land and, thus, will need a rope (or use the cunningham) to keep it in the case while ashore.
David, Ryan's boat has no centreboard "bolt" in the sense of what the vast majority of 470s have - see posts #20, 21 and 23 in this thread. (It's actually somewhat similar to what I have on my Lightning.)In the end, much of it depends on bolt tension. If the board is tight on land, then it will be too tight on the water.
Yes it is. I assume you can adjust the tension on the screws that act as the bolt, but then of course you have to take the whole thing out of the centreboard case, and the effect is probably not the same anyway.Now “bolt tension” is new... Is the “bolt” the boards pivot?
NO CLEATS! You want to have complete control over the centreboard when the boat is upside down and you can't reach any cleats then. The only way to play is to rig a continuous "friction" system which is held taut by elastic. The top boats today have separate lines for uphaul and downhaul led to the side tanks but that would be overkill for your purposes. You won't need many new parts to build a simple working system.I’m a bit concerned about the boards mechanism (I won’t be able to post pictures for a while). The original system relied on the tension in a segment of shock chord to bias the board either “up” or “down” - no in between. I wanted to change this so I have more control over the exposed foil surface in the water. The easiest way to accomplish that, I guess, would be to use two cam cleats that lock the boards control lines - that way, the board could be “up”, “down” or anywhere in between. Any thoughts?
Thanks for the thanksDiscovered the “like button” today (hehe). Thanks for all the help!
It's possible that there was a class rule about that back in the day. Or some Frenchman thought it was a good idea.why is there foam in my mast?
Yes and yes! But it's never easy. One trick is to remove the mast heel fitting, let the halyard come out of the mast foot, feed a thin messenger line down from the exit hole so that it comes out of the mast foot as well, connect the two, and pull the free end of the messenger. This probably includes drilling out a few rivets, but so does removing things like exit blocks in order to have a bigger hole to catch whatever you want to come through. (Of course, if the exit blocks are integrated in the heel fitting, or otherwise very close to it, you don't even need the messenger.)has anyone done this before? Is there any tricks to retrieving lines from within a mast?
What happened to the Harkens?a makeshift spinnaker bag made from an old sail bag
I'd contact David (see post #51 above). Or your closest North loft. (These guys should be able to help you: Milford, Connecticut | North Sails)Yes I know there’s no battens in the sails, been meaning to do that. Any good sources to purchase those?
Probably is! After a disappointing 18th in the Worlds, he's going into the medal race, and extremely likely finishing the whole regatta, in fourthDavid is having fun in the Olympic test event in Japan
In the 420 they're the only thing allowed. In the 470, no one's used them since the 1970sChocks.
I threw together a set today. Are they still common practice on 420s and 470s?
Their dimensions are right if they fit! Tuning in turn is right if the lower mast bend is right... In practice, for recreational sailing that means that when the rig is fully tensioned, you use enough chocks that they sit just snugly in place in both light and overpowered conditions; in medium wind you may want to straighten the mast with an extra chock or two. (And you may want to make one that's half as thick as those, for fine-tuning.)Where can I find “real” dimensions for chocks, tuning guide?
Back with pics!
Just read what I've told to the other guys with old boatsQuestion for this time around: Mast rake; I think my mast is too vertical. The C420s had plenty of slack when not in tension. I don’t, the mast is almost in position when there is no load on it, I think my lazy forestay is too short.
They are! Trapezing styles improved fast in the late 70s, and along with that the handles went higher - but not that high! As I may have said earlier, the optimal height is somewhere just above the gooseneck when you pull the trapeze wire against the mast - maybe one third of the way to the pole ring. The exact "perfect" height is determined by how tall the crew is (arm length really), and personal style and preference.I think the trapeze handles are a bit high
Cotton hiking straps? Well, all fibre in the past was natural... but not in the 70s anymore (yeah, change them)!Also made new hiking straps.
Although, might swap these out with nylon soon since the material just came in. I trust nylon much better than cotton (was cotton original?).
Oh, I had forgotten that you have the rollers for the jib halyard and the vang (that's what I've called them and everyone has understood what I meant). I had them on my 1980 Fountaine Pajot; changed the vang almost right away to a block system, and did the same to the jib halyard a year later (although I have to admit that the memories are quite hazy by nowMy spinnaker halyard runs to the bottom of the mast, but the block that allows it to exit the mast is partially blocked by the jib and boom vang tensioner (whatever that ancient winch-like system is called). Meaning, the line cannot cleat to a fitting on the centerboard trunk, where nearly all cleats are, without passing through another block first.
What kind of system was originally used on these kinds of boats?
Is there a modern system that’s simpler?
With "downhaul", do you mean main cunningham? It's not that important of an adjustment (you actually tension it in overpowered conditions only), but a 4:1 is still nice (and standard). Typically you'd have a 2:1 at the cunningham eye (deadended at the gooseneck), another 2:1 along the centreboard case, and a cleat on top of the case.Also, currently I’m using a jurry-rigged 2:1 downhaul that I would like to replace properly. Have any insight there?
Well... boom height is largely dictated by mast rake, which is a major tuning variable. Done any rake/tension/bend measurements yet?Went sailing for the first time (on the 470) this season! The boom is a lot higher than I remembered it being, even with the mast raked all the way back with the chocks. Or maybe I’m just used to the low boom on the Hobie. I’m starting to look at these finer adjustments (maybe boom height isn’t a fine adjustment).
rake/tension/bend measurements yet?