Questions about boat setup

[jsvrolyk]

I just bought a boat at the boatlocker boat swap, 1865111, which I'm very excited about, and then later that same day participated in the Cedar point spring series, thanks to the above-and-beyond assistance of Steve Fisk, who picked me and the boat up, showed me around, helped me set up the boat, and drove me back to the train station. After a day of reasonably heavy air (15-18 for the most part?) I have some questions about both rigging and control line settings.

Rigging:
1- I have a clew hook and block, and a regular tie-down. I plan on replacing this with a SEA strap. Does the clew hook attach to the SEA strap (which stays on the boom) and then the sail is only attached via the hook, or does the strap go through the clew, and the hook also go through the hook, so the sail is held down (by the strap) and aft (by the hook) and requires untying both separately to be freed?

2- APS says I need 5' of shock cord for a clew inhauler - is this correct? (I'm going to assume yes)

3- No one I saw was using a loop of shock cord to hold the vang key in. It certainly wasn't an issue in the wind we experienced. Should I bother?

4- My centerboard refused to stay down. I believe this is because the previous owner screwed up the length of the shock cord, since the board was perfectly happy to be up (the v-rubber stopper thinger works just fine). I know this sounds really stupid, but this means I need a longer piece of shock cord, correct?

6- I have a regular aluminium tiller with one of those asymmetrical cleats. We launch off a beach so the rudder does need to be kicked up. What's the best way of attaching the rudder downhaul? Regular around the cleat (hard to get it really tight) or around to a trucker's hitch (could slide off the little nub).

7- My outhaul has two blocks tied, one with a long tether, the other a short one. I had the long one for the first purchase, and the short one for the directional change to go down to the deck. This did not work - it bound up in the gooseneck fitting and I could not ease the outhaul all day. Will simply reversing the two of these fix the problem, as the section going down will be at an angle, and farther from the gooseneck?

8- I was borrowing hiking pants (size large) but am more medium sized (5'9'', 165 lbs), and I have short legs - I found that I didn't even get onto the pads until I was straight-leg hiking off the tips of my toes. I presume I need smaller hiking pants, not that everyone straight leg hikes off the tips of their toes 24/7... at least based on watching other people there.

Control line settings-
For a full rig, in 14-18, with reasonably big chop I used:
upwind - tight cunningham, but not super-tight (grommet pulled to 2-3'' above the gooseneck), outhaul with ~1 hand length b/w sail and boom, vang slack taken out at 2-blocked, and played the main to keep the boat quasi-flat. I was slow, and couldn't point... I think I need to:
1- Hike harder (always).
2- More cunningham when the breeze built to the upper end of the spectrum. I didn't want to blade the outhaul b/c there was a reasonably steep (2'-3') tidal chop and I needed the power to accelerate after bad sets. I'm simply not co-ordinated enough to play the outhaul between sets of waves.
3- The best people seemed to be both heavier than me (d'oh), but they didn't play the main - they were just 2-blocking and steering through the chop, and only easing for really bad sets of waves.

Downwind:
I eased the cunningham completely, and vang mostly off. I didn't have any problems with stability - I tried to set the vang to achieve a springy leech, but I think I need to experiment here when I can keep my head in the boat to really figure this one out. I would have eased some outhaul but my poor setup prevented me from doing so. My downwind performance didn't lose me any places, but it didn't gain me more than two or three throughout the regatta, and given my light weight, I think I need to put in some work here.

Cheers - any and all help would be appreciated!
-john

 

[TonyB]

Wow, that's a lot of questions!

1- I have a clew hook and block, and a regular tie-down. I plan on replacing this with a SEA strap. Does the clew hook attach to the SEA strap (which stays on the boom) and then the sail is only attached via the hook, or does the strap go through the clew, and the hook also go through the hook, so the sail is held down (by the strap) and aft (by the hook) and requires untying both separately to be freed?

Both the strap and the hook go through the clew.

2- APS says I need 5' of shock cord for a clew inhauler - is this correct? (I'm going to assume yes)

Sounds about right, but I would have thought it needs to be a bit shorter. Start with 5' and progressively shorten it - you need enough tension to overcome the friction of the clew strap, but not so much that the outhaul gets difficult to pull on.

3- No one I saw was using a loop of shock cord to hold the vang key in. It certainly wasn't an issue in the wind we experienced. Should I bother?

Yes, you should bother. It is very useful if you round the leeward mark without having pulled the vang on hard enough for the beat. It's an easy thing to do that can save lots of grief.

4- My centerboard refused to stay down. I believe this is because the previous owner screwed up the length of the shock cord, since the board was perfectly happy to be up (the v-rubber stopper thinger works just fine). I know this sounds really stupid, but this means I need a longer piece of shock cord, correct?

It is very difficult to keep the centreboard down. A few things help. Adjusting the rubber brake is one. Some tape at the front of the centreboard slot is another. Extra tight shockcord is good, especially if you tie it to the centreboard so it is pulling from the top rather than the front of the centreboard.

6- I have a regular aluminium tiller with one of those asymmetrical cleats. We launch off a beach so the rudder does need to be kicked up. What's the best way of attaching the rudder downhaul? Regular around the cleat (hard to get it really tight) or around to a trucker's hitch (could slide off the little nub).

First of all, tighten the rudder bolt so it is as tight as you can get it while still being able to lift and drop the rudder. Take the current cleat off and add a clam cleat. Most people put some purchase inside the rudder head - it take a while to get it all exactly right but it is worth doing. If you can afford to, put the aluminium tiller on the shelf and buy a carbon one.

7- My outhaul has two blocks tied, one with a long tether, the other a short one. I had the long one for the first purchase, and the short one for the directional change to go down to the deck. This did not work - it bound up in the gooseneck fitting and I could not ease the outhaul all day. Will simply reversing the two of these fix the problem, as the section going down will be at an angle, and farther from the gooseneck?

I'm having trouble picturing exactly what you mean - search the forum as there are a couple of threads that talk about outhaul set up with photos etc.

8- I was borrowing hiking pants (size large) but am more medium sized (5'9'', 165 lbs), and I have short legs - I found that I didn't even get onto the pads until I was straight-leg hiking off the tips of my toes. I presume I need smaller hiking pants, not that everyone straight leg hikes off the tips of their toes 24/7... at least based on watching other people there.

There aren't too many people who can hike that hard for long. It sounds like you need a better size of hikers, and maybe also need to adjust your hiking strap. You want equal pressure on your calves and thighs - if there is too much pressure on your thighs tighten the strap, if there is too much pressure on your calves, loosen it. You should be able to get the gunwhale at least to mid-thigh, and preferably closer to your knees. Takes a lot of training though.

Control line settings-
For a full rig, in 14-18, with reasonably big chop I used:
upwind - tight cunningham, but not super-tight (grommet pulled to 2-3'' above the gooseneck), outhaul with ~1 hand length b/w sail and boom, vang slack taken out at 2-blocked, and played the main to keep the boat quasi-flat. I was slow, and couldn't point... I think I need to:
1- Hike harder (always).
2- More cunningham when the breeze built to the upper end of the spectrum. I didn't want to blade the outhaul b/c there was a reasonably steep (2'-3') tidal chop and I needed the power to accelerate after bad sets. I'm simply not co-ordinated enough to play the outhaul between sets of waves.
3- The best people seemed to be both heavier than me (d'oh), but they didn't play the main - they were just 2-blocking and steering through the chop, and only easing for really bad sets of waves.

At your weight in 14-18, your cunningham should be 100% on. Vang should be much, much tighter than block to block, otherwise easing sheet will power the sail up. Same with the outhaul - blade it. You don't need the extra power. I'm 90kg (198 lb?) and in 18 knots I am at 100% vang and cunningham, with just a bit of depth in the foot. Handle the chop by sailing low in the groove - the flat sail will let you do this and you will get your height from your speed.

Downwind:
I eased the cunningham completely, and vang mostly off. I didn't have any problems with stability - I tried to set the vang to achieve a springy leech, but I think I need to experiment here when I can keep my head in the boat to really figure this one out. I would have eased some outhaul but my poor setup prevented me from doing so. My downwind performance didn't lose me any places, but it didn't gain me more than two or three throughout the regatta, and given my light weight, I think I need to put in some work here.

Everything pretty much all the way off is fast downwind in that much breeze. Outhaul will make a big difference. Vang should be well off - you don't want a dead straight mast but you don't want much bend at all. In a sense, stability is a bad thing. You want to be unstable, but you want to be able to work with the instability and use it. Stable is slow (unless you capsize!). More important than boat set up downwind is how you handle the waves. Waves are everything.

Cheers - any and all help would be appreciated!
-john

 

[jsvrolyk]

Tony - thanks very much for all the help. Hopping back in the laser (as a person finally at least quasi-big enough to sail it) after spending all my time in 420s has really made me realize how little comparatively I know about these boats... and they're not just hop in the next boat in the rotation and go sorts of animals (yet?).

 

[Al Black]

Wow, that's a lot of questions!

If you can afford to, put the aluminium tiller on the shelf and buy a carbon one.

Save your money and perfect your sailing technique before going to the carbon fibre Dark Side! An ally tiller will do you grand until you feel you've wrung every advantage out of your boat and your technique.

 

[raymie]

Save your money and perfect your sailing technique before going to the carbon fibre Dark Side! An ally tiller will do you grand until you feel you've wrung every advantage out of your boat and your technique.

Wise words indeed! Carbon is for posers Saw a nice rooster one on ebay though R.