Rig tuning, a Refresher?

A

Atlas

New Member
I'm struggling to get optimum performance out of my rig.
I have been off the water sailing lasers for some years and in returning, my tuning is alittle rusty.

For example, on the weekend 0-10 knots of wind I set my rig up with a heap of foot maybe about foot and a half, just enough cunningham to take out the wrinkles out of the Luff and Set the main sheet blocks about a foot apart and set the vang(Kicker).

First race did not prove well.

For the second race in same conditions I pulled in the foot, let go of the cuningham and and kept the vang the same. Bang! twice the speed. So that worked, just not sure why.

Whats the simplest set up in the following?
0-10
10-15
15-20
20+

Cheers
 
Atlas said:
with a heap of foot maybe about foot and a half,
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clew from end of boom or max depth of camber?

Foot and an half max depth would be way too much. Clew could be around 7" from end of boom. Try that.

Try around the length from wrist to tip of fingers as max distance from boom.


just enough cunningham to take out the wrinkles out of the Luff
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generally ok

and Set the main sheet blocks about a foot apart and set the vang(Kicker).
Click to expand...

Hard to say, could be alright, depends on conditions.
 
Yeah cheers, It looks like its going to be around the same conditions this weekend so I shall put it to the test again.
 
Yeah I have an eye sight thing which sometimes makes it alittle hard to see what they are doing, the worst thing is trying to see the marks, anyway that won't stop me.
 
I usually two block the main and pull on as much vang as I can (which usually still isn't enough) and then ease the main sheet as much as I need to. I do this in all conditions (even light wind) to keep tension in the leech. I only start easing the vang if it gets really, really choppy. It works best when you are bow down.
 
2 blocking and full vang in light air? How does that work for you on the race course? What size fleet do you sail in and where do you finish?
 
I sail a radial so I'm not sure that this applies to full rigs since the sails are cut differently. The theory, as I understand it, is that the sails are cut to be so full that you always have to flatten them out a bit and keep tension in the leech (with the vang). This makes them way more efficient (like pulling on a little more outhaul in really light air to keep flow across the sail). To get on enough vang you have to two block the main and pull it on really hard. Then you can let the main sheet out as much as you need (in light air about one foot) and go bow down. From what my coaches have said this is a relatively new technique but one that works really well. It has let me sail through the bad air of people who don't have vang on almost as if they weren't even there.
 
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