Short-course sail controls

What one control-line would you adjust in a short-course race?

  • Vang

    Votes: 13 76.5%

  • Cunningham

    Votes: 2 11.8%

  • Outhaul

    Votes: 2 11.8%

  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    17
GeoffS

GeoffS

Member
Most of the Laser racing I do is on very short courses (ca. 1/4 mile, or 1/2 km). Good fun: lots of starts, mark roundings, and close-quarters manuvering. However, I've found that I can't afford the attention to adjust controls all the time (and the payback is pretty small anyhow on the short legs).

I'm curious about how others handle this kind racing. In particular I'm interested in which of the three secondary controls (vang, outhaul, cunningham) is the first (only one) you would adjust.

There's a simple poll on the thread, but don't feel constrained by it; if there's a different control you'd play on different legs (upwind, downwind, reach), or any other bits of wisdom please post them.

Cheers,

Geoff S.
145234
 
L-P Gauhtier said:
this question is so vague... it's all relative of the wind & water conditions...
Click to expand...
I know, but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase it.

Specifically for me, medium winds (8-12 kn) with small waves (6", 15 cm high) would be helpful for the protected bay I usually sail in, but I'm sure others would be interested in different conditions. So, I'd encourage anyone with experience on short-courses to post any hints, tips, or suggestions they have.

Cheers,

Geoff S.
 
FWIW, my vote was for the vang. Since I'm on the heavy side for a Laser, I usually sail with the cunningham completely off. Most of the time I only adjust the vang between upwind and down (esp. when I let it off all the way for sailing by-the-lee). Occasionally I will adjust it upwind, if the wind-speed changes substantially.

Cheers,

Geoff S.
 
Geoff S,

Are you sailing with the old rigging? It's hard to imagine not adjusting everything if you're sailing more than 50 feet on one point of sail, but it's so easy with the new vang/cunningham/outhaul.
 
Geoff,
The cunningham is just as important for all weights! because upwind it pulls out the creases to make the sail flat and pull the draught forwards to enable higher pointing and on the reach it pulls the draught in the sail forwards so to make it more powerful by having the draught over a larger sail area!
 
I play my downhaul more than anything else. I set the outhaul to relate to the waves and in the wind you're talking about, take the slack out of the vang. If I can't hold the boat down, more cunningham and maybe a little vang. I am curious as to why so many people chose the vang.......
Dan
 
james17 said:
Geoff,
The cunningham is just as important for all weights! because upwind it pulls out the creases to make the sail flat and pull the draught forwards to enable higher pointing and on the reach it pulls the draught in the sail forwards so to make it more powerful by having the draught over a larger sail area!
Click to expand...

In regards to this, the cunningham has almost exactly the opposite effect! When you pull on the cunningham, it depowers the sail by flattening it out so there is not as much belly. Also what happens by pulling on the cunningham is it brings the draft in the sail forward and by doing this it actually kills your pointing ability. (I'd draw a picture, if i could.) You have the best pointing abbility when you have no cunningham on at all.

James also said that, "on the reach it pulls the draught in the sail forwards so to make it more powerful by having the draught over a larger sail area!"

This is actually untrue as if you pull cunningham on (as any other sail control) it actually flattens and depowers the sail. Your sail is holding the most power in it when your sail controls are left off.

As to why the vang is so popular is simple; In winds Geoff described, your cunningham should always be off and the outhaul doesn't have a huge effect. However, the vang you should always use! Even in light winds when sheeted in you should always pull the slack out off the vang so that if for whatever reason you let the main out, the boom will stay low and still hold the air and momentum. And even in these short races described, you should let the vang off downwind untill the leach is flickering nicely and the sail has a nice belly. If you can get the vang off and your opponents don't on such small courses, it could have a big effect.
 
I went for the cunningham, the sail is a rag unless you use cunningham, if it is a short course it will be windward/return, no need for vang on the reach because there isn't one and the outhaul can be set for the beat. If it is breezy then using the windward outhaul setting can be trecherous downwind as the Centre of Effort can move around more inducing more death rolls.
As for the way the sail works I found James17's explanation to agree with my observations as opposed to Macwas16 who has regurgitated the text from various Laser sailing books.
Darryn 169711
 
I always play the vang no matter what. Assuming you've pulled it on for the beat, you'll want to let it off for the downwind legs, as it opens up the sail more, and prevents any boom dragging. Also, with the main sheet let off, and the vang still on you'll notice a nice bend in the boom... i've seen some that now have a permanent bend in them, I'd rather mine stay straight.
Apart from the vang, I play the cunningham the most, on light days I find it really affects the sail performance.
As for the outhaul, with the old system i don't even bother... I have to go into irons before the start and adjust it according to the conditions. It's too tricky to make mid-race adjustments with the old outhaul system.
 
The question was "What one control-line would you adjust in a short-course race?"

I'm sure we all adjust vang/outhaul/cunningham all the way round the course.

The new outhaul is much better, I have a effective and easy to live with setup which I can adjust anywhere on the course.
 
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