I had the unexpected pleasure of finishing second in a race at the weekend, comfortably beating a number of guys I usually trail behind. Whilst I'd like to put this down to a sudden huge leap in ability, tactical skills, reading the shifts, etc, the only thing that was notably different from normal was that my outhaul cleat had jammed, which meant I sailed the whole race with no outhaul on. Weather was around 15 knots, so fairly lively but not too much so.
So the only thing I can think of is, do I normally tend to yank on too much outhaul, and flatten/depower the sail too much? Next time I go out, I'll obviously try the same technique to see if it works again. But in the meantime, any suggestions as to normal outhaul settings? I've read somewhere that the maximum distance from the boom to the foot of the sail should be about the distance from your watch to your fingertips. (although this depends on the size of your hands..) But what should the maximum amount of clew travel along the boom be between an outhaul "fully on" and "fully off" position? 1"? 3"? 6"? More??
Thanks...
So the only thing I can think of is, do I normally tend to yank on too much outhaul, and flatten/depower the sail too much? Next time I go out, I'll obviously try the same technique to see if it works again. But in the meantime, any suggestions as to normal outhaul settings? I've read somewhere that the maximum distance from the boom to the foot of the sail should be about the distance from your watch to your fingertips. (although this depends on the size of your hands..) But what should the maximum amount of clew travel along the boom be between an outhaul "fully on" and "fully off" position? 1"? 3"? 6"? More??
Thanks...