Tuning Guide

Here is a basic tuning guide, written by myself and Dylan Fletcher from 2003. This is a great small table to have laminated and have at hand in your toolbox. The idea is that you take these settings, and then modify them slightly to your own weight or ability. At the time, our combined crew weight was around 100-110kgs. If you are under this weight you will need to change these settings so you're de-powered more, and vice-versa. Details on de-powering are better explained in the powerpoint presentation below.

NEW!! Rules Powerpoint!

Here is the latest powerpoint all about the Part 2 Rules. This is a very important set of rules that we need to know as sailors. There are some nice colourful diagrams! Some of the terminology is slightly wordy, but we need to familiarise ourselves with these terms as soon as possible. Please have a look, and send me questions about any of the rules mentioned and terminology. Asking me questions will also keep me in tune with them so please ask!

Rig Setup

Here I have made a powerpoint presentation on Rig Setup. It includes rig setup guides, lots of hints and tips, and very important information we need to know as sailors to make our boat sail as fast as possible without struggling! Im afraid I had to take out a lot of colourful pictures so it was small enough to download, but still I hope you find it handy.

ISAF Rules of Racing 2005 - 2008

A link to the ISAF Rules. Worth a look! The one's we need to be familiar with are the "Part 2" Rules titled "When Boats Meet". If you don't understand some of these rules, feel free to contact me, or to speak to one of the coaches at the training sessions. It is better to know, than to think you know them!

Below are some tips written by Dylan and myself from a few years ago. Some of it is slightly dated and I'm in the process of updating it so please bear with me! Any questions about this, don't hesitate to ask.

NEW!! Interactive Rules Site - Quiz your knowlege of the rules with real scenarios and diagrams

Helm Tips - Upwind

Light wind – You should sit up against the shroud, but no further otherwise you will dig the bow in to much. Try to have your back foot in the toe strap in case there is a gust and to keep the boat flat. In this much wind you have to watch the top tell tale on the main's "4th corner" (see rig setup powerpoint for explanation of fourth corner) to make sure it flies 80% of the time. It is not always possible to know as when it gets very light the tell tale will not fly. In this much breeze you can’t point high at all! You have to sail on a lower angle (upwind) to get the sails working properly and for better speed.
Medium wind – This is where the crew is trapezing all the time but not flat. The helm has to help the crew if it is gusty by hiking out because if the crew goes flat its hard for him to get in when there’s a lull, also when you get a gust you ooch the boat flat again. If you’re not spilling the main don’t use kicker, instead you hold it on main tension because you can adjust it quicker to the gusts and lulls. Sit right up against the crew.
Heavy airs – This is the fun part. Try to keep the boat 100% FLAT. This can be very tiring, but it has big rewards as this is where the biggest gains in speed can be. Most people think that the boat is flat but it’s actually slightly heeled up. If its flat the boat will plane, to get it plane-ing you sail a bit free-er (looser angles). Once the boat has gained speed we then head back up onto a higher angle. As it starts to slow down again we then bear away again slightly. This is a repeated process.
Iits very hard but the foils will start to create lift when plane-ing. If you find that your legs kill from hiking, you can lean onto the crew’s legs which makes it a lot easier. You also need to hike flat not just stick your arse over the side, it means hiking flat! You will need to pull a lot of kicker, tell tales should be flying 90% of the time.

Waves

You have to head up the wave and bear away down it. This helps you gain speed to power through the waves but also helps you sail through thewm much smoother. Also when you get to the top of the wave give the main a pump and ooch the boat forward to push the bow down the wave. If you find the bow is digging in a lot or chopping up and down, we either need to get back in the boat, or try easing the kicker a bit.

Crew Tips - Upwind

Light Winds – Get weight far forwards to get stern out of water, if too light to sit on windward side, kneel on floor on the leeward side as low down as you possibly can. Staying low down will stop you from blocking the jib slot. Look at jib slot, what I do is pull the jib in as tight as possible, then uncleat it and let off the tension in the sheet, then cleat it back, this should stop the leech from shutting off completely.
Medium Winds – When trapezing, have foot just behind the shroud, both helm and crew should try to sit together as close together as possible, this will keep the weight together instead of spreading out the weight, it is also more effective over waves, in waves trapeze a bit further back from the shrouds, about 5-10 inches back. Jib hard in.
Heavy Winds – Flat wiring, try to keep your body as flat as possible, back hand holding jib sheet and front arm above your head. Try to call the gusts to your helm, this will help him to keep the boat flatter, keep crew weight together, but further back, you should have one foot on either side of the kite bulls eye. Jib hard in, maybe spilling in the big gusts.

Wire to Wire Tacking

Take the jib sheet in your back hand and the handle in your front hand, Lift yourself up on the handle, unhook and come into boat, DO NOT SIT DOWN!, as you come in the helm will steer through the tack, let the jib back slightly and then uncleat and give a big pull on the new jib sheet with your new back hand, at the same time reach for the handle, DO NOT SIT DOWN, STAY STANDING UP!, as the sails fill, step out on the handle with the jib in your back hand, then hook on.

Helms - Downwind

In Waves

Sailing it properly in waves makes a big difference. If you are good at it you can pick up places downwind easily. In big waves instead of "hotting it up", we found that soaking low and surfing the waves was much faster. You head up and pump the main down the waves and the crew pumps the kite. You should then hopefully be surfing on the wave. That’s the easy bit, now you have to keep boat surfing on the wave for as long as possible without going to high and without going to low and coming off it. It’s possible to stay on a wave the whole way downwind although its very hard! When you start to slow down you head up and gain speed. Once you have the speed you then bear away again.

Gybing in wind

Only gybe when the boat is going as fast as it can, this will increase the apparent wind and make the boom come across with less force.

Crews - Downwind

Downwind

The heavier it gets, the further back you get, in the heavy stuff I trapeze right on the back corner, The helm can sit in between your legs to keep your weight together, if its wavey, You can hang on to the helms bouyancyaid. This gives you more stability.

Gybeing

Before you gybe, make sure the kite sheets are behind both of your legs. This way you wont get tangled up! Come off wire into the boat, uncleat the jib and give a big sheet on your current kite sheet. Then while looking forwards all the time, turn and start to sheet in your new kite sheet as fast as you can. Giving the old kite sheet a pull before you gybe means that the kite wont stay full with power half way through the gybe, this makes the steering a lot easier for the helm and stops the kite wineglassing. Once kite is full on new side reach forwards and cleat jib.

Helms - Mark Rounding

Windward Mark

Just before you go round the windward mark you need to let the kicker off and pull the pole out. Remember when you let the kicker off it spills all the wind out of the top of the main so you will have to pull the main in beforehand. When you go round the mark you need to get the boat on top of you and let the main out to help the boat bear away. Once you have rounded you have to keep the boat flat otherwise instead of doing a 3 second set it could take 7 or 8 seconds.

Leeward Mark

Its pretty much opposite to the windward mark – Pull the kicker on and the main heel the boat away from you. Wide in tight out.

Crews - Mark Rounding

Windward Mark Rounding

Keep boat on top of you, doing this will make it a lot easier to bear away, you will also be using less tiller, have your front hand on your handle and hang, have the jib in your back hand and adjust it as you go around the mark. Helm will bear away, if windy enough, the crew should stay out on the wire until fully rounded. The crew shouldn’t hoist until the boat is flat or at least stable, this will make it a hell of a lot easier for your crew.

Leeward Mark Rounding

As you get close to the mark, the helm will bear away, and the crew will come into the boat, when you decide to drop the kite do It when you think you should, its your decision not the helms, unless he wants you to drop early for other reasons such as not crashing into other boats!
Try to practice gybe drops as much as you can in all winds, you never know if you might need to use that tequnique one day. The Helm MUST be patient with the crew as he has a lot to do, and its not easy.

Hints and Tips

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