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PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 7:35 am 
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Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2003 3:58 pm
Posts: 100
Location: Ottawa, Canada
I typically sail solo on my Tiger and sailed solo on my H14 before that, which of course means that I had to figure it out myself, which means I probably have bad habits. I windsurfed a lot beforehand so had a leg up on other beginners. I've also not raced which means that although I am completely comfortable in my abilities and have never pitchpoled or otherwise tipped (except for once when I accidentally threw the switch on the main block that made it only release in one direction and could not let out the sail in a gust, while out on the trap once. :oops: )

Is there a structural problem with or a reason why one should not move the main from dead centre on the traveller or sheet out the sail when running the spi?

Also where could I find out info like this?

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Alan


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 8:44 am 
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Location: Commerce Twp, Michigan
Alan,

It all depends on how windy it is. When the spin is up in a blow, your main acts as a backstay when centered and sheeted in snuggly (not tight). The wind in attached top pic is about 15 mph. There is some serious mast bend noted on the Nacra on the left and Tiger in the middle. The Nacra on the right has slightly less bend due to being sheeted in tighter. In the bottom pic you can see the amount of mast bend on the Tiger on the right (blue spin). The Nacra on the left (yellow) has no pressure on the spin and the mast is straight up and down.

Botton line...you just can't let the main go slack...there is a real possibility of snapping your mast.

Hope this helps...pictures are worth 1000 words.

JB
Hobie Wild Cat USA194


Image

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 9:19 am 
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Thanks Tigerboy1, a picture is worth a thousand words.

So in a serious gust or wind buildup what would you do?

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 9:32 am 
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I should have looked more closely before the last response. I was doing two things at once.

I get that it is appropriate to have the main hauled down to the traveller as much as possible and moved out to be on the opposite side of the spi to act as a backstay. That makes a lot of sense.

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 11:30 am 
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Location: Commerce Twp, Michigan
Alan,

The tactic in gusty or hard wind is to keep your traveller centered, your main sheeted in snuggly and drive deep (almost dead) downwind (but not past the point of a gybe). Takes a steady hand on the tiller. Keeping the main sheeted in tight limits how much sail plan is exposed to the wind. Think of it as a glancing blow. Let out any main and you'll increase speed, add stress to the top on the mast and put excessive pressure on the bows...going past the bouyancy point of their ability to stay on top of the water...resulting in a pitchpole. Might sound counter-intuitive but it works. You might go a bit slower in this mode but being upside down is not fast.

JB
Hobie Wild Cat USA194


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 11:40 am 
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So if the boat starts to heel up onto one hull, or pitchpole what's the plan to dump lift?

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Alan


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 4:04 am 
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Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 1:58 pm
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Location: SE Michigan / NE Indiana
A combination of sheeting out on the spinnaker and steering deeper. In a racing situation, deciding how much of each is fastest has been a bit of a black art to me - I'm still figuring it out :roll: .

Unless its seriously gusty, the adjustments should be small. Big jerks on the rudder or completely dumping the spinnaker sheet is slow.

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Jeff R
'88 H18 Jolly Mon
'10 F18 Closely Called
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