Hi all,
So I recently bought a copy of the Hobie 18 Performance Manual through Murrays, and found it quite useful for the reference points when it comes to mast rake, shroud tension and the like, but with as much as everybody seems to rave about it, I suppose I was expecting more "trade secrets," haha.
One question I do have is regarding the spreader rake & diamond wire tension. I notice that the Performance Manual is contradicted by Catamaran Racing for the 90's.
Performance Manual suggests: 1) set spreader rake based on the conditions 2) set diamond wire tension either loose to allow mast bend & de-power, or set them tight (based on conditions) 3) set mast rotation to allow more or less mast bend (based on conditions) 4) set downhaul as necessary for conditions
These seem to be contradictory to the pre-bending theory, which I imagine wasn't around when Phil Berman wrote the manual. Loose diamond wires would defeat the purpose of raked spreaders, would they not?
Catamaran Racing for the 90's has me thinking: 1) keep spreaders raked aft (max) regardless of conditions 2) keep diamond wires tight to pre-bend the mast regardless of conditions 3) set mast rotation for smooth entry regardless of conditions 4) downhaul to bend the mast & depower as necessary for conditions
I also notice that Catamaran Racing for the 90's suggests that spreader rake and mast pre-bend theory has been applied to H18's with much success at nationals... Can this be done without modifying the spreaders? And how tight should the diamond wires be?
_________________ Mike '79 H18 standard ' Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP '78 H18 ( unnamed) sail #14921'08 H16 sail #114312'97 H21SC sail #238
|