The XOD was originally designed in 1909 by Alfred Westmacott and most are still sailing today. Originally with a wooden gaff rig and asymmetric spinnaker this was altered in 1928 to the current spruce bermudan rig with the symmetric spinnaker being adopted in 1969. The rigs are fully adjustable and surprisingly modern in set up and it is here that we will start.

Rig set up

The Mast

Using the spinnaker pole, mark a position 1905mm (6’3”) from one end and push the pole up under the deck to where the stem intersects with the deck beams then lay the other end of the pole along the mast base, the front of the mast should be level with the mark on the pole. As each boat varies slightly within the rules, the ideal position may vary by 25mm (1”). Next, check that the front of the deck slot is 1880mm (6’2”) from the front of the stem fitting, this is the class minimum and usually coincides with the aft face of a deck beam.

Shroud set up

Check measure your shroud deck plates from the stem, you should be looking at 2058mm (6’9”) to 2083mm (6’10”) for the cap shroud position, the lower shrouds need to be at the class minimum of 253mm (10”) aft of the caps.

The mast slot enables the mast to be brought upright or even leant forward for efficient running, check out the Star class! To do this the lower shrouds need to be eased to just allow the mast to touch the front of the slot, check that there is an even gap either side in the slot and then secure the adjusters . The cap shrouds are set when sailing to control the sideways bend, chose a force 2 to 3 wind strength to do this. Sit on the windward deck alongside the mast facing forwards and sight up the back of the mast towards the hounds, ‘S’ bending indicates that the caps are too tight, falling to leeward they are too loose, ideally the mast track should be straight from the black band to the hounds position.

Jumpers

These control mast bend in the top half of the mast and need to be adjustable. On the mooring, tension the jumpers so that the mast tip just bends forward, mark this position on the muscle box or cleat. For very light or very strong winds, we ease the jumper tension to allow the top of the mast to bend and open the leech of the mainsail.

Main Halyard

It is important to ensure that the top of the mainsail is always up to the lower edge of the black band. We use a wire halyard with a ring at the end which we place over a hook on the mast 300mm above the deck.

The Forestay

The forestay is only used to hold up the rig on the mooring, it should never take any load when sailing. This permits the rake of the mast to be set on the jib halyard.

Sail controls

The backstay, traveller and kicker controls should be positioned centrally for the helmsman to adjust easily on either tack. Stuart has the backstay and traveller exiting through two turning jam cleats on the aft coaming with the kicker on the front face of the mainsheet post. Purchase and rope lengths should be adjusted to allow full range of movement. We use a simple continuous string barber hauler arrangement for the jib, the cleats are located on the inside of the coaming whilst the outer turning eye is located some 76mm (3”) aft of the lower shroud. The jib deck turning block can be of a ratchet type and should be located as close to the coaming as possible angled in a position exactly opposite where the front man sits. The spinnaker pole arrangement needs to be simple, I use an elastic uphaul, this gives me just one string, the downhaul, to adjust pole height. All halyards and spinnaker pole controls need to be arranged on the bridge deck for the front man to adjust.

Lets go sailing !

XOD sails are deep and powerful, they have to be to drive these heavy boats through a Solent chop. They require careful setting to get the best performance.

Light winds (force 1-2)

The rake of the mast is adjusted by means of the jib halyard wire, this needs to be ideally on a 6 to 1 purchase below deck with the jam cleat on the bridge deck aft of the mast and calibrated for varying wind conditions. Rake is determined by feel on the helm, but as a guide, you should see a 20mm (3/4”) gap between the front of the mast and front of the slot. The traveller should be centralised and sheet eased so that the boom just sheets inside the aft quarter, check that the top tell tale just flicks behind the main. The kicker should be loose along with the cunningham and inhaul, wrinkles are fast! The backstay is only just tensioned to stop the rig pumping fore and aft in a chop. Set the jib fairleads right inboard but adjust the height so that the jib leech, if extended, bisects the spreader arm 2/3rds of the way out, any tightening of the jib leech disturbs the slot and slows the boat.

Tips: Keep crew movements to a minimum and concentrate on careful tacking and gybing manoeuvres. David Bedford, a long time XOD sailor and double Captains Cup winner, likens the ‘X’ to a big concrete fly wheel which you wind up and try to keep it going! Always try to maintain clear air upwind and downwind and if the boat feels slow upwind, crack sheets slightly to build up speed. Check your tide chart, navigation is just as important as boatspeed.

Medium winds (force 3-4)

The rake is set to show a 25mm (1”) gap between the front of the mast and front of the slot. The main should be sheeted progressively tighter to keep the top tell-tale just stalling and to maintain luff tension on the jib. Excessive heeling is slow, so to compensate, keep the mainsheet tension on and drop the traveller down the track as the wind increases, but no more than half way down. Always have the clew on the black band, inhaul the foot of the sail to tension the foot and only adjust cunningham to just leave some wrinkling. Again, only tension the backstay to reduce the tendency of the rig to pump. The kicker is just tensioned when sheeted in, this is then the correct tension for downwind. The jib barber haulers need to be moved outboard by 50mm (2”) but still maintain the same amount of twist by adjusting the height of the barber hauler so that the jib leech extended bisects two thirds out along the spreader arm, you can sheet quite hard as long as the correct twist is maintained.

Tips: To help keep the boat upright when sailing up wind, we try to sit out as far as we can, this is made difficult as class rules do not permit toe-straps, to get around this the class allows a safety rope, we pass a single rope through the mainsheet post for the middle man to hold on to, this pulls through from side to side. The front man has the jib sheet to hold on to, this is made more comfortable if you feed the sheet over crossed feet and this goes some way to maintaining balance when sitting out.

Heavy winds (force 5-6)

Move the rake further aft so that a 30mm (11/4”) gap shows between the front of the mast and front of the slot. The key to sailing upwind in a blow is to keep the boat as upright as possible whilst still maintaining luff tension on the jib. We do this by easing the traveller half way down the traveller and start using backstay in the gusts to open the leech on the big mainsail and thus inducing mast bend to flatten the sail. Tension the kicker firmly when sailing upwind, tighten the cunningham to take out the wrinkles and tension the foot to just induce a crease in the foot panel. Open the jib slot a further 30mm (1”) and sheet hard with the same twist as before.

Tips: When sailing upwind try to anticipate the gusts as they come through. As it hits, gently luff up to stall the jib tell-tales then bear away slightly when it has passed, keeping the boat upright all the time. Down wind, there are big gains to be made in riding down the waves, luff gently onto the crest and bear away into the trough. XODs can roll heavily dead down wind, the boom can break if it hits the water, have a hand on the kicking strap to release tension. To reduce roll, ease the spinnaker pole forwards to 45 degrees and use the spinnaker barbers to strap the sheets, this prevents the spinnaker rolling from side to side, when rolling has stopped, ease sheets again and move the pole back (remember, strapping the spinnaker down is not fast!).

Christian Brewer heads up the One Design dinghy and keelboat classes for Hyde Sails Ltd. He is an RYA race training instructor, former Condor catamaran European Champion and was Tornado class Olympic reserve in 1988. His keelboat experience comes from sailing with the Jardine brothers for 26 years in a variety of One Design and Offshore Handicap classes. Stuart Jardine and Christian with Martin Gillman won the Captains Cup in 1996, 1999 and again 2001 in ‘Lonestar’, with Online Editor Mark Jardine.