Shine like a star with P&B

by Ben McGrane, P&B 26 Jun 2015 21:22 BST 26 June 2015

SHINE LIKE A STAR !

The Championship season is upon us, hopefully by now if you are planning on sailing at a championship or high profile regatta your preparation is well on its way. The basic tools you need for your campaign are sorted, your mast has been tried and tested, your sails either soon to be delivered, or even better tried once or twice and put away for the start of your regatta. If not contact the P&B to get your order in soon!

I like to use the weeks running up to a championship to look at some of the finer details, the little tweeks and mods that might give me an edge, either physically or mentally.

Every time I sail I make a list of jobs that could / should be done and it is time to address anything that has been let go. I changed the blocks on my twinning lines to use the FRX rings, this doesn't use their stunning high load capacity but they are low friction and don’t twist, when making that change I moved the taper in the twinner control line and the message from the front of the boat is that they don’t ease out in light winds anymore. I will need to move the taper so it is out with my trusty pb need splicing needle to make the change.

While I have the splicing kit out it is time to check out the tapers on the spinnaker and jib sheets. These are areas that invite wear and can ruin a championship if they let go at the wrong moment. If there is a P&B representative in your fleet they will probably be carrying a few spares but even better is to spot the issue before it causes a retirement and either fix what you have or order new.

Find an advantage

Just prior to the championship I will pay attention to the hull and foils. The open meetings I attend are often on shallow tidal waters where hugging the banks is fast. Inevitably I will have damaged the tips of my foils. At P&B we have the facilities to restore your foils and prepare them to a racing state. We all spend a lot of time, quite rightly, looking at our sails and adjusting the shape however it is well worth considering that it is the flow over the foils that turns the sideways drive of the rig into forward thrust. Once the foils are smoothed I like to polish them to get an extra edge.

My favourite polish is the starbrite premium polish with ptef. The reason is not that it restores the colour but that it leaves my boat and foils with a surface finish that nothing sticks to! It keeps the grime at bay. On the P&B flying fifteen we use the Harken/Mclube antifoul polish. This brand is fantastic for a boat without antifoul paint which will be left in the water for a period of time.

I am never sure whether the polishing gives me an extra boat length in a beat but I know that in my head it makes me feel I have an advantage over the next boat and that is good enough!

Call 014895777438 or email email for all the information.

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