Kicker angle

I think that Taxi had a system on his Solo with a bar to the mast gate, so that the kicker pulls straight down ... might be worth talking to him.

Edited by davidyacht - 24 Nov 17 at 10:59pm

Originally posted by laser193713 The upside down kicker, or gnav will actually increase the mast bend from a given kicker tension. That is why boats with these almost always have a second set of lowers just above the gooseneck to limit mast bend, just like in your picture. The actual answer to the issue H2 is having is to cut the sail with more luff curve to suit the mast.

Edited by mozzy - 24 Nov 17 at 4:19pm

Originally posted by mozzy Do you mean the rod kickers like seen on OK and Finn's and some moth?  These don't actually change the angle of pull, they just add a traditional lever in place of a block and pull cascade. They are still pulling the same two points together though to increase leech tension and bend the mast.  Or do you mean a rod system like on a 29er / VXOne RS300, (gnav) where you pull a fixed length rod closer in to the mast? This in effect has a variable direction of pull on the kicker (actually 'push' from above) so it pushes more down and less forward as you increase kicker.  Really, the only way to change how the kicker pulls down or forward is the change where it attaches to boom and mast foot (or deck).  In the 200 the kicker attaches to the boom can be slided closer or further from the gooseneck, and it make a huge difference to how the kicker effects sail shape.

Yes, simply moving the kicker attachment on the boom forward increases down force and reduces mast bend, but you also lose leverage. Adding a strut in there like the Moths create the desired effect but increases leverage. 

Edited by mozzy - 24 Nov 17 at 3:50pm

Mozzy - I was chatting to a very good well known sailor who had taken the H2 for a blast and he made a passing comment that the kicker needs to pull down more rather than bend the mast. He suggested either moving the attachment on the boom in toward the mast or else (if the class rules allowed) setting up some way to change the kicker angle. He mentioned something that other development classes have been playing with that sounded a bit like a gnav but that worked with a traditional kicker instead of replacing it. If you imagine a rod attached to the boom at the goose neck at one end and at the other forced the existing kicker back and down so that when you pulled on the kicker the part from the boom would be pulling directly downward and the bit that came from the bottom of the mast would be parallel to the deck.