Edition
-(1)-202408140552.gif)
Boats for sale
| Laser 28 - Excellent example of this great design Hamble le rice |
 |
| Laser 140101 Tynemouth |
 |
| Rossiter Pintail Mortagne sur Gironde, near Bordeaux |
 |
List classes of boat for sale |
What does the kicker do? |
Post Reply 
|
Page <1234> |
| Author |
 Share Topic Printable Version Delicious Digg Facebook Furl Google MySpace Newsvine reddit StumbleUpon Translate Twitter Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks Topic Search  Topic Options
|
iGRF 
Really should get out more 
Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499 |
 Post Options
 Quote Reply
 Topic: What does the kicker do?Posted: 14 May 14 at 11:21am |
Well here's one.. One has to ask, how come someone can get good enough to take on a boat like the 600 which quite frankly has defeated quite good helms in its time, without knowing what a kicker does? Other than that I agree, excellent explanations, did they go into the difference between a Gnav and Traditional style kicker? I have to say it's what 8 years now and I'm still learning the whys and wherefores, it's not all about sail setting, if like my boat there wasn't enough lead to let the kicker right out so the boom can lift up in a gusty bear off, it can dig in and have you over (or your crew diving into the gib and getting himself tangled up). It also makes gybes a bit less fraught if you let it go when it's a bit breezy and the sail twists to a more appropriate angle downwind up at the head if you have one of those Fatter headed sails. It actually does quite a lot.. A lot more than I gave it credit for I must admit. Edited by iGRF - 14 May 14 at 11:22am |
|
 |
|
|
getafix
Really should get out more
Joined: 28 Mar 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2143 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Posted: 14 May 14 at 2:35pm |
|
plenty of kickers on here.... if you mean tyre kickers of course!
... I'll include mee self in that also, before anyone else says it!
|
|
|
|
|
Mister Nick
Far too distracted from work 
Joined: 01 Aug 09 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 389 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Posted: 14 May 14 at 2:44pm |
|
My understanding is that it closes up the leech of the main and flattens the lower portion of the mainsail by pushing the mast forwards. You can make it do more/less of one or the other by changing the tension of the lower shrouds.
For a boat like a 600, I'd imagine that you need to progressively pull on more and more until the wind is so high that you're still not holding it without ragging the main, and then start to ease it a bit to allow the leech to open up a bit.Definitely ease it for windy bear-aways and downwind sailing, otherwise you're going to be playing with a lot more power than you want. Probably worth bearing in mind that I haven't done much proper dinghy sailing for about 2 years (doing jib trim on keelboats, so I don't mess about with the main a lot), so what I've said might not necessarily be the best way to do it, although hopefully it is a good start.There are plenty of people on here with far more knowledge than me!
 Edited by Mister Nick - 14 May 14 at 2:54pm |
|
|
|
|
dohertpk
Posting king 
Joined: 28 Sep 12 Online Status: Offline Posts: 172 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Posted: 14 May 14 at 3:02pm |
|
Ha! Saw that one coming iGRF! I can only respond that I'm not nearly good enough to 'take on the 600' on yet. I've had her about 7 months, 3 of which at least were lost to the winter storms. I've been sailing purely by feel and intuition. I'm at the point where I can get her around a course in up to a F5 without capsizing. That being said, my tacks are a mess, I'm still managing to get myself lost in that gaping chasm between the rack and the gunwale, and apparent wind makes as much sense to me as perpetual motion. I'm genuinely enjoying the challenge though and the sense of learning something new every time I go out is honestly compelling. I sailed a nonXD kit Laser for about 10 months before getting the 600, so having this much control over the sail shape is something of a novelty.
Edited by dohertpk - 14 May 14 at 4:58pm |
|
|
|
|
fab100
Really should get out more
Joined: 15 Mar 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1005 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Posted: 14 May 14 at 5:05pm |
Sounds like you are doing extremely well to me. Apparent wind is easy. Open the car window when driving at 40mph on a windless day and stick your arm out (when safe to do so of course). The gale you feel will be apparent wind. Drive directly away from a 40mph gale at 40mph and you will (theoretically) feel no wind at all on an arm held out of the window. Thats' apparent wind too. Drive at 40mph with a 90-degree 40mph cross wind, hold up your burgee and it will suggest the wind is coming at 45% from your bow, being a composite of the true cross-wind and the head-wind created by the vehicles motion. The composite is the apparent wind of course.
|
|
|
|
|
JimC
Really should get out more
Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6662 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Posted: 14 May 14 at 5:11pm |
|
You're getting some varying reports becase it does vary with different styles of rig. Bootscooters beach exercise is a useful one, the only drawback is that it doesn't show you much about the effect of windspeed on twist, which is perhaps the most vital part of the exercise.
|
|
|
|
|
Bootscooter
Really should get out more
Joined: 15 May 07 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1094 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Posted: 14 May 14 at 5:49pm |
|
Totally agree Jim, but as a starting point for learning about sail controls I find it helps to be able to recall/visualise what they're doing, when going further in depth using a book or website..
|
|
|
|
|
NickA
Really should get out more
Joined: 30 Mar 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 784 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Posted: 16 May 14 at 10:28pm |
|
Gnav vs Vang? No difference at all as far as I can see. Have a Vang on my Javelin and a Gnav on the 3000 and use them the same way.
The Gnav does bend the mast around a higher point, hence the lowers are where the gnav joins the mast rather than at the goose neck. But the effect is the same. PS: no lowers on a 600, I'd never noticed! Also a 29er. Wonder why.
Edited by NickA - 16 May 14 at 10:33pm |
|
|
Javelin 558
Contender 2574 |
|
|
|
|
craiggo
Really should get out more
Joined: 01 Apr 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1810 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Posted: 16 May 14 at 10:39pm |
|
Its a bit tricky fitting lowers to a rotating mast hence why the 600 doesn't have them.
They do have diamonds in order to keep the mast in column. The 29er has a very very stiff aluminium lower mast. The mid and upper mast sections are comparably very soft to allow for control of the mainsail roach. As a result it doesn't need lowers. There is always more than one way of skinning a cat! Edited by craiggo - 16 May 14 at 10:43pm |
|
|
|
|
sargesail
Really should get out more
Joined: 14 Jan 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1459 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Posted: 16 May 14 at 10:52pm |
And it misses how wind induced sideways bend contributes to that....an often missed and vital part of rig tune in many classes......so a coaching tip......do the ball thing. Then hang a selection of different weights on the mast tip and see wgat happens.
|
|
|
|
|
Post Reply
|
Page <1234> |
| Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |
Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.665y
Copyright ©2001-2010 Web Wiz
Change your personal settings, or read our privacy policy
Copyright ©2001-2010 Web Wiz
Change your personal settings, or read our privacy policy