Pico- slow to turn in the tack

I have a Pico this season- just finding my groove this season until probably going for something like a Hartley 12.2.

A quick question- I'm finding the Pico really slow through the tack. Will the small job sail help at all? Should I start learning the roll tack?

Any advice would be well-received.

Edited by tbanting - 06 Jul 18 at 3:10pm

Make sure you are going properly close-hauled before you tack. Then be positive in your tiller movement as you go round. As 4320 says, make sure you are moving. Just like turning the handlebars on a bike when still, moving the rudder on a non or slow moving boat doesn't really work. Picos have big rudders, so tacking shouldn't be an issue.

Edited by Rupert - 06 Jul 18 at 7:08pm

My experience with Picos (instructing & sailing) is that they are great starter dinghies, however they do need some technique for tacking upwind.

1) before starting to tack, make sure the boat is moving fast ( don't try pinching upwind until the boat is almost stopped)

2) use lots of rudder to make the boat tack, and don't stop until you're completely round (Picos have a lot of hull drag for their size, will stop quickly and you only have one shot at a tack)

3) boat heel (roll tacking - or not)
a) method 1 - keep the hull flat throughout. This means that you move across the hull smartly.
b) roll tacking method.
Before the tack, let the boat heel to leeward. The hull shape will start the boat turning into the wind (you'll feel this through the tiller as increased force to keep a straight course), use the rudder to help the turn, and once the boom crosses the centerline, flatten the boat.

Many people start tacking with the boat heeled to windward ( I do with my Solo), but on a Pico, the hull shape means that you're fighting the hull steer with the rudder, creating lots of drag, and the boat will stop head to wind...


Summary, tack flat ( or heeled to leeward), fast and don't worry about overtacking.

Colin

Many thanks- I think I may book an instructor for a few hours and get some feedback as well.

If you have the jib then it's worth trying sailing without a rudder to learn how the boat responds to sheeting and heel. lift the daggerboard about 1/3rd and either remove the rudder or, if you are not confident, just bungee the tiller extension to the tiller so it can't get jammed. Then to head up into a tack you would sheet in the main hard and let the jib go, heel to leeward and the boat should turn without needing any input from the tiller. Also try sailing on a reach balancing the main, jib and heel to sail in the direction you want to go. It is possible to do this without the jib too by relying much more on heel to steer (heel to leeward to steer into the wind and to windward to steer away) but it's a lot easier with two sails. Obviously don't try it if there's much wind.