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Reaching in a single hander
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Dan Vincent View Drop Down
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Joined: 21 Nov 07
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Posts: 45 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Dan Vincent Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Reaching in a single hander
    Posted: 26 Feb 17 at 5:46pm
Optimum Kicker tension on the reach is likely to be different than for upwind.  Generally upwind you try to set the sail for minimum drag and a fine entry angle.  On the reach the priority changes to maximizing power, which can be achieved with a fuller sail, which depending on the specifics of how your mast is supported is often achieved (at least in part) by easing the kicker and reducing the bend in mast.  This has to be balanced against letting the sail twist excessively which will allow power to spill from the top.  This balance will change with wind strength and sailing angle, as well as lots of other variables probably.  Watch people that overtake you and try to copy them.
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Sam.Spoons View Drop Down
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Posts: 3400 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Sam.Spoons Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Feb 17 at 10:34pm
I actually enjoy light wind conditions (and if you'd suggested that one day I might when I was a teenager I would have violently disagreed). I do seem to do ok in them though (and I'm pathetically unfit these days) which helps. I have not yet found out how well I do in a blow in the Blaze but maybe I'll change my mind when I do  Smile



Edited by Sam.Spoons - 25 Feb 17 at 10:35pm
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Rupert View Drop Down
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Posts: 8956 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Feb 17 at 9:19pm
All part of the skills!
Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Turkey Pie View Drop Down
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Posts: 35 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Turkey Pie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Feb 17 at 8:16pm
If you can't see any wind changes on the water i would hope I wasn't put anyway
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Rupert View Drop Down
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Posts: 8956 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Feb 17 at 7:50pm
In almost no wind it can be quickest, assuming no zephers anywhere you can pick up on. No point in adding distance for no reason.
Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Turkey Pie View Drop Down
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Posts: 35 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Turkey Pie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Feb 17 at 7:36pm
I usually try to go straight when it's blowing dogs off chains. Only deviate to gain control in gusts, but otherwise agree
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ColH View Drop Down
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Posts: 242 		Post Options Post Options   Quote ColH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Feb 17 at 7:00pm
Originally posted by Turkey Pie

Fastest way to the next mark is rarely in a straight line. Sail high in the lulls and and low in the gusts. The faster your boat, the more extreme your angle's can be and still pull away.

'Never', I'd say.
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Turkey Pie View Drop Down
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Posts: 35 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Turkey Pie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Feb 17 at 5:53pm
Fastest way to the next mark is rarely in a straight line. Sail high in the lulls and and low in the gusts. The faster your boat, the more extreme your angle's can be and still pull away.
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craiggo View Drop Down
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Posts: 1810 		Post Options Post Options   Quote craiggo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jan 17 at 7:20pm
Kicker is key. The RS600 taught me that. In the Laser, fireflies etc. Id ease the kicker before the windward mark. I did it in the 600 and got rolled down the reach. Very quickly I learnt to only ease a small amount or sometimes none while still on the reach to keep the power in the leech.

Once you notice it then you learn to feel where the tipping point is.
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Rupert View Drop Down
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Posts: 8956 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jan 17 at 4:42pm
Calibration (I just tend to use the relationship between blocks in a system) is a fairly crude measure when wind speed and direction are totally variable. I'll adjust the kicker on a reach till I can feel the difference it is making. The wind drops or moves aft, you can feel the sail suffocating till you ease the kicker. Too much, you can see the boom rising and sense the loss of power. Not the sweet spot, and the boat feels alive, the opposition left floundering. Not something you can use a ruler for, but you can teach people how to sense all this, provided they have the patience and concentration. And time in the boat.

Change classes, and you have to spend time figuring out what fast feels like, but the basics are still the same, usually.
Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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