Some Noob Advice Please

Thanks for the advice everyone. Much appreciated.

As I am quickly learning, it is the accumulation of the small things that makes the difference.  I am looking forward to Saturday now to have a little tinker.

When we used to sail a Mirror as kids and we couldn't adjust the kicker on the course we used to set it before the start by sailing on a close reach and pulling enough on so the top telltale was flying about half the time. It probably meant the kicker was a bit loose upwind and a bit tight downwind but was the best compromise.

Thanks for the reply Rusco.

The GP does have rear transom sheeting and I have picked up on the way that sheeting in tight when beating upwind does pull the boom down and tighten the leach of the sail.  However, when heading across the wind or going on a downwind run the boom will lift up as far as the kicker allows as the sheet is let out.  What I am trying to understand is how far should it be allowed to lift in different conditions.

Do I allow the kicker to slacken off when reaching/running?  Do I allow different amounts of slack in differing conditions?  Do I always keep it fairly tight?

And I am still trying to figure out how far to pull the boom down before locking it off.  I guess it is sort of like a Cunningham that has to be preset before setting sail?

I have been cutting my teeth by learning to sail in a GP14.  I have been sailing solo since around March this year and would like some advice on setting up the boat to get the best out of it prior to me buying a boat of my own.

First, a bit about the venue.  We sail on a fairly small inland lake and set up different courses each week depending on the prevailing weather conditions on the day.  There are about 5 or 6 boats racing at any one time, mostly GPs.  We sail on a saturday afternoon and the wind tends to die off at around 1430hrs and usually picks up again around 1600hrs.

The club boat I tend to taker out is an older style, GRP hull with wooden trim, seats, tiller, centre board, etc and aluminium mast and boom.  I tie the two jib ends together to make it easier to keep control of the jib as I tack and gibe around.

The only real control that can be adjusted 'on the move', apart from the mainsheet and jib, is the kicker.  The boom is pulled down and locked in place on the mast with a thumbscrew and the outhaul is set and tied off before the boat is launched.

What I would like to get my head around is what is the best way to rig the boat prior to launch for differing wind conditions in order to be more competitive?  How much tension do you put on the boom before locking it off to the mast?  Same for the outhaul?  When do you tinker with the kicking strap?

Is there anything that can be done 'on the fly' to change the boat handling as the wind dies out during the afternoon?