The RS100 Owners Thread

Anyone got any idea what the N10 refers to on the nationals t-shirts, a rather large typo perhaps!

So, how many of the '8.4' sailors would normally sail a 10.2, but decided their best chance in the big breeze was to go small?

Also, does anyone wear hikers - and how good are they in a 100 (I ask cos they're a must have in a Laser, but awful in say an RS200).

On the asking questions front i'd be interested to know
what the quick guys sailed before getting into the 100

As no one had loads of time in the boat comparatively what
kinda sailing best prepared them for the boat. I.e. was it
300 sailors because the best understood the rig, Vareo
sailors because they best understood the concept, Laser sailors coz they know how to hike...?

Ian

The guy who won used to be a top laser sailor, apparently he came very close to winning the nationals once although i think that was before my time as I didnt recognise the name. 

I am still at my laser fighting weight which is about 78 kgs and I was sailing the 8.4.  I dont think I need any more  power even in the light winds, I dont think the 10.2 sail would actually give me any more power in the drifting conditions anyway because its a case of taking any gust that you can and that bit more sail area would just make it harder to keep the boat flat all the way through any shifty and gusty wind.

I went through a phase of not wearing hikers. I say a phase I have still only had the boat less than 2 weeks but for a couple of my training sails before the nationals I didnt wear them but I think they are needed now.  I messed up slightly and overdid my training the week before, sailing every day for hours and hours doing windward leewards.  Turned up at the nationals and funnily enough both my boat and my body had given way on the sunday, although the boat did break before i did!

I think you can get away with drop hiking, or at least very bent leg hiking, although it is very bad for your knees. As with  lasers when the wind gets up and you are very tired it is always best to tighten your straps and move your legs in and keep your back out.  Important to tighten your straps to lock you in and allow you to work over the waves.  I think being in a good locked in position where you can play the mainsheet quickly is more important than out and out hiking. At the end of the day in those winds you are never struggling for power so just crank on the cunningham and kicker and then work the sheet.  I know thats what i was doing on the first race on sunday and i was well inside the top 10 until my boat broke! 

So use the toe straps, they are very easy to adjust and the cleat works really well so just be confident using them and make sure however hard you are hiking that your feet are really hard in the straps.  Then really work the main hard. 

GRF i think you may struggle to work the main with that centre sheeting, doesnt look efficient at all and the loads must be huge! If you cant manage the full flat backs of the knees hiking style then just lock in tight and make sure you are leaning back hard.  The most important thing to avoid is that position where you are half in half out and you can see daylight under your knees between them and the deck when you are hiking on the middle of your quads.  Especially without good hikers.  This is because it is seperating your knees with huge force and also cutting the blood supply off to the bottom half of your legs which eventually will numb your feet and I hate that feeling of not being able to feel the boat through the straps.

One mod I think I am going to consider is getting some new toe straps or the existing ones modified with some very grippy material on the  underside of the straps.  Having used Zhik straps in a laser before which have a soft grippy rubber underside they make everything less tiring as your feet move less in the straps so you waste less energy. 

Right enough of this essay!

Oh and I am an ex laser sailor who has done a year in a 700 so know how to hike (even if my body wasnt up to much this weekend) and also had a fair understanding of the kite work needed. 

 

Well you don't 'have' to do them, but if as is apparently the case, numbers
generally at Nationals are on the wane, I have to say, next time I'll ask.

It's very prejudicial against those who had equipment issues, especially
when the course is a good 25 minute hike back and a 15 minute
spinnaker run back distance from the shore.

As to my set up, I spent the remainder of Sunday evening doing the prep I
might have done had I not flown back the day I travelled down, the centre
sheeting is gone, I was told unequivocally that it's illegal anyway plus it
was hard work. The elastic tidy chord that jammed the spinnaker block is
also gone, I'll figure some way to operate those manually in future but for
now I've routed them back to the cockpit. I've added that shock chord fix
to the rear sheet traveller, not that I think it'll be the total saviour
promised.

All those hiking instructions? Fine, if I were that young man starting out
forty years ago, I'd get right on it, as it is, sorry, been there got that
particular 'pain is only fear leaving your body' T shirt . Lucky for me I have
nothing to prove to myself other than a desire for continued action
packed enjoyment, emphasis being on 'enjoyment' so wont be bothering
too much, although I will try hanging the butt down a bit lower
occasionally just to see how long I can stand it.

It's a great challenge to continue to improve, but I'm long past the point of
being a man who recognises his limitations, so will continue to rely on a
defensive shield of irony and sarcasm to retain my honour, whilst only
participating when 'enjoyment' is head of the bill.

Oh and next time, if there is a next time, there'd better be folk drinking in
the bar, what's the point of going to a club if you don't socialise there?