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kurio99 View Drop Down
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Posts: 65 		Post Options Post Options   Quote kurio99 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Control Tweaking
    Posted: 05 Apr 12 at 1:05am
Silly question.  You're tweaking a control (outhaul, vang, cun., etc), but how do you know that you have made a real improvement in speed?

I know that the pros rig two identical boats with differing settings and run lots of trials.  How about us ordinary mortals?  What's your secret to getting the controls set just right?

Is it just lots of races and moving your setting a little bit each race to see which one puts you consistently higher in the rankings?  Are you literally marking your settings for different wind speeds (ie. you check the wind forecast and then move the sheet to a particular mark)? 



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alstorer View Drop Down
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Posts: 2899 		Post Options Post Options   Quote alstorer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 12 at 6:53am
two boat testing isn't just for pros- all you need is a good friend of about the same ability, and a day when there's either no racing or you agree to blow it off. It can be fun and really useful- though of course it does mean sharing your secrets with potentially one of your closest rivals! Still, better to be fighting each other at the front of the fleet than the back.
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bert View Drop Down
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Posts: 584 		Post Options Post Options   Quote bert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 12 at 1:57pm
You could always sail with a GPS with a speed function,Attach it to the centre line of the boat near the mast so you will get a better true reading.
This should help you find out if you have made an adjustment that improves or slows you & then it is up to you to use your knowlegde as required.
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Medway Maniac View Drop Down
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Posts: 2788 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Medway Maniac Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 12 at 2:34pm
Do you find your GPS that accurate and reliable for the small variations we're looking at?  Tweaking might gain you 1%, whereas a trivial gust will spurt you 20% faster.

We tried two-boat tuning on the Medway when a pair of new Hartley Wayfarers arrived.  Gave up after a couple of hours when the conclusion was that the tww boats were rarely sailing in the same wind, even when quite close together.  Probably works at sea with an onshore wind, but otherwise - I wonder.

I think a lot of the time you can feel the effect (Luke) much better.  Try knocking off a tight kicker on a reach, for example, and the boat leaps forward.  Equally, if pulling on String A makes the boat feel easier to handle, then it is probably quicker too.  Not always, but often.
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kevg View Drop Down
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Posts: 120 		Post Options Post Options   Quote kevg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 12 at 2:38pm

Hopefully someone (builder/sail maker/Class assoication) has done the work for you so if you can find a tunning guide download it. Then mark all your control lines with calribration marks so you can reproduce them. Sail to these guides until you are top 10 in the nationals!

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Posts: 1459 		Post Options Post Options   Quote sargesail Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 12 at 9:58am
+1 KevG

But also try extremes - to find what feels right you also need to know what feels wrong.  So sal the beat with the outhaul right off and right on etc.
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Posts: 3958 		Post Options Post Options   Quote winging it Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 12 at 10:26am
yes, I'm going through this with the megabyte.  The rig is quite different to what I'm used to, so I'm mostly experimenting with what looks and feels right - so lots of straight line sailing and marking of lines.  I would use a gps if I had one, but probably only on the longer stretches like at Grafham, rather than the short shifty stuff at Hunts.  It's also worth getting someone in a safety boat to look at the rig from outisde the boat.  If they can film it for you so much the better, assuming of course you're recording your settings, plus the wind strength.
the same, but different...

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Posts: 739 		Post Options Post Options   Quote ASok Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 12 at 10:32am
Originally posted by sargesail

But also try extremes - to find what feels right you also need to know what feels wrong.  So sal the beat with the outhaul right off and right on etc.
 
Completely agree with that comment. Its really important to know how the boat feels sailed with a poor set up, so you can recognise that quickly and avoid it happening. 

Some may say that I've been doing that for years on my boat and its now time to move on! Wink
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Posts: 65 		Post Options Post Options   Quote kurio99 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Apr 12 at 1:52pm
For my initial settings for a dinghy, correct me if I am wrong...

Cunningham - Force 1 - loose with some wrinkling
                      Force 5 - tight as possible
Outhaul - Force 1 - loose with some wrinkling
               Force 5 - tight as possible
Vang (off-wind) - Force 1 - loose
      Force 5 - tight as possible
Vang (up-wind) - Force 1 - requires tuning
      Force 5 - tight as possible
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Posts: 1341 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Lukepiewalker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Apr 12 at 6:25pm
Flat water or lumpy?
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