Technical understanding?

I remember, in the old days, that we would all be searching for that elusive speed edge. To that end we would try different sails, masts, and even hulls to try to get that boatspeed advantage. This would also involve a close scrutiny of all the other competitors to ensure that they hadn't stolen a march on us. (I have seen sailors discretely running a measurement tape over a competitors spreaders after a regatta just to check what they were up to. I also saw one sailor go so far as to change the sailmakers insignia on a suit of sails to obscure their origin).

 Once you had a set of "fast settings" the last thing that you would do would be tell your mates, ( well definitely not the right numbers, anyway!), Because of this we developed a good basic understanding of the mechanisms that govern boatspeed. This seems to have changed. Most dinghies come in a plastic bag, with a manual to set the rig up, that most people stick to religiously. Some classes even set about to fix the settings through their rules to ensure that the rig set up is one design. Most sailors have little feel for how their sails look and more importantly how they should look to get the best from them for the conditions. 

Have we lost something here or it is a positive move to make the sport more accessible? Is this inevitable from the way the sport has changed with people less interested in tinkering and more interested in racing, then packing the boat away and going home?

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Oatsandbeans Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 19 Sep 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 382	Post Options Post Reply Quote Oatsandbeans Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Technical understanding? Posted: 11 Jan 14 at 10:40am
	I remember, in the old days, that we would all be searching for that elusive speed edge. To that end we would try different sails, masts, and even hulls to try to get that boatspeed advantage. This would also involve a close scrutiny of all the other competitors to ensure that they hadn't stolen a march on us. (I have seen sailors discretely running a measurement tape over a competitors spreaders after a regatta just to check what they were up to. I also saw one sailor go so far as to change the sailmakers insignia on a suit of sails to obscure their origin). Once you had a set of "fast settings" the last thing that you would do would be tell your mates, ( well definitely not the right numbers, anyway!), Because of this we developed a good basic understanding of the mechanisms that govern boatspeed. This seems to have changed. Most dinghies come in a plastic bag, with a manual to set the rig up, that most people stick to religiously. Some classes even set about to fix the settings through their rules to ensure that the rig set up is one design. Most sailors have little feel for how their sails look and more importantly how they should look to get the best from them for the conditions. Have we lost something here or it is a positive move to make the sport more accessible? Is this inevitable from the way the sport has changed with people less interested in tinkering and more interested in racing, then packing the boat away and going home?

iitick Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 09 Sep 13 Location: Tunstead Milton Online Status: Offline Posts: 392	Post Options Post Reply Quote iitick Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 14 at 11:23am
	Now that's a good starter post. I see people with tape measure in one hand and tuning guide in the other. Sure set up is easier if you have it roughly right to start with but a good sailor should be able to feel what is wrong and make corrections accordingly. Are factory settings relied on too much? When w e started with our Tasar we used Frank Bethwaites manual, just set it all up to the dots. The boat came calibrated, it seemed like a formula for winning. Nah.....we were crap so we ignored the settings and just sailed by feel....still crap but no more crap than the other way. Is there a message here?

Thunder Road Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 24 Jun 10 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 372	Post Options Post Reply Quote Thunder Road Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 14 at 11:47am
	No Finn meeting is complete without a lot of fretting about leech tension, out comes the spring balance and the tape measure followed by hours of endless fun. The physics is all a bit questionable, but finding that mysterious holy grail of the perfect tension, based on secret figures supplied in the dead of night, via a use once pay as you go mobile with an untraceable SIM card, is the answer, well plainly not in my case, but I just enjoy it all
	Finn GBR16 Thunder Road.

maxibuddah Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 06 Mar 09 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1760	Post Options Post Reply Quote maxibuddah Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 14 at 12:02pm
	I don't think most can be arsed. Let a good guy work it out who turns out to be very nice and share it with everyone, then copy. Job done and enjoy the yotting. Well that's what happened in the phantoms anyway, firstly Simon Child's (which most boats are set too) followed by Jim Hunt. Back then though there were only two very similar carbon rigs, now there are several so it's all going out of the window again. Who's got time to fiddle and tune these days?
	Everything I say is my opinion, honest

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6662	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 14 at 12:09pm
	If you sail an SMOD class I think it rather defeats the point if you have to spend endless hours searching for the ideal rig settings. Indeed you could even argue having adjustment permitted rather goes against the principle of having identical boats so you can just turn up and sail. For those of us who prefer the other stuff, well, there are always the classes where these things are permitted. When it comes to just copying the National Champion's settings the trouble is (as I've probably said dozens of times before) I've never worked out how, in the absence of the intensive two boat tuning sessions the Olympic boys run, how you tell whether Fred and Jane won because of their rig settings or in spite of them. Edited by JimC - 11 Jan 14 at 12:10pm

sawman Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 04 May 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 205	Post Options Post Reply Quote sawman Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 14 at 1:16pm
	Sounds like a good argument for sailing a more traditional one design as apposed to single maker boat. I know a fair few folks, who enjoy twiddling and tuning at least as much as racing, and it gives you something to do in the long evenings on a multi day summer sailing event. You cant underestimate the positivity that believing you have the best set up in the fleet, and sowing the seeds of doubt in competitors can be great sport

Oatsandbeans Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 19 Sep 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 382	Post Options Post Reply Quote Oatsandbeans Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 14 at 1:41pm
	Most people view that these SMOD "tuning guides" have been derived from months of testing and evaluation with extensive 2 boat tuning to get the optimal set up for the boat in question. I, possibly cynically, doubt that and think that they are a good starting point when one enters the class to get up speed with majority of the fleet. As the most of the fleet stick with these settings it is not difficult to develop the numbers to "tune" the performance to any specific set of conditions. The degree of this will be dependant on the class in question and calibre of the sailors in it. Most sailors, as has been correctly pointed out cant be arsed to change settings, and are just not interested in this aspect of the sport, which is fine. Others view this as an important element to their sailing as the other skills they need to perfect to race successfully .

Rupert Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rupert Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 14 at 3:48pm
	The idea of being able to tune a SMOD rig is so that people of differing weights and fitness levels can all sail the boat and make it feel nice to them. Boat tune certainly goes on the the 2000 class. Luckily, in most fleets the good guys want to bring the standard of the fleet up (it makes it more fun), so while they might keep the odd trick to themselves, they do tend to share with the rest of us.
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