Technique: RS Feva s/h: too few hands...

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RS Feva s/h: too few hands...

Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Dinghy classes
Forum Name: Technique
Forum Discription: 'How to' section for dinghy questions and answers
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11765
Printed Date: 27 Jun 25 at 3:02am
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Topic: RS Feva s/h: too few hands...

Posted By: skslr
Subject: RS Feva s/h: too few hands...
Date Posted: 19 Nov 14 at 9:05pm

Is there a clever trick for handling the mainsheet when you need one hand for steering and the other for sheeting the kite?

Putting a slip knot on the main sheet ratchet block was not very elegant...

Or is retro fitting the mainsheet jammer the only way to go?

Thanks!

Replies:

Posted By: RichTea
Date Posted: 20 Nov 14 at 9:38pm

Main sheet to tiller hand, kite has more power than main.

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RS200

Posted By: MerlinMags
Date Posted: 21 Nov 14 at 7:47am

Bum cheeks are better cleats than teeth.

Posted By: kneewrecker
Date Posted: 21 Nov 14 at 9:02am

http://www.mustoskiff.com/training-details/stens-hands.htm" rel="nofollow - http://www.mustoskiff.com/training-details/stens-hands.htm

Posted By: skslr
Date Posted: 21 Nov 14 at 12:07pm

Many thanks for the responses so far!

Looking at the MPS homepage, doesn’t that “bit of slack” in the mainsheet require a jammer?

At least I found the jammer on the MPS pretty helpful when I took one out for the first time…

Posted By: kneewrecker
Date Posted: 21 Nov 14 at 12:19pm

maybe so- although could you not fit a jammer, or at least side deck cleats like a Laser?

Posted By: Dougal
Date Posted: 21 Nov 14 at 3:14pm

I used to hold the main and kite sheet in the same hand. That way as I sheeted out the kite I would also sheet out the main. If you hold the main in your tiller hand then when you push the tiller away to head up you sheet out the main. The bigger problem I had was getting forward for the hoist/drops - my tiller extension wasn't long enough so I just had to let it go and steer by balancing the boat which was slightly precarious if other boats were around me! It was a lot of fun single handed though.

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What could possibly go wrong?

Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 21 Nov 14 at 3:47pm

I've been reading all this with interest - I've singlehanded the Feva on several occasions, and I cannot for the life of me remember what I did with the sheets. Can't recall any really big issues, though.

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Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686

Posted By: skslr
Date Posted: 21 Nov 14 at 4:55pm

Apperently the jammer LDC offers fits in the same place the ratchet block currently is mounted at. Not sure I could add cleats on the side deck as it is routomould sandwhich. I am solidly in the recommended crew weight range just on my own, so I have to move back and forths quite a bit and the cleats would always be in the wrong place.

Sailing on a shifty lake I also had to work the kite sheet excessively and I cannot imagine that I would be able to sync that with the main sheet in any useful way. (And I probably should move the jib sheets, too :-)

Setting/dropping the kite is another challenge, at least you can let out the main completely while doing that. Just holding the halyard with the tiller hand while grapping it further upfront with the other hand seemed to work. (Long arms help with that.) Using both hands to pull and letting go the extension - not so much...

I started training my son as a crew, will take a few years, though.

Posted By: RichTea
Date Posted: 21 Nov 14 at 6:28pm

I also got RS to fit a centre tow strap, cos hiking wasnt easy, so they fitted a tow strap from the block to the same fitting point... you had 3 in the helm area but it was so much comfier to hike with that setup.

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RS200

Posted By: bluesam3
Date Posted: 27 Nov 14 at 1:41am

It's probably less of an issue than triplehanded (the helm having to jump the tiller every tack was a tad awkward). Fitting a swivel cleat on the main should be fairly easy to do - just find one the right size and put it on.

Posted By: Eminoxon
Date Posted: 18 Jan 15 at 10:53pm

regarding the halyard, i find holding both sheets on the tiller whilst reaching dorward to pull in the slack, bringing slack back to the tiller, raching forward and holding downhaul whilst flicking off te cleat and then hauling in using tiller hand aswell ( at this point dropping spinny sheet.) the modification with bungee between the jib cleats really helps with this. i have tried having both sheets in one hand but now prefer to have the spiny iin the forehand and the main with the tiller, but holding both together in the forehand when i i need to sheet in the main. versy shifty and gusty on our lake and this means i can ditch the main to concentrate on the spiny when i need to . i am not in favour of mainsheet cleats, have one on the 200 and it always gets stuck on a tricky tack in strong wind. realistically sailing ia feva s/h is fun but not competitive and you just need to try and be in control as much as possible.😃

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Newtothis
RS feva 4624, share Rs200 1317, daughters RS tera 798 rs aero 1301

Posted By: skslr
Date Posted: 22 Jun 15 at 12:10pm

We finally managed to install the mainsheet jammer offered by LDC, I believe this is actually the same as changing back to the configuration of the first Fevas built.

Works a treat downwind, upwind the ratchet block worked a lot better J

Now I just need to figure out how to get the kite back down again into the cute more reliably in windy conditions…

Posted By: themeaningoflife
Date Posted: 23 Jun 15 at 3:23pm

Two tricks to dropping a Feva kite. The first is to make sure that the corners where the metal tube taking the forestay meets the moulding is well taped up and rounded off to reduce the chance of the patches not making it through. The other is to bear off as low as possible, with some windward heel, as you would sail the boat in light, non-planing conditions, so that instead of being pulled in, the kite falls vertically into the chute and does most of the work for you.

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Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club
RS800 1128

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