Increasing mast rake in stronger winds

RS200 jib leads do not go out sideways unfortunately.  They are quite long fore and aft but they are angled so that the sheeting angle from the centre-line is constant.  We sailed a Lark many years ago and you could adjust the jib sheeting angle in, out, up/down as you choose.  Some people do use a jib cunningham effect in the RS200 ( we are not allowed to have an adjustable jib cunningham but by tweaking the jib luff tie down you can get something of a downhaul effect but it never looks impressive enough to be worth fiddling round with 1mm string in very tight knots.)  I will have a go at this though as I am running out of options.

Yes we do end up in effect pinching but this is the only way of getting both the windward and leeward telltails flying in the higher wind speed with the very flat jib camber.  I would love to have an outward pulling barber hauler or a sideways track ( too much National 12 sailing I guess. )

If we have to ease the jib, it has to be eased a long way until the extra power from the fuller camber is countered by the increased twist and if necessary allowing the luff to lift upto 30% back from the jib luff wire.

We are getting the main nicely flat - we have a good downhaul and kicker and we are getting a nice barn door effect within the limits imposed by a soft mast comparable with the Proctor C on the Lark.  I am interested in your comment about pinching by having the main too far in.  Our pointing angle is surely set by the need to get the jib streaming efficiently and the main then comes in as far as we can get it while still keeping the boat flat.  ( We do sail very flat. )  Am I wrong in taking this approach?  Some one at the recent nationals said we were pinching.

   - Andi

Yes, I still race a Laser at times ( usually a Radial at 10.5 stone ) The new Radial rig seems to be able to point high even in seriously windy conditions without stalling and without the need to raise the Dagger board.  Like you, I also used to sail with the dagger board upto 30+% up just to keep the boat moving without it going into irons.

Footing off doesn't pay in a 200 if other boats are still managing to point.  In the 200 pinching works upto about twenty odd mph wind ( as long as the waves are smooth - it doesn't work in a Grafham type chop ) and then as I said above we need to change mode and this is where we seem to go wrong - we end up easing the jib, it then powers up so we have to dump the main out a long way(pointing gone out the window) and then we have ragging sails or we bear away to get them to pull and are instantly over-powerd so we luff to depower and so we sail on the ragged edge, working like maniacs and going slowly with loads of leeway.  Maybe we just haven't enough weight in the boat to do this stuff properly ( 19.5 stone is a little light but not too bad )

   - Andi

" I DON'T ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THE EFFECT ON THE JIB LEECH THOUGH" - Bendy at the front = bendy at the back(leach) and so not the correct shape.

It is starting to get a bit worrying about the amount of compression force on the mast with rig tension pushing 400pounds per shroud and eye popping downhaul plus bending it as far as the kicker will go!  Yes I know this reduces rig tension.  ( I don't know by how much - I'll have measure on Wednesday )

I'm interested to know if any one has any useful web links regarding rig tension as it affects a dinghy in the form of a more rigid jib luff.  Most books etc talk about jib luff tension in the form of stretching the cloth of the sail around a separately tensioned luff wire - ie a jib cunningham in Lark speak.

I presume that the mid point of a slack jib luff will get pulled aft and to leeward by the wind forces in the sail.  My next statements are questions really as I'm thinking aloud:  The aft deflectiion will create fullness in the mid-height part of the jib - bad.  ( Opposite of depowering the mainsail with kicker induced mast bend.)The leeward deflection would tend to increase the angle of attack at the mid height luff and also result in effectively over-sheeting the mid height part of the jib ( if there's a tight leach ) this would close the slot - bad.  But if the luff gets blown off to leeward maybe the leach goes to leeward with it regardless of leach tension, thia would be good as it opens the slot? No that's wrong probably, inless you can achive very little luff tension.  I guess this would work on a reach though where a wide slot with little jib leach tension and a twisted sail are good.

And I haven't a clue how the jib sheet forces will affect the luff shape.  I'll have to have a look at this by setting up a vey low rig tension and try sheeting the jib on hard.

   - Andi