trapezing technique

Originally posted by Medway Maniac Is a 5'3" crew ever likely to be heavy enough to sail a 500 seriously?  The 500 ended up pretty heavily canvassed for its size, despite the intentions at the concept stage.

My thoughts exactly.  I sailed one in some blowy stuff earlier this year and I'm 5'11" and pretty experienced on the wire.  We kept it flat, but I cna see that someone shorter and lighter is going to struggle no matter how high or low on the wire.  If you're sailing for fun, fine; live with it and learn what techniques you can to get by.  If you're aiming to be a serious racer then change class to something that suits because otherwise you'll end up disillusioned, injured (back problems) and disheartened.  Why not choose something like a 420 to get started in until you grow more?  If you're not going to grow, start helming or get a Farr or a light skiff.

Originally posted by simsy In relation to Pondmonkey's post, the RS500 is nothing like the 29er. As much as it would be great for an RS500 to be a transitional boat to a 29er, the only thing the boats have in common are they both an asymmetric with a trapeze. The 29er learning curve would be a slightly steeper.