The kicker thing is dead simple really and it’s just the way the Finn, OK and Europe rigs developed. To get a una rigged boat, to go upwind well you need the main sheeted down at an angle to the boat centreline just the same as the leading sail on a two sail boat is sheeted down to leeward. If you sheet the main on a una-rigged boat to the centreline there is almost no forward drive and the leech low down invariably hooks up to windward just adding drag. Once the boom is positioned to leeward you also need a good bit of leech tension to give some ability to point and a flattish sail helps minimise drag too. In a Laser this is done by using a tight rope traveller at the stern to keep the boom down  to leeward and then kicker to provide the leech tension.

In the OK etc the leech tension upwind comes only from the mainsheet and we use a traveller in the middle of the boat to get the boom out over the leeward quarter. Once arranged correctly the two controls become virtually independent and there’s no tendency for the traveller to be dragged to windward as you pull the boom down with the mainsheet.

The reason the booms are so low when going upwind is to get some end plate effect. I’m sure you remember when the big thing in windsurfing was to get the sail back and ‘close the gap’ between deck and the foot of the sail and it’s the same sort of thing. The other thing that comes in is bending the mast fore and aft with mainsheet tension (or indeed kicker) flattens the sail out as the mast bends. If you ease the mainsheet in a gust in an OK the sail just gets fuller and more powerful which is just what you don’t want so they sail upwind with a mix of feathering, easing the traveller and pulling the cunningham on. Conversely downwind, without excessive leech tension the mast straightens up and the sail becomes deeper and more powerful which is just what you need. Hence the kicker is only used downwind to control the twist of the sail and upwind it’s all the way off to give you more room to tack.

Hope that makes sense?

There’s no doubt the Solo and OK do both pretty serve the same market (adult singlehander racing), one locally in the UK and one more widely spread around the world. I did have a Solo at the same time as my first OK and the idea was to get better fleet racing up here in Scotland. Unfortunately I didn’t get on with the Solo. It seemed really cramped at the back with the way the centreboard case extends far back in the boat especially with the kicker on. I also hated that coffee table centreboard capping and ended up getting badly bruised shins every time I sailed it. It also felt quite ’dead’ compared to the OK. Not sure if it was the fully battened main or whatever but I found and still find the OK really engaging to sail. There’s lots of subtleties to it and while I seem to go a tad better  every year it’s really hard to say what I’m doing better. In short I just find the OK fits me better, the sailing style suits me better and it puts a smile on my face every time I sail it which is something the Solo never did for me. Plus I’ve always loved sailing at events with people from other counties (and not just Brits on tour to somewhere nice like Garda).

And to be clear that's not to knock the Solo in any way – it just didn’t suit me and there’s room for both. If anybody’s interested the class does have a demo boat which is currently at Stokes Bay but can move around the country if anybody wants to borrow it.