Notes from Summer Beer Can Series R4/R5 3 Aug
Great night. Caroline's boss Dan sailed with us as Craig is buried with work. Can't write much now as I've got to get the boat out of the TPUD parking lot and down to KKMI for new non-skid.
Tactics
Competitors
Boat Issues
Tuning Comments
Crew Comments
Memorable Moments/Quotes
Dan said "[In catspaw puffs], keep the windward side of your sails pointed towards the center of the puff"
1 comment:
Line site was great. Dan brought us through various points on the line, taking wind shots at each. The most important site was positioning to the starboard side of the boat, looking down the line, and getting our site. We drove down the line stating when we were over, when were on the line, and when we under. This did two things:
1) Gave an excellent awareness of the line and the beginning portion of the first leg.
2) Brought the focus to the start... a very inportant time.
THE RIG!!! This seems to be an ongoing discussion. Dan tuned it up and adjusted it according to how the tuning guide instructed. His theory was to set it and not worry about it. This, he believes, allows the focus to be on the physical act of sailing the boat and not on how many turns we have. This, I think, can be contributed to years of sailing on a J24, where they rarely adjust the rig on the fly. But there is some truth in it for us. He sailed the lowers as loose as possible. This allowed about 3/4 in sag in the mast. Which, for the 8-10 knots of breeze, is what the tuning guide says should happen. We had moments where were fully hiking (should have been) and moments where we were all to leeward (typical, I know). However, the rig didn't move a turn (I think Bruce put one turn on the lowers when it picked up a bit). I think that for the M24, this is a little extreme. The boat allows for easy adjustment. But there is something to be said about choosing where our focus is.
DOWNWIND
We sailed very low on the downwind legs. The tack line was let off about 10". This was considered "displacement mode". The end result was that we were able to sail lower and just as fast as the boats to windward. We made better forward movement to the mark as a result (greater VMG). This paid in the second race as we rounded the windward mark last, and the leeward mark third. The idea is to get inside as soon as possible after the windward mark and keep working down in the puffs. The boat was balanced for ZERO helm. The luff of the sail rotated out to windward adjusting our center of effort forward and getting more of the kite out from beind the main. The same theory applies to the J105 (minus the windward heel).
Just another beautiful night on the lake. Can't wait to sail the Bay next weekend!
I'll be sailing with the Puffers this next Wednesday... will be stealing all their secrets ;-)
~ Caroline
PS - The shroud length continues to be a discussion. Perhaps we should go through the tuning guide, and try to really keep track of what is working and what isn't. Dan seemed to think we aren't too far off from where we should be. I think we're at the point where we know enough to figure what works for us, as opposed to what works for others.
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