Tips for rig set up when sailing on very small lakes

[exlaser_old]

hi all, i have just bought 702.

it well set up, in the current fashion.

but because the puddle i sail on is so small it almost like river ,
i was wondering if some of the river sailors out there could give me some tips on how to set up boat to get the best out of it in confined conditions.

regards

duncan

[Paul652_old]

Hi Duncan,

I'm not sure that there is a real need to change from some of the popular settings. However the Hawley brothers who sail at Severn SC do tend to keep their rigs a little more upright than many of the other people on the circuit. I have also found that on smaller ponds I use a little less kicker and cunnigham to help get the boat through the tack quicker. I'm sure that Steve or Chris will be happy to provide more advice.

Regards
Paul

[Steve 705_old]

Duncan,
Welcome to the class. Where do you sail?

I’ll give you a bit of my back ground and my settings.

I sail at Severn Sailing Club, a river venue (River Avon near Tewkesbury) and am most competitive on smaller lakes. I do okay on larger bits of water and I don’t alter my rig between venues.

I am 12 Stone (but temporarily slipped to 13) and 6 foot 2 inches. My boat is 705 and so is the same construction as yours.

My rig settings are:
Mast Rake 3100mm
Spreader Rake 160mm, inner bolt 1 hole from front, outer bolt at back.
Mast foot 1 hole from front.
Tension 160lbs (not adjusted during race).

I adjust my rig using Cunningham and kicker. Outhall eased to about 1 fists depth from the boom.

On a dead run take the kicker off completely and the battens will bend around the shroud and that should help maintain best course.

Upwind course is critical so keep it flat, dump the sail its more important to maintain direction at the expense of speed. On small waters only.

I’ve emailed you my phone number so you can call me for a chat if you want. Depending on how far you are away I am happy to meet and go through it with you.

If you find any amazing setting please let me know, its always welcome to hear of a new idea especially as there has been limited rig testing on small water in recent years.

Finally there are 2 training days next year so get along to one if not both of those.

I hope this helps.

Steve Hawley
Supernova 705

[exlaser_old]

i sail at mid warwickshire yacht club in leamington spa and we sail on a 8 acre reservoir!

thanks for the advice and the settings. i will check my boat out next week.

cheers for the phone no and the offer of a chat, i will take you up on it if i have any problems.

thanks again to both of you for the advice, and i hope to see you sometime next year.

duncan

[Chris1100_old]

Hi Duncan

I am the other half of the "Hawley Brothers".

I have 707 which again is the same as you boat (congrats by the way on the purchase). My boat has totally identical settings to Steve's boat 705. I am identical height and build to Steve.

The interesting thing is that in medium winds F3-4 me and Steve get nearly identical results. When it drops off I'm usually ahead, but I think this is due to Steve's temporary weight gain!

The big difference comes when it is windy. Until last year I never raked back the rig and Steve would destroy me in the windy stuff. Now I rake the rig back as much as possible (I do this on small lakes and on the river) and seem to keep up for a little longer (he still beats me though!).

So the moral of the story is that is it the "dick on the stick" rather than the setup that is important.

I suggest starting with our settings, but if you struggle upwind in a blow then remove all rig tension, pull the kicker and cunningham on as hard as humanly possible (you will need to take the kicker off to tack to avoid heading into irons).

Enjoy and see you on the circuit.

Chris

[Roger617_old]

Hi Duncan,
Why not consider moving to Draycote? Very soon we will have four Nova's; two late Mk1's, a Mk2 and with Stu still deciding. Don't ask me about settings, I should start my apprenticeship in 3 or 4 weeks. However, the others will have plenty of advice to offer.

Think of those long screaming reaches!
Roger

1*** (tbd)

[exlaser_old]

[quote="Roger617"]Hi Duncan,
Why not consider moving to Draycote? Very soon we will have four Nova's; two late Mk1's, a Mk2 and with Stu still deciding. Don't ask me about settings, I should start my apprenticeship in 3 or 4 weeks. However, the others will have plenty of advice to offer.

Think of those long screaming reaches!
Roger

hi roger.

am very jealous of the the screaming reaches ,but am very fond of sailing at sailing at small clubs.
i like the friendly atmosphere and the fact everybody knows everyone.

if m.w.y.c. finishes i would sail at draycote, as its only down the road from me, but until then i will continue to sail on our little puddle!!!!

say hi to stu from elaine and i, and tell him elaine is very sad that he sold the rs300 before she had a go!
regards
duncan

[tim408_old]

Hi Duncan,
you could come and day sail at draycote with us as our guest, for the occasional scream of course.
If Elaine would like to try a 300 she is welcome to have a go on mine, maybe on the same day?

[stumcb_old]

come over for the draycote dash, i think it is £30 for all weekend with a load of short courses on saturday and pursuit racing on sunday, it should be excellent with a high turn out and something to suit everone.

[exlaser_old]

thanks to everybody who posted advice.

went a lot better today!