Getting Downwind

[MattH_old]

I've had the boat for what must be 8 months now and i'm feeling much more comfortable sailing her, hell I'm even starting to get some good handicap results and beat our good GP sailor now and again. Upwind, a bit more kicker than I think is needed and I'm finding that as soon as i'm flat hiking there is an extra gear and the boat absolutley flies!

The main issue i'm having is getting the boat downwind in light airs. Dead downwind doesn't work in Supernovas (something its taken me a while to realise) but heading up to find some speed really doesn't seem to pay. I've tried moving my weight forward but i'm restricted by the horse. I'm unsure about how much kicker as not having a lot seems to lose power out of the leach but when i add a fraction more the leach closes and the boat seems to stall. Equally i'm not sure about the outhaul, when the wind is up letting it off to get a good bag in it seems to work well. However in light airs i'm getting a crease from the end of the boom to the mast and the sail under this doesn't seem to be doing anything? The tell tales don't give much information and I'm getting passed by lots of stuff.

So any ideas? Is there something obvious that I'm getting wrong?

[Paul652_old]

Hi matt
I assume you mean dead downwind. If so then it's worth letting the kicker off almost completely. You can pull a little more on as the wind increases. You may also want to consider the position of the spreaders some people have them floating or with restricted movement this does allow the sail to go further out. If you are racing against lasers they are generally at least as quick on the run as they are not restricted by any shrouds.
Cheers
Paul

[MattH_old]

Yeah, its the dead downwind bits i'm struggling with, sometimes to the point of having GP's and Ents pass me. Its funny that i posted the below only to find Wednesday evenings sail was in light stuff with a long dead downwind run. I managed to keep her moving by sailing the angles but was still not pulling away like i needed to to pull handicap.

I've seen the swinging spreaders before, i've currently got fixed ones do i need to swap them out or can i just remove the back fixing bolts and let them swing?

I tried the kicker off but seemed to lose power and the limited gusts seemed to deform the sail and pass me by rather than accelerating the boat? I also noticed the bottom battern inverting the lower part of the sail (next to the boom). When i pulled the sail off the shroud this flipped back but then i had the boom in too tight to sail very deep?

As i said at the start i'm enjoying racing the boat and especially finding the groove. If light wind dead downwind is just a weakness of the boat then its not an issue, i'll happily accept it - however if theres a trick to make it go i'd love to know.

[Don 1022_old]

Matt - why don't you come over to Bolton and sail with the fleet for a day (Sunday) or an evening (Wednesday) you will soon get sorted out .

[Simon 1072_old]

Swinging spreaders.

I am now battling a fleet of L@sers, who are proving to be difficult downwind, especially in light airs.

Can someone please detail how to convert mine, nad also how/when to use them to best effect?

I will be at the nationals, but like to get this done, and ideally get some practice before then.

Many thanks

[Pete Bingham_old]

I seem to do quite well in light airs, for some reason. On the downwind legs, if the wind is very light (flat calm) it is possible to stand in the boat quite well forward of the daggerboard to reduce stern drag. If there is a slight breeze, then sitting down as forward as you can get, holding the falls from the boom blocks works quite well. You can feel the pressure of the sail more directly and give a slight pull when the wind pressure builds to get more momentum. I can match the speed of our best laser sailors downwind so this technique works for me.

As for swinging spreaders, Mike Gibson had an interesting arrangement on his boat, using dyneema looped around the mast through extra holes drilled in the spreaders. I can't remember the exact arrangement but maybe someone else can enlighten us.

Pete 1068

[JW_old]

The boats are now coming out with the spreader fixing on the mast having a fixed bracket 'stop' as part of the arrangement. If you then choose to remove the inner bolt on the spreader it will 'float' up to the limit of the stop. Many people who do not have this have fitted a retaining line as Pete described to limit the amount of movement. Without this in strong winds you will risk bending/breaking the mast if you invert. Personally I haven't bothered as with my level of sailing I don't feel it will make any difference.
I did notice at the weekend at Combs/Carsington that there are still a lot of 'fast' helms who still sail with fixed spreaders.

Simon, just bring some string and do a temp set up for the Nationals whilst you investigate if you want to change your set up.

John

[Simon 1072_old]

Personally I haven't bothered as with my level of sailing I don't feel it will make any difference.

personally, at my level of sailing...(and practice, as I seem to have missed most races at my club so far this year)

I need all the help I can get!

[Stwalker72_old]

Hi everyone, I'm very new to Supernova sailing (bought 688 a couple of weeks ago). I too am struggling downwind in light airs. The main problem I seem to have is the boom constantly tries to swing back into the boat rather than staying out. I've tried to heel the boat to keep the boom out, but even then, it never seems to go out as far as the spreaders. What am I doing wrong ? (Thanks for any advice) Steve.

[Pete Bingham_old]

Hi Steve. Welcome to the class and I hope you are enjoying your new boat.

In really light airs downwind, you need to hold the boom out with your hand. So if you are on starboard tack your left hand will be on the tiller and your right hand will be pushing the boom out. I find that I can feel any wind pressure on my boom hand and adjust the sail position accordingly. If there is any breeze, then hold the mainsheet falls as the slight wind pressure will push the sail forward against the shrouds. Make sure the rudder is dead straight, otherwise you will create too much drag, and use boat heel to steer by moving body weight.

Hope this helps.

Pete 1068