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Topic: Asymmetric Snagging |
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Dave 916 |
Posted: 06-Jun-09 18:00 |
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Hi,
I am in my second season with my Buzz and have reached the point where I am starting race in my local club. One problem I am having is retrieving the spinnaker. We keep having problems with it jamming just as the retrieval line brings the sail into the chute. Is there anything I can do to make retrieval easier.
Thanks
Dave
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joshpreater |
Posted: 06-Jun-09 20:04 |
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Hi Dave,
Do you put a "spacer" in the halyard between the hole and the patch, to do this thread a ball thinghy on after putting the downhaul through the hole then tie a figure of 8 about 50cm from the end then tie onto the patch as normal, this effectively breaks the drop into two stuffs of kite instead of one therefore making the drop easier.
Happy Buzzing
Josh Preater
Buzz 585
Iso 530 |
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Dave 916 |
Posted: 06-Jun-09 22:09 |
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Hi Josh,
I have not got a plastic ball but do have a large figure of eight knot. I will give it a go to see if that makes a difference.
Thanks. |
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paolomoncia |
Posted: 09-Jun-09 14:34 |
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Be careful without ball that the knot does not go through the hole when pulling down hard... I suggest you buy one for few pence!
Another thing, make sure the chute is tightly secured to the boat (all ropes with good tension and no slack), that there is nothing that could create friction (even a big piece of duck tape will increase the load when you pull and slow down the retrieval of the gennaker), and finally always lubricate with some silicon spray all around the chute.
Hope it helps!
Paolo - Buzz 978 |
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MarkJane |
Posted: 17-Jun-09 20:30 |
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Hi
All good advice - a couple of other things to think about too . . .
- the spinnaker is easier to drop if sailing pretty much down-wind rather that on a reach so it drops into the chute/over the front rather than having to be pulled over the side
- we had some horrible times at the nationals a few years ago and ending up trawling the spinnaker on about every other drop. The only think we could attribute this to was we were rather lazy and didn't actually remove the spinnaker haliard from the mast when we trailed the boat and I think it got a bit twisted. We un-did the top bit of the halliard and 'shook out' any twists and it did seem a little easier afterwards (I would look at this after you have tried other options - you can reach it by tying the boat to the trailer and tipping the boat so you don't have to remove the mast)
- make sure the crew works swiftly and pulls hard (but do stop if it is really hard as you are likely to break something!)
Happy sailing
Jane |
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Dave 916 |
Posted: 17-Jun-09 21:52 |
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Thank you all for the advice. I will have a look at re setting the spinnaker halyard this weekend and sailing further downwind on the drop to.
Thanks Dave
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Dave 916 |
Posted: 24-Jun-09 19:30 |
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Hi,
sailing last weekend and found it much easier to hoist and lower the spinnaker. I have put a ball on the downhaul line by the hole in the spinnaker and sprayed some silicon spray around the mouth of the chute which really did make a big difference.
Thanks
Anyone have any tips on maximising upwind pointing and speed. |
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paolomoncia |
Posted: 25-Jun-09 10:59 |
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Not a trivial question, so many things to take care of...
Just as a start: one of the most important things to remember upwind, your boom should be on the centreline of the boat. So make sure the mainsheet strops are not too long, which makes impossible to have the boom centered. Strop length is actually one of the most important things to care of, as if they are too short then you close too much the leech, which really slows you down in light winds.
And you also want to check your kicker, which also controls the leech... if it is too loose and the leech is too open you would not be able to point high, if it is too much on and the leech is too closed you are slow.
Best thing I can suggest... go to an Open Buzz event, meet other sailors, and you'll learn a LOT! |
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Stu B |
Posted: 25-Jun-09 12:23 |
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Shame you couldn't join us at Bala, excellent event and venue, will go back next year!!
Anyway, glad you're getting on better downwind. Upwind tips . . .
Paolo has already suggested some good tips, although we never adjust our strops, i set them when we got the boat so that they are almost block to block with max kicker and then left them!!
Main thing to remember when sailing upwind is to not point too soon, it's easy to point high and go slowly, you must get your speed first whilst off the wind slightly and then slowly come up to max pointing whilst gently pulling in the sails. In lighter wind it is better to go for a bit more speed than pointing and have minimum kicker, just use the main sheet to control the leech shape.
More to practice this weekend then!!
Stuart.
Buzz 1079 |
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MarkJane |
Posted: 25-Jun-09 14:14 |
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I am no expert but we have found jib tension also makes a difference - we now sail with quite a lot on whatever the wind speed(Mark uses a windsurfing puller to help). Don't know if others have a view on this??
Jane |
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Dave 916 |
Posted: 29-Jun-09 19:24 |
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Hi,
thanks for all the tips and as a result I managed a fourth place this weekend in one round of the club race.
Strop length appears to be fine with the blocks tight to strop when centered upwind with max kicker. I tried varying the kicker tension to see the effect on upwind speed. (It was light-medium wind conditions)I found that quite a lot of kicker seemed best is that right?
Jane, I also use a rope puller to help me tension the jib halyard and usually sail with it full on, although this weekend I eased the tension by about 2cm from full on to experiment with the effect. I would also be interested in other peoples views on jib tension and the use of the swatcher which I currently leave completely loose.
Dave
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paolomoncia |
Posted: 30-Jun-09 09:01 |
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Jib tension should be quite on, I can't get you exact figures as the tension gauge I have here in Italy is different from the standard one you use in the UK...
Kicker, you basically need to adjust tension so the leech is not too open (reducing power) nor too close (stalling the sail). Quite on in medium air should be fine, but you really need to look at your sail and adjust it accordingly.
Swatcher, you don't want to leave it completely loose unless you really need to have much mast bend, i.e. in very low or in very high wind. You should have it to a maximum (mast staright up to the spreaders - NOT INVERTED! - in medium wind, when you can sail with crew trapezing but don't need to loose main to keep the boat flat. Release it progressively when winds increases much (or is very low), to help bending the mast and opening the leech (which you can also do playing with cunningham and kicker before using the swatcher, which is harder to play with when sailing).
Paolo |
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