billyboy402 said...
sorry for the noob question
Why at the start when ur rigging the sail , you balance it on the boom (0.37)
how did you catch up too your friend if you both have the same sail
is that due to the experience and sheeting in more or the board ?
Hey billyboy402,
To answer your queries the first is at the .37sec mark Everyone has a different method of rigging.
I hope my take on why wont take to long. Work with me.
The reason why I rock the sail on the boom is to see how the leech or the top portion of the sail looks in relation to the downhaul pressure. The more downhaul pressure the floppy the sail is at the leech this might be good for strong wind say 20+knots or less downhaul fuller top profile to hold the wind longer in the lighter conditions
I tend to judge that part of my sail by eye and not the recommended rigging numbers on the sail, so rocking the sail on the boom show the leech looseness or full profile for the condition I will be sailing in.
The other query, why I caught up to the other guy well I would like to say that I am the better sailor but we are of the same intermediate level.
There are many possibilities why I caught up. Some of them which I think are, although the sails are the same and the boards are the same make Tabou Rocket the leading one is 118 litre and the camera is 125 litre I tried the 118 which is narrower then the 125 and I could not get the same feeling in the feet transferred to the board meaning I could ride the fin better in the 125 and more board to work with in the back this could be one reason.
The other part could of been the rigging of the sail. When we rigged them I tend to tighten the bottom three battens semi tight to try and create a cupping effect similar to a cammed sail and the other sailor being Gustee rigged the bottom three batten's loose so more of a flat profile in the bottom of the sail its a new sail for him so it might take a few rigging times for him to sort the profile out for the conditions. So the batten shape could be the other reason holding the draft in the sail longer.
The final one which might contribute to the acceleration could be the placement of the harness lines. With the wind being average strength I think it was on that day about 15-18 knots the harness lines where set further back on the boom, this will allow the wind to capture your full face of the sail better therefore driving the sail forward quicker and then as you are planeing us you body to shift your weight forward and back to adjust for the gusts. So with the harness line set back your in put or technic is important and must always be ready with the wind gusts if you do not pay attention to the gust you could end up with a spectacular catapult so be confident with the harness placement and use your body weight in this instant.
So billyboy402 I hope this helped with your queries this shows some points in the theory of how the sail and board work in those conditions.
I am sure some of the more accomplished sailor's hear on the forum can maybe add to this theory or correct my style so any other theories can only help and build the perfect sailor type.
To sboardcrazy as you may of read above yes the boards are tabou Rockets, and as you know first hand they are great boards.
Thanks
Kind Regards
Walt
