Well, make no mistake it's a challenge to say the least....
But this weekend just gone I have been experimenting with trying to make the most out of a tight reach course.
Depending on the strength of the gust it is possible to sail a tight reach with spinnaker up and chopping and changing between drawing power from the mainsail and the spinnaker, OR either the Spinnaker OR just the main with the spinnaker just curling (or if needed flogging a bit)
The trick is to let the kicker off completely, and aim in the direction of the tight reach marker / bouy, and if you can fly both then hike like crazy and fly em, if you are really over powered, then dump the mainsail so it floggs a little bit and sail with the 15sqare metre kite, BUT if the wind shifts and the kite collapses then you are going to HAVE to bear off to fill it again.
This is a fantastic feeling, because you are juggling Mainsail power, Spinnaker Power and balance of boat.
Now one might argue that its better off to just sail without the kite in those conditions, however as long as it's not really blowing you can get away with the "juggling act" which will squeeze another couple of knots out of a tight reach that really should be sailed on mainsail alone.
It's a beautiful feeling messing with the power like that, it really feels like you are in complete control of the accelerator.
You will know when it's not right because the boat will just stop, but as mentioned before sailing on the knife edge is just a brill feeling.
When you can lay the mark and you are able to bear away as usual the boat just flies away.
Great fun.
Monday 22 November 2010
Draycote Dash Results
Had a simply wonderful weekend of handicap racing at the Draycote Dash.
results HERE
An extremely well run weekend with 62 boats on Sat and 95 on Sunday.
My best result was a bullet in Race 4 on Saturday, I managed to squeeze a first place by 4 seconds off the overall winner, Phantom sailor (Simon Childs).
I got a 3rd, 11, 21, 27th as well so overall 16th, very respectable result considering the "round the cans" courses.
It was a very friendly event and all the competitors were really polite, I think everone was enjoying it.
I will deffo go again next year.
results HERE
An extremely well run weekend with 62 boats on Sat and 95 on Sunday.
My best result was a bullet in Race 4 on Saturday, I managed to squeeze a first place by 4 seconds off the overall winner, Phantom sailor (Simon Childs).
I got a 3rd, 11, 21, 27th as well so overall 16th, very respectable result considering the "round the cans" courses.
It was a very friendly event and all the competitors were really polite, I think everone was enjoying it.
I will deffo go again next year.
Thursday 18 November 2010
Thursday 14 October 2010
D-One International Class Association.
I have recently been made International Class Association Secretary, with Philippe Rogge as President.
Class Website on the way!
Mast Foot Block
I have recently moved the Mast foot Block.
The mast now sits further forward in the boat and this has a remarkable effect on the weather helm on the rudder.
It is so much lighter.
Wish I had done it a long time ago.
Be warned though....you will have to measure your mast rake again as the chock sizes change to get the correct rake.
Mail me if you need help.
The mast now sits further forward in the boat and this has a remarkable effect on the weather helm on the rudder.
It is so much lighter.
Wish I had done it a long time ago.
Be warned though....you will have to measure your mast rake again as the chock sizes change to get the correct rake.
Mail me if you need help.
Saturday 2 October 2010
Valencia
Currently on day 2 of Valencia gold cup D-one racing.
This was lunch yesterday.
Currently I am 11th overall out of 30 with a 9th and 12th.
There are 5 people I can beat ahead of me and the others are Olympic sailors, including Ed Wright, who I would like to try and beat today.
We are just waiting for the sea breeze to build before launching.
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Saturday 28 August 2010
Speed puck bracket
The drilled hole is for the Speed Puck rope tie so the puck will be tied on in case the semi permanent 3m tape fails (hmmm doubt that!)
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My Speed puck / Tacktick bracket
I have built a special (pimp) carbon bracket to house the Tacktick compass and the Velociteck Speed Puck
Fitted it today and it works really nicely
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Sunday 22 August 2010
Leech shape
Check out the leech shape under correct mainsheet tension.
Lovely
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Outhaul block
Added this block to aid outhaul adjustment under load
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Outhaul pictures
To demonstrate 2:1 purchase
I created a groove in the carbon boom for the stop knot
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2:1 purchase for the outhaul
I found that a good belly in the foot for light to medium winds is good and so the outhaul is not 'set and forget' as previously thought!
This 2:1 purchase works perfectly and you can adjust foot tension under mainsheet tension as well.
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New downhaul arrangement
After months of trying the all iin one downhaul tack arrangement I have found the perfect solution....this really is perfect.
Rope inner core, tie a bowline just big enough to take a bobble and presto you have a detachable Tack.
Add a double block to the mainsail and you got yourself a proper working downhaul.
Perfect
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Boom fitting cover
Wow this really works...
An old drysuit foot seal stretched over the fitting instead of PVC tape
Perfect
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Mainsheet block
Another view of the block that I replaced the rope on.
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Traveller fitting
I changed the traveller fitting so it doesn't chafe.
This system works perfectly
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Friday 13 August 2010
Federation Week results
Currently I am placed 4th overall out of 44 medium asymetric boats.
I have been having trouble keeping local sailor Nick Peters in his RS100 behind me, and its really easy to throw away a 2 minute lead by going the wrong way in the tide.
The other RS100's are a long way off over the long courses but their handicap of 1005 to our 971 is giving them plenty of room for error.
I lapped one 10.2 rig and the leading 8.4 rig was 14minutes behind on the water.
Nick manages to make his boat go very well indeed and I have only beaten him once by 1 sec, every other race has been him beating me by an average of 20secs.
Excellent racing.....if Nick gained a minute on the downwind leg then I got back 30 secs on the beat.....all of this while we are both minutes ahead of the others.
There have been some tight reaches which favours the 100 where the D-One wants to go faster downwind......but all in all a fantastic event.
I need a good race today to get a 3rd place.
I have been having trouble keeping local sailor Nick Peters in his RS100 behind me, and its really easy to throw away a 2 minute lead by going the wrong way in the tide.
The other RS100's are a long way off over the long courses but their handicap of 1005 to our 971 is giving them plenty of room for error.
I lapped one 10.2 rig and the leading 8.4 rig was 14minutes behind on the water.
Nick manages to make his boat go very well indeed and I have only beaten him once by 1 sec, every other race has been him beating me by an average of 20secs.
Excellent racing.....if Nick gained a minute on the downwind leg then I got back 30 secs on the beat.....all of this while we are both minutes ahead of the others.
There have been some tight reaches which favours the 100 where the D-One wants to go faster downwind......but all in all a fantastic event.
I need a good race today to get a 3rd place.
New Boat
I have been sailing the new boat all this week at Hayling Island Federation Week event.
The boat is performing really well and looks great with the carbon inserts on the deck.
Pictures to follow.
The boat is performing really well and looks great with the carbon inserts on the deck.
Pictures to follow.
Sunday 1 August 2010
Tuesday 27 July 2010
New D-One
Only one week to go until new D-One turns up.
White hull with carbon insert.....Pimp!
Gonna launch it at Hayling Island SC with a week of racing in Federation Week.
I can't wait.
:o)
White hull with carbon insert.....Pimp!
Gonna launch it at Hayling Island SC with a week of racing in Federation Week.
I can't wait.
:o)
Thursday 22 July 2010
Single Sail reaching - different story
I keep forgetting to post about the different way of sailing the D-One without the spinny, on a reach.
Whereas downwind with the kite you need to centre the traveller, this is NOT the case for reaching.
KICKER / VANG hard on and ease the traveller is the key.
Letting the traveller off more and more until you have perfect balance of power and trim, sit back and plane away.
I was out sailing with a Halo and I admired the way it was super fast on a reach, it certainly left me standing, however I was sure that the D-One should be as fast, if not faster, so I messed around with the traveller, easing it off and bringing the boat quickly up on the plane.
As soon as I did this I left the Halo standing, which I was happy about.
The Kicker has to be really tight to control the leach, but DON'T FORGET to let it off again before you go up wind, otherwise you will never get under the boom.
This is the only time when the kicker is really used under huge tension, really it is only on enough to stop the boom rising during a tack when you let the mainsheet tension off.
Whereas downwind with the kite you need to centre the traveller, this is NOT the case for reaching.
KICKER / VANG hard on and ease the traveller is the key.
Letting the traveller off more and more until you have perfect balance of power and trim, sit back and plane away.
I was out sailing with a Halo and I admired the way it was super fast on a reach, it certainly left me standing, however I was sure that the D-One should be as fast, if not faster, so I messed around with the traveller, easing it off and bringing the boat quickly up on the plane.
As soon as I did this I left the Halo standing, which I was happy about.
The Kicker has to be really tight to control the leach, but DON'T FORGET to let it off again before you go up wind, otherwise you will never get under the boom.
This is the only time when the kicker is really used under huge tension, really it is only on enough to stop the boom rising during a tack when you let the mainsheet tension off.
Saturday 26 June 2010
Torbole regatta Lake Garda
Well the first race was briiliant!
25 knots winds and blazing sunshine....amazing.
20 D-ones, 2 olympic sailors, Gasper Vincec, fresh from winning Olympic Kiel week in the Finn class and Silvio Santono Olympic Star sailor.
Race 1 and it payed to sail to the right hand side to the cliffs, Santoni banged far right and was first to the windard mark by 1min closely followed by Vincec and Garvin who played the shifts up the middle right.
Ferrari (1st in Bracciano) went left and dropped to 4th.
Silvio Santoni 1st
Gasper Vincec 2nd
Tim Garvin 3rd
Alberto Ferrari 4th
2nd Race and more of the same wind although the course was shortened to one windward leeward, although it over a mile long beat.
Vincec, Ferrari and Garvin all tacked off on the start and banged right, although Garvin sailing in Ferrari's dirty wind dropped right back.
Places changed in the top 5 but it was Michael Maier who took the bullet, Ferrari 2nd, Vincec 3rd, and Garvin was pipped on the line by Paolo Rossi 4th, Garvin 5th
Overall Results after day one
1st Gasper Vincec
2nd Alberto Ferrari
3rd Tim Garvin
4th Paolo Rossi
5th Michael Maier
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Monday 14 June 2010
Downhaul Setup Part 1
I have been messing around with the downhaul. I wanted to keep the mainsail tack tight near the mast but also let it off loose when the downhaul is taken right off. I had previously removed the tack line on the boom, but I have now replaced it and the system works really well....see pictures.
D-One Training at Hayling Island
3 of us turned up for a bit of training down at Hayling Island sailing club on Sat.
All was great until the wind dropped right off and with the spring tides I was swept past the Lifeboat station before I could get to shore....long walk up the beach!
There is a new D-One just delivered last week, based at HISC now.
All was great until the wind dropped right off and with the spring tides I was swept past the Lifeboat station before I could get to shore....long walk up the beach!
There is a new D-One just delivered last week, based at HISC now.
Wednesday 9 June 2010
Results so far in the Regattas
Currently I am placed 1st, which I am very please with, however I am not attending the Numana event this weekend so I expect to drop with a load of work to do at the Torbole event, I hope its windy!!!!
Timg
HoneyPot Trophy Pursuit Race
On the Bank Holiday we had a fantastic day for a pursuit race in memory of Jesper Garvin (my dad).
He had the trophy made and donated it to the Yeoman fleet who very kindly allowed it to be passed on to the Honeypot Pursuit event, held annually.
I am please to say that I did really well and had a real humdinger of a race with the leading RS400 who only managed to sneak a 35sec lead at the finish after 2 hours of close racing. If I hadn't have screwed up the 1st beat and waisted 30 secs I think I may have beaten them.
The 400's start 1min behind me at the moment on handicap.
Downwind the D-one is way faster than the 400 and certainly planes quicker, upwind I was really racing hard to keep up with the leading 400, however the second place 400 was approx 6mins behind!
The end results were 1st Musto skiff, 2nd RS700, 3rd RS400, 4th D-One, 5th Graduate.
It was really nice to have visitors for the event, I hope they come back next year.
He had the trophy made and donated it to the Yeoman fleet who very kindly allowed it to be passed on to the Honeypot Pursuit event, held annually.
I am please to say that I did really well and had a real humdinger of a race with the leading RS400 who only managed to sneak a 35sec lead at the finish after 2 hours of close racing. If I hadn't have screwed up the 1st beat and waisted 30 secs I think I may have beaten them.
The 400's start 1min behind me at the moment on handicap.
Downwind the D-one is way faster than the 400 and certainly planes quicker, upwind I was really racing hard to keep up with the leading 400, however the second place 400 was approx 6mins behind!
The end results were 1st Musto skiff, 2nd RS700, 3rd RS400, 4th D-One, 5th Graduate.
It was really nice to have visitors for the event, I hope they come back next year.
Wednesday 26 May 2010
Volvo Regatta Overall Results
Yippeeee!
Just had word that I am currently 1st overall after 2 events in the Volvo Regatta in Italy, with a 2nd and 4th overall I lead by 2 points.
Not bad, as they are pretty hot sailors.
I am pleased.
Next event I am doing is Torbole where I hope it blows "dogs off chains".
Just had word that I am currently 1st overall after 2 events in the Volvo Regatta in Italy, with a 2nd and 4th overall I lead by 2 points.
Not bad, as they are pretty hot sailors.
I am pleased.
Next event I am doing is Torbole where I hope it blows "dogs off chains".
Bracciano Video Footage
I am boat number 025, and they were filming me on the final downwind leg to the finish line when I was in 1st place....which I dropped to 2nd...GRRRR
Monday 24 May 2010
Bracciano Day 2
Day 2 and a stark contrast to day 1 with a very light wind blowing in patches across the lake.
We waited for the sea breeze to fill in and patience was rewarded when a 12 knot breeze came in from the coastline not far away.
1st race got underway and the first mark saw the top 10 boats so closely packed it was anyone's race.
After the downwind blast it was Andrea Magni leading followed by Alessandro Novi , and Agustin Zabalua.
Ferrari was in 5th place and Garvin in 6th with Andrea Gancia chasing hard.
In the last beat all places changed with Ferrari moving up to 2nd place Novi 3rd, Zabalua 4th and Guido Falciola 5th.
It was a fight to the finish with Garvin placed 7th overall, one boatlength behind Gancia which put him ahead in the regatta by one point.
After race 1 a huge storm cloud appeared between the valley and as the lightning cracked louder and louder it was decided that it would be safer to go ashore, so the lsat race was canned.
This made the final results.
1st Alberto Ferrari - 4 points
2nd Tim Garvin - 11 points
3rd Andrea Gancia -12 points
4th Andrea Magni - 13 points
5th Alessandro Novi - 19 points
The sailing club put on the most fantastic food, catering was all included in the entry fee. The sunny weather and the view over the lake was beautiful and made a great event for the D-Ones who will no doubt be back next year.
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Saturday 22 May 2010
Re: Results
Bracciano regatta results DAY ONE
Alberto Ferrari 1st
Tim Garvin 2nd
Andrea Gancia 3rd
Andrea Magni 4th
Guido Falciola 5th
18-20 knots wind with bright sunshine saw 22 D-Ones take to the water for the first day of racing in Bracciano.
Race One saw Alberto Ferrari burn straight into the lead closely followed by Tim Garvin and Andrea Gancia.
Ferrari capsized on a gybe and allowed Garvin through however Garvin had to do penalty turns for a "room" at the leeward mark situation. In the building breeze and having done turns, Garvin was able to get to the windward mark with comfortable lead only to give the race to Ferrari ten boat lengths from the finish line. Andrea Gancia was 3rd.
Race Two and it was Garvin who was first to the windward mark by approx 10 boat lengths, but again slowed on the downwind leg to allow Ferrari and Andrea Curzi to catch him up.
Leeward mark saw Garvin round in first closely followed by Curzi then Ferrari and Gancia.
Garvin pulled away again upwind and Curzi dropped to 5th with Ferrari 2nd and Gancia 3rd, again.
Ferrari got the best shifts on the downwind leg and overtook Garvin to take the bullet, with Gancia 3rd.
After a hard couple of races it was into shore for a wonderful Italian food spread all included in the entry fee, second free meal of the day!
All to play for tomorrow with the last race "undisgardable" anyone could win.
More results tomorrow.
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Friday 21 May 2010
Practice day at Bracciano
With 21 boats entered already we had 25 knots upwards in the gusts wind today and huge waves
Approx 7 D-ones took advantage of being off work and went for a blast.
I have never been so fast in a D-One, it was utterley amazing.
Even with the sun not sure its shortie weather just yet, so will wear longer ones tomorrow.
I ended sailing for approx 4 hours, perhaps not such a good idea the day before the event starts, but at least I know the boat is ready.
I am sailing a brand new boat, unwrapped today....smart.
Ciao
Tim
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Thursday 13 May 2010
Photos from Scarlino Regatta
These photos were taken by Matteo Barducci.
Thanks Matteo!
http://gallery.me.com/matbard#100306
Thanks Matteo!
http://gallery.me.com/matbard#100306
Monday 3 May 2010
25 knots and a change of settings
Today was blowing 25 knots in the gusts....there was even hale stones at one point!
So after racing I decided to make some changes to my kicker and downhaul arrangements.
Prior to racing today I raked the mast back to 6m70 which actually made things very manageable, even in the heavy stuff.
I will take pictures of my kicker and downhaul arrrangement next Wed.
Watch this space......
So after racing I decided to make some changes to my kicker and downhaul arrangements.
Prior to racing today I raked the mast back to 6m70 which actually made things very manageable, even in the heavy stuff.
I will take pictures of my kicker and downhaul arrrangement next Wed.
Watch this space......
Sunday 2 May 2010
Monday 26 April 2010
Weight range of helm at Scarlino
Interesting point this one...
The leading boat helm was 90kgs
Second place helm weighed 70kgs and he was faster than me in the windy stuff and I am 90kgs too.
I have seen some amazing tricks that you can do to make the d-one perform even better than I thought it could, its a very clever piece of kit.
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Sunday racing Scarlino regatta
Sunday racing proved more of the same weather, sunny and light winds coming from the land
The first race as the wind started changing into a sea breeze was cut short to wait until it filled in, which it did.
The first two boats had one point between them to win the event and with the last race counting double points it was all to play for in a strengthening sea breeze and building swell.
Andrea Giammarini and Tim Garvin tacked off early to go far right on the beat and rounded 1st and 2nd comfortably with the pack following behind.
At the leeward mark Tim Garvin's spinnaker drop went horribly wrong and dropped to 3rd as Agustine Zabalua. showed his speed by holding 2nd to the finish from Andrea Giammarino.
By covering Agustine downwind Tim Garvin let Michele Tognozzi through who carried on to far right of downwind leg and pipped a 3rd position. 5th place was Stephano De Carta.
So overall regatta top 5 results
1st Andrea Giammarini ITA
2nd Agustin Zabalua ESP
3rd Michele Tognozzi ITA
4th Tim Garvin GBR
5th Stefano De Carta ITA
With 16 boats in total.
The prize giving was followed by a fantastic spread of Italian food, hams, cheeses and sparkling Italian wine, all laid on by the host Club Nautico Scarlino and Devoti.
Utterly fantastic event especially when the sea breeze filled in!
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Saturday 24 April 2010
Scarlino regatta, Italy
15 d-ones from various countries, UK, Germany, Italy here for the Scarlino regatta.
Friday saw 7 d-ones go out for a 3 hour practice in a force 3, some fantastic photos by Francois Richard to follow.
There was a welcome dinner in a lovely italian restaurant and the italians who were working friday, all turned up to give me a 40th birthday cake....nice touch.
Racing got underway today in a force 2 but as the wind dropped to nothing, race 2 was cancelled until the breeze filled in from completely the opposite direction.
Unfortunately I am well off the pace in the light stuff, however when it was windy I was 5th to the first windward mark.
6m 80 seems to be the right mast rake setting, so at least I got that right!
I'm off now for another social, meal included in the entrance fee, food is great weather is great and set to get sunnier and windier for sundays race.
Some more UK people should try and charter a d-one for the next event....it is a great atmosphere.
Some smart looking new boats hot off the press, to look at.
I shall update tomorrow, maybe get photos too
Ciao
Timg
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Wednesday 21 April 2010
Scarlino Regatta
Well thanks to Easyjet not ever cancelling our flight....we have finally made it to sunny Italy.
Tomorrow will be setting up the boat with my bimble bits that I brought with me, and all ready for the regatta.
Just tucking into classic Italian food.....lovely.
Pictures to follow tomorrow.
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Sunday 4 April 2010
D-One Golden Rules of boat handling
The D-One controls leech tension using mainly the mainsheet and traveller, and when they are eased, the kicker comes into play.
In the lighter winds you do not need to worry about how much power you have (obviously) however as the wind gets stronger and stronger you need to start thinking about controlling the power in the mainsail.
Not necessarily dumping power….but controlling it with kicker and traveller and downhaul..
Light Wind sailing Upwind
Keep a lot of mainsheet tension to get a nice mast bend and tight leech.
Traveller just off centreline and progressively let it off as the gusts get up.
Kicker is on enough to get yourself under the boom in a tack and to keep the boom horizontal when mainsheet is let off.
Light Wind Sailing Downwind
The less centred the mainsheet the more power you apply to the boat going downhill.
As you have a short bow you will know when you have too much mainsail presented to the wind and you can progressive move the traveller more centreline to depower.
Keep enough mainsheet tension to keep as much leech tension as you want.
Keep the kicker on to keep the boom horizontal, however you can loosen it off a bit to create a nice “slot” between the mainsail and the kite.
Light wind reaching without the kite
Keep the mainsheet traveller centreline and keep the boat flat and trimmed…if you need more power you can start easing the traveller slightly, but never too much.
Kicker needs to be put on tight to keep a nice leech tension….tighter than you can get under the boom…so don’t forget to release it before a tack.
The D-One has plenty of power options and light wind sailing is really fast!
Heavy Wind Sailing Upwind.
Keep a lot of mainsheet tension to get a nice mast bend and tight leech.
Traveller will be nearly all the way eased, however in the lulls it pays to pull on the traveller to gain pointing ability and more power….as the gust hits…..let the traveller off again…..”Power on Power Off.”
Kicker is on enough to get yourself under the boom in a tack and to keep the boom horizontal when mainsheet is let off.
Apply downhaul to flatten the main off. (The downhaul is very effective and works well with the mast and the mainsail)
Heavy Wind Sailing Downwind.
It’s very important to centre the mainsheet traveller BEFORE bearing away to hoist the spinnaker.
Leave the kicker setting on (same as upwind setting to keep the main under control)
Leave the downhaul on.
Let the mainsheet out until the boom is approx 45 degree angle from the mast, hiking on the wing and sitting back.
The D-One will shoot up onto the plane and from the wing and on a REACH (not dead downwind) you will be perfectly balanced enough to reach in and hoist the spinnaker (arm over arm with tiller in hand also)
Once Spinny is flying you will be flying off downwind (bearing away in the gusts) and you will be able to gauge how much more power to apply (should you need to)
If it’s blowing dogs off chains then you can quite happily sail downwind with those settings, however if you want more power then release the downhaul completely, and also start easing the kicker (not too much) and also you can release a bit more mainsheet, but not too much as this is keeping the leech tension tight enough to hold the mast from bending forwards.
DO NOT ease the traveller, leave it centreline.
Heavy Wind Reaching without the kite
Keep the mainsheet traveller centreline and keep the boat flat and trimmed.
You will not want too much power which will put your bow down, so keep the traveller centred.
Kicker needs to be put on really tight to keep a nice leech tension….tighter than you can get under the boom…so don’t forget to release it before a tack
In the lighter winds you do not need to worry about how much power you have (obviously) however as the wind gets stronger and stronger you need to start thinking about controlling the power in the mainsail.
Not necessarily dumping power….but controlling it with kicker and traveller and downhaul..
Light Wind sailing Upwind
Keep a lot of mainsheet tension to get a nice mast bend and tight leech.
Traveller just off centreline and progressively let it off as the gusts get up.
Kicker is on enough to get yourself under the boom in a tack and to keep the boom horizontal when mainsheet is let off.
Light Wind Sailing Downwind
The less centred the mainsheet the more power you apply to the boat going downhill.
As you have a short bow you will know when you have too much mainsail presented to the wind and you can progressive move the traveller more centreline to depower.
Keep enough mainsheet tension to keep as much leech tension as you want.
Keep the kicker on to keep the boom horizontal, however you can loosen it off a bit to create a nice “slot” between the mainsail and the kite.
Light wind reaching without the kite
Keep the mainsheet traveller centreline and keep the boat flat and trimmed…if you need more power you can start easing the traveller slightly, but never too much.
Kicker needs to be put on tight to keep a nice leech tension….tighter than you can get under the boom…so don’t forget to release it before a tack.
The D-One has plenty of power options and light wind sailing is really fast!
Heavy Wind Sailing Upwind.
Keep a lot of mainsheet tension to get a nice mast bend and tight leech.
Traveller will be nearly all the way eased, however in the lulls it pays to pull on the traveller to gain pointing ability and more power….as the gust hits…..let the traveller off again…..”Power on Power Off.”
Kicker is on enough to get yourself under the boom in a tack and to keep the boom horizontal when mainsheet is let off.
Apply downhaul to flatten the main off. (The downhaul is very effective and works well with the mast and the mainsail)
Heavy Wind Sailing Downwind.
It’s very important to centre the mainsheet traveller BEFORE bearing away to hoist the spinnaker.
Leave the kicker setting on (same as upwind setting to keep the main under control)
Leave the downhaul on.
Let the mainsheet out until the boom is approx 45 degree angle from the mast, hiking on the wing and sitting back.
The D-One will shoot up onto the plane and from the wing and on a REACH (not dead downwind) you will be perfectly balanced enough to reach in and hoist the spinnaker (arm over arm with tiller in hand also)
Once Spinny is flying you will be flying off downwind (bearing away in the gusts) and you will be able to gauge how much more power to apply (should you need to)
If it’s blowing dogs off chains then you can quite happily sail downwind with those settings, however if you want more power then release the downhaul completely, and also start easing the kicker (not too much) and also you can release a bit more mainsheet, but not too much as this is keeping the leech tension tight enough to hold the mast from bending forwards.
DO NOT ease the traveller, leave it centreline.
Heavy Wind Reaching without the kite
Keep the mainsheet traveller centreline and keep the boat flat and trimmed.
You will not want too much power which will put your bow down, so keep the traveller centred.
Kicker needs to be put on really tight to keep a nice leech tension….tighter than you can get under the boom…so don’t forget to release it before a tack
Lashing the boat to the trolley
Its important to lash the boat down to the trolley as it's so light.
Kicker
I have realised that the kicker is more imortant than I originally thought.
I noticed that it is important to be able to set the kicker while beating to windward, however this was not possible due to the mainsheet taking all the tension out of the kicker adjuster, so I attached a piece of elastic to keep it under tension allowing me to tune the kicker upwind, ready for the offwind stuff...it works really well.
I attached it to the pulley as my boom does not have metal fitting for the outhaul take off, however if you get a new boat, I think they are supplied with metal fitting to hang the outhaul end to, this is where you could put the elastic.
Batten Tension
I noticed that my battens were a tad loose so I tightened them, especially the top one.
It has got rid of the creases and also the top batten blades off when I apply the downhaul in a blow.
It has got rid of the creases and also the top batten blades off when I apply the downhaul in a blow.
Thursday 18 March 2010
Kicker Control
I have moved the pin on the kicker control to give me MAX purchase for the kicker so I can keep the boom down when I let the mainsheet tension off.
In order to tack I have the kicker taking up the tension when mainsheet is released, however on a reach without the spinnaker on you will need to play the mainsheet and so the kicker needs to be put on even more than you need to get under the boom.
In other words to get the correct about of kicker on for a reach you would probably struggle to get under the boom if you tacked, so remember to release it.
I have moved the pin right to the end of the adjustment plate to give me extra purchase, should I need it.
Attached is the recomended starting position from which I have now moved.
Thursday 11 March 2010
Racing Windsurfers
I think this shows that the Kicker needs to be on a lot more on the reaches.
It's wierd because from the camera angle I need loads more kicker, but from inside the boat the rig looked great.
Optical illusions...
Sunday Blast
I love this picture, taken by Alex Curtis (QM member)
Look at the way the D-One is skipping across the water.
Sunday 7 March 2010
Spinnaker sheet take away
When supplied new the D-One has a piece of elastic stretching from side to side at the rear to stop the spinnaker sheets flooding out of the open transom area.....this works fine, although I have twice caught my tiller extension in it and so I have removed it completely.
Now I have attached a nylon ring to the transom knee and the sheets got through that....perfect!
Now I have attached a nylon ring to the transom knee and the sheets got through that....perfect!
5mm Mainsheet Track Car Rope (Purple Rope)
I replaced the mainsheet rope attachment with 5mm instead of the Harken Air Block 3 strand rope as it frayed twice, not sure why, however this 5mm has worked perfectly since October 2009.
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