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.

Racing Windsurfers

Funnily enough the windsurfer is my RS400 crew, Jason.

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.

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!

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.

5mm spinnaker halyard

Makes all the difference!

Top Picture is the "Head"

This is the Transom view of the spinnaker sheet.

With the 5mm rope all the cleats work really well, and I found that one or two armfulls of hoist and the kite is up!

RYA Dinghy Show 2010

D-One downwind technique in a blow

Well I am not too proud to admit that I think I have been making mistakes here and I have found the best way to sail this beautiful boat downwind in a serious blow.

In all other boats, especially the RS400, the first thing to do when bearing away in a blow is to let the kicker off....so I had been doing this naturally in the D-One however as the winds get stronger there is a temptation to carry on doing this and to make things worse by letting the traveller off, thinking this will help....

It does not help at all, in fact all that does is show more of the sail area to the wind and increase the likely hood of the hull wanting to bury the bow, which doesn't feel nice at all (although the hull doesn't actually go under, it just feels slow)

The D-One appears to be exactly the opposite and I have found the best way to bear away in a blow is to have a lot of kicker on and centre the mainsheet traveller before bearing off, this way you skim off onto a reach, hoist the kite from hiking position on the wings and then you will go deep when the kite is up, this way you remain on the plane, with mainsheet tension, and kicker keeping the correct mast bend and therefore mainsail shape, and completely solves the "bow down effect" on a bear off.

Easy!

:o)

Having said all that, in the ligher stuff you can afford to bare away with the mainsheet not centered if you want as the forces on the main are less.

Also my previous comments about sailing in lighter airs with less kicker to get correct slot still stand, it's just in the stronger stuff you have to change your game plan to accomodate the sail area to wind strength issue.

So you get the best controls for the both winds!

I certainly see the benefits of a traveller system....I liked it on the Tasar, but this rig is something else, a joy to work with.

Queen Mary Sunday afternoon jolly with great results!

Instead of going to the Hoo freezer event I thought I would take advantage of some time in the boat "not racing" to actually practice a few points that have been niggling me for ages.

One of these was replacing the spinnaker halyard to a thicker diameter rope.

Supplied was 3mm (may have been 2.5mm) but this proved really difficult to work with especially hoisting from the wing, which is the best way to hoist the spinny BTW.

So I replaced it with 5mm racing pro with a view that i it was way too thick I would expose the inner core material at the top of the halyard to avoid excessive windage up the top of the mast, hence the supply of small diameter rope in the first place (good attention to detail).

Well to say the difference was magnificent would be an understatement!
The 5mm rope works a dream and I was able to hoist the kite cmfortably while in a reaching position, hiking from the wings.....amazing.

The other point was to remove the elastic at the transom whose purpose was to stop the spinny sheets from trailing out the back of the boat.

The problem with that was that is was fantasticly easy to twist my tiller extension through it half way through a tack and therefore tie myself in knots!

So that disappeared and I attached a large nylon ring a piece of elastic at the transom knee that centres the rudder and threaded the sheets through that.....fantastic job.

I will post pictures soon...I forgot my bimble cam!

Hoo Freezer

Well, I didn't go.....

I kind of thought it maybe blown off with snow on top!
;o(