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tips on sunfish sailing
First of all, consider the four (4)
primary adjustments to your rig/sail as wind conditions change.
1) Mainsheet: Adjusts sail’s power; increases or decreases sail’s
angle of attack.
2) Outhaul: Flattens the bottom of the sail.
3) Cunningham: Moves the draft forward
4) Gooseneck: Balances weather helm.
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1) UPWIND SAILING
1.1 Light Air :
Mainsheet tension determines sail shape and/or power.
- Be mindful of over trimming the mainsheet. Tight trim will flatten
the sail and tighten the leech; help pointing but stall much more
quickly.
- Make sure the leech stays open enough to “breath for speed” when
needed.
- The outhaul and cunningham are fine adjustments of sail shape
- For maximum power, ease both the Cunningham and outhaul.
- For flat water, you can apply tension to the outhaul to point
higher.
- For choppy conditions, ease for power.
Heel the boat to leeward to promote weather helm. Set gooseneck
around 14-16 inches.
Sit forward to lift the stern of the boat but be aware of your own
weight; you don’t want the bow to dip under water.
1.2 Medium Air :
Apply maximum tension on the mainsheet. If you have trouble
pointing, mainsheet tension might be needed.Both Cunningham and
outhaul are adjusted according to wind strength and waves.
- More tension on the outhaul than on the cunningham if sailing in flat
water.
- More tension on the cunningham than on the outhaul if sailing in choppy
water.
Boat Heel/ Trim
Keep the boat flat (Hike first, then think sail controls for
de-powering)
If the if the boat heels, it will create weather helm. Remember that
you can balance your boat (decrease weather helm) by moving the
gooseneck back.
Use more Boom-vang if you have to ease the mainsheet when the waves
cause the boat to loose speed. Vang is the best way to: .
1)keep tension on the leech.
2) Keep the sail flat by pre-bending the spars.
Always FOOT for
Speed
- if the waves are high.
Pinching will reduce boat speed, and speed generates lift
– in fresh breeze the
net effective lift is favorable
Flat water: Sit forward or about 1 or 2 inches from the cockpit’s
forward edge.
If it choppy, sit back to lift the bow until you feel confident about
both helm and boatspeed. The sunfish hull is very low above the water,
so at this point avoid dipping. Torque body fore and aft according to
the waves.
1.3 Heavy Air :
Trim mainsheet according to puffs.
- The lighter you are, the more you have to “feather” the sail (or helm)
to keep helm (and heeling) under control. Pull outhaul, cunningham
and boom-vang tight to de-power the rig
Adjust gooseneck according to your body weight (around 19-20 to 22
inches).
- If you are using a “Jens rig”, you can set the gooseneck to 17-18
inches.
NOTE: Keep in mind the asymmetrical sail.
- You can always trim the mainsheet harder on port tack (medium &
heavy wind).
- On starboard, be aware how much mainsheet tension you have,
especially in heavy wind.
- The boat sails faster on starboard tack in light air, but since
the sail is fuller, it is more difficult to control in heavy wind.
o The opposite is true when sailing in port tack.
o Hike real hard to keep the boat flat>> in flat water sit around
3 inches from the forward edge of the cockpit. Move further back in
choppy water.
2) REACHING
2.1 Light air
- Outhaul and cunningham loose for maximum power.
- Boom-vang tension> Wind strength will dictate tension, when in
doubt, keep the leach open.
- Trim mainsheet according to wind angle; (use tell tales)
- Heel the boat to leeward when the rudder stalls; Sit forward to
keep the stern out of the water (no dragging).
2.2 Medium air
- Cunningham loose for maximum power; Do not over ease the outhaul;
this closes the leach and reduces exposed area as wind increases
(check wrinkles along the boom).
- Boom-vang tension> Wind strength will dictate tension; keep the
leach tight when it opens.
- Trim mainsheet according to wind angle; (use tell tales)
- Keep the boat flat; Slide your weight back as the boat starts
planning in the puffs. Move forward in the lulls.
2.3 Heavy air
- Outhaul and cunningham: If you weight more than 160, always power
the sail. (I normally ease the cunningham and keep some tension in
the outhaul. Lighter sailors could keep both controls tensioned for
depowering.
- Boom-vang tension> keeps the leach tight.
- Trim mainsheet according to wind angle; (use tell tales) Lighter
sailors should feather the sail when overpower.
- Keep the boat flat; Sit in the back of the cockpit.
3) RUNNING
Powering up
- ALWAYS loose sail controls (outhaul-cunningham) before rounding
the windward mark depending on your approach.
Sailing/trimming Technique:
- Sailing on starboard tack is faster most of the time because the sail
is fuller.
- Starboard tack running allows you to sail at a wider range of angles
(“by the lee” or broad reach) in most conditions.
- In light air be careful when sailing by the lee on port tack, It can
be slower than starboard tack. (There’s a disturbance in the sail,
created by the little triangle between the mast and the upper spar.)
- Tell tales or a wind indicator on top of the upper spar will be
effective to determine which way the wind flows on the sail.
- Heel the boat to weather in light air, decreasing weather helm; less
required as the wind increases.
- It is very important to keep the stern out of the water in light
air>>sit forward (close to the centerboard trunk). As the wind increases
and waves get bigger you must move your body aft. Your own weight will
dictate how far back you need to sit. In most cases when the boat is
planning, sitting behind the rear edge of the cockpit is faster.
Remember to do the opposite as the wind and waves diminish.
- When surfing waves always focus forward on the wave pattern
immediately to the right and left of the bow. Anticipate the best angle
and intersection between waves. Head up for speed and look to anticipate
the next wave or puff to accelerate downhill and sail by the lee. Learn
how to synchronize mainsheet tension, helm and heeling angle. This is a
difficult task but sure way to improve your boatspeed.
Vang control:
- The flexible spars make leech control tension challenging.
- Tighten the boom-vang to stabilize the boat on Runs (as the wind
increases.)
- The boat is more responsive when balanced with the vang; for
steering and when adjusting the mainsheet.
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