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| Spring Cup; I'm getting keen...` | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 21 2007, 09:00 AM (661 Views) | |
| Number 48 | Sep 21 2007, 09:00 AM Post #1 |
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Sping Cup is going to be good - there's going to be some tough one-design racing going on, and that's what's got me frothing keen! I've been stinging for some E7 on E7 racing - the boats of similar length we race against here at Drummoyne get swallowed whole by us, and even boats in excess of 10m are struggling to keep us down. Consequently, we don't know whether we're fast or slow comparative to other E7's. We also don't know how you guys are sailing your boats and this is pretty frustrating in the lead up to the States and Spring Cup. We have also decided not to worry about the traveller system. Some guys reckon you sail sports boats like a skiff and vang-up and crack main sheet in the puffs, others reckon crank the sheet and let it to leeward in the puffs using the traveller. Kerli Corlett set this boat up - it was his baby - and it doesn't have a traveller, so I'm going to sail it his way and see how it goes. Thoughts? |
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| SteveC | Sep 23 2007, 01:27 PM Post #2 |
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The no travellar setup was popular for awhile, however it was shown up when a well sailed boat came along with one and was very quick in a breeze. |
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| Breeny | Oct 4 2007, 08:38 AM Post #3 |
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The other thing that we discovered was that you need to keep the rig tension on by keeping the main cranked - especially in choppy conditions. If you go depowering by dropping the mainsheet the rig will wobble like jelly! The traveller allows you to keep the main on hard and therefore your rig while letting out some power without effecting too much else. In smooth conditions its neither here nor there. Grab Matt Owen's ear over a beer in Toronto and have a good chat to him about this stuff - he's the technical delegate for the class and knows all there is to know about setting one of these puppies up. |
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| Humungus | Oct 4 2007, 10:30 AM Post #4 |
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There maybe alot of wobbling going on this weekend i think :rolleyes: |
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| Jim Walsh | Oct 4 2007, 10:38 AM Post #5 |
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Gus - You planning to pole dance again like at Jervis Bay Breeny - trust me you will regret getting N48 to grab Pillows ear |
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| Humungus | Oct 4 2007, 10:11 PM Post #6 |
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You know what they say Walshy. Dance with ONE pole, always a pole dancer, or was that saying about a goat
Sounds like the newcomers to the fleet will be hot. Can only be good for the class. Like I said to the crew, the closer the racing the more fun it is. I just hope we don't get left behind too far. |
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| Number 48 | Oct 4 2007, 10:34 PM Post #7 |
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What are you saying, Billy G?!?! Don't think he's referring to our performance - probably more the fact I like a chat, eh, Billy! Never mind, we'll give it our best shot - we've got no expectations, though. Our whole crew consists of Cherub and 16ft Skiff sailors - not yacht sailors (although most of us have spent plenty of time on the latter). Looking forward to some close racing. Just hope we're part of the "close"...!!! |
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| Humungus | Oct 10 2007, 10:26 PM Post #8 |
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prophetic words :rolleyes: |
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| Humungus | Oct 10 2007, 10:36 PM Post #9 |
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So what's the verdict 48. Did you enjoy your first E7 regatta. Keep asking lots of questions especially from Pillow, he is always happy to help if a beer is involved. Turned out to be a good day for a traveller on Saturday. Ignoring our downwind debacles, upwind we were on fire. Couple of reasons I think; -450 kg on rail, but we go well upwind with 380kg too. -drop the traveller trying to always maintain leech tension. We rarely dump mainsheet, just feather the steering. -this is arguable but we run a pretty soft rig with forestay sag, seems to allow the top of the mainsail to depower more easily(you would think this would be bad for the genoa and pointing but we point well). This goes against the thinking of other boats but it seems fast in those conditions. Just a few thought that may help |
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| Number 48 | Oct 11 2007, 02:12 AM Post #10 |
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Thanks Gus, We had a pretty happy regatta overall. The boat seems competitive - especially downwind where I felt we had plenty of pace and depth (good VMG). Unfortunately our biggest problem stemmed from our crew weight - we only carried 330kg all weekend. As you can imagine, this didn't do us any favours uphill, especially on Saturday where it was necessary for us to carry our tiny No. 3 headsail. When we changed to the No. 2 for Race 3, I actually think we went slower. With regards to mainsail trim, I sent myself below prior to the race and cranked the adjustable forestay as hard as I could to eliminate any forestay sag and increase the rig tension. I placed both feet on the side of the hull and pulled as hard as I physically could. She was pretty taught after that! We sailed with the cunningham block-to-block and used the vang to achieve leech tension and flatten the low and mid sections of the sail. We had the sheet-hand trim the main to keep the little yacht on it's feet and I feathered in the big puffs to keep us high and reduce the work for the trimmer. Given our light weight, this appeared to work well. Our second race was a cracker and we finished up there with the big boys. I'm looking forward to some more practice in a bit of a breeze with the same crew. I think we can get our technique a bit better and improve our uphill speed, however if we get to a point where I don't think we're achieving anything I'll install a traveller system and look at making some other changes. I think we'll always struggle to achieve competitive crew weight given most of the people who will sail on the boat are skiff/dinghy sailors, but with practice and the development of appropriate techniques, I'm sure we'll become competitive. Still looking forward to the Spring Cup - I have Craig and Mel Davidson sailing with me and hopefully at least one other Sydney local. I think Craig is going to organise an appropriately-sized fifth for me. What I do wish I did was turn the instruments on for the Saturday. My brother even went to the trouble of installing a new battery and wiring to make sure they worked, but in the rush to get organised and get the boat Cat 7 compliant, they got overlooked and once we were on the water, we had a bit on and simply forgot. It would have been great to see what kind of speeds we achieved off the breeze. The boat felt great and planed readily. Lovely to steer to - not too much helm, but a nice solid feel (if not fingertip precise like a skiff). They really are a great little yacht. Looking forward to some beerios in the Nation's Capital... |
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| Jim Walsh | Oct 11 2007, 03:10 AM Post #11 |
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Andrew We would have only had about 335-340 so don't get too caught up on crew weight, I think the no3 you had was a strom sail |
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| Number 48 | Oct 11 2007, 06:48 AM Post #12 |
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The No. 3 we have is definitely a storm-sail, but it is marked No. 3 and I felt it served us pretty well. As you know, in a big breeze, whether it be on a skiff or a sports boat, if you are light-on for crew weight, you will be slower than a boat with a heavier crew that is sailed as well as the boat with the light crew. Boats like Evergreen and WalterTurnbull with greater crew weight were sailed exceptionally well and particularly fast in the fresh stuff, hence their fantastic results. Having said all of the above, a boat with a lighter crew weight should be able to perform well in the light stuff. Its all swings and roundabouts, really... |
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| SteveC | Oct 11 2007, 10:43 AM Post #13 |
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So far Woof Taking Back Sunday WalterTurnbull Humungus Escapade Aeolus Elusive Casper |
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| The Ghost | Oct 12 2007, 03:40 AM Post #14 |
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The Casper boat is also planning to make an appearance.
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| Number 48 | Oct 12 2007, 08:29 AM Post #15 |
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The more the better - the quality of the racing at the States was sensational. Reminded me of the reason I turn up at work every day... |
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