These came from Matt Knowles:
1-the only time rig tension *needs* to be really tight is if you're
sailing in big waves. in big breeze and flat water people can be very
fast with either a medium or a very tight setting. in light air,
pretty much everything except super tight can work. i think the
deciding factors are these: 1) your sailing style; the groove is a
lot bigger with a loose rig, but you might loose a little in terms of
pointing. i think in team racing this is a good tradeoff. 2) mast
step position: look where the host has the mast step set; if it is
waaayyy back, then you really can't set the right that tight or
everything is going to be funky. MIT has their masts all the way
back, and consequently it seems like it is best to go very light on
the tension. If the step is in the middle or in the front, seems like
you've got a bit more freedom.
2-i would advocate having people try doing the wild thing when it is
windy (crew wings the jib, sitting on the windward rail, skipper sits
on the leeward rail and pumps the main.) i do this if either it is
marginal planning or surfing conditions, or if it is big breeze and I
am sailing with a less-experienced crew. the advantages are you can
get much bigger and better timed pumps on the main while winging, and
also (assuming the skipper is bigger, anyway) it is much easier to
prevent the death roll this way if you get pushed by the lee in a big
puff ( in FJs in huge breeze, i've had a few times (when sailing with
my heavy) that we've both found ourselves hiking to leeward for a
second or two in a huge puff to keep from death-rolling... and the
side effect is you go really fast.)
3-i agree with garth that bungee-ing up the straps is much less
important, since that huge thwart is great to roll off for both
skipper and crew (and the crew doesn't need to two foot the rolls in
FJs anyway. in FJs we tend to flatten on the thwart and pick up the
straps only once we're flat again.
