420 Basics - follow up from week #1

After three days of boat handling, here are some observations and notes for all of you.

1. Boat Control


Both skippers and crews need to watch this video. Pay attention to what they are talking about with using the sails to trim the boat.

• Skippers, watch the guys in yellow life jackets (NOT the guy in Red) with regard to their foot placement and how they use the sails to steer rather than their rudders. 
• Crews, take a look at jib trim as well as how they are rolling the boats aggressively.

2. Roll Tacks

This video has tacks from some of the best college boats in the country. The footage was shot during the Trux - one of the more competitive intersectionals. There is some Laser footage as well. SKIPPERS pay attention to the hand exchange in those clips as well as to how aggressively they flatten out the boat. There is also some great FJ tacks in the last part of the video. 

3. Wing to Wing Jibes

EVERYONE should watch this again: Technique Tuesday - wing to wing jibes. It will open in a new windows. Here's what you need to pay attention to.

• Skippers, watch the exchange as well as how Ben (skipper) keeps the boat headed down wind without over steering.
• Crews, the only thing that I disagree with is that the crew does not first grab the sheet through the lead before taking it from the skipper. However, watch how she snaps the jib through the wing. Shorter crews, if you want to try having a foot forward of the partners when sailing wing on wing, that's fine. If you are over 5'6", bad idea! You'll have too much weight forward. 
• Jib Trim - At about 1:58 in the video, watch the timing of the jib snap. You will see it again at 2:26.
• Tiller Exchange - There is a great example at 2:36. Watch how the skipper drills the boat flat off of the traveler bar. 
• Steering & Weight - At 3:45, watch the full sequence to see how the boat goes from a wing to a wing. Look at the timing, the heel, the control that the skipper maintains with the main, and how the boat stays sailing down wind the entire time.

Mark Roundings - by Brooke Thompson

Here are a few pull-out's from Brooke's article on SailGroove.

1. Mark Roundings are about boat handling and not boat speed
2. The crew has to steer the boat around the mark. It's all about weight placement and jib trim.
3. Three critical things to remember: (A) watch the skipper's shoulders and move in the same direction, (B) Anytime the crew moves up and trims jib, the bow will turn down, (C) Anytime the crew moves down and eases jib, the bow will turn up.
4. The last 1/3rd of the windward leg, start thinking about rounding the mark. Look for are other boats, the lay line, and any major wind shifts that could change your angle to the mark.
5. Don't hit other boats. Luff to stop if you have to.
6. Make sure you can accelerate after the rounding. That's when the focus really shifts back to boat speed.
7. Be aware of the angles of the boats around you.
   

Observations from the Week

I think we've gotten quite a bit accomplished this week when on the water, but we still have a very long way to go. A few of you have sent me questions. Every one can benefit.

1. I'm having trouble with tacks. I think my biggest issue is getting across the boat.

• Both skippers and crews are trying to roll too much on your backs. You need to think about shifting your hips back; or, as Hilary calls it, do the one-cheek-sneak.
• There are some differences of opinion as to how crews should cross the boat. I prefer the bunny-hop, but not everyone can do this. For completely different, yet very effective styles, watch Anna and Julia. Either way is fine, as long as you can flatten well.
  

2. I can't get the jib in fast enough out of the tacks.

• In breeze, as you hit the hiking straps on the windward side to flatten out the boat, punch your arm over your head to get the jib all the way in.
• If you aren't strong enough to pull the jib all the way in once it is loaded up, you can use your legs, ask your skipper for help, or do the monkey-leg thing (I'll show you and Claire probably can too since it's a Tufts thing).
  

3. When you're heeling the boat through the wing-on-wing gybe, what should the crew hike off of, or is simply sitting on the rail enough of a heel?

• You do not hike hard to roll a wing-to-wing gybe. Think of it more as a carve than a roll. The key is to weight the rail early. Your weight should drive the boat down through the gybe.
• It's also just as important to maintain weather heel as you go into the gybe. A lot of our crews let the boats start to flatten, or even heel to leeward, when getting the board down and such. This causes the boat to head-up and the skipper to have to over-steer the gybe.
• Make sure, too, that you are flying the jib all the way through the gybe.

4. When going from a wing to a reach does the crew pop the jib through the lead then hold it outside the shroud?

• When going wing to reach, it depends on the wind conditions. If it's nuking, then everything stays through the lead. If you can trim outside of the shrouds, then just dive to leeward and immediately go for the windward sheet. Then, take the slack out of the leeward sheet.
• Both skippers and crews need to work on these wing to reach transitions (and back). This is a whole conversation...

5. Transitions! We have noticed that all of you are not transitioning well. There are a few things that you can all be doing:

• Skippers need to play the vang in puffy conditions. It was nuking at times and no one had reached into the boat.
• Crews need to start telling skippers about puffs and lulls. It's just as important to prepare for a lull as for a puff.
• Look before you tack! If you are tacking in a puff, don't over-roll the boat. Similarly, if you are tacking in a lull, make sure you are ready to accelerate out of the tack.

Any more??? Feel free to either comment on the post or send me your questions.

Puffy Conditions

These questions were emailed to me earlier this morning. I thought you all may be interested. As always, feel free to comment.

When I'm calling puffs, should I be able to tell whether its a header or a lift, or does that just come with experience?

Start by just getting the timing down, You should be able to say that there is a puff in 5 seconds and then count it down. Once you get the timing, since you will have been paying attention, you will start to understand direction.

To keep it really simple, the axis of the header will be pointed such that it makes the boat want to bear away when the puff hits. The axis of a lift will allow the boat to head up to meet it,

In breezy conditions is it just as important to be playing the jib as in lighter conditions, or should I be more focused on keeping the boat flat?

It is just as important, just harder to do because of the load on the sheets. You still need to adjust with your skipper, regardless of the wind velocity. When it really nukes, that's when it pays to be able to ease with the skipper in the puffs.

When judging how to play the jib, is it based more on skipper communicating what they're doing with the main, or just anticipating the puffs?

Both. First off, your skipper should be talking to you about what they are doing with the main. Since you have your head out of the boat and are looking around, you should start to recognize what your skipper is doing when, and then start to anticipate

More FJ Notes

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.

Intro to FJs

The biggest thing to remember about FJs is that they are NOT 420s. An FJ has smaller blades, a bigger jib, and a narrower hull. it does NOT want to plane in breeze, yet loses nothing on a good tack. That said, there are lots of things to think about.

Boat Set-Up
When you go down to rig an FJ, there are a few things to remember.

1. Bowline - Tie the bowline to the mast, under the jib sheets. You want it tight enough so that the jib sheets can wrap around the halyard cleats during tacks. Just make sure that you don't put load on the line as it will then bend the mast.


2. Hiking Straps - Tie the hiking straps up for the cleat. On a lot of new boats, there is bungee holding the straps up to the bale for the vang. On older boats, you can jury-rig this with the end of the jib halyard or take some bungee with you. If you do not tie the straps up, then there is no guarantee that the crew can find them.
   
   To jury-rig with the jib halyard, (1) after you finish off your cleat, take a turn back around the horn. (2) Run the halyard through the eye on the port strap and make a knot - I use a bowline. (3) Go up through the bale of the vang and down to the eye on the starboard strap. (4) Tie it off to the starboard strap at the correct height - usually another bowline. Just make sure that you aren't loading up the bale on the vang with the strap. You want it still tied in to the bottom of the boat.


3. Jib Halyard Tension - Max it out in flat water. At the Mallory a few years ago, the California teams had their jib halyard cranked as tight as possible. The breeze was up and down, but the water really flat.


4. Main Halyard Tension - Just get the sail all the way up. A few speed wrinkles aren't always bad if they are running vertically down the sail.

Jib Trim
In an FJ, whatever you do, do NOT over-trim the jib upwind.

• Light Air - You have to make sure that you keep checking the slot. As soon as it closes off, you will start going sideways. Also, skippers, you cannot steer with the puffs. If you need to head up into a puff, tell your crew to ease out a click (ratchet blocks make trimming easy). To bear the boat off, just give a tiny trim in. It is also extremely critical to NOT over-trim the jib off the line or out of tacks. Again, it's a big sail with a small board so you'll just go sideways.
  
  In light air, that jib should never really stop moving. The whole way up-wind, the crew should be looking to see that all of the tell-tales are streaming evenly up the sail. As the pressure builds, the sail can come in. As it drops, you will have to ease.


• Medium Air - An FJ wants the rails weighted early. This means that you want to bring the crew up on the rail as soon as possible (even if you are both just pressing your backs to the tank). Once you are at this point, the jib can start to come in all the way, but still be ready to ease in a big lull. Crews, make sure you have a good grip on the jib sheet. As you move in and out of the boat, the sail has to stay trimmed. You don't really want to strap the foot of the sail in moderate conditions, but you should be able to point.


• Heavy Air - Once the skipper is easy-hike-trimming, so should the crew. Timing is everything in pulling this off, so you have to talk. In big puffs, the crew is going to have to ease the jib off about an inch to an inch+ as the skipper eases and then bring it back in at the same time. Be careful not to have the jib over-trimmed, this will cause the main to back and you will slide sideways.

Downwind, when sailing on a reach, the crews really need to trim the jib more like a spinnaker. Make sure that you have pressure in the sail, and that you are holding it way out. Again, you don't want it over-trimmed. If it starts to blow, make sure to keep playing the jib through the ratchet blocks on the rail.

You can wing the jib in an FJ. The only exception is that when it nukes, the crew has to play the wing from the leeward rail. Get in time with the skipper and pump the jib as they pump the main. Skippers, remember that one good pump off the main can keep you from Death Rolling.

Jib Cars
It's hard to explain, but your jib cars need to be adjusted so that the leech of the sail hooks in evenly. Imagine that there was a batten at the top seam of the jib. (Much like the top batten of a main). You want the top seam to be parallel to the clew, much like the top batten should be parallel to the boom.

If you move your cars forward, then you start trimming the top of the sail first. In light air, you will move the cars forward.

If you move the cars back, then you trim the foot first, bringing the sail in tighter at the bottom. This will allow the top of the sail to twist off and flatten the bottom. This is the goal when it gets heavy.

Main Trim
Upwind, once your crew is on the rail, it's hard to over-trim the main. You almost want to hear the mast break back. (It makes a kuh-kunk sound.) If it's light, same rules as a 420 applies. Once it nukes, your focus is on keeping the boat flat by easing WITH your crew.

Boat Handling
Once the crew is on the rail, then tack backwards. That's something that you have to work out for your self. However, the biggest issue is upwind sailing. Whatever happens, DON'T LET THE MAST MOVE. In an FJ, this is critical. You have to anticipate both the puffs and the lulls to just keep the boat flat.

The other thing to remember is to be SMOOTH and GENTLE. Any massive movements - particularly downwind - and the boat will capsize. Do not over-roll your jibes. This has to be smooth. You won't get the big loopy jibe like in a 420, no matter what you do, because the board is so small.

Heavy Air Sailing

Just a review of things to do when it starts to blow.

1. Rig Tension - as it starts to build, check your jib halyard tension. Remember that as it builds, add more. To check your tension, get the boat sailing flat and upwind. Let go of the tiller. If you crash-tack, add more halyard. If you have lee-helm, let it off.


2. Outhaul, Cunningham, Vang - You want to pull on more in this order. Flatten out the foot first, then move the draft forward in the main with cunningham. Finally, crank down the vang. Remember, even in moderate breeze you need some vang - enough that when you ease the main in the puffs, the boom should go out parallel to the boat and not up.


3. Hiking Straps - As it builds, you are going to need to loosen these up so that you can hike farther. This is something that we usually ignore.


4. Center Board - This becomes critical on reaches. You can have more up than you think. If you are planing into a jibe, leave it up! Otherwise, the boat trips over the board and capsizes.

Boat Handling Questions

Here's a list of things that a lot of crews should be asking about, but only one of you did.

I'm having trouble with executing my tacks and gybes well. I was wondering if you had any tips for improving upon a few things that I need to work the most on:

1. The "bunny hop" over the traveler bar


2. The correct form/how to hike when gybing


3. When exactly to trim in and let out the jib (on both tacks and gybes)

The Bunny Hop
You have to keep your feet together and under you. Also, you're trying to roll too much on your back and not enough on
your side - this helps with balance. Once your timing improves, the motion of the boat actually helps you pop right up. Kinda' like a see-saw.

Form/Hiking on Gybes
On the gybes, it depends on if you're going reach-to-reach or wing-to-wing. They are very different. Just remember, it's not a true roll. More of a carve. You can't roll too early in a gybe. Remember, as your weight comes to windward, the boat bears off. That's the goal.

Jib Trim on Tacks
The jib needs to go from full to full - no luffing. Personally, I release the jib as I roll, and then punch my arm through the boat to get it in on the other side. This gets all but the last inch or so. Then, as my skipper trims in the last bit out of the tack, I bring the jib in the rest of the way.

Jib Trim on Gybes
Jib Trim on the Gybes: Basically, think about flying the jib through the entire turn. You never want to force it at any point. This means that on a reach-to-reach gybe, you want to wing the jib just before the gybe and then be ready to have it flying on your new course as the skipper flattens. On wing-to-wing gybes, the trick is to NOT try to wing on the new side too early. This is why you have to have the sheet in two places before the gybe. If the skipper over rotates the boat, then you can fly the reach until the boat bears off and then wing it. With down-wind jib trim, it's all about the pressure that you feel in your hand. If the jib gets soft, then you need to either go to a wing or have the skipper head up.

Tactical Tip #4

Yesterday, the breeze was up-and-down, and swung about 30-degrees to the right during practice. Roy shifted the entire course around. That said, here are 3 observations:

DO NOT LET BOATS GET TO THE RIGHT OF YOU ON THE LAST LEG!

In the 2-3-6 drill, the team had converted to a 2-3-4. However, the 2 boat sailed out to the left of the course while the entire fleet went right. At the top, 2 had gone to 6. The 2-3-4 needed to have been balanced to the right of the fleet in order to stay in control.

DO NOT SAIL DOWN THE COURSE

Off the line, a number of you sailed a parallel course, away from the mark, to the left. While this seemed to be the lifted tack, you were actually on the wrong side of the shift. As soon as the boats on the right tacked (yes, they were headed a bit off the line), they all had you. Crews, this is why you have to watch the boats on your weather hip. As soon as the pack to the right tacked, you had to try to get over as many as you could.

Also, crews let skippers sail well past lay-lines yesterday. You need to literally point at the mark with your up-wind hand and make sure that you are still sailing at it.

LIGHT AIR SAILING ISSUES

Top reasons why some of you were dog-slow:

1. Skippers were trying to sail too high. Foot off a bit for speed and then come back up when you have power in the sails.


2. Crews, do NOT strap the jibs. You should have never had the jibs cleated yesterday. When your skipper says that they need power, you should have been able to ease about 1/4". When they feel up to speed, bring it back in a hair.


3. Stop the rudder from moving. Skippers, press the tillers to the deck. If you need to head up, have the crew ease to you and then gradually bring the boat up. If you need to bear off, just slide your shoulders to weather a bit and ease the main about 1/2".


4. Timing! You are all rushing your boat-handling and trying to throw the boat around. It's counter-productive. If your timing is off (and it is for almost all of you), all the roll in the world won't do anything. Don't roll your tacks until the jib backs. Crews, you should NOT flatten the jibes out (except for maybe when sailing with Norfleet). Skippers, you're not going to be able to jam the rudder over and have the boat do anything but stop. Just relax!


5. The second that you get on the water in light air, you are racing. One bad tack could leave you dead in the water and cause you to miss a start. One bad jibe and you're out the back. Every motion counts. On a light air day, every move needs to be perfect - even if the start has not yet counted down to zero.

Questions from the week

Here's the list of questions - and answers - from the week:

1. So today in our meet, I was having some trouble with my flattening off
   the tacks in the big wind. We weren't rolling much at all, and we just
   couldn't seem to snap the tack flat.
   
   EASE!!!! That whole, "bring your hand to your ear thing" is critical
   in big breeze. As you cross the boat, you should get about a 2 foot
   ease. Also, you may be over-steering. Make sure you keep the boat on a close-hauled course (or even higher for a second in big breeze) as you come out of the tacks.


2. When I was spinning yesterday, I would come out of the tack and ease the
   main all the way as I was bearing off. When We rolled the boom would hit
   the water, and I couldn't flatten and steer up at the same time. When I
   didn't let the main out all the way, it solved both problems, but it felt
   slower. Which is better?
   
   Sounds like you're spinning too tight in both circles. Don't just blow the main,
   ease the main. Remember to sail the boat through the circles - don't spin it.


3. I still don't know what to do about windward sheeting
   
   Remember, a 420 has a lousy setup where the jib leads are actually in the wrong place. That said, you use windward sheeting to get a better angle on the sail. It's a bit hard to explain in an email, but here's what you're looking for... If you get down in the boat and look straight up towards the top of the mast, you will see the leech of the main and the leech of the jib. They should be parrallel to each other as they go towards the top - this is called the Slot. The best way to get the feel of this is to rig a boat on shore and then play with sail trim. If you strap the leeward sheet and have no weather sheet, you'll see that the foot of the jib is closed off in that slot. If you have less leeward sheet and lots of weather sheet, you'll see that the top of the sail gets closed and that the foot is out.


4. How much jib halyard should I have?
   
   When you apply halyard tension, you are pulling the entire mast forward. As you let it off, you are letting the entire mast go aft. The best way to judge is to get the boat sailing upwind, and then have the skipper let go of the tiller. You want to have a little bit of weather helm (the boat should want to head up on its own). Just remember that during the course of a few hours, you may need to adjust your rig tension if the breeze builds or lightens.

Sail Trim

Now that we have new sails, we are going to have to think about how to trim them.

Yesterday, we noticed that these sails are really bladed.

Today, List commented "After messing around with windward sheeting on the jibs in Florida, what should we do differently with the windward sheeting on our boats?"

Thoughts? Add your comments to this post.

Questions from PJ

Over break, Pete emailed me some questions. Below, I've pasted in most of the discussion. Anyone else have thoughts?

Pete's questions

First question: to reduce weather helm, should you move your weight forward or back?

Second Question: At the start, if you have to come back around the boat from right on its stern (i.e. the same position
as if you were timing it), is it better to foot off, accelerate, and then begin to come up and go around it, or should you take the shorter route and just get the main in and go (or is it more situation dependant than anything)?

Third Question: can we talk about downwind shifts and playing the angles next week?

Fourth Question: When you are sailing in the summer, how do you do you time shifts? I can't seem to figure out the best way to do it... and I don't have a compass... solution?

Beth's Answers

1. Weight and weather-helm: I would ask first, what are the conditions? To be honest, I think that weather helm is more a function of rig tune that weight placement. In light air, weather helm is ok. Moving your weight forward - which is also good - will reduce some of it (think about how the crew hikes forward to bear the boat off). However, if it's choppy, moving your weight forward too far will just fill you with water. I also wonder, if you have too much weather helm, and you think your rig is tuned correctly, are you flat? That could be another factor.

2. Coming around the boat: again, what is the situation? Is it light? Do you want to go right? Where's the fleet? Where is your pair? What are the conditions? This is why it is critical to know the time around the boat! I sailed a J24 race one time where we were over early and came around the boat. The skipper footed off a bit for speed - it was light and lumpy - but then sailed us directly under the fleet. We ended up footing out to the wrong side and got stuck on the wrong side of the shift. However, had he rounded the boat tight, like a mark rounding, and then tacked right away - what I had wanted to do - then we would have been footing out to the correct side of the shift and would have been golden at the top of the course. See, lots of things
to consider.

3. Down-wind shifts - yes! Most important thing is that some one has to be looking backwards the entire time downwind. I've gotten to a point where I ask three questions the whole way to the leeward mark: where's the pressure, where's the fleet, where's the mark. As long as I am sailing DOWN to the mark, in pressure, and in position, we usually do fine. It's not as hard as some people seem to think.

4. First off, if you are sailing long courses in open water - not on a lake - then invest in a compass. We get numbers before every start when we are sailing in places like Long Island Sound, Niantic Bay, etc. Basically, we sail for about 3 minutes on each tack and just watch the compass. We come up with a high, a low, and a median number. Then during the course of the day, we start to watch how long it takes for each shift to move in. However, if we are sailing on a lake - which we do a lot - it just has to do with looking up the course. This could actually mean watching the clouds move in over the land. In one regatta, we realized that when they started to shift, we could anticipate the next shift to come from under the clouds.

To be honest, the only time when I can really say something like "It pulls back to the left after 5 minutes and 43 seconds" is when I'm coaching. You have to be able to watch for a long time to really be able to time it. Usually, it's when you have a gradient and a sea breeze - or a gradient and an incoming front - when this really happens. Usually, you have a persistent shift (like when it pulls right as the sea breeze fills) on top of small oscillations. This means that you can work to stay in phase while also working to the right side of the course. We see this a ton.