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J92 Singlehanded Racing .... Ragtime! |
| Bob Johnston |
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Sail Handling Shorthanded - J/92 #18 |
| Boat
Handling Singlehanded:
I've made modifications to make the
handling easier but I've also changed my approach to racing a bit. Our
courses are long legs or point-to-point so I have more time to think things
through and plan the maneuvers - it would be very difficult to race the boat
singlehanded around short sausage courses. The other difference is I tend
to trim carefully after a maneuver and then steer to the trim, not the other
way around. The emphasis is not on sailing the boat as fast as you can, but
on sailing fast for as long as you can. Besides adding an autopilot ("AP"), here are a few modifications I made to the boat: A few more lines have been led aft to the cockpit. I replaced the 2-sheave deck organizers on the cabin top with the stacked ones, giving me twice as many sheaves without drilling any new holes. I also used the existing bolts through the mast collar (at the deck) to mount tangs for additional mastbase turning blocks. I installed additional rope clutches alongside the old ones, giving me three on each side. On the port side are the main and jib halyards, first clew reef, and vang. On the starboard side are the spinny halyard, second jib halyard, second clew reef, tack line, and vang. The second jib halyard is really a pole lift for the whisker pole when sailing wing-and-wing or when flying twin headsails. I also use it to hoist a spinnaker net, which keeps the spinny from wrapping when I'm down below or can't see it well at night. (One of our guys went up the mast eight times during the last Singlehanded Transpac, all because of spinnaker wraps and related problems.) It is very important that the vang be available in a broach - I split it and led it aft on both sides to standard cam cleats. The cunningham also comes back to a cam cleat but I reef so much that I tend to use the main halyard to adjust luff tension. For foredeck safety and a clean look I rerouted the roller furling and sprit control lines. The former runs aft along the base of the stanchions and the latter runs under the deck like the newer 92's. I always sail with jacklines and a tether, and a clean deck helps avoid tangles/tripping. I replaced the 6:1 mainsheet with a 4:1, and have a 4:1 fine tune on the aft end running to the cockpit sides. We get a lot of breeze here and it is fun to sail the boat upwind like a dinghy, with the tiller extension in one hand and the main fine tune in the other. It's also a lot easier coming around the leeward mark - there's not as much mainsheet to pull in with just 4:1 on the front end. Headsails and reaching: Again we have ample breeze so I don't use a #1 - a 125% LP #2 is my biggest genoa and I have a 125% jibtop for the reaching legs. I have adjustable Harken genoa tracks, and also run the jib sheets in from the rail for reaching. I installed double footblocks which really help keep the sheets handy to the primaries and make cross-sheeting easier. Spinnakers: Before installing the dodger I set and doused with a companionway bag. I often did windward douses to keep the sail over the boat. Now with the dodger I'll go back to using ATN sleeves through the forward hatch. I have the standard J-Boats cockpit-run spinnaker sock setup. Also there is a big "Clam" cleat on the mast just below the spinnaker halyard exit, so when I hoist the spinny in its sock I can help it out of the forward hatch and cleat the halyard at the mast. I then go back to the cockpit to tail the halyard through the clutch before I "unsock" the spinnaker. The Clam cleat is in line with the halyard so it pops out at the mast when I pull it through the clutch. Okay, a few maneuvers step by step: Tacking - If I've been hand steering I put the boat on AP and check my winches and jib sheets, then touch the buttons to tack. The AP control is on the lower hatchboard so everything is right there and I'm facing forward where the action is. The AP turns the boat pretty fast so I have to run the sheets smartly (another benefit of smaller jibs). If I'm on my game I don't have to skirt the genoa because it's already inside the lifelines when it fills. As the boat gathers speed I touch the AP again to head up a bit and off we go. I trim the genoa carefully and cleat it - I can't work it like the jib trimmer on a crewed boat. Then I move back to the tiller and take the mainsheet again. Spinnaker sets (pre-dodger from companionway) - Just like with crew but the boat is on AP, and I roll the jib first instead of last. Singlehanded sets are slower and when it's windy I sometimes have to winch the halyard up the last few feet. I have to be neat and organized - I let the spinny luff a bit until I get the halyard and tackline cleaned up - I probably won't have a chance once the sail is full and I'm blasting along. Again it is exhausting to constantly trim the spinnaker when it's windy - I get the trim right and then steer to the trim as much as possible. Spinnaker gybes - Rule one: Keep both sheets clear to run! Rule two: Gybe early with plenty of sea room. The boat's on AP and I'm in the "motorcycle" position with a spinny sheet in each hand. I touch the AP to bear away until the spinny starts to get soft behind the main. If it's really windy I wait until I'm surfing so the sail isn't as loaded up. If the spinny collapses I head back up a bit to fill it - never start a gybe until the sail is full and stable. Blow the loaded sheet and watch to make sure it runs out well. Haul the sail around by the lazy sheet until the clew passes the headstay, then touch the AP to bear away another 20-30 degrees, watch for the main boom and keep hauling the spinny sheet. After the main comes across, touch the AP to head up 20-30 degrees and trim the kite. The main gybes "all standing" - there's no other way. Once you start the gybe, don't hesitate or a wrap is likely. If you gybe into a broach (all too common in our conditions) you already have the sheet in hand so ease it a bunch and then ease the vang, which you thoughtfully led aft so it's right there! If you get a wrap, gybe back immediately to clear it, get the spinny full and then start again. As with all assymetric gybes, the key is to not complete the gybe (by gybing the main) until the clew of the spinnaker has come around the headstay and aft. It's common to find myself sailing wing-and-wing briefly before the boom flies across and I head up that last 20-30 degrees. Douses (leeward, pre-dodger) - Pretty standard - you just have to be FAST. Make sure both sheets, tackline and halyard are free to run. Put the tackline on the cabintop winch with one wrap. Bear away (on AP) until the spinny softens behind the main. Up under the boom, grab the loaded spinny sheet and pull it with you back over to the tack line/halyard winch. Open the tackline clutch and gather the foot as fast as you can, shoving it into the companionway bag. When you can't gather any more, reach over and take the tack line off the winch and put the spinny halyard on it, again with one wrap. Then open the spinny halyard clutch and pull the sail down into the bag. If you were sailing deep enough when you started the douse, the sail should have collapsed behind the main. In lighter conditions or for tactical reasons I will douse on the windward side. Also, I'm told the "letterbox" drop works well shorthanded in windy conditions but I've not tried it yet. Reefing - To keep the boat flat and fast upwind, you reef a lot more singlehanded. I can reef quickly, as follows: Mainsheet and vang are eased, then the halyard is eased to a mark on the line (one stripe for reef #1, a double stripe for reef #2). I step to the mast to hook the tack reef ring and organize the folds a bit, then step back to the cabintop winch to trim the luff and close the clutch. I put the clew reef on the winch and trim it, and then trim the vang and mainsheet. On a longer leg I'll tie an "earing" around the clew to keep it down to the boom. Regards, |