NORTH SAILS BLOG

Introduction The purpose of this tuning-guide is to give our clients in the H-Boat class some guidelines on how to get the most out of their North Sails. The tuning guide is made by Steffen Stegger, Lars Christiansen and Theis Palm. Follow the guidelines, but always experiment and try finding your own trim. The weight of the crew, the balance of the boat, the stiffness of the mast together with specific local wind and sea conditions all have influence on the fastest and final trim. Mast Trim Before stepping the mast in the boat, some very important measurements have to be made to follow this tuning guide. 1. The length and angle of the spreaders are important to the shape of the main, they help to control the bend of the mast and thereby the tension of the forestay. The length of the spreaders is measured from the side of the mast to where the shroud passes the spreader, the measurement is 81 cm measured along the middle of the spreader. The spreader angel is measured by fixing a fine line between the two top shrouds, measure from the line to the aft side of the mast, the measurement is 19 cm. Next make two tape marks on the spreaders at respectively 44 and 54 cm from the side of the mast. These are used to trim the jib. 2. Lead the upper shrouds and forestay along the mast, the upper have to be out of the spreader tips. Pull them as hard as you can and put a mark on all three wires at the height of the black mark at the gooseneck. These three marks are now used to check if the mast is straight from side to side in the boat, and to check the mast rake. The mast is then stepped. 3. The foot of the mast is placed so that the distance between the center of the forestay pin to the front edge of the mast is 2,42 m. 4. Control that the distance from the top of the gooseneck mark to the deck measured along the side of the mast is 54,8 cm any possible difference should be adjusted when setting the forestay in the next step. 5. The mast rake is set so that the distance from the mark on the forestay to deck measured along the forestay is 1,37 m. 6. Now that the correct mast rake has been set, control that the mast rest on the full surface. If this is not the case, the pressure on the rig will become uneven and the forestay unsteady. 7. The marks on the top shrouds (from step 2) are now used to control if the mast is placed in the middle of the boat. This is done best by measuring the distance from the mark to the deck. This should be the same on both sides. 8. Rig tension is somewhat difficult to define, because not everybody has the same meter to measure. We have used a Loos Gauge type PT-1 M. See the On the Water Tuning Guide. 9. The lower shrouds are tensioned, so that the mast is completely straight in the boat up to 20-22 knots. From here on tighten them till the mast drops 5-10 cm off to leeward at the forestay fixture – the exact measure depending on crew weight. Mainsail 1. The mainsheet is the most important factor when trimming the main. Even minor adjustments can have a big effect on speed and pointing. If the sail is sheeted hard the leech will close more and increase rudder pressure, but the pointing ability will be improved. This can be used in middle air and flat water as long as the boat can be hiked flat. In light wind the mainsheet is eased so that the tell-tale by the top-batten flies straight aft. In heavy winds the mainsheet is pulled very tight and the H-boat Tuning guide backstay is pulled until the boat becomes light on the rudder again. As the waves increase more twist is needed to facilitate steering. At the same time it improves speed and hereby pointing. As a thumb rule trim the aft part of the top-batten parallel to the boom in all wind strengths. 2. The outhaul is also an important factor when trimming as it controls the draft in the bottom of the mainsail. In light winds (0-4 knots) the sail should be 3 cm from the mark. In a little more wind (4-10 knots) about 1,5 cm from the mark and in more wind than this pull the sail all the way to the mark. 3. Avoid using the Cunningham in light winds. In middle winds pull only so much so that the wrinkles disappear. In winds above 14 knots pull the Cunningham hard to open the leech and the draft forward. 4. Adjustment of the traveller affects rudder pressure and depends on the crew weight. The traveller is adjusted so that the boom – as long as possible- is kept parallel to the centerline. This is to keep maximum distance between the main and the jib. As the wind increases and the backstay is pulled let the traveller to leeward until the boat is balanced and light on the rudder. 5. The backstay has two functions: To control mainsail depth and to control forestay sag. This means that a tighter backstay flattens and opens the mainsail, gives less forestay sag and hereby a flatter jib. We have put marks on our backstay every 5 cm, so we can return to good trim after mark rounding etc. 6. The kicking strap is used upwind in heavy winds to bend the mast and hereby opening the sail in the bottom part. It also keeps the leech from opening too much when easing the mainsheet in the gusts. Never use the kicking strap upwind in less than 16 knots. Remember always to ease the kicker before going downwind to prevent the boom from breaking. When reaching, set the kickingstrap so that the aft part of
the top batten is kept parallel to the boom. Jib 1. JIB LEAD As a general rule set the jib lead at a distance of 2,88 m from the forestay pin to the center of the block. The jib shall luff evenly along the luff of the sail. This means that the telltales should break evenly. If the waves are big in more than 6 knots move the lead 1-2 “holes” forward and if the wind is less than 6 knots up to 5 “holes” forward. 2. SHEET TENSION To trim the jib, use the marks set on the spreaders. In wind strengths that are less than 6 knots use the mark at 54 cm from the mast in more wind use the inner mark
(44cm). 3. HALYARD TENSION Never over tighten the halyard, as this will move the draft to far forward. Pull as much as to remove the creases, but not more. In light winds leave some creases at the
luff, as this will cause the draft to move aft, thereby increasing depth.As a general rule set the jib lead at a distance of 2,88 m from the forestay pin to the center of the block. The jib shall luff evenly along the luff of the sail. This means that the telltales should break evenly. If the waves are big in more than 6 knots move the lead 1-2 “holes” forward and if the wind is less than 6 knots up to 5 “holes” forward.SpinnakerThe height of the spinnaker pole on the mast should be 1,50 m over the cabin top roof. The pole is kept horizontal in most conditions. This makes it possible to take full advantage of the whole pole length, keeping the spinnaker as far away from the other sails as possible. Our GRADIENT spinnaker is designed for this. In light winds the pole height is adjusted to keep the clews at the same height to get the best angle of attack on the windward leech and keeping the leeward leech open. In heavy winds on a tight reach, the spinnaker pole should at no time be closer to the forestay than 60 cm to prevent the boat from coming out of control. If you have any questions regarding trim or H-Boat sailing in general, please contact Theis Palm. Good luck on the water! READ MORE

Mast rake Is measured from the top of the mast/gaff to the centre top of the transom. Wooden Hulls – 4950mm – 5000mm (These measurements work for both Gaff and Bermudanrigs). Goodwin hulls – 4975 – 4850mm Winder Hulls – 5000mm – 5100mm Rig Tension 12 to 16 on the shrouds using a Loos tension gauge for older boats. New boats both wood and frp will take 18-22.This isn’t as critical as it would be if the mast had spreaders, however it still controls the amountof jib luff sag and mast rake so care should be taken to keep a record of your setting so it is thesame every time. Outhaul Upwind, set the outhaul so that the foot just touches the leeward side of the boom. If the conditions are choppy and you are not overpowered ease the outhaul so that there are 2cm between the leeward side of the boom and the foot. In strong winds pull the outhaul tight. Downwind, you can ease the outhaul 5cm if you want more power. Fairleads and Jib Height The fairleads should be positioned as far back as possible on the thwart and as high as possible.You are allowed to fix the fairlead on a block 25mm high. The distance between the bearing surfaces of the fairleads should be roughly 750mm. Start with the tack corner of the jib 30mm above the deck. Raise it to 50mm above deck for light and moderate wind and waves. Lower the tack corner to level with the deck for strong winds. Pull it down 10 – 20mm below deck level for very strong winds. Kicker and Twist I think twist is the key to making a Mirror fast. A closed mainsail leech will make you point but if you overdo it the sail stalls, the boats slows, and you go sideways, giving the same effect as notpointing. Keep leeches open enough to stop the telltales stalling. This isn’t so much of a problemonce you are both hiking because there is pressure on the mainsail leech to keep it open, but it isstill possible to oversheet the jib. If the boat slows down compared to the boats around you or theboat feels as though its bouncing up and down on the spot, ease the jib sheet 1cm and see ifthings improve. Marks on the jib sheets are very helpful here and even calibration marks on the kicker will helpyou re-produce your fast settings. Spinnaker Pole Setting Good luck on the water! READ MORE

Introduction The settings in this guide will help you get the most out of your Albacore North Sails. As always experimentation and documenting will enhance your specific boat. The weight of the crew, the balance of the boat, the stiffness of the mast and local wind and sea conditions will impact your tuning. This guide was developed with the Superspar M2 mast and B2 boom. Boat Set-Up: Foils The basic hull and foil set up is similar for most Albacore builders and sails. Typically the centerboard is moved as far aft in the boat as the rule allows. The minimum allowable distance from the transom to the leading edge of the centerboard when lowered 90° to the hull is 2600 mm measured along the curve of the hull. It is normal to have the board within 1 5mm of this measurement. It is increasingly common to rake the centerboard forward in flat water and in winds less than approximately 1 2 knots. Ensure the board can do this and that the 90° position is clearly marked and visible inside the boat. The trend is also to have flexible centerboards that have good gust response and give a slight gibing effect when raked forwards in light to moderate winds. Make sure that the centerboard and rudder are aligned. With the mast off and the boat upside down, stand behind the boat and sight along the foils. I f they are not aligned, normally the rudder has to be moved to bring the foils into alignment. Mast Butt Position and Rake The maximum forward position of the mast butt is 3350 mm measured from the aft face of the transom to the fore side of the mast at the foot. 3335 mm is the recommended starting point for North sails. This will provide sufficient pre-bend without compromising the ability to ram the mast far enough aft to allow the boom to pivot around the leeward shroud while sailing downwind. The most robust measurement for rake is to mark the mast at the hull sheer line. Put a straight edge across the partners aft of your mast and measure down the shear line on both sides of the boat. Use the hull skin to deck intersection. Calculate the average of those two. Place a mark on your mast that same average distance down from the top deck. Disconnect the bottom of the headstay and swing it to the mark you just made on your mast. Mark the headstay at that point. (extend with line if necessary). Replace the headstay back to the bow. Hoist the jib and tighten the halyard just enough to take the slack out of the shrouds. The mark on your headstay measured to the top surface of the deck at the bow should be about 6”. I f it is not you may need to move your shrouds up or down to achieve the 6″. This is your max forward light air setting. In winds above 1 5 knots it is common to pin the shrouds down one pin from this position. Above 20 knots two pins is common. North Sails North Albacore Sails are cut to be powerful. Both main and jib have a fair amount of depth which is needed for superior downwind performance. In order to achieve superior upwind performance proper mast bend is required. The objective is to add just enough bend to keep the leech tell- tales flickering while in full power mode, and then as much bend as is required to flatten the sails in stronger winds. Bend is achieved primarily with boom vang, but pulling the mast forward at the partners, easing the jib halyard, and lots of main sheet all contribute to mast bend. Pre-bend A system to increase the bend of the mast at the partners is very important. A strut is the preferred method because it it raises the fulcrum where the bend occurs, but a simple tackle system at the partners will suffice. In most wind conditions upwind the mast must be pulled forward or “pre-bent” so that it resides about 1 ” -2” from front of the partners. In very light winds the mast will have to be bent all the way to the front of the partner to open the leech. In strong winds the mast should be allowed to bend to within 0.5” of the partner (any more than that and you risk over-bending and damaging the mast when you ease the head-stay). In light winds the mast will be fully pre-bent while reaching. The amount of pre- bend is gradually reducing as the wind increases. The correct time to reduce the pre-bend can be hard to judge, however if the mast is not pre-bent enough, the luff of the main is too full and the leech ticklers are difficult to fly all at the same times as the ticklers 1 /3 back from the luff. When this is correct, all ticklers can be flown. Spreaders A good way to check the spreaders is to set the mast at the max forward, light air position. There should be zero shroud deflection in any plane (I.E. totally straight shrouds with no deflection at the spreader tips). Put your eye close to the chainplate and sight up the shrouds. This should produce a spreader length of about 1 5-1 5.5” and a sweep of approx. 7” (Standard spreaders have to be shortened to achieve this). This position is a good starting point for crew weights of up to 360 lb. Above this consider increasing the length of the spreaders by 0.5-1 ”. Jib Sheeting Position A good way to start is to fold the jib head to the jib tack and mark the mid- point of the luff. Then draw a line on the clew patch from this point to the clew of the jib. By eye extend this line down to the jib track. Experience has shown that the best light/moderate jib lead position is about 4-6” aft of this point. Further forward of this and the lower third of the jib can get too full. As the wind increases the jib car needs to be moved aft. In very strong winds this sheeting position can be as much as 1 0” aft of the starting position. This will flatten the foot of the jib and open the leech. It is important not to over-sheet the jib so that the main is backwinded, or, the jib leech tell tail is stalled. The jib height must be adjusted so that the foot of the jib is in full contact with the foredeck upwind. The jib height can be adjusted through the lashing of the sail to the wire at the head. It is a good idea to raise the jib in light air to get extra sail area, and lower it in heavy air to keep the foot touching the deck when the jib car is moved aft. Main/Jib Cunningham The function of the cunningham is to move the point of max depth forward, or aft in the sail. Tightening the luff pulls the max depth forward. Maintain the max depth of the main just forward of half way. The more the mast bends the more Cunningham will be required. The jib max depth should be further forward about 1 /3 of the way back from the luff. (like an airplane wing) It is important that the jib and main cunningham are released off wind. Outhaul The North main is powerful at the foot so it is important that this is restrained upwind. In very light winds the outhaul is pulled so that the foot is taught. Above 1 5 knots it is pulled very tight. When reaching the outhaul needs to be eased. Maximum power is approximately 2-3” of release on the outhaul. This will be sufficient to open the foot of the main. Jib Halyard Tension In light winds upwind, the jib halyard is often set to allow for about 2” of sag at the mid luff. This should provide great speed and a wide groove. Tightened a little to improve pointing or slackened a bit to increase speed. Limiting Jib wire sag to about 2″upwind is important until the wind becomes overpowering. Above this, the sag is less important because the jib halyard is let off to increase mast bend and rake. It is a good idea to mark your halyard adjuster to know where your rake is. Check the section above “Mast Butt Position and Rake”. Mark your halyard adjuster on the mast at a point where you achieved 6” of rake. Then make a scale on it in 1 ” increments. 8-1 0″ of rake is common at the upper wind ranges. The halyard is loosened, the vang is tightened and the shrouds are pinned down. While reaching the jib halyard is eased to achieve 2-4” of jib wire sag. Many of the top boats have a system to tension the fore-stay while reaching in light to moderate conditions. With this applied, the halyard can be loosened to give jib luff sag and a powerful jib without affecting the mast bend control. Vang The vang is completely loose in light winds. As the wind increases a little use the vang to keep the top batten parallel with the boom. More and more vang is used as the wind builds. Once you are both hiking a harder vang will bend the mast and depower the sails. It is a sensitive control and too much vang can lead to a sail with too tight a leech, or too flat a main. Too little vang can lead to too deep a main, or too much twist. Correct vang adjustment and appropriate jib halyard are critical to maintaining good balance and the right amount of power. When reaching the vang is used to keep the top of the main from getting too loose. Good reaching speed is obtained with constant adjustment of vang and deck level mast bend in response to the changing conditions. Try to keep all of the main ticklers flying. Wing on Wing When wing on wing, it is important to get the boom out as close to 90° as possible, and the jib foot snug. With this in mind, the jib halyard is loosened off by at least 6” and the mast rammed all the way to the back of the partners. It is common to let the jib halyard off to give 8”+ of jib wire sag. Above 6-8 knots get the jib out and away from the mainsail. Normally the centerboard is fully in the case and the boat is heeled to windward. Vang should be set to give just a small amount of leech twist as can be seen from the photo. George Carter 2015 International Champion READ MORE

Tuning Set-up BEFORE YOU STEP THE MAST Before stepping your mast there are a number of things to do that will make your boat easier to sail and the sails easier to trim. MARKING THE SPREADERS Before stepping the mast put a mark on the underside of each spreader (first spreader up) 100mm in from the spreader tip. Use either coloured tape or a felt tip pen. We’ll use this mark later as a guide to trimming the large jib. JIB TRACKS With a high aspect ratio jib like the 1720’s, the lead position is crucial to good speed. The stock hole spacing on the tracks is simply too far apart to get the lead right in all conditions. We suggest drilling one extra hole between stock holes on the track. Also drill out the heads of the screws to increase your adjustment possibilities. It is only necessary to do this at the back half of the track, as the front half is never used. MAINSAIL The 1720 main has one full-length batten at the head and three long battens at the base. The batten pockets on your North mainsail are a little different to accommodate these long battens. These pockets use Velcro closures rather that the traditional elastic to keep the batten in. The amount of pressure on the pocket is important especially on the upper batten. Be sure your battens are tight enough to remove any vertical wrinkles coming off the pocket, but not so tight as to induce curve in the batten. If the sails are new just put a bit more tension for the first outing just to allow for give in the batten pocket. Be sure to check your batten pocket tension when sailing. TUNING THE RIG These steps will get you set up to sail the boat in moderate conditions and give you all-purpose tune. In the following section we will describe adjustments to make the boat perform at it’s best in the full range of wind and sea conditions.With the rig in the boat and the forestay in place tighten the caps and lowers by hand until firm and you cannot tighten them any more. At this point adjust the gooseneck shrouds to centre the mast at boom height. To do this use a tape measure and check the exact length of each shroud to ensure accuracy. Again at this point the gooseneck shrouds only need to be hand tight. The next step is to measure from the masthead down to the chainplates on both sides. Tighten or loosen the upper shrouds until the mast is centred from side to side. Once you have achieved your AP setting you should mark the shrouds before de-rigging to make setting up the rig faster next time. Unfortunately at present the class rules outlaw the use of calibrated bottle screws, which in our opinion is a backward step as they make setting up the rig a piece of cake! Using a Loo’s model (PT-2) Tension gauge, tighten the uppers evenly, until the uppers measure 28 on the gauge. Then tension the lowers to 23 on the gauge and this will give you approximately 55mm of pre-bend at the spreaders. The gooseneck shrouds need to be set at around 5 on the gauge, and then you will be almost ready to sail! The final step is to tension the topmast shrouds. Now we are all using the double spreader rig these can be set a little looser than before, and we recommend that with only a 1/6th of the backstay travel applied the top shrouds should be hand tight. This is a little hard to describe in words but take a little time to determine the travel of the backstay, if in doubt put on slightly more rather than less!! Hook up the backstay, install the boom and you are ready to go sailing in moderate conditions. We have found these settings, to be good starting point for most people. Note: The rig tension measurement is taken without the backstay hooked up or the boom hanging off the main halyard. The weight of the halyard or tension in the backstay can effect shroud tensions. So to be consistent, we always leave these items loose when tuning the rig. ADVANCED RIG TUNING Adjusting the tension of the upper and lower shrouds changes the amount that the headstay can sag and the amount of pre-bend in the mast, which directly effects the fullness of the jib. Shroud tension also effects the mast and mainsail shape by controlling fore, aft and sideways bend of the rig. In general you will want the pre-bend reduced in lighter conditions and increased in a breeze. The aim of this is to increase and decrease the amount of power available from the up-wind sail plan. From our starting set up described above we will increase and decrease the tension on the lower shrouds to change the amount of bend in the rig. All the settings below start from the base settings which we have stated above:0-5 Knots – Take 2 turns off the caps and -1 turn on the lowers5-10 Knots – Take 2 turns off the caps 10-15 Knots – Leave as base 15-20 Knots – Add 2 turns on caps 20-25 Knots – Add 2 turns to caps and add 1 turn to the lowers 25-30 Knots – Add 3 turns to caps and add 2 turns to the lowers The above settings are a good guide for changing gears but do not take into account the sea state. You will therefore find you can go tighter than those suggested in flat water, but will probably want to go looser in really choppy water down the wind range. Sail Trim MAINSAIL Mainsheet Upwind use the mainsheet functions to control the overall amount of twist in the leech of the mainsail. Once the traveller is set, we trim the mainsail until the back end of the top batten is parallel with the boom. We then fine tune the mainsheet tension depending on what gear we want to go in. If we want the boat to point we can trim the mainsail harder, reducing twist and the helm will load up a little allowing us to point higher. Eventually, as we point higher, we will slowly lose speed and need to foot off again. In order to foot we need to ease the mainsail slightly to twist open the leech and ease the load on the helm, we can then drop the bow down slightly to foot and build speed without heeling the boat over and inducing helm. The mainsheet can also bend the mast and flatten the sail (especially near the top). Traveller The traveller controls the athwartship’s position of the boom when sailing upwind. We’ve found that it never pays to have the traveller car more than 6″ above the centreline of the boat. In general the traveller will be on or very slightly above the centreline in light air, and below, or well below in moderate to heavy air. Once you are overpowered constantly, or sailing in waves, it is generally faster to keep the traveller fully down and drive the boat a little faster through the water. The 1720, like many other one designs needs to be sailed flat upwind. In puffy conditions it is often faster to play the mainsheet when a puff hits, than to ease the traveller or feather the boat. The goal when playing the mainsheet upwind is to keep the boat flat and on an even angle of heel through all changes in wind velocity. Start judging the angle of the jib against the horizon and work to keep it constant. Outhaul The Outhaul controls the depth of the lower third of the mainsail. Upwind, except in very light air and choppy water, the outhaul should be tight or out to the black band. Downwind, reaching or running, let the outhaul off so that the middle of the foot is 5″ away from the centre of the boom. In heavy air you may want to keep the outhaul tight to de-power on the reaches and project more sail area. We like to keep the outhaul tight upwind to reduce the amount of drag the lower part of the sail produces. The sheeting angle of the jib is very tight on the 1720 and easing the outhaul too much upwind will reduce the size of the slot and result in poor flow between the mainsail and the jib. Boom Vang In moderate conditions upwind we trim the mainsheet to where we want it and then take the slack out of the boom vang. This way when we ease the mainsheet for a puff and the boom does not rise up and twist open the mainsail leech. As the wind velocity increases the vang starts to become redundant up-wind and all of the loads are taken on the mainsheet only. The real benefit of this is that when you ease the mainsheet in a strong gust the sting is taken out straight away and the boat does not heal excessively. Cunningham The cunningham is used to control the draft position in the main. Our mainsail is made from very low stretch Mylar that does not change shape much as the wind increases. Because of this we find we do not need to use the cunningham much except in very heavy air. Upto about 16 knots, tension the cunningham enough only to leave slight wrinkles coming horizontally off the mast. After that if you feel that the draft has moved aft slightly, use only enough tension to pull it back forward to it’s designed position. Backstay The backstay is probably the least used mainsail control on the 1720. Upwind we do not use the backstay until about 18-22 knots of wind. At that point after dropping the traveller, the boat will still be slightly overpowered. Tighten the backstay very lightly to bend the top of the mast and de-power the sail. After tightening the backstay, the top of the main will twist open requiring you to trim the mainsheet slightly. Conversely, if you ease the backstay the main leech will tighten slightly forcing you to ease the mainsheet. If you find the mainsail starts to flog in an uncontrolled manner at this point remove backstay tension, as this is a sign of too much backstay. If in any doubt let it off and sail with the smallest amount on. Downwind in heavy air you will want to keep some tension on the backstay to keep the mast from moving too far forward. The swept back spreaders of the 1720 rig keep the mast from moving forward and you can keep the backstay loose downwind in light to moderate airs. As good practice get a crew member to sight up the mast to check for reverse bend. If the mast is bending forwards apply backstay until it comes straight. Genoa Trim We start by finding the correct lead position in the moderate air. Remember if the inside top tell tail breaks first, move the lead forward until all tell tails break together. In light to medium airs we usually sheet the genoa with 2 of the standard hole spacing showing. As the wind increases we quickly recommend moving the leads to the back of the track and twisting the sail but keeping the foot tight along the deck. In flat water and as long as the mainsail is not back winding, sheet the genoa onto the mark on the spreaders. As you get progressively over powered and waves are an issue, sheet the sail on or close to the spreader tip when sighting down to leeward in the cockpit. When you reach the top end of genoa conditions, sheet at the back of the track and ease the sheet as much as is required to stop the mainsail flogging. Anything that can be done at this point to keep the leech of the mainsail working will result in better speed upwind. At the other extreme be sure to keep the sheet well eased in light air to twist open the top of the jib and keep the slot open. You will probably be sheeting 85-100mm outside the mark in less than 6 knots. The halyard tension on this sail should not be over tensioned, small wrinkles should always be showing from the hanks, in all conditions. Take care when using the winch on the halyard as it is very easy to over tighten the luff and damage the sail. Extreme care must also be taken when raising and lowering this sail and always ensure that the sheets are not cleated when hoisting and lowering otherwise the sail will tear behind the hanks. The Asymmetric System The first thing you need to decide before rigging the spinnaker is whether you are going to gibe the spinnaker clew between the spinnaker luff and the jib or out around the spinnaker luff. We recommend that all gibes are done inside the spinnaker luff in all conditions. Gibing inside is faster, although it can get pretty exciting when the breeze is up. Gibing outside is usually safer in heavy air. But due to the long spinnaker pole on the 1720 we think it is safer to gibe inside all round. Setting the Spinnaker We always set the spinnaker to leeward underneath the boom. The first step is to set the pole (bowsprit). Next we hoist the sail up to the hounds before any attempt is made to pull on the tack line. One crew member usually helps to feed out the sail from the bin. As the boat heads downwind and before the boom is all the way out, we quickly pull the tack line while the mainsheet man trims the sheet. The idea is not to pull the tack of the sail out of the boat as you approach the weather mark, but to wait until the head of the spinnaker reaches the hounds. Keeping the tack back slightly helps to reduce the chance of the sail filling too early, and sliding under the boat! This is not fast! Gibing the Spinnaker Gibing the 1720 spinnaker is probably the most athletic job on the boat because there is a lot of sheet to pull in. We find that it is not how fast the old sheet is eased that is important, but how fast the new one is pulled in (at least on inside gibes).Start your turn slowly, easing the spinnaker sheet as the bow comes down. As the boat starts to lose speed, roll the boat to weather to turn the boat without using the tiller. As the boom comes over, quickly trim in the new sheet. Be careful not to trim the sheet too much, as it is easy to oversheet and slow the boat further. The outside gibe is much the same, except that easing the old sheet quickly is much more important to get the spinnaker clew out in front of the boat early. Dropping the Spinnaker We always try to take the spinnaker down on the port side, normally the weather side, so that we are already set up with the spinnaker on the correct side for the next set. The best way to do the weather take down is by coming into the leeward mark a little high. You can then run down right at the mark, making it easier to pull the clew around to the windward side of the boat. Drop the asymmetrical as you would a regular spinnaker by gathering the clew first, easing the tack line fully, and then finally the halyard checking the progress to ensure that the sail does not touch the water! Trimming the Spinnaker Trimming the 1720 spinnaker is very easy. Basically, you trim an asymmetric the same way you would a jib or genoa. Pull the sail in enough to keep 6-8″ curl in the luff. As with any other spinnaker, be careful not to over trim. Always keep the sheet moving in and out. This apparent wind moves around very fast on the 1720, so rapid trimming and easing of the sheet is important. When reaching it is important to keep the tack of the sail within 500mm of the end of the pole. This makes the luff straighter, opens the leech and increases the forward force of the spinnaker. When running or sailing deep, let the tack line off about 1.5 – 2 metres to allow the luff of the spinnaker to roll around to windward, this will allow you to sail a little lower. In certain conditions it will pay to have the tack line on the winch and trim it on and off to keep the sail working 100%. General notes on sailing the boat Always sail the boat as flat as possible.Be sure not to point or pinch too much. The foils on the 1720 are quite thin and stall easily at low speeds.Keep the crew weight forward upwind and downwind, when not on the plane.Move crew weight aft downwind in heavy air. We mean a long way back. Usually one of the crew moves behind the helmsman to the pushpit. This keeps the bow out of the water and keeps the boats planing.Keep the helm as neutral as possible upwind and downwind. The boat is meant to be sailed with a neutral helm. If you have a weather or lee helm, something is wrong with your trim or set up. Caring for your sails Your sails from North Sails One Design are constructed from the best materials on the market today. Before we made your sails, we tested many different fabrics from the best suppliers in the world. MAINSAIL It is not necessary to remove the battens from the main when storing it. Be sure to roll the sail up parallel to the battens to avoid putting a permanent twist in the battens. Watch the mainsail for signs of wear on the batten pockets where they cross the shrouds. Be sure to wash the sail off with fresh water when it becomes salty and make sure the sail is thoroughly dried before storage. GENOA Like the main, always roll the sail after sailing and do not remove the battens. Occasionally wash the sail off with fresh water. If you have been using a lot of leach line on the sail remove this before storing. SPINNAKER The best thing to prolong the life of your spinnaker is to always store the sail clean and dry. Although this is not always possible! When the sail gets wet in salt water (and it will) wash it off with fresh water and dry it thoroughly if leaving for a long period of time. Fold your spinnaker to store it if possible. Good luck on the water! READ MORE

This tuning guide has been put together by Ethan Bixby from North Sails in North America, who is the designer of our newest 505 sails. The calibration scheme below does not reuse existing numbering schemes. We have tried to develop a calibration scheme that supports the following: Standards Uses reference points common to all builder’s 505s, forward tack and aft tack 505s, etc.Uses zero as the neutral, or basis datum setting.Uses negative numbers for LESS of a control and uses positive numbers for MORE of a control. If that is not clear, the light air settings are on the negative side of the datum and the positive numbers are heavier air settings, finally forward is negative, aft is positive. Mast Step Measure from the back of the mast along the top of the CB cap, aft, over transom, to the aft most point of the hull (it may be slightly aft of the transom). Ignore the rudder fittings. The mast should be stepped as close to 10′ 0″ as you can get it and still get the right low bend at max. rake and not hit the partners. Don’t worry if the step extrusion in the boat keeps you about 1/2″ or an inch forward of this point.Note: The aft end of the hull is where the class rule measurements are taken, not the actual face of the transom. This value is more reproducable across different hulls. Rake With no jib hoisted, connect a tape measure to the end of the jib halyard. Hoist and cleat the halyard to the point where the “O” on the tape measure starts at the top of the the “gooseneck band” on the mast, with reasonable tension applied. On a boat with an integral wire in the luff of the jib, you can use the topping lift as long as it is very close to the jib halyard/headstay intersection with the mast. Take the jib halyard (or topping lift) forward and measure from the end of the halyard (at the same tension) to the top of the rail at the bow. This is the top forward part of the boat, regardless of where the headstay is. Adjust the forestay/jib halyard and shrouds until a measurement of 3 ‘4″ is obtained. The shrouds should not be excessively tight, but snug. Mark that setting on the forestay tackle in the boat, where you can see it. This is the datum rake number, mark it in the boat as “0”. Measuring aft this should be 25’8″. For future reference record the distance from the eye to the fork pin to some reproduceable point on the boat. On a Waterat I use the bearing point of the jib tack fitting to the headstay fork/eye junction, and on my boat the distance is 5.5″ as an example. Mark that setting as “0”. All of your rake settings can be simply marked on the luff of the jib adjacent to the fork/eye junction. This is the best repeater and easy to see! Mark one inch increments at additonal inches, i.e. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Note: that the forward rake measurement is much less sensitive to mast bend, shroud tension, hull rocker, and height of transom. Mast Ram (Bend) Set rake to 0 (3 ‘4″ forward) or 25’8″ (aft) with mast dead straight and the rig just snug. Jib Leads (Fore & Aft) In light or no wind, with the mast rake set to “0” as above, and the ram set to “0” as above, sheet jib in hard. Sight down lead lines on the jib clew. Move jib cars fore or aft until the jib sheet is lined up with the more vertical line. That is the standard power setting. Mark that hole on the jib track as “0”. Number holes with negative numbers forward from there, and positive numbers aft of that hole. The angled aft (slightly closer to the horizontal line) is for heavy air depowering when raked. In practice, you may not need to actually move the jib car for heavy air, as rake changes the lead angle for you. You may need to move the jib lead aft for light air, flat water. Jib Lead Tension With the jib still sheeted as above. Mark a spot on the jib sheet that is clear of the cleat and turning blocks. You will be calibrating the jib lead tension based on that mark, so mark the corresponding point on the seat tank as well. Note: that we use the “normal” trim line on the jib as this allows us to reproduce fore-aft or up-down jib lead measurements across any jib sheeting system, long and short luff jibs, and forward tack and aft tack boats. Centreboard Roll the boat over on it’s side. Pull board out and put it in the down position. Set the leading edge of the CB perpendicular to the bottom of boat at the centreboard trunk. Mark the head of the board (perhaps aft end of the head) level with the top of the CB cap. Mark this as “0”. Mark increasing numbers in 1″intervals up the back end of the head. Mark “1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8”. Also mark a position with the board as far down (raked forward) as possible.Also measure from the top of the centreboard to the aft end of the hull on the centreline. With an HA board this number should be roughly (depends on rake and board depth) 122″. Note: we’re open to suggestions on this. This measurement will result in different effects with different CB planforms. I think what we are really trying to measure is where the centre of area or pressure is fore and aft and below the hull. Spreaders Set the spreaders to 16.5″ length (measured from the side of the mast to the shroud), and for 6.5″ poke. For lighter teams, and in very light or very heavy air, increase sweep to 7″. Lighter teams can also shorten spreaders to 16″. Note: that this measurement is from the shrould to the closest part of the mast, along the spreader. This measurement assumes that your spreaders are 124 inches above deck level (old US specs) AND assumes your shroud chainplates and mast step locations are the same as other boats. If any of spreader bracket height, mast step position and shroud chainplate location are different on your boat, these measurements will not result in the same effects we get. We have a comprehensive measurement system to relate spreader height, hounds height, spreader details, and triangulation of the chainplates. Please contact us for this as it is a much better tool to obtain the actual deflections and angles. READ MORE

Download the Farr 30 Tuning Guide Download the Farr 30 Quick Tune Guide. READ MORE

Swan 45 Quick Tune Guide. READ MORE

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See also: J/111 European Tuning Guide NORTH SAILS J/111 QUICK TUNING CHART Wind Strength Jib Asym Mast Butt Headstay Verticals/Uppers D1s/Lowers D2s/Intermediates Sheet Angle/In-haul Traveller Car Vang 0-6 Knots LM 1.5A     -6 -2 Handrail All Up Off 6-8 Knots LM 1.5A     -4 -1 1.5" - 2" inside handrail 18" Up Off BASE 9-11 Knots LM 1.5A   44.3 cm   2.22M Arc 15.3M "pin-pin" 62 Units RT-10 Loos gauge 28 Units RT-10 Loos gauge 27 Units PT-2 Loos gauge Handrail 4" Up Off 12-15 Knots MH 2A     5 1.5 Handrail Centerline Off 16-20 Knots MH 2A     9 3 1/2 way handrail track Centerline On Hard 20+ Knots HWJ 2A     14 5 1/2 way handrail track. "Twisty" sheet load Centerline On Hard 24+ Knots     Track, no in-hauler READ MORE

Download the North Sails J/105 Tuning Chart Part 1: Rigging Preparation The following recommendations are small changes that should be made to the stock J/105 to allow you to get the most from your North Sails and make the boat easier to sail and set up. Head swivel shackle The North Sails jibs come with a webbing loop at the head. It is critical to have a 90-degree “twist” shackle to attach the sail to the swivel. A standard shackle will cause a hard spot at the top of the jib as the sail is torqued. Remove backstay toggle Many J/105s come with a toggle that rotates the hydraulic cylinder 90-degrees so that the handle faces forward. While it is nice to have the handle forward, this toggle reduces the throw of the backstay adjuster too much so that you are not able to get enough tension in heavy air. Some of the older boats actually need to have the backstay rod shortened to get enough backstay throw. Change to 4:1 or 6:1 Cunningham The standard Cunningham is 2:1 and led aft to a cabin house halyard stopper.This system should be replaced with the lower purchase with integral cleating shackled to the ring on the top of the Quik Vang. This allows for easier and more precise Cunningham control by a forward crewmember. Many boats then rig the asymmetrical tack line through the free stopper. Mark the tack line at the cleat Put marks on the tack line at the proper range of settings. As you approach the windward mark you can then pre-set the tack line so that when you extend the pole and set the spinnaker the tack will be set properly. The tack line is much easier to work with in this placement than on the side of the cabin house. Move mainsheet swivel base forward of the traveler This allows for easier trim of the gross tune by the main trimmer, especially when tacking. Tapered Spectra spinnaker sheets These sheets have a light uncovered portion that attaches to the sail, with a covered portion that goes on the winch. The sheets should be 3/8” Spectra cored line with the cover removed at the sail end of the sheet. These lightweight sheets are used in all conditions and help downwind performance in light air. Heavy sheets pull down on the leech of the spinnaker in light air, closing the leech too much. Bypass the jib sheet turning block The standard set-up for the jib sheet is to run the sheet from the clew of the jib, through the lead block, through the turning block near the rail, and then to the winch. This set-up makes the lead block lean over to leeward, increasing sheeting angle. In light and moderate air, the jib will sheet tighter to the centerline if you lead the sheet straight to the winch from the jib lead block. In heavy air, it can be faster to use the turning block to sheet the jib outboard slightly. Part 2: Rig Set-Up and Preparation Tools and items required: Loos RT 10M Rod Tension Gauge, 2 crescent wrenches, spray lubricant, bosun’s chair and 50’ metric tape measure. Part of the success of growth of the J/105 Class is the tight class rules and limited sail inventory. With the J/105s limited sail inventory of only one headsail, aggressive rig tuning is essential for performance throughout the full range of wind conditions. By definition, the North Sails “AP” inventory is optimized for 9 to 12 knots. This is actually the easiest condition to sail in, so the racing tends to be at its tightest. Having really fast sails in this condition is key to gain a slight speed edge and the AP inventory is designed to give you just that. The heavy air “HA” inventory is optimized for 13-20 knots. In the extreme conditions of light and heavy air the rig must be manipulated to enhance the sail shapes for those conditions. The result of proper rig tuning is the correct relationship between mast bend and headstay tension to get fast shapes. The North inventory has been designed to make these transitions easily with the correct tuning to be fast in all conditions. Step One: Check Mast Butt Position The measurement from the front of the forward bulkhead to the aft face of the mast should be 24.46cm (9 5/8”). This is very close to the center of the step. For the HA sails, the mast butt should be 26.00cm (10 1/4”) from the bulkhead. Step Two: Check J Measurement The J measurement is the distance from the headstay intersection to the deck to the forward face of the mast. This should be a minimum of 4.11m (13’6”). Use mast chocks or SparTite to achieve this position.lean over to leeward, increasing sheeting angle. In light and moderate air, the jib will sheet tighter to the centerline if you lead the sheet straight to the winch from the jib lead block. In heavy air, it can be faster to use the turning block to sheet the jib outboard slightly. Step Three: Set Mast Rake Rake is controlled by headstay length. The headstay should be set at the class legal maximum rake, 13.035m (42’ 9.125”). Hoist a crewmember up the mast and have them hold the butt of the tape measure at the center of the pin that secures the forestay to the mast. Measure to the to of the furler drum (measurement A), then measure from the top of the furler drum to the bottom of the furler drum (measurement B), then from the underside of the furler drum to the intersection of the stem and sheer line of the boat (measurement C). The overall headstay measurement is then the sum of A+B+C. Step Four: Centering the Spar Put a mark on the rail of the boat on one side even with the chainplates. Measure this distance from the headstay attachment on the bow. Put a corresponding mark on the other side, the same distance from the headstay. At this point the Upper Shrouds (Caps) should be hand tight and the Intermediates (D2s) and the Lowers (D1s) should be loose. Hoist the tape measure to the top on the centerline jib halyard. Measure to the marks on either side and adjust the Caps until they are equal. Step Five: Tensioning the Shrouds Tighten the D2s and D1s to hand tight. Add 8 full turns to the Caps. Then tighten the D2s 6 turns. This should be done incrementally (2-3 turns at a time per side) sighting the mast to be sure that the mast is in column. Add turns to one side and remove turns from the other to bring the mast in column. This added tension that you have applied has probably made the D1s slack, so double check to make sure that they are hand tight. Step Six: Check Shroud Tensions with Loos Gauge Put marks on the shrouds 2m (6’ 6 3/4”) up from the deck. Put the top post of the gauge on this mark when measuring tension. Be sure to have the backstay released when measuring tension with the Loos Gauge. For the base setting for 10-14 knots TWS the shrouds should read the following: All Purpose Sails Caps: 35D2s: 10D1s: 0 (10 cm play) Heavy Air SailsCaps: 55D2s: 25D1s:10 (hand tight) You should double check to be sure that the mast is still in column at the dock when the rig is at full tension. At the base setting, the mast should sit with virtually no pre-bend up to the hounds. You are now at the “base” setting and ready to go racing. From here follow the Quick Tuning Guide to optimize your J/105’s performance for various wind conditions. Advanced Tuning – Beyond the Numbers The North Sails J/105 Tuning Guide is very refined, and has been used to the letter to win many events. However, understanding the fundamental concepts of how tuning affects the rig and sails is important to be able to check that the settings are right for your boat, as well as customizing your own tuning numbers for your sailing style. Keeping good records is the key. Keep a Wet Notes pad on your boat and record your rig settings, wind speed, sea state, and your speed and pointing relative to other boats. This will help you to see what is working best for you and fine tune your own numbers. Changes to shroud tension affect the rig in two ways: 1) headstay tension & 2) mast bend. Tighter Cap shrouds generate more headstay tension by pulling back against the headstay. A good guide for Cap (upper) shroud tension is that the leeward Cap shroud should just go slack in all but the heaviest of wind conditions. Tighter D1 (lower) and D2 (intermediate) shrouds generate more headstay tension by reducing mast bend and compression. The important factor of the D1 anD2 adjustment is the relationship to the amount of backstay used in each wind condition, which affects mainsail shape. Tight D1s and D2s will make the mast too straight (main too full and draft forward) when no backstay is used, and conversely loose D1s and D2s will allow the mast to bend too much (main too flat or even inverted) when a lot of backstay is used. The final D1 and D2 rig tension will be dictated by mainsail shape. The light air performance of the J/105 can be dramatically improved with leeward mast sag in under 12 knots. This is side-to-side sag from the partners to the hounds. This can only be seen under sail and will not happen at the dock. The settings from the Quick Tuning Guide should generate this sag, but all masts are a little different, so you may need to adjust your intermediates and lowers to achieve it. Loosen the intermediates and lowers so that there is 2.5cm (1”) of leeward sag halfway to the hounds in under 9 knots and Zero in 9-12 knots. In general the intermediates will need to be eased twice as many turns as the lowers to achieve even sag. Part 3: Mainsail Trim The J/105 relies on much of it’s power from the mainsail with the class inventory. The mainsail is very easily adjusted because there are many shape controls including mainsheet, traveler, backstay, cunningham, vang and outhaul. Proper mainsail trim is achieved by balancing the speed and pointing with its twist, angle of attack and overall power. Proper communication with the helmsman for the feel of the boat and performance vs. the boats around you are the key to establishing the correct balance of those three elements. Mainsail Angle of Attack — The Traveler The traveler controls the boom angle to the centerline of the boat, which is described as angle of attack to the wind. Much like the sheet, a narrow angle of attack (traveler high) is used for pointing and powering up the boat and a wide angle of attack (low traveler) is used for acceleration and depowering the boat. Carry the traveler as high as possible without making the boat heel too much. In light to moderate conditions the boom should be on centerline or slightly above. In very light air, when the main is twisted, setting the boom actually above centerline will put the lower third of the main parallel to the centerline of the boat. A good gauge for this is to look where the bottom batten is pointing. The bottom batten should point at the backstay in very light air. If it is pointing to windward of the backstay, the traveler is too high. As the breeze builds, the traveler should be played aggressively to control heel and keep the boat on its feet. If the boat heels too much, the boat will get too much helm and the helmsman will have to use much rudder angle to keep the boat going straight. The optimum rudder angle to create the most lift is around 4 degrees. There are times when more angle than that is unavoidable, but 5 degrees of rudder angle should be the most that you try to use. Rudder angle can be monitored by putting a tape mark on the top of the wheel when it is perfectly straight. The main trimmer can notice when the helmsman is using too much helm (or not enough) and adjust the traveler appropriately. Mainsheet vs. Traveler for Various Sea States One of the more difficult things to determine is how to depower the main in moderate to heavy conditions. As we have learned, you can depower the main by either twisting the main by easing the sheet or letting the traveler down. The technique used should be determined by sea state, which will affect how the helmsman has to steer the boat. In flat water, the helmsman should be able to use very subtle steering changes. Hours of on-the-water testing has shown us that depowering by lowering the traveler and keeping a tight, untwisted leech produces the best VMG. You can point reasonably high in flat water without slowing down and the tight leech will help with pointing. We have found that twisting the main in flat water in moderate air only makes you lose height. With this style the traveler is played to maintain the proper angle of heel.However in waves and chop, the opposite has proven to be faster. In waves and chop the helmsman has to be more aggressive with the helm. With the wider range of steering keeping the traveler higher (with the car near centerline) with a more twisted main allows the helmsman to steer through wider angles and accelerate as needed in the waves. With this style the mainsheet fine tune is played to maintain the correct trim and angle of heel as the helmsman steers through the waves. Overall Power – The Backstay The backstay is the most important sail control for setting the overall power of the sail plan. The backstay is the universal control to modify the shape of the main primarily, but also the jib. The North Class Inventory has been carefully designed so that backstay adjustment changes the shape of the main and jib in unison. As backstay is applied the mast bends, flattening the main. It also pulls aft against the headstay, reducing headstay sag, which flattens the jib. By flattening the sails the boat’s power is reduced as the boat becomes overpowered and heels too much. Flatter sails can be trimmed harder than full sails so when it is windy it is better to set the sails up flatter and sail with less twist. This will allow you to point higher. As stated in the tuning section of this guide, having the rig set up properly for the wind conditions will allow you to get the most benefit of adjusting the main and jib together with the backstay, but itis also the control that allows you to set up the sails as best you can when the wind changes and you are no longer tuned correctly. With a loose rig the main will flatten out faster than the jib. This is because the loose D1s and D2s will allow the mast to bend, which will flatten the main. However, since the mast is bending, the main will get to a point where it over bends before you can bottom out the backstay. By not being able to bottom out the backstay, the jib will still be a bit fuller than is ideal at this point since 1) you can’t pull on the full range of backstay and 2) the mast will compress more so the backstay tension will not transfer as well to the headstay. Conversely, with a tight rig, the main will stay fuller when the backstay is eased, while the overall rig tension will keep the headstay tighter and thus keep the jib a bit flatter. It is important to understand this relationship between how the backstay and rig tuning affects sail shape when you may not be tuned correctly. If your rig is too loose, use more backstay to set the main up flatter, knowing that your jib will be fuller than ideal. If your rig is too tight, use less backstay to set the main up fuller, knowing that your jib will be flatter than ideal. In general, it is better to be set up with a flat main and a full jib so it is better to err on the loose side of the rig tuning matrix if you expect the wind to change. It’s much easier to depower the J/105 than it is to power it up so always tune for the lulls! As the mast bends it has an immediate effect on the luff and leech tension, so other controls must be adjusted in conjunction with the backstay. When you pull the backstay on, the mainsail will twist more so more sheet will have to pulled on to reset the twist. More backstay will also loosen the luff, so more cunningham will be needed. Don’t forget to ease the sheet and the cunningham after you ease the backstay. Other Mainsail Controls Cunninghamhe cunningham controls the luff tension of the mainsail. Luff tension controls the draft position of the mainsail. As backstay tension is applied, the mast compresses and the main appears to fall down a little and the draft will move aft. Pull on the cunningham to move the draft forward to the desired position. As well as moving the draft, luff tension will also make the main somewhat flatter. In light air, you should see slight wrinkles coming from the sail slides. In moderate air the luff should be smooth. In heavy air, the luff should be tensioned past being smooth to set the draft position and flatten the sail. VangWith the non-overlapping jib, in order for the mainsail to generate enough power in light air, a certain amount of depth has been designed into the lower portion. In over 12 knots begin to pull on the vang to induce low mast bend to flatten the lower third of the main. When it is really windy pull on the vang quite hard to help bend the mast. be sure to ease the vang at the weather mark! Before you ease the main, ease the vang to allow the main to twist as you bear off. If the vang stays on too hard, you may not be able to bear away, or worse you could break the boom. OuthaulThe outhaul also controls the sail shape in the lower third of the mainsail. Easing the outhall makes the lower third of the mainsail fuller and tightening flattens the lower third. In light air the outhaul should be slightly eased and pull it progressively harder as the wind increases, to the point where you should pull it as hard as you can in over 15 knots. Part 4: Jib Trim The J/105 Class Jib has a very tough job. It has to be fast in all wind conditions, where other 35’ offshore one-designs allow three headsails! The single jib inventory presents a tough challenge for sail designers to create a sail that is versatile enough to cover the entire wind range, while being constructed so that it can be light enough to perform well in light air, yet being strong enough to handle heavy air. The 3DL jib is the ultimate solution to handle this daunting task. The latest design has been refined to be responsive to the few controls that can change the shape. The 3DL process is the only way to create a sail that is minimum weight, yet is strong enough for heavy air. While the North 3DL jib is refined to a level that makes it very easy to enhance the light shape in light air and a heavy shape in heavy air, it is important for the trimmer to be able to manipulate the sail appropriately. The primary controls that we have to affect the sail shape are the halyard, sheet, jib lead placement and headstay tension. Jib Halyard The halyard is the most important sail control for shaping the jib and it has a much greater affect on sail shape than the cunningham on the main. However, just like the cunningham on the mainsail, the halyard controls the entry angle, draft position, and overall depth in the sail. A tighter halyard will produce a more draft forward, rounded entry shape, with less overall depth. A loose halyard will produce a more draft aft, finer entry shape with more overall depth. As a general rule, the halyard should be tensioned to just barely remove the wrinkles in the luff. In lighter air wrinkles can just be visible, in moderate air the luff should be smooth, and in heavy air the halyard should be pulled 2.54-7.62cm (1-3”) past removing the wrinkles. In flat water, a looser halyard can improve pointing with a finer entry angle. In waves and chop, a tighter halyard will produce a more rounded entry and more open leech, which will have a wider steering groove and be better for acceleration. If you try the loose halyard and your helmsman seems to be struggling to find the groove, try a slightly tighter halyard. As sails age, the entry tends to get finer and the draft starts to move aft. An older sail will require more halyard tension to achieve the same shape as a brand new sail with a looser halyard. Jib Sheet The sheet is the most important control for adjusting the jib once the draft is set. The general rule is to trim the jib as hard as possible without slowing the boat down too much. The jib needs to be played in conjunction with the main and the helmsman’s steering. The sheet tension will change with each change in the wind speed. When a puff hits, the leech will become more open. Be careful not to trim the jib too soon. Allow the leech to stay open to take advantage of the puff to accelerate the boat and them trim in once you have accelerated to increase pointing. The Class mainsails are fitted with a spreader window so that you can see the jib leech on the lower spreader. Put tape marks on the spreader at 7.62cm (3”), 15.24cm (6”) and 22.860cm (9”) in from the spreader tip. In general you should trim the jib so that it is at the spreader tip in very light air, 7.62cm (3”) inside the tip in light air, 15.24cm (6”) to 22.860cm (9”) inside the tip in moderate air, then back out to 7.62cm (3”) in heavy air. These guidelines are subject to change based on sea state. The jib can be sheeted harder in flat water than in waves and chop. Be careful to only make small sheet adjustments. Due to the high aspect nature of the jib, small changes make abig difference. Jib Lead The jib lead should be used to control the top and bottom shape of the jib. The middle of the jib is not as affected by lead position as much as it is with sheet. Once the sail is trimmed to the appropriate spot on the lower spreader, adjust the lead to make the top and bottom look right. Moving the lead forward will make the upper leech more closed and the foot rounder. Moving the lead aft will make the upper leech more open and the foot flatter. The median jib lead position is slightly aft of the middle of the jib track, which is about 9” aft of the chainplate. This position is also just forward of the window on the side of the cabin house. Headstay Tension Headstay tension has the most dramatic affect on the overall camber of the jib. Headstay tension affects headstay sag. This is a difficult thing to visualize, but it works much the same as mast bend affects mainsail shape. As the headstay sags, it pushes the luff towards the leech, which increases camber. Conversely as the headstay gets tight, it pulls the luff away from the leech, decreasing camber. Clearly this is very important, but has been listed last here because it is very dependent upon rig tuning. Headstay tension is achieved by a combination of a tighter rig and a tight backstay. As we have learned in the rig tuning and main trim sections, rig tuning and backstay tension has a great affect on mainsail camber as well. The Class main and jib designs and the tuning guide shroud tensions have been carefully developed to have the backstay control main and jib camber in unison. If you are tuned properly, when the main sets up correctly, the headstay tension will be correct as well. Your headstay tension should be almost self-tending. During a race, the only way to adjust your headstay tension is with the backstay. Because of this it is important to know how you are tuned and whether you are actually sailing in the right wind speed for your tuning. The backstay will be the key to get the most of the set up that you have when you are not tuned perfectly. Simply, if there is less wind than you are tuned for, use less backstay tension to power up the sails as best you can. If there is more wind than you are tuned for, use more backstay tension. A good technique is to tape a batten with marks every 2.54cm (1”) on it to the backstay cylinder. This will help you to be able to record your settings and duplicate them later. Part 5: Crew Weight Placement With the new “float line” rule, this discussion has become much easier now that we know that all boats should float the same. The goals of weight placement are to 1) control helm and 2) reduce wetted surface in light air. Light Air In light air the crew should be well forward and to leeward both upwind and down. Two crewmembers should be forward of the shrouds to leeward. Remaining crew should be up near the shrouds. There should only be one person in the cockpit other than the helmsman. In really light air the main is not trimmed that often and the helmsman can make small adjustments. Being to leeward helps heel the boat increasing helm giving a better feel and allows for the best pointing and rudder lift. Being forward allows the bow to dig in which also helps pointing as well as reduces wetted surface by getting the transom out of the water. Moderate Air In moderate air the crew can begin to slide back as they begin to move to weather. Once anyone goes to weather they should be stacked just behind the shrouds. At this point if you have a dedicated main trimmer, he can slide back to his station upwind. Downwind as soon as there is constant adequate pressure on the sheet and you begin to try to sail low the crew should move to weather to help rotate the spinnaker to windward out from behind the main. This happens at about 10 knots. There is plenty more coming on downwind sailing in Part 6, starting on page 21. Heavy Air In heavy air the crew should continue to move aft, especially in waves. If you notice that your helmsman has to steer a lot to keep the boat going straight (dialing for dollars), move aft and as the bow lifts the boat will track straighter. Since crew weight is limited the guys who are on the rail need to hike hard. Remember, sailing is a sport and it’s a boat not a couch! Part 6: Downwind Sailing Sailing the J/105 downwind can be one of the more difficult things to do well. Paying small attention to the minor details can make a huge difference. The key to fast sailing downwind is good communication between the trimmer and the helmsman. The trimmer should constantly be telling the helmsman how much pressure he has in the sheet. This will allow the helmsman to know if he can bear off a little more, but more importantly when he needs to head up a little bit to build pressure. The J/105 has an asymmetric spinnaker set on a centerline sprit. The goal in downwind sailing is to maximize downwind VMG. This is achieved by sailing a wind angle tight enough to keep speed, but sailing lower towards the mark whenever possible. The North Sails asymmetric has been designed as a running spinnaker for optimum downwind performance at the apparent wind angles that produce the best VMG for the J/105. The sail has been designed to rotate out to windward to project the maximum sail area out from behind the mainsail. Always hoist the sail all the way to the top. Due to the luff length restriction in the rules, the tack of the sail is never set all the way down to the pole. Raising the tack helps the sail to rotate to windward. Light Air Sailing (0-9 knots TWS) In light air, you must sail tighter angles for best VMG. The tack is set 0.3m-0.6m (1-2’) off the sprit. The crew should be forward and to leeward. Keep the crew weight as low as possible. Steer down in the puffs until the pressure sheet starts to get light and then head up slightly. Communication between the trimmer and the helmsman is key. Try to find the lowest angle you can sail before the speed drops. Don’t forget about the main! Proper mainsail trim is essential to good speed. The vang should be set so that the top batten is open by 5 degrees. A good trick to help acceleration out of the jibes is for the main trimmer to hold the sail in a bit after coming out of the jibe. When the asymmetric is jibed, it needs to be overtrimmed to make it “pop” through. When the spinnaker is overtrimmed, it blows air back into the mainsail relieving pressure from it. By keeping the main in, it will keep the main pressurized as well as opening the slot between it and the spinnaker to get the air flowing over it faster. The main trimmer can easily feel if the main is pressurized by the pull on the sheet. Ease the main out slowly as the pressure on the sheet builds as the spinnaker is eased. Moderate Air Sailing (9-12 knots TWS) In moderate air, there is a wide range where you can sail. Lower is best as long as you can maintain your speed. The tack line is eased 0.6-0.9 (2-3’) off the sprit. The same principles apply to steering as in light air. Once the boat feels well pressured, the crew should move to the windward side to help rotate the spinnaker. In this range the crew should be very active moving to weather when you head down in the puffs and back to leeward when you head up in the lulls. Heavy Air Sailing (12+ knots TWS) In over 12 knots, the boat is well pressured up going downwind. At this point you want to sail as low as possible most of the time. There will almost always be good pressure on the sheet but when you sail too low, the sail will become blanketed behind the main and collapse. The sheet is well eased to get as much of the sail out from behind the main as possible. The crew should be to windward at all times. Heel the boat to windward by as much as 10 degrees. The vang should be set so the top batten is parallel to the boom. DOWNWIND NOTESGood coordination between the trimmer and helmsman will result in very subtle changes in the sheet. A properly coordinated team will only adjust the sheet by a couple of feet. If you find yourself constantly trimming and easing more than 3 feet of sheet than your coordination should be improved. Be careful not to try to sail too low and collapse the spinnaker. A collapse will result in around a three-boat length loss! Rev 0218 READ MORE

Below are Vince Brun’s suggestions for boat set-up and pre-race routine, based on his experience sailing the J/88 North American Championship. You can also download PDFs of the following: US Tuning Guide US Quick Tuning Guide EU Tuning Guide EU Quick Tuning Guide BOAT PREPARATION Bottom Needless to say the bottom of the boat being clean and properly maintained is a key part of any fast boat or program. Going fast starts there and I can assure you that not one boat ever won a big event with a poorly maintained bottom. Don’t matter how well the crew perform, the rig is set, the sails trimmed, or the helmsman skills, a clean and smooth bottom, will have a huge impact on the overall boat performance. For this reason, I always make sure that my boat bottom is as good as I can possibly get it, this will give me confidence which helps me focus exclusively on the mast and sail setup. SAILS, RIG SETUP & PERFORMANCE Rig Setup I found that the current North Sails J/88 tuning guide was extremely accurate on the gauge numbers. Light Medium versus Heavy Jib At the regatta Velocity performed better with the Light/Medium jib up to 18 knots TWS, and this was made clear when we had the heavy jib in winds between 14 to 18 knots. The J/88 likes to be slightly overpowered and the small jib didn’t help in that range. This was noticed not only in the lack of acceleration after a wave, but also in the poor pointing ability. I would tend to use the Light Medium, even if the breeze is hitting 19 knots in the puffs, when the wind drops, the J-88 gets underpowered quickly when using the heavier jib. Backstay The backstay is a key control on the J/88 in all conditions, not only helping with the flattening of the mainsail but also critical on controlling the forestay tension, and therefore forestay sag. Find a good way to calibrate your “fast settings” with good backstay marks, so that they can be duplicated again, and again. Inhaulers and Jib Lead Position For anyone trimming the jib, the inhauler and jib lead position are key controls in achieving a well set jib. If these controls are set in the wrong position, the trimmer won’t be able to have the jib properly trimmed. During a race you don’t normally have the luxury to stay on the leeward side to get the sail set up just right, so having these settings established well before the race is extremely important. In my opinion, the key to success on any boat, is the confidence to be able to repeat “fast settings” that were learned in previous races or training and only work on fine tune changes from there. These numbers should be constantly added into your boat’s tuning matrix, so that these adjustments can be made automatically, which will help free everyone’s minds to better focus on what is happening on the race course and strategy. Running rigging with proper length and good marks As emphasized above, I’m a firm believer that good marks on the control lines, are a tremendous help to crews allowing them to perform their tasks faster and with more precision. Example: If the spinnaker halyard is marked when the sail is fully up, the mast person will know precisely when that job is done and be able to move to his next task quicker, and without hesitation. Mainsheet I would suggest having the mainsheet fine tune separated from the mainsheet gross, to avoid the lines tangling at the leeward rounding or during pre-start maneuvers. Spinnaker sheet turning block position It might be a good idea to have the turning block for the spinnaker sheet moved forward, so that the spinnaker and jib sheets don’t cross. This allows the spinnaker sheet to stay ahead of the jib winch and in line with the spinnaker top deck winch. Folding Propeller As we learned on the first race on Sunday, it’s extremely important to have the propeller properly closed before the start to avoid the extra drag. The boat should be traveling at full speed before turning the engine off and putting it in reverse, this will ensure that the prop is properly set. PRE-RACE ROUTINE Pre-Race Warmup I have seen many different approaches to this, but ultimately everyone has the same items crossed, before the start. Below is the pre-race routine I try to execute before every race day. It’s very simple: Get to the starting area and start sailing on starboard (hopefully against another boat) for a good period of time to record the wind oscillation range, and have the lifts and headers numbers well defined. During this time, I also fine tune my controls so that I’m comfortable with the boat speed (this being the reason for another boat being around). If there are speed issues, I make changes and continue testing. After this is done, I hoist the spinnaker to make sure all the lines are led correctly and practice a few jibes to get the crew polished and ready for the day. At the starting area, I normally check in and inspect the starting line, by going head to wind near the committee boat. Checking the wind direction and comparing it with the line setup. Now with all the data needed, the crew can discuss and prepare the starting and first leg strategy. Starting around other boats Obviously it’s hard to predict what others will do when approaching the starting line with a minute (or less) to the start. Possibly more important than how close you are to the line, is what “upwind lane” you will have 30 to 60 seconds after the start. A boat close to leeward with their bow slightly forward, will be a serious issue immediately after the gun. There are a couple of ways to escape this situation but the key is to identify the problem earlier rather than later, particularly when there are boats closer to windward. If someone is close to leeward with a minute or more to go, you have two possible options: Two tacks – which involve doing two quick tacks and opening the gap to the leeward boat and closing on the windward boat. This normally requires a nice gap to windward and great crew work to make this maneuver possible. This technique will require a well trained crew that understands the boat and can execute the tacks with relatively minimum loss of speed. The other more common option is to “push” the leeward boat by bearing off and taking their stern, establishing a hook to leeward. In most cases this attempt will force the leeward boat to do the same, but if they are late responding, which is not uncommon, you will be in a controlling position since you will have more speed and be able to hook. If you are unable to execute the hook, because the leeward boat has mimicked your move, you will be forced to go with plan A and do a double tack to protect your hole and future lane. Again, identifying the situation early will give you more options to avoid a bad starting position. READ MORE

Base Settings Rake – Swing Arc – Use jib halyard pulled down to top of black band on mast – swing fwd to mark headstay. Rake – Distance from mark on headstay to deck at stem: 2230 mm Cap Shroud Tension: #60 on RT-10 Loos Gauge D1 Tension: #40 on RT-10 Loos Gauge D2 Tension: #25 on RT-10 Loos Gauge J Dimension: Measured from stem to Fwd face of mast: 4050mm Mast Base: Measured from Fwd face of mast to bulkhead: 460 mm Pre-Bend: without mainsail hoisted: 20mm Sail Models Jibs 0-14 TWS: LM-2 Light-Medium Jib 12-25 TWS: MH-2 Medium-Heavy Jib Spinnakers 0-20 TWS: A2-4 AP Spinnaker 18-25 TWS: 4A Heavy Spinnaker Quick Adjustments Turns from Base Settings TRUE WIND SPEED SAIL SELECTION CAP SHROUDS D1s D2s Very Light (0-8 TWS) LM-2 -5 turns -2 turns -2 turns Light (9-12 TWS) LM-2 -2 turns -1 turn -1 turn BASE – Medium (12-16 TWS) LM-2 or MH-2 Loos 60 Loos 40 Loos 25 Heavy (17+ TWS) MH-2 +5 turns +2 turns +1.5 turns READ MORE