I was out at Botany yesterday and very nice it was too. A slightly strange thing happened to me and I wonder if any of you can help me out.
I was out on a 144 futura with a 48cm fin, 7.2m sail (I am 84Kg) , a nice big gust came along and I got going really fast - probably the fastest I have ever been on that board. I was a bit off the wind but not on a reach. There was a slight chop.
I thought I'd kind of locked everything down but the board rose totally out of the water, quite slowly and steadily so that I was not touching the water at all. I ended up having a big stack and going thru the sail.
I suspect that I was overfinned for the speed or doing something else wrong, can anybody help? If it happens again, how best to control it? My straps are on the middle setting (there are three rows) and on the holes to the rear of the board - do I need to move them outboard for that sort of speed? Or just learn to control the air?
A couple of things good be done to help.
Firstly the mast step might need to be put slightly further forward to keep nose down.
Secondly try not so much "canter"... meaning leaning the mast too far to windward, try standing up more vertical... this is a subtle difference but keeps board down rather than generating too much lift upwards (like a kite)
.
Thirdly at Botany, if you are near the runway don't underestimate the effect from the planes as the wind swirls and bounces vertically as well as horizontally over a long distance.
Lastly... your foot straps may be placed too far back. One hole makes a difference.
All these factors could be the issue or a combination of them.
Hope this helps
Fez
Boards big and fins big, it doesn't take much wind under a board to make it fly. Try moving your mast base forward to force to nose down or eat some hamburgers and put on some weight to hold the board on the water. The stock fins that come with boards are mostly on the large side, Try something a bit smaller and you'll see a difference straight away. I run a 42cm fin in my 120 with a 7.2 and it seems like a nice combo, I've eaten more hamburgers then you though. Getting the board to ride the fin is a great feeling but you need great control otherwise it usually ends in a glorious stack, overtime you'll learn to control the board but until then start with a smaller fin.
Cheers.
Yes move the mast track forward this will not effect top speed as once I was at Burrum Heads sailing in 30kts besides the sand bank in dead flat water when a big gust hit me I was using a CA50, 5.6 Loft Blade & a 26cm Venom I'm a big bloke & I got lifted out of the water by about 2mts & crashed in front of a few others standing on the bank they all said it looked good lucky I wasnt hurt to bad anyway I moved the track forward it made a real differance as next run I cracked 40kts
Flying off the fin is that smooth gliding feeling we are all aiming for. Futuras do it quite readily.
I guess what you want to aim for is the board out of the water without the nose being too high, but most of the fin in, so you still have some grip.
Mast track forward will help keep the nose down, a smaller fin or changing to a weedy will give you less lift.
Cheers for the advice fellas. I'll try the mast track forward and the smaller fin ( its a 42cm) and see how I go. Wouldn't using the smaller fin slow me down a bit and also prevent me from flying the fin?
Glynn, that sounds like a massive stack!
Fez, I have been trying to dig deeper and put more weight on the boom last two sessions out during a gust, canting riiiiiiiight over - as opposed to wimping out i.e. sheeting out and coming a bit more upright and its certainly resulted in going faster, sounds like I have been going a bit over the top from what you say. I can see how the kite analogy works.
I'll try the straps in the most outboard position too. Gotta get this sorted - can't be going to the sail repairers after every weekend! I might get a helmet too...that was my fastest stack yet!
Cheers again
When a gust hits or you see/feel a gust coming,slide your body weight forward to the nose of the board,this will reduce the lift of the board and make you sail faster while in control.
In the lulls you do the opposite,you pull back in harness to the back of the board to increase board lift.This is mostly what i concentrate on while sailing.
A harness with a hook that slides laterally can increase this movement of body weight back/forward greatly.
Also a softer G10 raked back fin can addd to control in the gusts.
And you gotta keep enough power on to keep the nose pinned down.
You have to pick your path over the water to try to keep the top of the fin in the water too. There is a low pressure side on the fin that can suck air down the side of the fin and cause it to spin out, so you want to seal that off by having the board always touching the water at the top of the fin. If it ever gets out of the water, I bear off a bit for the landing. You probably knew all that already.
I had the mast foot further back than usual experimenting thinking I'd be faster and had too big a board for the wind.. Won't do that again.
but I'm trying!
Pity the weight doesn't go on evenly..
I was sailing botany yesterday 8m, 73cm slalom board with 42cm fin.
The wind was around 12 to 18 knots with some stronger gusts. In the gusts i did need to concentrate to keep the board trimmed.
A smaller fin will help to keep the board under control. But you also need to dial your stance in for max mast foot pressure. In addition to the other suggestions you could try lengthening your harness lines a little so you can shift your weight forward and lower.
It's easy to get caught off balance in a gust and move your weight back and have the board fly off, happens to most of us now and again.
There is a section of water between the pool and the runway where the wind can do weird things when the gusts come from the NNE.
A few of us have been lifted and slammed in this area when sailing fast on a beam reach towards the pool.
splishy, you can also drop the boom height, it has a similar effect to moving the mast base forward (giving more control) but it can be an easier mod to make when floating.
Also helpful to think about hanging from the boom and trying to take the weight off your feet. Unfortunately it is human nature to de-power and weight the feet which can result in a big unexpected air
