I was looking for info about setting harness lines correctly because i don't seem to be balanced. searching the forum is a little frustrating because everyone is different and have their own opinions which is ok until someone else says they know best.

anyhow i found this tutorial for the beginner getting into the harness and setting lines. this may also help those who have been in it for a while too.

watertrader.co.uk/magazine/tutorials/windsurfing/technique.htm

You're welcome.

www.guycribb.com/userfiles/documents/The%20Truth%20About%20Harness%20Lines.pdf

I just looked at that article yesterday - very informative!
It tells me that my trusty 26" harness lines are likely 4-6" too short, so the first thing on my shopping list is longer lines.

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SeanAUS120 said..

You're welcome.

www.guycribb.com/userfiles/documents/The%20Truth%20About%20Harness%20Lines.pdf

Sean thanks mate, but my computer did not like the link "computa says no"

I'll try to search it unless you have another way of displaying the article
cheers

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vpar said..

SeanAUS120 said..

You're welcome.

www.guycribb.com/userfiles/documents/The%20Truth%20About%20Harness%20Lines.pdf

Sean thanks mate, but my computer did not like the link "computa says no"

I'll try to search it unless you have another way of displaying the article
cheers

you probably need to go to guycribb.com and register before the page will display.

Manually replace each %20 with a space in your browser's address thingy:
www.guycribb.com/userfiles/documents/The%20Truth%20About%20Harness%20Lines.pdf


After rigging I just place them over the part of the sail with the most draft, approximately. Where most of the power is going to be. Then I fine tune over a couple of runs. I attach them to the boom slightly loose so I can fine tune before planing - a quick wiggle.

About a hand's width apart or less is nice.

If you can sail along easy-peasy with one hand or the other that's the sweet spot. Sometimes I'll move them back ever so slightly as a personal preference.

Also after a few runs if you get your front arm too tired, move them forward 1cm, if you find it hard to sheet in do the opposite. The aim is to feel balanced and not fighting your rig, but that also needs that you tune the sail and board...

Stand on the grass or beach (sans board) and faff around with line position until it's pretty close, but you'll never know until you get out on the water and experience being overpowered.

I struggled too mate until I bought a 5.4 North sail which pretty much put me spot on with all my rigs thanks to the indication system on their sails... Work like a treat

Vpar: What's your board size, sail size, and weight ?. What wind speed/conditions are you using this kit ?

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jn1 said..

Vpar: What's your board size, sail size, and weight ?. What wind speed/conditions are you using this kit ?

JN1 - I'm 73kg, sailing a Starboard kombat 87l sail sizes 4.4, 5.0 (favorite) and just found a 6.1 in the shed my brother dropped around. i am sailing in the ocean small chop and the river. Current wind at 18-22kn

The two best harness line tips I got from shawna crops and Matt Pritchard:

1. Use long lines. With your elbow bent 90 deg, grip the boom and yr elbow should be able to slide through the harness lines. I'm 5 foot 10" and that equates to 31" lines.
2. Rig your sail out of the wind and lift it with one finger on the boom, this balance point is the centre of the harness lines.

It works. Try it

vpar, what type of sails are they ?

What I'm getting at: since you are starting out, if you are using flat/twitchy sails (ie: certain wave or freestyle sails), then these sails will be difficult to use if the winds aren't perfectly constant. I had this same problem when I was a beginner. People o here gave me lots of good advice about technique, but at the end of the day, it was my equipment and ability that was at fault.

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jn1 said..

vpar, what type of sails are they ?

What I'm getting at: since you are starting out, if you are using flat/twitchy sails (ie: certain wave or freestyle sails), then these sails will be difficult to use if the winds aren't perfectly constant. I had this same problem when I was a beginner. People o here gave me lots of good advice about technique, but at the end of the day, it was my equipment and ability that was at fault.

Actually i'm returning to sailing after a long break like 10 years. problem i had was my harness lines had moved and i was going about resetting them all wrong. what i did was look up tips on setting the lines. i finished up setting the rig in my back yard and playing with the balance. actually looking at where my hands are and resetting the length of the lines as one was a different length to the other which i hadn't noticed earlier and placing them in the proper position. i think i have them set right now. last thing i need is some proper wind so i can try them out and complete some fine tuning.

i started the forum topic so nubies could pick up on some tips as i found them useful.

you question of sail type! well all my gear is different and old. 4.4 wave, 5.0 wave/freeride and just found my old twin cam gaastra 6.1 freeride that my brother had squirreled away. i can sail them pretty well if my lines as set properly. i just forgot the best way to set them.

thank you for the

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Yuppy said..

...
2. Rig your sail out of the wind and lift it with one finger on the boom, this balance point is the centre of the harness lines.

Centre of gravity and centre of lift are very different things. That could be a long way out.

I use Guy cribb's sheet - forgotten whats its called..you could probably make something similar.I find it a great starting point and then fine tune on the water.
It's great if where you set off from is a bit sheltered as you can set things up and be pretty sure they are near the mark.I've found since I switched sail brands to Severnes ( overdrives + racesail) that the lines need to be further forward. maybe because the draft is so locked in..

Chinook harness lines are the fastest with more "pop" and easy gybing.

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sboardcrazy said..

I use Guy cribb's sheet - forgotten whats its called

The Cribb Sheet.

I had one and it was quite good with the piece of dotted elastic. However I lost it.

I've bodged up my own version of the Crib-sheet string thing.

A bit of elastic from the handy household sewing kit (needs to stretch longer than the boom) tie one end around a stick or a pen or a dildo and mark the elastic with a dot one third the way along its length at the opposite end from the stick. When sail is rigged up thread elastic through clew hole in sail and stretch to mast (stick holds other end in place at clew) and where the mark is is where you put the back harness line.... seems to work aok

This is going to sound strange but I've been using Guy's method for a year (using the elastic he gave me) and whilst it is pretty good sometimes it felt just right and other times it didn't. Then I spent 4 days with Guy in January 2014 and based on his advice every time I put the harness lines in the recommended place and it didn't feel right I came back in and adjusted the downhaul (usually applying more) and BINGO everything felt awesome. Harness lines work, sail feels lighter, twists off properly etc. I assume this means that having the sail rigged badly means you have to compensate with harness lines in the "wrong" position.

Someone who went to a Guy Cribb course said the way you check whether a sail is rigged correctly is to get two people. One stands on the tip of the sail at rest and the other stands on the base. This simulates the way the mast bends under load. If the luff fills out under load and the leach is nice and even, then the sail is rigged correctly. We checked this with my rig and it looked good. So no longer can I blame bad tools for not sailing that well.

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Bogosaurus said..

I just looked at that article yesterday - very informative!
It tells me that my trusty 26" harness lines are likely 4-6" too short, so the first thing on my shopping list is longer lines.

I've used 26" lines in the past, and have been trying 30 inch lines. It's a totall change in sailing position and I ended up with very sore shoulders . ( have never had sore shoulders like this from windsurfing before) . In fact I'm off the water at the moment with a shoulder strain!!

My point...... 30 " inch lines wont work for everyone

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Mobydisc said..

sboardcrazy said..

I use Guy cribb's sheet - forgotten whats its called

The Cribb Sheet.

I had one and it was quite good with the piece of dotted elastic. However I lost it.

The bungy thing is called "stretch marks" lol.

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Corkers said..

Bogosaurus said..

I just looked at that article yesterday - very informative!
It tells me that my trusty 26" harness lines are likely 4-6" too short, so the first thing on my shopping list is longer lines.

I've used 26" lines in the past, and have been trying 30 inch lines. It's a totall change in sailing position and I ended up with very sore shoulders . ( have never had sore shoulders like this from windsurfing before) . In fact I'm off the water at the moment with a shoulder strain!!

My point...... 30 " inch lines wont work for everyone

If you had done Guy's course you would know that in addition to the longer harness lines you need to change your stance to get the most out of them. Don't keep your body straight (which puts a lot of strain on the shoulders because your arms will be at full stretch) but push your bum out to tension the harness lines, and then angulate in at the hips so your body is upright, arms bent, elbows pointing down. Sail with your legs as straight as possible to get maximum force in the harness lines.

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Corkers said..

Bogosaurus said..

I just looked at that article yesterday - very informative!
It tells me that my trusty 26" harness lines are likely 4-6" too short, so the first thing on my shopping list is longer lines.

I've used 26" lines in the past, and have been trying 30 inch lines. It's a totall change in sailing position and I ended up with very sore shoulders . ( have never had sore shoulders like this from windsurfing before) . In fact I'm off the water at the moment with a shoulder strain!!

My point...... 30 " inch lines wont work for everyone

Well, I am 192cm, and 100kg, so after reading what Cribby had to say I think longer lines will help quite a bit. Perhaps I will start with 30" and fine tune from there.

Hope the shoulder gets better soon!

An easy thing to remember, "move the lines toward the pain"
To check line location and help commit to the harness I loosen the grip and pretend to "play the piano" with my fingers.
+1 on fitting the bent arm to the elbow between the boom and the lines, all bodies are not the same, it's pointless to run really long lines if you can't reach the boom while hooked in.