Hi,
Just checked windguru for next week, wind speed of 14 knots but gusting at 26 knots. Do I rig for 14 knots, 26 or somewhere in between?
Thanks

Depends on what's actually happening on the day. A lot of the time (in Perth at least) in frontal conditions it'll switch on and off, and there is no sailable wind when it's switched off, despite the forecast. In that case you're better off rigging for the peaks, because that's when you can actually sail.

if it is actually 14knots with gusts to 26, then I'd rig for the 14knots and live with the gusts. Either way you'd need to make the assessment at the beach on the day.

in these conditions use a bigger board

Depends what you want. if you just want the best 2s speed rig for the gusts.
Other than that depends on frequency of gusts and lulls.
using a big board will help with lulls and smaller sail will help with gusts.
This will give you max sailing time.

That sounds like every day at one of my spots, you just have to get used to being scared 45%of the time, sinking 45% of the time and perfectly powered up 10%

Depends entirely on you. There's forecast, actual wind speed the day of, and conditions on the spot itself. This is why my quiver calculator is based on wind range and not wind speed.

Personally I'm not ashamed I rig for gusts! I just like to be in control (probably why takes me so long to learn anything!) But if the gusts are short bursts then it's actually more physical because a lot of clinging involved!

Ok now I'm sure none of this helped at all !

I was told to rig a sail for the gusts and a board for the lulls. Not easy no matter what you do but this works for me.

Use a good sail and mast combo that maximises your wind range in the location you are sailing at. Get your downhaul set up properly while doing the initial rig. After you have started sailing, some tweaking can be done to your outhaul, boom height or mast step position if you are uncomfortable with blustery conditions or the wind is dropping off.

Both.

Choose your sail for the gusts, use a foil to glide thru the holes.

I pretty much always rig for the lulls, probably not the most efficient method but I prefer sailing to standing around waiting.

Definitely rig for lulls on a naughty day, much better to be stood up a bit than loose a lot on a lull.

Main factor for my rigging choices is a I absolutely hate chugging, so brute force and ignorance for me.

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elmo said..
I pretty much always rig for the lulls, probably not the most efficient method but I prefer sailing to standing around waiting.

Definitely rig for lulls on a naughty day, much better to be stood up a bit than loose a lot on a lull.

Main factor for my rigging choices is a I absolutely hate chugging, so brute force and ignorance for me.

Correct!!! Go big, go fast and crash with style

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kato said..

elmo said..
I pretty much always rig for the lulls, probably not the most efficient method but I prefer sailing to standing around waiting.

Definitely rig for lulls on a naughty day, much better to be stood up a bit than loose a lot on a lull.

Main factor for my rigging choices is a I absolutely hate chugging, so brute force and ignorance for me.

Correct!!! Go big, go fast and crash with style

I remember an old post of Tony W, for speeding, "rig what you can barely hang onto coming back"

On my local lake I always rig for the gusts and take a bigger board, because it's that gusty, when there's a lull you'd be struggling to get planning with an 8m while in the gusts your hanging onto a 6.4.

Conversely, on my local lake, the gusts may be a lot to handle, but the lulls are a lot bigger than the gusts, so it's more fun to be powered most of the time and overpowered some of the time rather than slogging most of the time and powered some of the time.

As a result, I'm the one always rigging a 9.5 sail when the average is 15-20 knots.

Rig for the base wind speed and downhaul for the gusts

The age old question.... Depends on the day. Where I live the lulls can be so low, I won't be able to fly with a bigger sail anyway, so rig for the gusts. If it's a day where the lulls aren't so bad, I'll rig bigger and ride out the gusts. And all that can change in 1/2 hour. There have been days when I've used all 3 of my sails (5.2,4.5,3.7). So many variables...

I rig for the lull (bigger sails) and use the sail to its max range by playing with downhaul and outhaul. And like what was said earlier, I'll use a slightly wider board to maximize planing through the lulls.
If the gap between the lulls and the gusts is big (like 15-35kn), I will rig so I'll be slightly overpowered in the gusts, knowing that I'll be pushing water in the lulls. ...Or I'll grab a beer and watch from shore everyone doing stop & go sailing!

If I can judge the wind well (sometimes a big IF), then I try to rig more for the lulls and what is the minimum I think I will need to get planing with pumping (on fin). I've been practicing my fin pumping and it adds a couple of knots on the lower end and I don't mind it as long as it's only a few. I have had very long pump runs where it's a lot and I just barely get going but that's on the very low end of wind (9.5 sail). I've adopted a more active style very recently and it took a lot more for me to get planing before that.

If only moderately overpowered I'll drop the boom a smidge or push the mast base a little forward (or both), usually boom first as it's easy to do without dropping the sail. If massively overpowered in the gusts I'll downsize rigs.

It's also maybe worth considering a different fin (if available) for managing different conditions. E.g. big single for bigger boards with deep lulls vs. smaller fin or thruster if there's too much lift.