Hi, I was wondering if anyone can help me.

When I am on port tack I always feel overpowered and out of control. I also have a great deal of pressure on by back hand, but if I release this, the sail almost pivots forward and goes to throw me over the front. I often stall the fin and find it hard to correct it.

I have the starboard side set up identical (ie harness lines in same position/length) and have no real problems!!

This happens on both my 4.7 and 5.8 sails. I have a 85Ltr Jp freestyle-wave '07 and previously a slalom board.

Thanks in advance
Hayden

There must be something out of balance on each tack. Are your strap positions the same each side, is your harness hook centred - or movable equally each side of centre. Is the fin true (not twisted). Each of these may make a difference to stance etc which could affect your rig balance. The only other thing I can think of is you have one arm much more developed than the other and don't notice it on that tack.

The markings on your boom are probably in different places.

If you can't release both hands without the sail doing funny things then your harness lines are in the wrong place.*
It doesn't matter if the markings say they're in the same spot. It's all about feel -- if the sail is really backhanded then move your lines back!

One other thing is that you're possibly going too downwind on one tack and trying to pinch back too high upwind on the other tack, this happens to me in unfamiliar places when I'm not too sure of the wind angle.


* Unless you're speedsailing in which case you move them back to take pressure off the fin. Thanks for the tip Elmo!

For some reason I didn't think that the dots on the boom could be wrong, you know what thet say about assumptions..Next time I go out i will move the port side harness lines back a little, since the rig will just crash if I let go on port.

As for tracking on different angles on each tack.. you also could also be right. I have only sailed at Safety Bay twise. I'll have to do some experimenting next time.

Fin is straight, foot straps can only go in one place. Thanks guys.

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nebbian said...




One other thing is that you're possibly going too downwind on one tack and trying to pinch back too high upwind on the other tack, this happens to me in unfamiliar places when I'm not too sure of the wind angle.

This is almost certainly the problem.
For some reason people tend to sail out and back on the same track on days when the wind can be about 45 degrees different. e.g. SSW round to West.
If the wind is 45 degrees off the usual, say SW, then the track should also be 45 degrees different. Otherwise you end up with exactly the problem you describe.
The odd thing is, on most days the whole crew belts back and forwards on the same track regardless of wind direction.
So I do too.

If this is the case then the problem solves itself on some days when the wind is exactly right for the usual track out and back.
Otherwise, you can break with tradition and sail a different track to everyone else and be comfortable.

This is probably not your problem, but I had a similar experience last week.
In my case one boom arm adjuster pin slipped out, so on one tack I had a close to normally rigged sail but on the other there was no almost no outhaul tension. Made sailing very strange, and caused the centre of effort to move back.

agree with everyone here.

i get the same also.

i just set the lines where they need to be on each tack. so they are never aligned.