Well said Mark.
I've been in one design fleets that try to pass all the exact rig settings back and forth between the boats, and that's good until you want to finish above mid-pack, after that it's unscripted. Mast rake is indeed used to balance the helm but curiously I've found prevalent recommendations for a heavy amount of rake in the C22 racing fleet. On the whole it was observed the boats made better progress to windward in heavy air with heavy rake. What was really happening was when hit with a puff (in heavy air) the boat not the skipper reacted by feathering up (the start of a round-up if you will) due to the heavy weather helm. To understand why that would be advantageous you have to subscribe to the theory that racing to windward is like climbing a ladder, so any motion (i.e. like feathering in a puff) that moves the boat to the next rung is a huge instantaneous gain. The fleet winners compete with very neutral helms, since weather helm creates drag throughout the leg, and manually feather up in the puffs thereby making both gains. Wining is often just stringing a succession of small gains together. My last race boat would actually reverse to negative weather helm if you over tightened the backstay. However, it would do a good imitation of a complete knock down in that condition without rounding up. Cruisers (those who want to sail comfortably without focusing like a championship racer) therefore should leave in sufficient weather helm to avoid the uncomfortable down stay maneuver. Phil Agur s/v Wing Tip Secretary/Treasurer Call Sign WCW3485 IC27/270A MMSI 366901790 <http://www.catalina27.org/> www.catalina27.org Vessel Doc# 1039809 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Sailor Chef Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 10:58 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: catalina27-talk: how much rack to you set in your mast? Tom, Mast rake is used to "balance" the helm and is largely a boat by boat thing. Some of the factors determining the amount of rake needed (or not needed) are the size and type of sails, weight distribution in the boat, primary wind conditions in your area and your sailing style. Generally, if you have a lot of weather helm, you need less rake (more straight), If you have no (or lee) helm, you need more rake (leaning back). Hope this helps Mark, "Gratis" (6115) and others Want to keep your WHOLE PAYCHECK? PLEASE VISIT http://www.fairtax.org ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 11:44 AM Subject: catalina27-talk: how much rack to you set in your mast? I was reading an article on another board, and it caused me to wonder ... how much rack do those of you who have tall rigs set up in your mast with the backstay tensioner off? Mine has about four inches of aft rack, as determined by where the main halyard crosses the boom. Does that seem about right? Tom Monroe 6219 Different Drummer _____ Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.9.14/885 - Release Date: 7/3/2007 10:02 AM
