Charlie:
I was foredeck person racing, and we did a lot of racing. As the boats
got bigger we did dip-pole jibes.....they are quick, easy and most
importantly, safe. Changing from end to end gybes, we made the same
mistakes as you, but to do it right, practice, practice and
practice.....and we did.
Before the gybe and trip of the old guy, bring the pole back almost
perpendicular so the release is clean. Then as helsman, after the pole
is released, square off the spin in front of the boat until the new guy
is made.....one mistake is that the helsman over steers the boat before
the crew completes the jibe.
Have mast person raise inboard end of pole ready to trip pole (old
guy),......have your foredeck person in front of the forestay crouching
down looking back leaning forward on the forestay........he always holds
the new guy with the palm always pointed down to drop new guy in jaws
.....this way the thumb is always pointed back and can be used to
pressure the jaw(s|) to close......always hold new guy the same way and
you will never wrap jaws......have mast person assist with guiding the
pole down to the foredeck person and help the pit man to raise the pole.
The dip pole gybe is a choreography with many people doing all the right
things at the right time and when you get it right, you won't want to do
end for end gybes. The helmsman, pit man, trimmers, mast man and
foredeck person all have to pay attention and know what each is doing
and when.
Go out and practice.
Rob Abbott
AZURA
C&C 32 - 84
Halifax, N.S.
On 2016-12-04 10:20 PM, Charlie Nelson via CnC-List wrote:
We use a carbon fiber pole on Water Phantom, C&C 36 XL/kcb, for our
kite(s) and have 'oscillated' back and forth between doing dip-pole
jibes or end-for-end. The pole is a relatively light Forte carbon
fiber pole with snap-in fitting on both ends.
We always use lazy sheets and guys.
As the driver, I don't have strong feelings about which method we use
or should use.
However, especially in breezes above 8 knots, it looks to me like our
jibes are taking too much time when we end for end the pole. Of course
I share some of the blame if I can't keep the boat headed downwind
during the jibe but even when I seem to manage keeping her downwind,
the mast man struggles to get the pole into the fitting and
made--taking valuable time and giving a lot of downwind separation to
our competitors. Of course, it also puts him at risk for the pole
smashing him about the head and shoulders if the pressure builds on
the kite before he has it made.
I am convinced that my boat can sail to her rating upwind in breezes
above about 8 knots--less not so much!--but downwind we often waste
what seems like too much time on jibing. I say this with confidence
since when we raced non-spin with a whisker pole, until we learned how
to set the pole downwind, we would beat every boat to the windward
mark and have most of them pass us on the way downwind. Once we got
the mechanics straightened out, no one passed us downwind even if a
few gained on us.
OTOH, if we dip pole, the bow person often gets the new guy in the
pole in the incorrect position (with his back to the bow), so there is
certainly a need for more practice.
My question for the list is what method should we invest practice time
in so that jibing can be as routine as tacking. It seems that at 36 ft
Water Phantom and a fiber pole could go either way but I would prefer
to always use the same method so that we have a chance to get quick at it.
Charlie Nelson
Water Phantom
C&C 36 XL/kcb
cenel...@aol.com
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make a contribution to offset our costs, please go to:
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All Contributions are greatly appreciated!
