Krick COMTESSE, Building Instruction

Page: 52 / 97

Status September 2018
Page 20 ©
Krick Modelltechnik, Knittlingen, Germany
Some general basic terms of sailing,
drawing "12"
1. Weather side: The side facing the wind.
2. Lee side: The side facing away from the
wind.
3. Slacken sail: Pay out the sheets to allow the
sails to swing out.
4. Close haul sail: Pull in the sheets to haul the
sails in.
By opening or tightening the
sheets, the sails are brought
into the most favourable posi-
tion to the wind with the course
unchanged.
5. luffing: Alter the boat´s course using
the rudder to bring the boat
closer to the wind. This means
reducing the angle between
course and wind direction.
6.Bearing away: Alter the boat´s course using
the rudder to turn the boat
away from the wind, i.e. to
increase the angle between
the boat´s course and the wind
direction.
7. Going about: Manoeuvre for altering course,
Whereby the bow turns
through the wind.
8. Gybing: Manoeuvre for altering course,
Whereby the stern turns
through the wind.
9. Heaving to: Manoeuvre for bringing the
The boat to a halt. The bow of
The boat is turned into the
wind, so that the sails no
longer produce thrust
(shivering).
10. Directions:
a) Luffing. Sailing the boat at
the most acute angle
possible to the wind.
b) Sailing with wind abeam.
c) Sailing with free wind.
d) Sailing downwind.
11. Beat:
Straight run between two
changes in direction.
12. Tacking: Approach towards an upwind
target point in an area which
is not directly accessible, i.e.
to sail towards a target point
using several cross-wind
beats, eventually working
upwind.
The maiden run
For the first test runs seek out a fairly large,
calm stretch of water, and wait for a day with
constant wind, of a light to moderate strength.
It is best to start from the bank towards which
the wind is blowing.
Assemble the model completely.
Switch the radio control system on and set the
sails to a middle position. Place the boat in the
water and push it away from the bank. If you
closehaul the sails the boat will turn obliquely
into wind and sail away from you. The sails can
now be close-hauled as far as possible. De-
pending on the wind strength, the Comtesse
will heel (lean over); don t worry – it cannot
capsize. As the boat is steered closer and
closer to the wind direction, at a particular an-
gle the sails will start to shiver (flap about). The
boat is now facing into wind and will come to a
halt. Both sails should start shivering at the
same moment. If one sail shivers too early,
tighten the corresponding sheet slightly.
When you wish to return to the bank, turn the
boat and run the sails right up. The boat will
now sail directly downwind. In this direction all
sailing boats exhibit a lack of directional stabil-
ity, because of the asymmetrical effect of the
wind, and you will need to correct the course
with the rudder from time to time.
To avoid damaging of the boat, practise setting
off and heaving to under sail. Setting off pre-
sents no problem – you can simply give the
boat a push. To heave to you have to slow the
boat down, otherwise it will run into the bank at
full tilt, which might cause damage. A sailing
oat is braked by running the sail up fully and
turning the boat into the wind. The sails will
flutter and produce no more thrust.
Once you feel familiar with the boat, you will
naturally want to set yourself tasks, perhaps
steering towards particular points, or sailing
round turn markers. When two model skippers
meet, you will find that a friendly, competitive
regatta atmosphere soon builds up, which will
add considerably to the excitement.
Sail trimming
The sails are trimmed to optimise the boat´s
performance for particular conditions. By trim-
ming we mean attering the curvature (belly) of
the sails. In a strong wind the sails are trimmed
flat, while in lighter winds the sails are set with
a very pronounced belly.
The belly of the jib and mainsail is altered by
adjusting the screws 6.14 on the peak fittings.