Continued from Page 4:
When sailing off the wind, free the main sheet until the luff breaks and when on a
run, ease the boom to the shrouds. Set the vang so the upper leech is parallel to the boom. Don’t over tighten
the vang to the point that the boom breaks in heavy air. Remember to ease the vang at the windward mark if
you are vang-sheeting upwind.
Spinnaker Trim
: Downwind you gain or lose the most
distance. It is time to either attack the leaders or con-
solidate your advantage on the fleet. The max-size
Matrix Spinnaker is
a true runner, which
allows you to sail
lower than other
boats. Remember
that this sail is de-
signed to project its
maximum area, so
don’t pull the pole
too far aft. 80 de-
grees of apparent
wind proves to be
faster than the stan-
dard 90 degrees.
In over 8 knots, sail
the boat heeling to
windward as much
as 10 degrees to
help project the
spinnaker away from the mainsail and allow the boat
to sail deeper. Don’t do this if you have to steer too
much or if you start feeling pressure in the rudder.
Bring the tack (the corner of the sail at the pole)
lower than the free-flying clew. NEVER allow the tack
•
Sail at maximum crew weight.
•
Sail the boat as flat as possible.
•
Do not pinch.
•
Set the shroud tension for the wind
you are expecting in the first part of
the race.
•
When in doubt, select the more
powerful option because it is easy
to depower the boat.
•
Downwind, heel the boat to wind-
ward.
•
Downwind, use as much crew
weight as possible to steer the boat.
GO FAST TIPS
DECK LAYOUT
Rule
: Simple is fast. Try to place all the cleats as
close as possible to the mast. Remove the second-
ary winches. Use double winch handle pockets and
place them in front of the traveler.
Running Rigging
: New materials appear in the mar-
ket on a reular basis; keep lines updated and at the
minimum size allowed by the class rules.
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions or comments, please
call us directly at UK Sailmakers Houston.
Pedro Gianotti
UK Sailmakers Houston
2031 Anders Lane, Ste J
Kemah, TX 77565
+1 281-334-3464
to be higher than the clew. In almost all conditions,
set the tack about one foot lower than the clew. Se-
lect the ring that gets the pole more perpendicular
to the mast. Use the lower ring as long as you can.
