First, you will do some swimming...

As you know, the F16 is light and so you need to balance more carefully than a bigger heavier boat.


To start with; don't bother wiring down wind, there is enough to worry about.

Putting the kite up:

1, Dump some mainsheet and round the mark and head off, cleat the mainsheet.
2, some people also drop the traveller right out.
3, Either drop the tiller (if the boat will track on its own - this is why some drop the traveller); or kneel on the tramp and then put the tiller on top of your legs and then gently sit on it so you can steer
4, pull like feck to get the kite up!
5, Once up (Mark the place, or when you cannot pull any more) grab the spi sheet and get it driving; at the same time get the traveller back up and grab the tiller
6, Once driving, hook on (if enough wind) and go out.

Dropping techique is described here


As with the F18(I assume), you are travelling faster than true wind so you can

A, sail off the front of a gust and this can then catch you up / out as the wind dies, you head up to get drive and BANG, gust arrives
B, You do not look directly upwind for gusts, you look slightly over your shoulder as you can sail into them (I’ve even sailed into the back of a gust and that is most weird, but I do sail on a lake and so it’s a bit odd at times)
C, You will not get both sails right every time; how much mainsheet to let out is a bit of a black art, too much eased and you don’t have enough drive, the slot can get choked and you also risk breaking the mast (but F16 masts appear to be VERY robust); too little and the main is stalled and the slot it too open; it is possible to change mainsheet settings while flying the kite, but this DOES take practice and co-ordination.


If you start doing “round the cans” racing, it’s another game as then you have to also deal with being overpowered when making a mark, but we’ll leave that for another day.




Gybing:


1, Come in from the wire (if on it) and gather up what will become the new sheet; hold this in the same hand as the current sheet.
2, let out a "bit" of the current sheet as you start the gybe; I marked mine just where the clew will go around the forestay when the sheet it tight.
3, continue on a smooth arc and move across the tramp.
4, You now have to drop the tiller for a second having passed it around the back of the mainsail; it should land on the tramp by the back beam. Do't even try and check the mainsail over....
5, Pick up tiller
6, now this is the bit I do differently, I KEEP the tiller in the same hand as it was (so now I am facing across the boat looking outwards, I then let go of the old sheet and pull the new one in
7, change sheet hands and turn around.
8, get the kite driving and heading in the right direction
9, back out on the wire if it's the right thing to do.



I would suggest running thru all this in your mind first (while sitting / moving around the boat on the trolley). It forces you to think everything thru and make the right moves at the right time.


When people ask me what it's like, I usually say "busy" and with any boat, it's about staying one jump ahead of the developing situations, but as you are on your own, more situations develop, and they develop more quickly.


As others have said, best to try it all in light wind first!



Good luck and report back !!!!!