sunday morning i grabbed the gps and went out to the centre of the lake, where the wind angle is most constant, with the plan of trying to sail as many angles as possible and using the recorded track and "gpsar" to produce a polar graph for my cat showing points of sail and boat speed
but out in the middle the wind was so constant and mild that decided instead to try some trap training the old windsurfer harness

and it wasn't so bad!

bit of a scramble to get out with 1 hand holding the main sheet and rudder and the other hooking on and then holding the T handle, but from there is was simplicity itself. love the new view of the boat it gives, esp. looking down and seeing the moonie eyes i painted on the daggerboard cutting through the green lake water

without any non-slip tape it was a bit slippery out there but soon found that a pretty wide stable stance could be had with the aft foot back against the rear beam and the forward against the side-stay chain plate

spent the rest of the morning on the wire, coming in, going out, moving forward and back etc. then came in for lunch

our lake pretty consistently has it's best winds 1-3pm, so after lunch it was out again to continue the trap training in winds that needed it. one of the advantages of this small lake for a noob is if the winds pick up enough to make a tacking or gibe tricky you can just continue the reach closer to the shore where the wind gets all broken up.

as it was i spend the afternoon happily going out and coming in off the wire, just reaching back and forth across the lake. the extra righting moment settled the 2man boat down beautifully for solo use

with the stronger winds the rigging was just starting to howl at times and the bow of the leeward hull was about halfway down with the windward hull just skipping across the surface but never needed to get all the way back or worry about pitch-poling. some great bursts of spray through the tramp and off the bows, got to get a camera out there!

biggest hassle was what to do with the excess length of main sheet, how to stop it dragging in the water when out on the wire???, ended up spending too much time/attention trying to flick it back onto the tramp...

from out on the wire i couldn't see the gps up on the main beam but at the end of the day was rewarded with a new personal best of 18knots, screen grab attached

things to do; 1)re-angle the cleat on the main sheet block higher. out on the wire you are so flat it can be hard to uncleat, 2)get some non-slip tape on the hulls and deck edge, 3)start thinking about adding old windsurfer foot-straps between the rear beam bolts and rear hull 4)mount both old and new garmins, 1 each side of boom for easier viewing 5) start thinking about adding back straps to the old windsurfer harnesses

Awesome!

As I have never driven and trapped, can't help w/ the mainsheet trolling. But kudo's on getting out and looking for Max V!

There's more than a few things to do about the main sheet, but here's two to try - one way to grab it all out with you and pile it on one of your legs. Another way is to toss the extra onto the tramp, and use the toes of one of your feet to trap the line against the hull. Forward foot works best, obviously you're stepping on the line going from your hand to the slack pile.

yes the extra line is always needing attention.... I agree with Keith as what to do... simply trap it to the hull with your foot and run a 1/2 loop accross my knee. This works until i sheet out and then back in... as i then have more line... so then i try to "flick" the extra line back on the tramp.

Some times this does end up fouling the travler or back in the water... so it needs attention.

It gets really tricky when i have to adjust the jib as well... hopefully i have thought ahead and have placed the jib sheet near the side stay so i can grab it without having to come in.... I do "clip" my downhaul to my stays so they are always near by if it gets gusty...

extra line? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />
my new main sheet is about 10 feet too long...but hey, it floats!

There is a way to deal with the extra line, when I raced P-16s we used a piece of shock cord which we tied to the mainsheet approx 8-10 feet from the dead end and ran it through the gromett hole in the front of the tramp, under the tramp back to tramp lacing and tied it off. It kept that portion of the mainsheet on the tramp, which is normally the portion that if it slips over the back will pull the rest of the mainsheet over.

Doesnt this create a jam hazard (in the travler/lower main block) when you need to sheet out?

Hi Eric,

I knot the end of the main sheet to the end of the traveller sheet. Keep the main sheet as short as possible (e.g. there is no main sheet outside the pulley, (traveller fully open), if the sail and boom just touching the shrouds). You should be able to keep the sheet on board with your foot.

And keep your feet close, it looks not only better. If you keep tension on the main sheet, you have quite a stable stand. Wear sailing boots with anti skid bottom. I never trusted in foot straps and used it, but other people do.

Cheers,

Klaus

A simple way to keep the line on the trampoline is to cross the jib sheet and the main sheet loops. The jib sheet prevent somewhat the main sheet to all go overboard and by friction you can bring a lost sheet back to you while trapezing without having to go back onboard.

Oh yea... a word or 2 about foot straps.... I have heard that you should make sure they will pull out of the hulls (screws not bolts) incase of a capsize or pitch pole... you want to break free and be thrown from the boat (apposed to being attached to the boat) in a flip. This could save your ankles, leggs or other.

Haven't heard that, but I guess it makes sense.

I learned footstrap use on a windsurfer, where you only put the ball of your foot in the strap so you can disconnect in a hurry if you're pitched out... If you've got the strap up to your ankle, you're headed for injury...

name on the side says it all......!!

wanna trade? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I make my crew hold the extra legnth of mainsheet.