I have difficulty with chop.

I sail with my mast straight up. Tback and Brett Moss, among others, have suggested a little rake will help.

I've been too stubborn to try it. What do the rest of you think.

Harden the F#$k up..... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5-ZLQGwkvU

Sorry..... Too hard to resist

Steve,
It doesn't work.
This guy doesn't look like Chopper.

Bloody good !!

Chop, chop, Chopper. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

It's a pitty he is portrayed with 2 ears in the video clips.

Why?

Sticklers for details. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Perry,

The real Chopper cut off his own ear for a bit of fun thus the knick name. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> Well; just part of his ear.

Regards,

Peter

Fun....your pulling my leg.

Or maybe a little too much of the hot Aussie sun?

FUN? not really...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Brandon_Read

While in Pentridge prison's H division in the late 70's, Read launched a prison war. His gang, dubbed 'The Overcoat Gang', because they wore long coats all year round to conceal their weapons, were involved in several hundred acts of violence against a larger opposing gang during this period. Around this time, Read had a fellow inmate cut both of his ears off in order to be able to leave H division temporarily. Whilst in his early biographies Read claimed this was to avoid an ambush by other inmates, his later works state that he did so to "Win a bet". Several other members of Read's gang also cut off their own ears in a similar fashion after this incident

the length of the boat doesn't do very well in chop. I am glad I didn't do the RTI this year on the blade (short version that it was) because the 18HT was getting battered by the chop on the gulf and I saw the 20s slopping around alot also. My thought is to trim for as much power as you can and/or foot off some to develop some speed. I am not sure how raking the mast would help too much but my understanding of rake is limited (allows you to point better? hurts downwind performance- at least without a spin?)

I swear I could not tell the difference in Matt and Gina's performance. Whereas, when the water was nice and flat, I did ok. Once there was a hint of chop I fell W-a-a-y back. These were very easy conditions, hence the frustration.

I race one up against Mozzies sailed with crew in chop which is often riding on a 2 metre ocean swell. While footing works if it isn't too windy, 15knots, once the wind increases their greater righting moment helps them to punch through. I then point higher, sail each wave using the standard method but look 3 waves ahead and plan a path through to flatter sections which I foot across. Using this technique I can get to the A mark as quick as the Mk2s up to 25knots when racing is cancelled.


Darryn
Mozzie
1782

The 16 does not cross waves as well the the longer boats that is for sure. We found that we have to have speed and by shifting our weight forward to keep the bows down we can drive through the chop. Keeping one hull up helps a lot too.

How much mast rake are you carrying?

Do not worry about rake.

In the light air with the big chop like we had latter on Sunday, the F16 is definitely at a disadvantage to the longer and heavier boats. We accelerate more in the little gusts, but keeping momentum and the boat from bouncing is virtually impossible in those conditions. As soon as the sail shakes, you have lost flow over it and that is bad. The I20's and the Tiger were noticably less bouncy.

When it switched to that light bouncy stuff, we adjusted our sail settings to be more like a close reach and footed way off to keep up some momentum. We shiffted the weight forward and leward also as far as we could to try and keep down the hobbie horsing in the waves and reduce the drag on the windward hull.

These conditions are very bad for my head and Gina will tell you I am not much fun on the boat. As soon as you can start trapping this boat really seams to dig in and go. A lot may be the boat and a lot may be me. This discussion sort of follows the similar thread about spin shape. Tunning in general for me I figure has less than 1% effect on how I sail. Is it sort of visually the same as most of the other boats on the water? If yes then 99% of how I do depends on how I stear and trim the sheet. When I worry about the little things then they are wrong because I am not concetrating on what is making me actually go. This has been my personal view of it. While these things do have value, at my skill level they are lost in the backwash. If I was legitimately competing with the Asbhey's and other top multi guys, adjusting my sail shapes and tuning I am sure would have some merrit. But I know that given the very best equipment, set up by the top sailors, if I do not drive right I will finish no better than if I had some old sails and my kids rigged my boat for me.

Matt

What would the definition of chop be, and when does chop transform into waves?
I am thinking of chop as short "nasty" waves throwing you around and being a bit confused as opposed to regular wavesets? My experience with this kind of seas are a bit limited, but just as with waves my feeling is that helming technique is critical for speed. When I lost my rythm sailing in this stuff with the Tornado it was really a quick loss of power and I had to say "sorry" to my crew <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> With relatively flat bottomed boats this must be much worse than with the sharp bottomed hulls of the Tornado. What it boiled down to for us was to jugde which waves you could drive through and which you had to fall off to power over. Helmsman was 100% on the approaching wavesets while crew trimmed and did tactics/strategy.

Rolf,

Last weekend we had wind generated waves that were not terribly confused. The issue was they were comming from a ways off and where we were located there was not the wind, at least sufficient to move through the amount of chop.

The only solution to that I know of is to do like you say and just keep the boat moving however you can. It was brutally obvoius when it was not done correctly as you came to an immediate stop in the water. The laylines and tacks were long, but if you did not keep a lot of twist in the sail and foot like mad, it was longer.

Sounds challenging Matt. Another skill to add to the collection <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

If you are going to race it is one to have in your bag of tricks but is definitely not worth the smilley face <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

I would much rather be able to spend full time practicing my skill set in 15-20

<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

We were very fast in very weak winds and very strong and gusty winds, becouse that was what we usually had at home. We did not like sailing in weak winds, but had to focus on the positive and the challenge if we wanted to get on the water. Just trying to cheer you and everybody else up with the smiley. Sailing is so very much a mental game <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />