Nice. Thanks.

Jeez Jake,

You go and get something simple like an A cat and the first thing you want to do is complicate it with more stuff and lines to pull - Remeber you are by yourself and only have 2 hands.

I found the simpler solution was to run the diamonds into the mast and use a single bolt at the base for adjustment. Something that can be done easily on the water if the wind drastically changes.

If you really want to add all this [email]cr@p[/email], you should contact Rush Bird. Hed did up several and has all the dimensions and specs etc to make the change easy as possible, rather than inventing the wheel over.

Matt

That's why I posted here...didn't want to re-invent what already existed!

And I agree with you - too much complication is a bad thing. I don't intend to adjust them that frequently but what I have right now is impossible to adjust in under 15 minutes. I want to make it easier to adjust and figured that while I'm at it, I might as well put a control line on it...not that I'm known for over-doing stuff or anything. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Jake

I can tell you what Lars Guck told me...

"Don't change anything for three years.... Sail the boat!"

FYI.... Lars uses the fixed diamond adjuster as well. (It may be a single turnbuckle system though.) He flips the boat. unloads the tension at the spreaders... makes his adjustment and re attaches and tensions at the spreaders. Took him about 10 minutes at the NA's.

Yeah, well...Lars knows exactly where to put them...I don't. I've got great 10k and under speed but my moderate to heavy air tuning needs some work.

Welcome to the A cat. I had this same problem and after I heard the same thing from at least 5 five of those top guys I gave up and concetrated on my stearing (I still have not figured it out on the Uni like I can on sloop, but it was much faster as soon as I quit messing with stuff)

Isn't that the message we hear again and again. Get your trim into the ballpark and then concentrate on driving the boat. I suppose the problem when beginning in a new boat is to know when you are in the ballpark?

I found the A to be way overpowered to weather. It is so light and narrow with the very high aspect rig. I am light and no amount of adjustment made any difference what-so-ever as soon as it got to 12Knots. Just ask someone who has already been sailing and is near your own weight where they are at settings wise. Spreader rake and tension, and then mast rake (mast rake dependant on the boat type) Bingo - Your fully tuned. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In reality the ball park could be defined as the mast pointing up - The rudders and boards pointing down and the bow forward gets you in the ball park. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

That is rich. Perhaps slightly oversimplified, but very good <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Message is very clear.

We've got three Boyer IV's here running against one of your BIM's and an A2. Both the BIM and A2 run deeper than all three of us Boyer IV's in the breeze. My main is pretty long and I'm already block to block with my light air setup (I'm very happy with my speed in the light air) so raking back more is going to be tricky. I've got to work on heavy air and find a way to foot off without losing control...hence time to work on the diamonds. The fastest way I know to figure out where the diamonds need to be set is by having something I can adjust easily and without flipping the boat each time.

I really thought I was going to be in for a deep learning curve on this boat but I've found it to be really intuitive with tons of feedback. It helps that the guys sailing around here are very similar in speed.

[quote
I really thought I was going to be in for a deep learning curve on this boat but I've found it to be really intuitive with tons of feedback. It helps that the guys sailing around here are very similar in speed. [/quote]

I could not agree more that the A provides instant feed back on adjustments. For me though at 12+ I am maxed out going to weather. Diamond adjustment adjusts draft in the lower/mid portion of your sail. The simplifed version is that more prebend is a flatter sail. My downhaul will pull my sail board flat, and do it with a pretty very wide range of diamond settings. It is impossible to get a sail flatter than flat, and the top of the thing is dependant on the mast/sail combo along with your rotation and sheet settings. The top of the thing is where you gain control (or not) in a blow. What we need is a good text book explaining the art of running the tiller and sheet, because that is where the good guys make the gains.


<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />Sorry about this- All I started to do was give you some crap relative to complicating your life.

M

Matt,

I think you are contributing some great stuff, if not exactly to what Jake asked (sorry for helping in hijacking the thread Jake).



Exactly what I have thought many times as well. I have been looking a long time for a book or anything really which discusses that in details. "High Performance Sailing" digs into it somewhat, but not well enough for us. Like, how do you run your boat in weak winds with a chop offset from the wind..

I could not agree more that the A provides instant feed back on adjustments. For me though at 12+ I am maxed out going to weather. Diamond adjustment adjusts draft in the lower/mid portion of your sail. The simplifed version is that more prebend is a flatter sail. My downhaul will pull my sail board flat, and do it with a pretty very wide range of diamond settings. It is impossible to get a sail flatter than flat, and the top of the thing is dependant on the mast/sail combo along with your rotation and sheet settings. The top of the thing is where you gain control (or not) in a blow. What we need is a good text book explaining the art of running the tiller and sheet, because that is where the good guys make the gains.


<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />Sorry about this- All I started to do was give you some crap relative to complicating your life.

M [/quote]

No offense taken on the hijack - this is the root of the problem I'm chasing.

thats not good, you need a sail cut higher in the clew.

yeah, I know...real pain to get under during tacks too. Budgeting for a new main in the spring.

There is a Florida senior sailor of A-cats notorious for never changing anything on the boat- runs it like it came from the factory...And has about 20 National Championships, mostly Hobies but no bugs on him about that.
I have been trying to figure out the tuning deal as Matt describes it on these pages---for 8 years now. As a trained scientist, I would have hoped to be better at figuring out the A-cat bits, (i.e: diamond wire downhaul management) but still do the same dumb things that are apparently now habitual. DOH! Rage Against The Stupidity! Tho maybe more Zen would help.....