I trialled (sp???) a version a few months back. The concept worked great but I need to spend some time to develop a system that retracts properly on my boat. I have seen bundy drive thru some massive nose dives on both his T and F18 only for the bows to pop up and explode forward.

I spoke to GA about it late last year and he says it's the only thing stopping him flying forward but did say that he has come back with bruised hips on occasion.

Tiger Mike

I used a very similar setup chicken line on my Prindle 19 for major long distance racing in Mexico and California. It worked much better than foot straps because the center of your mass is near the hook which is prevented from moving forward in a stuff. The foot straps do nothing for your center of mass; you have to rely on your legs and feet to absorb the massive forward momentum.

It's a weird feeling during a stuff with a chicken line because it feels like your whole body is being held in place with a seatbelt but you do get the forward energy transfer as extra weight on your front leg and foot.

Foot straps are better for triangle racing because there is no time to use a chinken line.

Long distance racing is where a chicken line is far superior to foot straps because you can still move your feet around. I have been on one tack for up to 3 hours on the wire and you need to change your foot position periodically, fixed in foot straps would be murder.

I my own case I'm looking at footstraps to keep me on board when sailing under spinnaker. When trapezing under spinnaker singlehandedly in anything above 10 knots, the boat can turn so quickly that when baring down in a gust that sometimes I'm flying in mid air or waterskying 2 ft away from the hull.

Your first reaction is to pull on the spi sheet to pull you back in, but that is not really what you want to do. If the spi stalls completely then you'll pull the boat over towards you preventing you ever to get back on board.

I've done several races without chickenlines and footstraps and it can be done. But I still want to have a more secure foothold on the gunwhale when singlehanding under spi.

Wouter

Yes correct... I use windsurfer straps like Scooby. These straps are as far back as possible and are only used by me (skipper) on a fresh bear away at the top mark. The strap will keep you there for most part, however on a big decelloration, you physically cannot keep your foot there and you slip out. It does not have the same effect though if you fall behind the boat though...... Just ask Gashby

Anyway my crew always uses the chicken line in the fresh stuff and to this day, on both the T and F18, we have burried it BIG TIME and never cartwheeled when locked into the strap. Boat slows and you just drive right through it just as TigerMike described.

Below is a better pic of our chicken line set up.



Now below is how we use it (see pic below also). When fresh, it is not important to get weight out rather than get it back. If you are both sitting on the tramp, then you can not get that far back......My crew will put his back foot on the rudder geoungen (spelling??). His front foot as far back as possible whilst keeping ballance. Now the angle he is trapping is roughly at 45 degrees. Clip the chicken line on and its length should be adjusted so whilst you are at this angle, you lean back pulling the line taught, forcing you feet down into the platform. Now to balance, hold the end of the kite sheet under load with your rear hand. If you loose balance forward, a little pressure on this will hold you there. Now with your front hand hold the other end of the sheet (note offcourse both ends are tied in the middle). If you start to fall backwards, pull back on this end and it will steady you.

Now if you nosedive your front foot will likely slip a bit and you will remain locked in and trapping. Worst case, you will pivot over your front foot and hip slam the side ( note GAshby's comments re hip bruises)..... Not as painful as it sounds and can be a LOT worse.



If you are doubtfull, just give it a go and see. I have converted MANY people who were dead against chicken lines for so called safety reasons..... There is nothing to worry about but plenty if you do not use one.

Hope this helps.

We still use the chicken line on downwinds where there is less than 5 minutes between gybes and find it does not take that long to hook up.

I am now in moderate breeze, hooking in myself on the first gybe as I am already out there. Just clamp the main between your hand and tiller and use your other hand to reach down, grap the hook and hook up. Also tend to do it on the last gybe leg comming into the bottom mark.

However when it is 'blowing the numbers off the sail' I'll let the crew go out

Well, should be easy enough to give it a try, inexpensive too. I think I have some of the components already in my spare parts case.

Yep, this one is on my to-do list for this season.

Wouter

Robi,

Any good sailboard shop will have footstraps. My son has some pretty impressive footstraps on his formula sailboard (fully adjustable with 3 layers of material/padding and velcro securing). They are light weight and very durable.

SWEET!

That third image is one scary picture! LOOL

Seems like if the straps are behind the rear beam you could get into problem with the rudders- would be dangerous if you couldn't bear off the wind in a puff with the spin up. I can just see it- puff with the crew in the straps behind the rear beam and me trying to turn down but can't because his feet are in the way. I suppose this isn't that big of a problem or people wouldn't do it. I guess there is enough clearance between the rudder arm and the deck.

UNLESS, the straps are on the side and not the top. My 6.0 had straps when I bought it- and I replaced them with nicer ones but they are more mounted on the top than the sides.

Hi Robi !

I've attached a pic. of my set up on the taipan F16. I don't think you can trivialize the consequences of having a foot slip thru the loop leaving you captive at the ankle (water is a dandy lubricant and the bones in your foot can be compressed into a surprisingly small cylinder - so no sailboard straps for me). My loop is safely large so that I can step into it , slide it past the deck to transom transition and gain stability with the ball of my aft most foot on the transom.When i've buried the lee hull, I just use the top of my foot to keep from flying forward. Wiring downhill is definitely faster (VMG and linear V) in the Taipan from wind velocities that allow uphill wiring.This said, I stopped wiring downhill last season after a really hard crash and collision with the third batten (!) that knocked the bolt rope out of my mast track(can you say Tre'buchet ?).I later noticed Doc sails really deep by flattening both sails (solo obviously) and sliding onto the tramp (sometimes midtramp {don't screw this up!}) when footing and fully hiked out when coming up into the wind.This technique requires alot of smooth movement and i'm not good at it.Additionally, I don't think this is as fast as wiring to "C" mark, but he always seems to be wild, and he doesn't capsize much...

I've resolved to wire downhill again in regattas because Doc and I are doing an event in the SF Bay in June that'll be very public and very windy (www.sanfranciscospeed.com). Wire flights required for decent speeds compared to the boards...

PK

My straps are on the top edge of the hull right next to the gunnell. Have *never* had a problem hitting feet while steering. (How far to you shove the tiller on a gust???). On my boats at least it is a non issue.

Tiger Mike

I guess you are right... not too much movement.. but then again, I have sailed with a spin a total of 2 times

Remember that on a stock high performance windsurfer (if you know what you are doing) you have the capability of going in the 40 MPH range…and the foot straps work just fine when you have them adjusted right…If a windsurfer can crank 35-40 mph on a reach in 30 mph+ wind and 2’-3’ chop…stuff the nose…get thrown over the handle bars…skip 3+ times before coming to rest…and have absolutely no leg/ankle problem….If that’s the case, (and I can tell you it is from personal experience) I say you shouldn’t have any problem on the typical catamaran. It is when you try to get too much of your foot forced in the strap, that is when you break things. Get a good quality adjustable windsurf strap and you can tweak them just perfect…and they will stay at that setting. Go cheap and you will be constantly adjusting them as they loosen up.

Regards,
Bob

Robi,

Is this your handy work ?



Wouter

Robi,
Here's the link to the footstraps I have on the Taipan:
DaKine Footstraps
My chicken line setup is the same as Tornado Alive illustraded.

Hey, how'd you get that picture of my boat? Yes, Robi did it for me.

Footstraps are good for most conditions but in the really big nose dives they are not going to help you that much. Its like grandpa saying he doesn't need to wear a seat belt because he can hold on better! You need some kind of "restraining" device, the chick line is probably not a bad idea. Always make sure your spin sheet or a front foot footstrap stops you from falling in and off the back of the boat, falling like this with one foot jammed in the footstrap is one of the worse possible ways to mess yourself up on a cat.

I archive any picture made of an F16 that is published on the internet. That way I have build a database of several hundred pictures.

Wouter