Ok, I've had my first serious race using the kite and I have some issues to sort, the most urgent being to keep the boat tracking while hoisting and retrieving. Although I haven't tried it, sitting on the tiller extension doesn't appear to be an option as I don't believe I can reach the halyard and cleat it from such a position. I may be wrong, and dowsing could be a possibility but not hoisting. Has anyone ever tried a shock cord [bungey] loaded rudder centering setup?

It's been done, but not a good idea IMO because if you fall off then the boat sails away.

When you say you cannot reach the halyard and cleat from this postition, how come ? (maybe there is not enough slack in the system ?

Berny,

Sometime ago on this forum someone (possibly Phill?) described a system which used the tension in the halyard WHILE HOISTING to centre the tillers using a pulley system under the tramp. I have to admit to not paying too much attention at the time as it's not a problem I've encountered with my own setup. However, such a system may be what you're looking for. Dowsing tends to be quicker and the boat can take care of itself as usually you'll go dead downwind to dowse.

On my Stealth I bring my halyard back above the tramp, through a ring on a light bungey and then forward through the sock as a retrieval line. I find that I can reach/cleat/uncleat the halyard from anywhere on the tramp and therefore sitting/kneeling/whatever on the tiller is sufficient to keep the boat tracking. I also know of a technique where you put a foot over the rear beam and jam it between the beam and tiller bar, but it's not one I've used.

Try a search on the forum as I'm sure this has been discussed as a thread or part of another thread before.

I sit on the tiller while hoisting. I have a good idea where it needs to be, but I can reach down in between pulls to move it if I am heading too far down.

The way I do it is to kneel forward with the crossbar or tiller extension under my foot. This holds it still, and you can steer a little bit. When dropping, I often leave the tiller completely and allow the (cleated) main to start heading the boat up. Needs a bit of care in stronger winds <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One simple system I've seen used on an FX-one is a bit of velcro around the tiller extension, and a bit on each end of the back beam, allowing the tiller to be held in a fixed position.

I don't know of anyone on an F16 using a self-centering system, and in the UK at least, most of us singlehand regularly.

Paul

Over time I've gravitated to the extreme KISS solution. I don't have any special centering mechanism and I don't hold the tiller while setting or doucing.

Without a kite my rounds up gently. With a kite it want to fall off gently.

I make use of that.

After the top mark I steer the boat downwind and throw the tiller extension over the back. I reach forward hoisting the spi. The boat will round up gently but when the spi is halve hoisted the pressure on the spi (even when just flapping about) stabilizes the boat on the course of the moment. I then grap the sheet and move back and out, sometimes I grap the tiller extension but in reasonable conditions I leave it in the water and steer by the little tiller arms on the stocks.

Doucing is very similar. I steer downwind .... when doucing the boat starts rounding up slowly and pretty much when I'm finished doucing and adjusting the settings I need to move out as the boat is approach a beam reaching course.

Pretty much I'm confident that I can hoist and douce the kite in a handfull seconds; at least under 10 seconds. If I do encounter a mishap I leave the spi as it is and reach back to the crossbar to adjust the course and then continue with the spi hoist/douce. As good as always I have the head in the snuffer and so dropping what I was doing is never that much of a problem. My snuffer and retrieval setup work very well and even if the spi is in the water I can get it in relative easily.

So pretty much my approach is "fast hoists/douces and not make mistakes". This is proving to work really well for me.

I do have rudder joints on my crossbar tiller connections maybe that is helping. I think it does.

Wouter

Thanks guys. Maybe I'm a little premature im my assessment of a comfortable working position when setting and retrieving. We had a decent breeze Sundy [15/18k] and I wasn't sailing that shy to keep things reasonably stable so it may have been that and the fact that I wasn't sure just where to set the main during the kite raising and dowsing. I do remember a couple of times it went as you describe Wouter so I just need to replicate those settings I guess.

Another problem is my spanner is at the base of the mast and the control line comes up through an eyelet in the tramp. The line tends to cover the spi halyard on one tack which is not a desireable situation so I'm now looking at moving the spanner to control it from the boom which will make a big difference.
Thanks again guys, and Wouter, please elaborate on your above statement.

Wouter,

Do you not trapeze when sailing down wind single handed ? Or are your just describing sailing 2up ?

I was describing singlehanding with spi on my F16 in commonly encountered conditions at my club.

I rarely trapeze under spinnaker when singlehanding. The seastate can be quite rough overhere and I don't have toe straps on my boat. It is very difficult to stay with the boat then. Also I found that my spinnaker likes to go deep better then high and fast. So I sit in to quickly lift the luff hull and then steer as deep as possible without dipping the luff hull in. I do however hike outward under spi often. Feet under the feet straps off the trampoline, butt overboard and then hanging flat on my abdominal muscles.

This works very well for me. I'm fast under spi when singlehanding and make up heaps of ground there.

WOuter

I use snap on fasteners for my tiller crossbar and tiller extension. So the turning is "done" by bending rubber pieces. I don't have pin/whole fasteners.

I'm sure these rubber piece do stabilize the rudder a little bit. While steering normally I don't feel any resistance but when I dropp the tiller the rudders keep tracking even when the bows are pushed aside by a wave or something.

I think Ronstan call these fasteners "Universal joints"

Wouter