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On the use of adjustable outhaul
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coachg



Joined: 10 Sep 2000
Posts: 3549

PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 1:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

An AO will work great for your purpose. An alternative is to change your point of sail. If you rigged for power & the wind picks up then bare off down wind, if you rigged for top end then point up wind in the big gusts.

Coachg
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techno900



Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 4161

PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 8:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sailboarder,

I started using AOs when I began racing Formula several years ago. Typically, you want the sail flat on the upwind and full on the down wind, so you bag it when rounding the upwind mark and then flatten it at the downwind mark.

Harness lines are short for the upwind and long for the downwind, so I have adjustable lines on all my sails from 6.0 up. Some formula racers have two sets of fixed harness lines, usually attached at the same point, but one long and one short so there is no adjusting as you round the marks.

Now for free sailing, I am usually on lakes in gusty conditions. If I am trying to plane in marginal conditions, then I bag the sail. If I am cruising and see a big gust coming, I will flatten the sail. If I don't, then the COE moves back in the sail with the gust and I get the BIG back hand pull. I don't do a lot of adjusting while free sailing, but sometimes you go out with a 9.2 in 15 knots and it builds to 20, so flattening the sail keeps me on the water longer without rigging a new sail or coming in to adjust the outhaul.

While I have AOs on my 6.6, 7.6, 8.4, 9.2 & 11.0, they are much more valuable on the larger sails. I am using the three smaller sails on my iSonic 111 slalom board and the two larger on my formula board.

Once I have my harness lines set at the right point, they never move again, I just use the outhaul to keep the COE balanced (dedicated booms for all my sails from 6.6 up). My lines run through metal cleats attached on the boom, both sides for adjusting. All my sails (Maui Sails) 6.6 and up have plastic pieces instead of a grommet on the clew where the outhaul lines just loop over the plastic piece for very quick rigging. No threading lines though grommets.

Hope the helps.
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Sailboarder



Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 656

PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 8:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, it sure helps. I use an AO on my 9.0 and sometimes 7.5. I use a Chinook clew pulley to ease the rigging. But it didn't flash that I could tune the COE position with the AO.
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konajoe



Joined: 28 Feb 2010
Posts: 517

PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 11:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

techno900 wrote:
sailboarder,
Once I have my harness lines set at the right point, they never move again, I just use the outhaul to keep the COE balanced (dedicated booms for all my sails from 6.6 up).


That may work for tehno900, but you can do better, sailboarder. Look at the flaw in that approach. Let's say that you're marginally planing. Now let's say that there is a long-term increase in wind speed. But instead of moving your harness lines back to comfortably deal with the extra power, you reduce the sail power by tugging on the outhaul. And, welcome back to marginally planing.

Now, on another day, you're nicely planing. Again, there is a long-term increase in wind speed. You could move the harness lines to compensate for this change, and really get lit up. But instead, you reduce the power by tugging on the outhaul.

But you said it in your last post. You don't have harness lines that you can move easily. Find something that works.

We're all improving over time. We've all learned how to handle more power. You haven't hit your limit. Moving your harness lines is one of the things you have to do to deal with more power.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 12:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

coachg wrote:
An alternative is to change your point of sail. If you rigged for power & the wind picks up then bare off down wind, if you rigged for top end then point up wind in the big gusts.

When really overpowered, pinching higher is much easier than broad reaching. The latter is more FUN, but is an advanced skill and not something I'd recommend without torso and head armor.
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Sailboarder



Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 656

PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 12:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I see what coachg means. When the sail is baggy, turning upwind doesn't go as well as when the sail is normal or tight. But like Iso said, I'm unlikely to try to go downind overpowered with a baggy sail. Not yet.

Konajoe, I agree with what you say. With the sails I have, I need to move the harness lines anyway between low or high wind settings. But I will also use the AO to fine tune while on the water. No need to stop.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 4:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sailboarder wrote:
I'm unlikely to try to go downind overpowered with a baggy sail. Not yet.

Work on it, though. It's a necessary skill some days if pinching for survival catches or drives you upwind of where you need to be.
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jfeehan



Joined: 27 Jul 1998
Posts: 156

PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 5:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

for me, one of the main reasons to have an AO is to plane on much deeper course than is typically possible.

most people rig for BAF sailing.

as they bear off and sail a deeper course, they will eventually not have the power to sustain planing.

with an AO, you can ease the sail, and plane on a deeper course than would otherwise be possible.

depending on your gear, it is actually possible that the fastest speeds you could possibly attain, are actually on that deeper course with a pretty eased outhaul.

speed courses are pretty deep - much deeper than BAF sailors typically sail.
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KevinDo



Joined: 02 Jul 2012
Posts: 426
Location: Cabrillo Inside

PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I find it easier to go downwind overpowered with a baggy sail... lol speed runs galore!
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vikingsail



Joined: 12 May 1998
Posts: 46

PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 8:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Unfortunately the Adirondack Lake I sail in only has a 200 ft wide beach on a point, if you miss the beach you have to land in a cove, ditch your board and walk a 1/2 mile back to the beach, so bearing off can be disastrous with the up and down winds coming off the mountains. The AO loosened up gives me a fighting chance to get on a plane and then survive the gust 400 ft farther down the lake. When I am in Hatteras it hardly gets touched. Can't see adjusting harness lines every 1/2 mile.
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