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On the use of adjustable outhaul
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Sailboarder



Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 656

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:41 am    Post subject: On the use of adjustable outhaul Reply with quote

In another thread, techno900 posted this.

techno900 wrote:

I focus a lot on relaxing my grip as much as possible, balancing the rig and using the harness. I have adjustable outhauls on all my rigs from 6.6 to 11.0, so I try to keep the pull on the boom as balanced as possible to minimize the "death grip" issue in the gusts.


I also use a AO on my larger sail, but I have been using it crudely, to adjust before going on a long upwind run, or if the wind drops a lot. I didn't realize it could be easily tuned to improve comfort. I'll definitely try that.

I assumed using the AO was used solely to improve sail performance, and it meant being out of balance anyway more often than anything else. The racers sailing with the uphaul in the front hand comes to mind...

Techno, does adjusting the AO to compensate for move of sail COE kills two birds with one stone: comfort and performance?
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I used AOs, my objective was retuning the outhaul for prolonged changes in wind speed. I ultimately decided to just drop in the water and retune the outhaul directly rather than deal with the extra crap on my boom, especially when the key word is "prolonged".

It was, however, nice to just press the nitrous oxide button (the AO release lever) when it meant the difference between slogging and planing. Your long upwind or downwind reach application is also valid.

If my objective is rig balance/comfort, it's mighty easy to just move a harness line as needed, and that doesn't screw up a "perfect" outhaul adjustment.
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konajoe



Joined: 28 Feb 2010
Posts: 517

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rig the sail for point of sail and power requirements. THEN move your harness lines to wherever you like to have them relative to COE. Outhaul setting changes your COE. So if you NEED to be perfectly balanced, you'd want to move your harness lines.

I've seen some top Kona racers with 2 sets of harness lines on their booms, one for upwind, and one for downwind.

You mention 'comfort'. You own a Kona, don't you? I don't know about your experience level, but being uncomfortably overpowered (with your harness lines set right) will eventually lead to comfort with more power and speed.
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KevinDo



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

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 11:29 am    Post subject: Re: On the use of adjustable outhaul Reply with quote

Sailboarder wrote:
In another thread, techno900 posted this.

techno900 wrote:

I focus a lot on relaxing my grip as much as possible, balancing the rig and using the harness. I have adjustable outhauls on all my rigs from 6.6 to 11.0, so I try to keep the pull on the boom as balanced as possible to minimize the "death grip" issue in the gusts.


I also use a AO on my larger sail, but I have been using it crudely, to adjust before going on a long upwind run, or if the wind drops a lot. I didn't realize it could be easily tuned to improve comfort. I'll definitely try that.

I assumed using the AO was used solely to improve sail performance, and it meant being out of balance anyway more often than anything else. The racers sailing with the uphaul in the front hand comes to mind...

Techno, does adjusting the AO to compensate for move of sail COE kills two birds with one stone: comfort and performance?


I use a trim set on all my sails (all the way down to 5.0) and mainly use it to help get upwind after running 500m at 130 degrees downwind. I also use it for comfort too. If the the wind does get a bit strong I'll flatten the sail slightly.

-Kevin

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konajoe



Joined: 28 Feb 2010
Posts: 517

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

More.

Identical twins with identical rigs, rigged the same way. Both feel overpowered. Twin 1 flattens the sail. Twin 2 adjusts harness line position and length and no longer feels overpowered. Twin 2 blazes. Overpowered uncomfortable feeling can be eliminated by adjusting harness lines.
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KevinDo



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

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

konajoe wrote:
More.

Identical twins with identical rigs, rigged the same way. Both feel overpowered. Twin 1 flattens the sail. Twin 2 adjusts harness line position and length and no longer feels overpowered. Twin 2 blazes. Overpowered uncomfortable feeling can be eliminated by adjusting harness lines.


I adjust both harness and AO sometimes. I leave markings on my boom to overpowered positions and underpowered.

-Kevin
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spennie



Joined: 13 Oct 1995
Posts: 975
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

konajoe wrote: Overpowered uncomfortable feeling can be eliminated by adjusting harness lines.

Bwahahahahaha!! Apparently konajoe has never had the wind ramp up 8 knots while out on the water, and tried to sail a 7.0 in 32 mph wind. His statement may be true for small changes in wind speed, but it also means you're adjusting your harness lines all the time instead of giving a line a short tug. Get your harness lines right for most of the conditions you sail, & use the adjustables to adjust for changing conditions, or changing point of sail.

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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have to admit that I've never used an adjustable outhaul. I will say though that I've loosened my outhaul if the wind took a dive and I'm not willing to re-rig a bigger sail. Normally, that doesn't happen often.

I guess if you look a bit deeper, especially if one was racing with challenging angles of attack, an adjustable outhaul is a necessary requirement. But, in normal conditions, particularly for more moderate back and forth sailing, you want to have the clew of the sail out at the boom end. Given the viable range of the sail, that gives one the opportunity to rig on the bigger side of the equation for more available speed and power.

Lastly, there is an another factor that's not too easy to adjust. The fin. Having too much sail power with too much fin can really test your meddle. Conversely, being underfinned with too much sail power can also mess with you. Heaven is being balanced between the two.
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vikingsail



Joined: 12 May 1998
Posts: 46

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

comments from my rigging guide document, (I use AO's 5.4 and up always).

You can adjust AO while planing with the right pulleys on the clew. Moving harness lines while hooked in is not something I want to think about.

Learn the difference between the sail yawing due to harness issues and the
sail pivoting in or out due to a lull or gust.

I use adjustable outhaul lines to make changes to the outhaul while on the water. When the wind increases the
sail will pivot out (sail becomes fuller which moves the center of effort back), I can then pull on the adjustable
outhaul to add more outhaul to flatten the sail, which moves the center of effort forward and the sail pivots back
in and reduces power in the sail.

· When the wind decreases the sail will pivot in (sail becomes flatter which moves the center of effort forward), I
can release the adjustable outhaul to reduce outhaul to make the sail fuller, which moves the center of effort
back and the sail pivots out and increases power in the sail.
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Sailboarder



Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 656

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for sharing.

Yes, when I hit the water, one of the first thing I do is to adjust the lines position to get a good balanced feel.

However, when I sail overpowered with a big sail, I find tedious to move the harness lines around. They seem to bite in place. Sometimes I need to "unlock" the 4 attachment loops (Dakine). The back ones are not easy to reach in the water. So once they are in place, I tend to live with that. If the wind builds up, it can get more and more back-handded. Even if I don't feel like reducing the power, it's nice to know that I can compensate temporarily by pulling on the AO.
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