TECHNIQUE How to adjust your shaft to go stronger / 1

If you want to make your boat run more, to get some good satisfaction out of racing and have fun cruising as well, you’ve come to the right place. From today we will reveal all the tricks together with the experts of Phi!Number. In the chair, for the first three lessons related to the search for maximum upwind speed, rises Roberto Spata, one of the most successful sailors on the race courses and owner of New Wind: we will discover how to adjust the mast and how to interpret all the “signals” our boat sends us.

Upwind speed: mast adjustment and heeling / 1

The pursuit of maximum boat speed will allow us to be better performers in racing and also in cruising, while having more fun. This is how crucial proper and accurate mast adjustment becomes in all weather conditions in order to achieve a safer and more balanced boat, as well as one that is easier to steer.

Upwind, an “easy” boat will put the crew in a position to quickly reach angle and speed targets. But what are the signals that will make us take action on the mast adjustment to achieve the most from our boat? It starts with the slope of the hull.

The efficient inclination

If in light winds we will be forced to maintain an efficient pitch by positioning the crew downwind and trying to get deep (thus more powerful) sails, efficiency problems will arise as the real wind increases when that power may be too much as early as 10-11 knots, when despite the upwind crew our sails will be too fat to make us fast and stable in gusts.

This happens for the following reasons:

1. The shape the mast takes when sailing is responsible for the shape of the sails;
2. The shape and depth of the sails is in turn responsible for the boat’s tendency to heel sideways;
3. Finally, proper lateral heel allows the boat to sail in the “proper shape lines” of the hull and appendages, thus decreasing drift.

It follows that heeling, which is almost necessary in light winds, should not be excessive in sustained air, and is also determined by the shape of the sails, which in turn is determined by the mast setting.

In fact, a lower skidding tendency in cool winds:

– allows the sail adjusters to caulk the sheets more, resulting in improved heading into the wind;
– contains the tiller tendency of the rudder, improving the ease of steering and thus reducing the braking effect of the blade;
– allows the crew in the sickle cell to produce more righting moment.

Adjust the mast to change the shape of the sails

We will need to act on the adjustments to decrease the boat’s heeling tendency. But what adjustments are available to us to reduce the power (and thus the depth) of the sails? We will start with rigging tension and forestay catenary reduction focusing on mast adjustment taking for granted-in this discussion-sail adjustment.

In fact, while remaining fundamental, adjustments of halyards, cunningham, mainsail base or sheet point contribute only in part to improving the good seaworthiness of our boat by affecting it less than the mast adjustment.

HOW TO DO IT IN DETAIL? WE WILL FIND OUT IN THE NEXT EPISODE!

CONTINUED…

PHI!NUMBER AND ITS EXPERTS
Phi!Number, an Italian company for over 10 years dedicated to fine-tuning sailing projects with numerous achievements at the international level, has a mission based on three key points: first, reaching the top of the rankings, then the technical growth and enjoyment of the owner and his team, as well as the right choices and better budget management and optimization. How? Drawing on the cooperation of the best sailors and experts to optimize every aspect of boat, crew, logistics, sponsor management and suppliers.

In collaboration with the Giornale Della Vela, Phi!Number presents a periodic review of the topics that are fundamental to determining a real leap forward in sailing. It begins with the tricks for conducting one’s boat upwind more easily and quickly through mast adjustment. The speaker is from one of the leading experts in the field: Roberto Spata, former owner of New Wind and multiple European and world champion in various classes. In the world of sailing there are some certainties: those who have attended race courses know that one of them is that the boats where Roberto sails are faster. www.phi-number.com

WE ARE CREATING THE JOURNAL OF SAILING SAILING TEAM! DO YOU WANT TO BE PART OF IT?

I want you! Would you like to participate in a racing season with an optimized race boat, alongside the true professional champions of Phi!Number on board? Nothing more than a project like this will allow you to grow technically by participating in the most important offshore and between the buoys events in Italy! And not only that: you will be able to participate for free in educational appointments and technical lectures on specific sailing topics (regulation, setting, communication, mental, etc.) held by Phi!Number experts! Selection is open.

If you are ready for the challenge and want to get involved write now to: info@phi-number.com

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