[hellosailor]

I don't think there are any new techniques to tacking a heavy or mulish boat. When something outwieghs you by ten or twenty tons, you have to realize that unless you play smarter than it does, you're going to lose every time.

If you've ever tacked a boat, any boat, even a hot racing boat, and wound up in irons...you may know that inertia and timing are everything. Heavy mulish boat that doesn't want to come about gently or delicately? OK, fall off, trim up, get some excessive speed and momentum by whatever means works best for you, and then kick the mule. It will go over. How you time the tack, how much rudder braking you cause, it may be an alien experience compared to a light fin keeler, but it is a matter of studying the "opposition" and then outsmarting it.

Then there's some folks who realize the boat isboth stronger and smarter than they are. They just buy bow thrusters instead. :-)