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2545 Views 10 Replies 9 Participants Last post by catamount, Oct 20, 2009

MSN2Travelers

Discussion Starter · Oct 13, 2009

I crew on a Pearson Flyer (30 footer). We have done pretty well over the last few years in Jib `n Main so we moved up to the spinnaker division this year. Our overall performance was rather disappointing.

We have three Pearson Flyers that race regularly at out club. One in JAM, one in spinnaker and us. We were always on the stern of the JAM boat. This year we can barely keep the spinnaker boat in sight far ahead of us.

The skipper has replaced the baggy main with hi-tech. The sail maker has been out to tune the rig and we are using a barber haul to adjust the slot (the other boats have dual genny tracks).

I have noticed that the other boats seem to position crew differently than us on any given tack. Our people head for the high side (or low) to control/induce angle of heel but we don't do anything regarding positioning crew fore or aft. I think correcting this failure might be a key to better overall performance.

Are there any “general rules” on where to position crew (fore or aft) on any given tack?

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catamount

· #11 · Oct 20, 2009

Adjusting the trim of the boat by positioning of the crew can be important, and obviously the condition and trim of your sails is important, but how about the condition of your bottom--are your hull, keel, and rudder as well prepared as the competition's? If they are pulling away in light air on the downwind legs, hull drag could be a factor.

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