Learning, Learning in a 12

Apologies if this info is elsewhere in the forum, but:

Had our first sail in Dukes of Hazard today, a great day on the water with 8-13 knots and the #2 rig (we broke the vang but we'll fix that tonight). But we have the first of what will probably be many questions:

What is the recommended technique for dropping the kite?

Also, is there any rule of thumb for when to decide which rig to use? At the moment we are only considering 2 and 3 until we are confident with tacking/gybing and kite handling. But it would be good to have a ballpark knot range for each rig.

On the positive side of things, we were out there 2 stringing quite nicely to windward, had no major issues tacking and gybing, and we'll have the stability better sorted once we build some better teamwork (issues with 2 single handed sailors joining forces).

Thanks in advance.

My preferred way of dropping the kite is:

skipper:
-have some vang on or you won't be able to point up if the boat leans to windward
-sail the boat deep.
-keep the boat flat
then the crew:
-sheet the jib a little tighter than usual ( stops it twisting up)(also helps to tighten and cleat the windward jib sheet)
-pull the windward kite sheet tight
-crew climbs in off the wire,keeping the kite set and positions himself to drop into the windward kite bin (kneel/stand/lean against the sidestay, what ever you find compfy.
-grabs the windward sheet in front of the sidestays (release the clew sheet)and pull the clew to the forestay (pulling past the forestay can be difficult, so don't just yet)
- fire the halyard
- pull the clew to the kite bin and start stuffing for all your life, the kite into the bin,
- once the kite is well enough under control, fire the tack line and pack the rest of the kite away.

this method, i find, takes the load out of the top of the rig and makes the boat more controllable, the kite once around the forestay will drop onto the kite pole and spreaders and mostly stay out of the tide. when pulling the kite down the crew should be trying to pull across the sail towards 1/3 down the luff rather than pulling the leach tape straight down.


other options include
-fireing the tackline first and pulling the foot in and then releasing the halyard. This works well straight off a gybe, you don't set the kite, just sheet in the old sheet as the boat swings through the gybe, grab the clew in your hand, then start packing.

or
follow the early steps of the first method, but fire the halyard and tackline together, and stuff like crazy.

which rig:

for beginners staying towards the lower end is suggested

under 4 knots - the beefmaster, four burner and a six pack.
big rig 4-12knots
#2 rig 10-18knots
#3 rig 15-22 knots
#4 rig 20-how stupid do you want to be?...knots

this will obviously vary either way depending on your weight and how big the rigs are.

hi it may be better to call someone it will take all week to type how to sail a 12 footer 101

my mob 0417 407866

just give me a call and im happy to answer any questions

Cheers

Yabs
I sail on the Dimension Polyant

Thanks for all the advice guys (and Yabs, I called but got your voicemail - will try again during the week). We'll put this into practice this Saturday, and if we get comfortable enough with our raises and drops we may even race in the afternoon.

yeh i just missed the phone the voice mail time has a mind of its own will chat soon

I noticed the Dukes up in Fairlight... I am just down the road so am available to pass on some crewing tips when ever. Where are you sailing from at the moment? I used to sail the old Dukes a while ago, she didnt mind breaking vangs...

tim 0408289421

Adelaide, a little way down the road

So we got out last Saturday and did about 5 hours on the water. Although it was light we erred on the cautious side and stuck with the #2rig. Got the kite up easily and did some reaching and a couple of gybes, then worked on perfecting the capsize drop technique (we still need to work on our co-ordination and as skipper I need to hook on in advance of the crew going in regardless of the light winds).
Some learning points we discovered for ourselves:
- 12's need the #1 rig in light weather
- Crew needs to work on upper body fitness
- Need to work on communication
- when the winds drop out, our 12 is a slow drifting half sunken bathtub

But we'll be out again tomorrow afternoon (with the #1 if its under 10 knots) and may even race on Saturday if we make some progress. Then probably a couple of week break to get some IC time up as well.

Woohoo

Had a great day on the water today with the #1 rig, sets and drops went well as did tacking and gybing. I think, if the weather is good, we'll do our first race next week.


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