The New Rig:

- Does the new style jib make any changes to the performance?
- How do we rig the new halyard system?
- With the jib tack now in front of the spinnaker chute, does this interfere with the spinnaker itself?
- How does the mast rake effect the performance of the boat?
- Any specific asymmetric twin wiring tips?

Q. Does the new style jib make any changes to the performance?

A. The new jib makes a difference from about force 2 upwards. It does get the boat planing upwind in less breeze than the existing jib. However, the most significant difference is that the boat is much better mannered on two sail reaches. It goes like a train and doesn't have quite such a tendency to nosedive. My feeling is that the extra roach on the jib creates additional lift for the bows. 
The new jib is quite a bit bigger (6.4m² vs. 5.3m²).                   

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Q. How do we rig the new halyard system?

A. The halyard seems to run OK. My set up on the new mast has the halyard externally fed. Graham Eeles wanted to run it internally - something I've tried to stop. To set it up I suggest the following;

1. Thread the halyard through the block at the top and drop both ends to the ground. 

2. Take the halyard end, which comes out of the left side of the block and run it down outside the gate through the block on the deck.

3. Then pass it to the double block at the front of the boat, taking care to go behind the post, which attached the space frame to the deck.

4. After the double block, thread it back to the new block on the floor below and to the right of the mast gate and up through the block and cleat on the space frame.

5. It then should be passed under the jib and spinnaker sheets to the back of the chute and then passed up the chute (using the tiller extension) to the front of the boat.

This should work. I'm not with the boat so I might not be completely correct, but it should be close enough. In essence the system works fine and if anything allows the spinnaker to drop too smoothly. The halyard for the new kite is supplied longer, but it is way too long. When we shortened it to the right length, it turned out to be just the same as the existing halyard, so I don't think there is any need for you to get a longer one.

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Q. With the jib tack now in front of the spinnaker chute, does this interfere with the spinnaker itself?

A. You should always hoist on starboard tack to avoid snagging the kite on launch (it is possible to launch on port, but you must be on a dead run). I've found that a hoist and then an immediate gybe is OK if I want to go left down the run. There's not real problem when it's windy, provided you stay low. Make sure that both of you are hooked on before you climb to pick up speed. The acceleration in a force 6+ is pretty alarming and you need to be secure.  Dropping can be exciting when windy. If you drop on port tack, then the helm should always pick up the left hand sheet and put the clew of the kite around the jib tack before you start dropping. That way, the kite falls on the deck and goes nicely down the chute. When it's honking, Keith (crew) and I always time our approach to the leeward mark so we can drop on starboard. The current fashion of twin leeward marks helps this strategy a lot ! Even on port tacks we can still drop a lot faster than boats with bags (L5000 and B14).

An alternative to dropping the kite on port is to approach on starboard with the kite up, then gybe onto port to round the buoy, but instead of gybing the kite, pull it in tighter so that when the gybe is completed, the kite is laying on the jib. This is all pretty safe no matter what wind strength, as you are pointing downwind anyway and it is less tiresome on the crew's arms. Don't let go of the sheet, until the kite is on it's way down into the chute. This method is called the "Kiwi drop" and you will find that most bagged asymmetrics use this method.

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Q. How does the mast rake effect the performance of the boat?

A. We're still not sure about mast rake. Certainly when you rake the new mast, the pointing does suffer. The boat also seems to be characteristically sluggish upwind until it breaks out and planes. I'm not sure how to facilitate this. When it's light, you can pull the new jib in really hard until it just starts to bend on the lowers (on new masts). This gives enough pointing ability to match the best pointing boats in light conditions. The board should be right down when it's light to keep pointing high.

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Q. Any specific asymmetric twin wiring tips?

A. As for the kite, it just looks after itself. Always remember to climb high early to get the flow established on both sides of the kite, even when it's light (force 2). You will need to twin trapeze always when sailing off the wind. This is a major change as we always used to single wire it downwind. I say always, because Keith and I are 29 stone together (<180kg) so if there's enough to keep us out.... Anyhow, I think the new kite adds a lot, it is ballistic off the wind. I will only use my old kite at Open Meetings.

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