Light Air Setup....

[Patrick Parisienne]

Hi everyone,

Just wondering about how people go about setting up their rigs for lighter winds, and their reasoning behind it.

For example this is how I setup my Obsession:

Sails: Craig Smith
Mast: 11.1 mm Groovy

Jib boom sheeted 55-60mm out from centre of mast.
Jib downhaul slack where luff ripples are present, to encourage the draft to move aft.
A touch more topping lift (leach 40-45mm off leach line.
20mm of camber in the foot.

Main Boom centered to 5mm off mainsheet post.
Cunningham off, allowing slight puckers in the bottom panel (groovy sail)
Mast ram off, to allow the draft to move aft.
Twist so the middle batten points aft, top batten laid off, and bottom batten hooked to windward.
20mm of camber in the foot.

Shrouds loosened 2 turns on rigging screws, to help flatten the main, and reduce rig tension, can run less backstay than normal.
Backstay adjusted so the the sail is relatively flat, only a little shape in the top seam.

Rake unchanged, set-up as per Craig Smith recommendation.

I try to get the draft aft to move the Centre of Effort back, as well as sheeting the jib wider to encourage the boat to hunt the breeze, and let the rig 'breathe'....

Is this consistent with what most people run, or not?

Cheers,

Pat