|
Q - I'm getting ready to sail my new to me SJ23 on its maiden sail/race and want to hear where crew go in the smallish cockpit, especially with the myriad of tack and gybe adjustments that happen often. Ron Wright. A - The first step is to assign everyone to a job. You can practice at the dock on a windless day with proxies of some kind used as sails.
- The SJ24 is best sailed with 4 crew with two ahead of the driver and the trimmer/tactician aft of the driver. The driver sits at the cabin bulkhead, where she runs the sheet, traveler, and that funny stick thing. The trimmer/tactician sits aft of the driver and is responsible for avoiding collisions, genoa halyard adjustment, spinnaker sheets at launch/retrieve time, usually handing off sheet responsibility once the chute is hoisted to give someone else something to do. During gybes, if it is me in the trimmer/tactician spot, I fly the chute through the gybe to make certain it stays full, handing off the new sheet to forward crew after the guy (not boy) is cleated. Another thing that the trimmer/tactician has been known to do at a leeward mark rounding and other times where the trimmer/tactician can better observe the goings on, is to "help" the driver steer the boat around the mark or obstruction with their legs, guiding the tiller, sometimes to the disdain of the driver.
A driver can get pretty full of themselves at times and is sometimes confused with trust issues. Just sayin'. I don't care if I drive or help the driver: the jib trim and communication is crucial in the speed equation.
During a tack, if you have 4 crew, two typically cross forward of the cabin bulkhead. Some boats have both crew go under the boom. Others have one go ahead and another aft of the mast, whatever it takes to make the jib tack smoothly. The trimmer/tactician stays aft of the driver and can step over the tiller to the other side as they are likely standing on the cockpit seat anyway, not the cockpit sole.
- The SJ23 seems best sailed pretty much the same way. Only two crew are required if your visibility of other boats is good. You can have the driver at the cabin bulkhead, like the SJ24, and the crew forward of the cockpit, coming aft to tack/trim then return.
Downwind, the driver runs the aft end and the crew runs the forward end. With a spinnaker, that means the bow crew prepares the chute for launch, sets the pole, and takes down the jib if needed. Meanwhile, the driver steers with the tiller between their legs, hoists the spinnaker, and maintains control until that wonderful bow crew finally returns from the pointy end, for worship and accolades on a job well done. One trick is to pull in a bunch of the sheet/guy and cleat them off for a short time, while you raise the halyard. Don't use your teeth! Maintain control of the boat and don't dump the crew. During a tack with three or four crew, the trimmer/tactician sits aft of the driver, tucked up tight against whatever space she leaves you. The rest is pretty well the same as an SJ24.
A few go-arounds with proxy sails will get all of you moving together.
- Balance: no boat goes fast with its butt dragging, so in general, keep weight generally forward. In light air, heel the boat to leeward slightly, in a breeze sit high. Downwind in lighter air, a little heel to windward keeps the sail plan area and force directly above the wet part of the boat. The driver needs a neutral helm, indicating reduced drag, and can give feedback to the crew positioning when the sweet-spot is attained. Dick Rose gave me a quantum leap of improvement in downwind sailing back in the day. He said, "Imagine you are a seal in the circus, balancing a ball on your nose where the sail plan is your ball. Keep the seal (you) underneath that ball". So, when you feel weather helm downwind, the boat is heeling too much, so steer under the sails, adjust trim as necessary. If you feel lee helm, beware of an unintentional gybe, perhaps trim in a little, or shift weight a bit to level the boat.
Boy, there are a lot of little tricks that I don't even think about anymore. They have become natural
with time. Cheers! Gleno. A - If you want to sail your SJ23 at its fastest, the boat must be sailed level on its water line. Do not let the turn of the transom go below the water line. If it does, send the gear forward, followed by the crew into the cabin, if required. The tiller should feel more balanced with the weight forward. I transferred weight from under Panache`s cockpit to the bow by moving the water tank. I keep both the water tank and the head full of water. I also store the storm jib, my sleeping gear, rain gear and daily sailing stuff on the forward berth. In addition, I loaded up the anchor locker with the maximum line and chain. I don't have huge demands of gas for the outboard so I switched back to the smaller 2.5 gallon gas tank. It holds sufficient fuel to motor the length of our lake, twice. All of this helps to offset the weight of the crew in the cockpit which makes for faster sailing, more responsive handling, higher pointing, and less hunting at anchor. All boats sail at their optimum while on their water line, especially flatter bottomed trailerable boats.
Bob
|