Things not to do when flying a spinnaker

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mookie

Rank: Lubber

Registered: Apr 20, 2015

Last visit: Apr 28, 2021

Posts: 31
Posted: Jul 12, 2019 - 06:20 PM

Drop it early, drop it often.

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Falcon F-16
Taipan 4.9
S2 7.9
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wlrottge

Rank: Mate

Registered: Oct 24, 2006

Last visit: Jun 21, 2023

Posts: 160
Posted: Jul 12, 2019 - 06:26 PM

MN3any thoughts with this in regard to centerboards vs dagger boards?

You're hosed...

Kidding. So, since the boards are much lower aspect, they aren't nearly as efficient; not to mention shorter and don't have the leverage of a longer board.

With the Tornado Sport, you want a good half-gasket job and you just leave the down all the time. First, you need every bit of lift that you can get because of the larger sail plan. Second, you want a good seal between the trunk and the board, so if you create a situation where the gasket or trunk is catching water, that's worse than the drag from having the board full down. Full gaskets would let you run the board partially up and not behave like a parachute, but the half-gaskets can't because of the shape of the board/trunk.

For other centerboard boats; Prindle 18-2, 19, Hurricane 5.9, all depends on the shape of the board/trunk as well. If I remember correctly, the 18-2 and 19 are shaped so that the boards fit in the trunk even when partially rotated up? Regardless, if you're trying to wild thing without a kite, you need all the leverage you can get and therefore should have the board all the way down as well.

We ran a Tornado with a mast that is ~5' taller than stock and ~18% more sail area in the FL300 two years. There was never a time when we thought we needed to pull the boards up to depower like you would in a daggerboard boat. One, they just aren't very long/deep (leverage); two, because of the extra sail area, we were at a deficit for board lift even worse than normal. Keeping the boards down was a problem b/c you could hear the water in the trunk and the helm feel would change for the worse if they moved.

I think of it like the rudders on a Hobie 16. Just keep them down b/c you're more likely to lose speed because you were messing with them when you should have been trying to be smooth with the helm and sail trim.
MN3

Rank: Master Chief

Registered: Jun 20, 2006

Last visit: Apr 06, 2024

Posts: 7088
Posted: Jul 14, 2019 - 08:19 AM

wlrottge - I agree with all you said
what do you mean 1/2 gasket?

on my board-well (bottom) i use a 3" gasket that i either slit down the middle for the board or i cut it into 1/2 prior to gluing