Take a stroll down the tips page. As this page grows,
categories will be created to make finding tips easier.
There are many good books and other sources for
racing tips from sailors with a lot more experience than I have,
so don’t expect these to be the ultimate enlightenment
for your racing campaign. A fellow racing buddy who sadly was
unable to attend MNAC/BNAC 2004 congratulated me on my win,
and asked me to rattle-off 10 racing tips.
Most of these are just good common sense, but
some are more specific to the Mutineer than others, but they
worked for me at MNAC. What I focus on and what I learn changes
with each regatta, but with 5 days of racing at MNAC fresh in
my mind, this is what I replied:
Speed:
1. Have good sails and learn how to shift
gears with them.
2. Sail the boat very level fore and aft.
Don't underestimate what it takes to do that, especially in
a Mutineer. Sail the boat with very little heel, feeling little
to no helm. It's even more important than on the Bucc, according
to Dick Gibbs, because of the higher ratio of waterline length
to beam.
3. Be still in the boat. Any rocking or
shaking disrupts the forward drive.
4. Tune the boat and rig and foils as carefully
as time allows, paying attention to upwind performance if a
compromise has to be made. Then, don’t worry about what
you didn’t get done on your checklist, just sail the snot
out of it.
Strategy/Tactics/Psychology
5. Get a good start, don’t worry about
getting the best start. Then be patient for speed and opportunities
to develop.
6. Sail the lifted tacks, especially upwind.
Get comfortable with a compass, you won’t know the subtle
lifted tacks without it.
7. If you're in the lead and seem to be
pulling away, don't change much. Start to cover rather than
trying for a “horizon job”.
8. If you're behind anyone, study them.
Figure out what they are doing differently, and then do it better.
Don't make excuses for second place, make changes. I learn more
being behind someone than being in front.
9. Keep learning. My daughter made a slide
show of pictures of my boat for my computer screensaver. Sometimes
I'll see something new to improve even though I've seen the
picture a thousand times.
10. Practice your weaknesses, not your strengths.
Practice your competitor's strengths. My neighbor is an excellent
light air sailor. I started to be content that he was going
to win the light air races, and I'd win the heavy. That's stupid.
By competing and practicing with him in his conditions, I became
a better light air sailor.
Gib Charles
The following settings are those we’ve found
to be the fastest for your new North sails. After experimenting
you may find slightly different settings which may mean even
better boat speed for you and your style of sailing. If you
have any questions or problems, please don’t hesitate
to call. We are anxious to help you go faster and win more races!
Onshore Adjustments
Mast Rake: It is best to set up the mast rake
on your Mutineer so that with the correct amount of rig tension
the mast will be nearly vertical or raked slightly aft (up to
2 degrees). As a final check , the boom should be drooped
slightly below parallel to the horizon at the outboard end when
trimmed in and sailing upwind in a 10 -15 mph breeze. In winds
below that (8-10 mph) the boom should just be level with the
horizon. Most importantly, when sailing upwind in 10 mph
winds with the boat level, there should be none to very little
weather helm.
Rig Tension: We have found that the Mutineer performs
better with the rig set up very tight. Set the jib stay tension
so that the leeward shroud does not go slack when sailing upwind
until it is blowing 10-12 mph. This rig tension can be tuned
in with the jib stay through the use of a magic box or a Hyfield
lever.
To set up this amount of rig tension without a
magic box or lever, ease off your spinnaker or mainsail halyard
enough so that another person can stand at least 10’ in
front of the boat and hold onto the halyard. Then, recleat
the halyard and have them pull on it hard enough so that the
correct amount of rig tension can be set.
Jib Lead Position: The recommended jib lead angle
is 10 degrees off the centerline of the boat. Unfortunately
there are several different jib lead positions on the different
model Mutineer boats that have been built. We suggest measuring
out 10 degrees and try to set your lead accordingly side to
side to meet the adjustment.
As for fore and aft trim, set your jib leads so that the jib
luff breaks evenly from top to bottom in light to medium winds.
In winds above 10-12 mph it is best to move the leads back 2".
In winds above 20-25 mph it is best to move the lead back another
2".
Sailing Adjustments
Main and Jib Cunningham: For both the main and
the jib, never pull tighter than to just remove the wrinkles.
It is best to leave just a hint of horizontal wrinkles from
the luff of your main and jib to be sure that you don’t
have it pulled too tight.
Your North Mutineer jib is fitted with a small
plastic clam cleat so you can easily adjust the cloth tension
on your luff wire. As on the main, it is a good idea to set
the cloth tension so there is just a hint of wrinkles coming
off the luff of the jib. It is better to err toward the loose
side than the tight side of luff tension on your North Mutineer
sails.
Outhaul: Your North Mutineer main is fitted with
a shelf foot which, when eased, will give the main incredible
power. We suggest pulling the outhaul tight enough to close
the shelf (so that the top seam is parallel with the boom) when
sailing upwind in all conditions except very light winds with
extreme chop. In these conditions it is advantageous to ease
the outhaul 1-2" to open the shelf up approximately 2-3"
at the center of the boom. When sailing downwind or on a reach
it is a good idea to ease the outhaul off so that the shelf
is completely open and the sail is very deep down low. However,
never are vertical wrinkles in the foot advantageous. Never
ease the outhaul off to this point.
Jib Sheet Trim: There is no easy guide for jib
sheet trim on the Mutineer. Basically, we are looking for a
parallel slot between the exit of the jib and the entry of the
main. The guide that has been used with success is that of imagining
a batten in the jib at mid-leech. This "batten" is
usually set parallel to the centerline of the boat which makes
the upper leech of the jib twist outboard slightly and the lower
leech of the jib twist inboard slightly. It seems that 90% of
the boat speed problems on the Mutineer are due to faulty jib
sheet trim.
Mainsheet Trim: The mainsheet should be
pulled tight enough so that the last 18" of the upper compression
batten on the main is set parallel with the boom. This is sighted
from underneath the boom and lining the batten and the boom
parallel on a vertical plane. In light winds it is sometimes
impossible to keep the upper batten from hooking slightly to
weather because of the weight of the boom hanging on the leech
of the sail. In these conditions and in choppy water we suggest
easing the sheet out approximately 6" so that the upper
batten will then become more or less aligned with the centerline
of the boat. In choppy conditions ease the mainsheet approximately
6" to open the upper batten slightly to or past parallel
to the boom. This is a "power" gear which will allow
the mast to straighten slightly and the main become fuller.
Picture the mainsheet as your accelerator. As your boat picks
up speed, pull the main tighter and tighter until the upper
batten is parallel to the boom. In light winds or when the boat
is hit with a wave and is slow downwind, ease the mainsheet
so that the upper batten is angled outboard slightly inducing
"twist" into the sail.
Upper Compression Batten: Your North Mutineer
main is fitted with a full-length upper batten that fits into
plastic protectors along the luff of the sail. The Velcro adjustment
allows you to change the tension on this batten as the conditions
change. However, 90% of the time we set the upper batten in
the pocket just tight enough to barely remove the vertical wrinkles
along the pocket. To over-compress the batten will induce more
fullness into the sail than it is designed for and will tend
to hook the leech to windward in all but the heaviest conditions.
It is best to slide the batten into the pocket, putting very
little tension on the batten and pocket before setting it in
the Velcro.
Boomvang: Downwind the vang should be trimmed
tight enough to keep the boom down and the leech set on the
mainsail so that the upper batten is parallel to the boom. Basically
we are looking for the main to set as it does when sailing upwind
in a medium breeze. Upwind in medium to heavy winds the vang
is set just tight enough to keep the tail end of the upper batten
parallel to the boom. In heavy breezes this may require a great
deal of boomvang tension as this will also help bend the mast
and flatten the sail. In light winds (below 8 mph) never use
any boomvang tension upwind.
Spinnaker Trim: Sail your North spinnaker with
a 6-12" curl in the luff. Careful concentration is needed.
Use short, smooth "ins and outs" on the sheet to keep
the spinnaker trimmed correctly. Try to keep from jerking the
sheet when the spinnaker begins to collapse. Keep the clews
even at all time through the adjustments on your topping (pole)
lift. In some conditions it is difficult to see the leeward
clew behind the mainsheet so you can use another guide of adjusting
the pole height so that the center vertical seam in the spinnaker
is parallel to the mast. The pole position to the wind should
be set so that the pole is nearly perpendicular to the wind.
We wish you good luck and fast sailing. If you
have any further questions, please feel free to give us a call.
For tuning help, contact the North Mutineer experts.
