Rigging Your Boat

These tips for launching and tuning your boat are based on my observations. Others may do it differently, but I have a good reason for each step described.

Launching

1. Get ready to raise the mast by removing clutter from the floor of the boat, and by moving the boom to one side. Attach the side stays to the boat, and be sure that the trailer is attached to the car. Keep the boat strapped to the trailer until just before entering the water.
2. Stand in the rear of the cockpit with your feet well braced. Place the butt of the mast on the floor against the bulkhead. Walk forward with the mast until it is vertical to the ground.
3. Be sure the stays and halyards are not caught on anything. With your hands at least 15 inches apart, lift the mast straight up and place it on the mast step. If the mast starts to get away, put it back down into the boat. If the butt has made it to the step, push the mast forward so that it is caught and held by the side stays. Have a friend attach the forestay. Always double check to see that the stays are correctly secured.
4. Check for water in the bow and side tanks by pulling the rubber corks. Replace the corks, close the bailers, and check the transom plug.
5. Do not hoist your sails in the parking lot unless it is a very calm winded day. It is a bad habit to get into, and it can make launching very dangerous if the wind is strong. Likewise, you should have your sails down before pulling the boat out of the water. Do not put the rudder on unless it has been raised (the boat cannot be paddled to the docking area with the rudder down). Put on your life jackets prior to entering the boat.
6. Stand with a paddle in the stern while another person backs the trailer and boat into the water. Avoid having the trailer bearings underwater for an extended amount of time or in deep water. Use the paddle to push the boat off the trailer and immediately drop the centerboard all the way if the water is deep enough. Sit on the bow with your feet nearly touching the water and paddle to a dock where your bow will point into the wind. If there are no docks you may have to use an anchor to hold the boat while you hoist the sails, or have a crew member stand in the water and hold the boat.
7. Insert the battens and raise the main without the boom. Be sure the mainsheet is rigged to the boom (in case the wind catches it) but with plenty of slack (hold the boom up to its regular height to check the slack). While your crew feeds the main, slide the boom into the foot of the main.
8. Raise the jib. Tension the luff of the jib and the foot of the main according to the strength of the wind, not very tight in light air, but about as tight as you can get it if the wind is strong (20 mph and higher). The boom vang should have some tension at all times. The jib fair leads should be positioned so that the jib luffs evenly from top to bottom. Have a more experienced sailor show your these things. Add some tell tails to the side stays and sails you are ready to sail away!

Tuning the Rig

You will want to balance the helm (tiller) of your boat so that the boat has a slight tendency to "head up wind" when a puff hits when reaching and beating. Four things affect this balance: the rake of the mast, the setting of the centerboard, the trim of the sails, and the heel (tilt) of the boat. Do not attempt to balance the boat by partly raising the centerboard. It should be all the way down when beating.

With regard to the trim of the sails, you should have the jib and the main pulling in synchronization. Do not have the main pulling while the jib is flapping or vice versa. The sails should both be trimmed about the same and pulling about the same. If the jib is cleated but the main is flapping you will have severe lee helm. This condistion will turn the boat sideways so that he wind can knock the boat over.

The heel of the hull is another important factor. As the boat heels, the curved side of the bow is submersed. This acts as a very powerful steering force, turning the boat into the wind. When wind hits the boat, the boat tilts even more. The steering force often overpowers the rudder, the boat spins dead into the wind or even onto the other tack. Aside from making it impossible to balance, excessive heel slows the boat greatly as the boat wallows and fights the helm. Heel your boat about 5 to 10 degrees. If the wind blows your boat further over than 10 degrees, point the boat up wind, and allow the sails to luff a little and slip a little wind. It also helps not to sheet the boom too close to the centerline of the boat in heavy air; put on the vang very tight and allow the boom to ease out to the corner of the cockpit.

Having neutralized the factors of centerboard angle, sail trim, and boat heel, you are now ready to trim the boat by altering the position and the rake of the mast. By moving the mast forward you move the sails forward with respect to the centerboard. The centerboard represents the center of effort or pivot point of the hull. With more sail area ahead of the pivot point the lee helm will increase, and the weathered helm will decrease.

Your jib halyard line is attached to a wire having three "balls" or wedges that fit into the halyard lock on the mast. Using the first o these balls allows the mast to lean back for increased weather helm, using the last pulls the mast forward to decrease the weather helm. Adjust the rake until the tiller pulls lightly against your grip when wind hits it. Under no condition should you tolerate a lee helm a condition where the tiller pushed towards you as the puff of wind hits. If you need more adjust them by moving the butt of the mast a notch forward or back. On my boat the butt of the mast is forward one notch and the mast is raked forward by pulling the third ball into the halyard lock. Variations in the sails and hull will make your boat different, so start with the second ball in the lock and the butt of the mast centered. It is important to balance each boat individually. Others may sail the boat flatter and trim the sails differently, hence their settings may not be right for the way you sail the boat.