The call was good except we got there too late. While I was rigging it looked great. While I was out with Ariel on top of the Start board, we actually had one very good planing run with a huge gust that came up. (He's an extra 50 pounds!) Bill missed it because he was rigging. I got to try his Naish Titan. It feels a lot smaller than it's 135 liters. Very weird to tack that board since the front is so narrow-you have to be quick. The rest of the session was typical for summer, good to practice pivot jibes and tacks.
Might try Old 41 again tomorrow if the wind comes up. Might try some of my giant sails this time.
Mimi
He thinks it's all pretty cool. Well, he got to stand up and hold the boom, which he thought was really neat, but the best part was "surfing" in the traditional stance just in front of the mast foot. I was trying to show him how to watch for wind. He also complained about being hungry... Some people in a nearby boat asked if was the navigator.
Mimi
Mimi,
Be careful with him on the front of the deck. If for some bizarre reason you get catapaulted it, you want to make sure he's not in the place where the mast is going to come down.
I've never gone over the handlebars on the Start and only once on the Formula board, but the possibility exists and the physics of the whole affair don't favor the peewee.
But it is a blast to take two for a ride. Another reason I love Starts and their brethren.
Mimi,
Be careful with him on the front of the deck. If for some bizarre reason you get catapaulted it, you want to make sure he's not in the place where the mast is going to come down.
I've never gone over the handlebars on the Start and only once on the Formula board, but the possibility exists and the physics of the whole affair don't favor the peewee.
But it is a blast to take two for a ride. Another reason I love Starts and their brethren.
Webguy,
You are right to be careful. When in doubt, I don't take the kids on the board.
On another subject, I was rigging up a Naish Stealth yesterday and couldn't finish because the cams would keep popping out as I was trying to thread the mast throught the mast sleeve. They are large cups and I can't see how they would "pop" into place after you outhaul. I think the sail is 2000 or 2001 and a 7.3. Any suggestions for a website that might have rigging instructions?
Mimi
Mimi -- I have never rigged a Naish Stealth, but I have rigged other type sails with large plastic cups (Sailworks and Gaastra). I would bet that the process is very similar.
Go ahead and slide the mast in the sleeve not worrying about the cams staying on. Just make sure the cams are all on the same side of the mast (probably best to have the cams under the mast). Go ahead and downhaul almost to the finished setting. Then, and most importanly -- OVER OUTHAUL the sail. This is very important! Then with the sail laying on the ground, start with the top most cam and push down hard on the batten near where the batten meets the cam. It should pop on. Then tighten the batten and go to the next cam. Once all the cams are on, reduce the outhaul to the desired position, and maybe downhaul the sail a little more if needed.
Norths that used the same process were easier to rig if little to no downhaul was on the sail but the overhaul was out to the correct setting. My personal preference was to leave the cams on the top of the sail when rigging so that I could pop the cams on by pushing down on the batten about a foot or so behind the mast and the cams would slide down on with maybe an extra push on the cam, too. Some folks like to put more downhaul in this process, my experience was the less luff sleeve tension, the better.
Chris's main point is the key, though. Outhaul is your friend in this process.
As sails are different, if his suggestions- which should work- don't quite get you there, try a bit less downhaul. Some folks use this method even with cams that are meant to slide on- I've used it in a pinch when cams pop off that shouldn't and I really don't want to pull out the mast and try again. Some late '90s NP were a pain about that.
Thanks to both of you for your suggestions. I did tension the outhaul with the hopes of popping in the cams, but didn't get it tight enough. That's probably the solution. I couldn't see how those plastic cups were ever going to get on the mast, so I just gave up and rigged a wave sail. I won't even mess with loosening the battens-they have been "locked" in place for all these years and when I tried to pry on open one of them, the latch cracked off but not critically. The mast length suggested is 490 but it seemed too short, so I gave more centimeters via the extension. The dimensions fo the outhaul seemed short as well and I lengthened the boom 2 notches as well. I'm going to have to ask Dan B. how he rigged this sail in the past since it was his to begin with.
Mimi,
Make sure you differentiate between "mast length" and "luff length". Sometimes they are used interchangeably and sometimes not. "mast length" refers to the suggested mast size, "luff length" is the rigged dimension from mast tip to base extension cleat (usually). This sail may also rig with only a bit of outhaul at all, so don't yank it way beyond the specs.
Mimi,
How was it?
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
The call was good except we got there too late. While I was rigging it looked great. While I was out with Ariel on top of the Start board, we actually had one very good planing run with a huge gust that came up. (He's an extra 50 pounds!) Bill missed it because he was rigging. I got to try his Naish Titan. It feels a lot smaller than it's 135 liters. Very weird to tack that board since the front is so narrow-you have to be quick. The rest of the session was typical for summer, good to practice pivot jibes and tacks.
Might try Old 41 again tomorrow if the wind comes up. Might try some of my giant sails this time.
Mimi
Mimi
Mimi,
What did Ariel have to say about his ride on the Start? I wish I could have seen him.
Patrick
He thinks it's all pretty cool. Well, he got to stand up and hold the boom, which he thought was really neat, but the best part was "surfing" in the traditional stance just in front of the mast foot. I was trying to show him how to watch for wind. He also complained about being hungry... Some people in a nearby boat asked if was the navigator.
Mimi
Mimi
Mimi,
Be careful with him on the front of the deck. If for some bizarre reason you get catapaulted it, you want to make sure he's not in the place where the mast is going to come down.
I've never gone over the handlebars on the Start and only once on the Formula board, but the possibility exists and the physics of the whole affair don't favor the peewee.
But it is a blast to take two for a ride. Another reason I love Starts and their brethren.
Mimi,
Be careful with him on the front of the deck. If for some bizarre reason you get catapaulted it, you want to make sure he's not in the place where the mast is going to come down.
I've never gone over the handlebars on the Start and only once on the Formula board, but the possibility exists and the physics of the whole affair don't favor the peewee.
But it is a blast to take two for a ride. Another reason I love Starts and their brethren.
Webguy,
You are right to be careful. When in doubt, I don't take the kids on the board.
On another subject, I was rigging up a Naish Stealth yesterday and couldn't finish because the cams would keep popping out as I was trying to thread the mast throught the mast sleeve. They are large cups and I can't see how they would "pop" into place after you outhaul. I think the sail is 2000 or 2001 and a 7.3. Any suggestions for a website that might have rigging instructions?
Mimi
Mimi
Mimi -- I have never rigged a Naish Stealth, but I have rigged other type sails with large plastic cups (Sailworks and Gaastra). I would bet that the process is very similar.
Go ahead and slide the mast in the sleeve not worrying about the cams staying on. Just make sure the cams are all on the same side of the mast (probably best to have the cams under the mast). Go ahead and downhaul almost to the finished setting. Then, and most importanly -- OVER OUTHAUL the sail. This is very important! Then with the sail laying on the ground, start with the top most cam and push down hard on the batten near where the batten meets the cam. It should pop on. Then tighten the batten and go to the next cam. Once all the cams are on, reduce the outhaul to the desired position, and maybe downhaul the sail a little more if needed.
Norths that used the same process were easier to rig if little to no downhaul was on the sail but the overhaul was out to the correct setting. My personal preference was to leave the cams on the top of the sail when rigging so that I could pop the cams on by pushing down on the batten about a foot or so behind the mast and the cams would slide down on with maybe an extra push on the cam, too. Some folks like to put more downhaul in this process, my experience was the less luff sleeve tension, the better.
Chris's main point is the key, though. Outhaul is your friend in this process.
As sails are different, if his suggestions- which should work- don't quite get you there, try a bit less downhaul. Some folks use this method even with cams that are meant to slide on- I've used it in a pinch when cams pop off that shouldn't and I really don't want to pull out the mast and try again. Some late '90s NP were a pain about that.
Thanks to both of you for your suggestions. I did tension the outhaul with the hopes of popping in the cams, but didn't get it tight enough. That's probably the solution. I couldn't see how those plastic cups were ever going to get on the mast, so I just gave up and rigged a wave sail. I won't even mess with loosening the battens-they have been "locked" in place for all these years and when I tried to pry on open one of them, the latch cracked off but not critically. The mast length suggested is 490 but it seemed too short, so I gave more centimeters via the extension. The dimensions fo the outhaul seemed short as well and I lengthened the boom 2 notches as well. I'm going to have to ask Dan B. how he rigged this sail in the past since it was his to begin with.
Mimi
Mimi,
Make sure you differentiate between "mast length" and "luff length". Sometimes they are used interchangeably and sometimes not. "mast length" refers to the suggested mast size, "luff length" is the rigged dimension from mast tip to base extension cleat (usually). This sail may also rig with only a bit of outhaul at all, so don't yank it way beyond the specs.
Ain't sail rigging fun?