boudicca wrote:
What kind of tension do you put on the rig for light wind? It's winter in NoCal and the wind will be light...although sometimes it turns on unexpectedly. What to do?
In Southern California I think most people run their rig tension at about 175 (kgs using the Harken Pro Tune). This is a good setting for up to 12-15 knots.Less tension will help you power up your sails in the light, however it can also mean less support for your mast. So you have to find a balance... you don't want to get caught out in 30 knots with the wrong rig tension!
In your case you are already have the advantage of less crew weight which is going to be an advantage in light wind. You're better to have more rig tension (relative to other boats) so that when it does pick up you can de-power more than the boats with more crew weight. To help in light wind focus on sail trim - don't over trim your jib, move your jib cars forward, don't over tighten your jib halyard, keep your crew weight forward and leeward if necessary to create a bit of heel angle. For your main make sure you ease your outhaul and keep your cunningham trimmed so the luff has some "speed" wrinkles. Also travel to center and don't crank your main sheet quite as tight as you would in the breeze. Check your batten tension - they should help to give the sail shape - just be careful not to over tighten otherwise the sail will stay inverted when you tack in light breeze. Downwind with the spinnaker sail deeper than normal, ease your tack line a few inches (will help you drive deeper) and you can experiment with easing your spinnaker halyard a few inches too. Push your main all the way out and put your vang on. Put your crew weight to windward and rock the boom up into the sky dinghy style.
Hope that helps...
