Gust response with traveller
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Hi,
One thing I’m not 100% clear on from reading all the tuning guides is how much – or whether – I should be using the traveller for gust response. In other classes it’s been my “go-to” reaction to a gust. Dump the traveller and you maintain twist while changing the sheeting angle.
With the OK the traveller seems more part of the set-up for a day rather than gust response. Am I doing it wrong?
H
Hi Hugh,
Been good to hear about the re-establishment of OKs in Ireland!
Personally I use the traveller a fair bit for gust response.
In flat water, you should feather a bit as well as the OK can point pretty high without losing too much speed
In chop, I’d tend to pull on more cunningham before droping the traveller to open up the leech and make the rig more responsive over wavesHope that helps!
Cheers
NickHi Nick,
I’m not sure that I’d say that OK Dinghies are “re-established” in Ireland yet, but we’re here and trying. The boats get constant attention from other racers, although it is hard to convince people that they should abandon their precious Lasers!
On the traveller, I was originally trying to maintain a couple of inches of the traveller as “gust response”, but wasn’t sure that I should be doing that in an OK. Finn and OK trim guides talk a lot about the automatic response of the mast in gusts but only talk about the traveller as part of set-up for the day…hence my slight confusion.
My previous habits in a variety of dinghy and keelboat classes would have been to drop the traveller and head up (slightly, if at all) in a gust, or drop traveller if I had to bear off to gain speed in chop.
From recent messing around in the boat I’d started trying to set up so that I could always drop the car at least a couple of inches for a puff in pretty much all hiking conditions.
When it’s REALLY honking do you ever have the car all the way even in the lulls and then depend on the vang to keep the boom down so you can still ease sheet in a big puff or waveset – or do you always keep the car in a little?
H
Hugh,
If i remember correctly your traveller is cut into the sidedeck, so all the way out for you is a couple of inches further than most boats. I would only expect to use that width if you find yourself on a fetch due to some dodgy race management.
There are occasions when i drop it all the way – but it would be to deal with 30 knots plus.
I would say that the traveller is a primary control on the OK – i probably adjust it 10-20 times on a beat, but not dynamically. I adjust to the changing conditions rather than use the traveller to dump power in a big gust. The rig needs to work for you in gusty weather combined with steering.
Cheers
TerryHi Terry,
My track stops at the edge of the cockpit https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/g3zBNqg4-zWyXkkFOVAHL3DESq9oMQXsX_1AZF7K4CU?feat=directlink With lots of cunningham and outhaul and track down I’ve sailed upwind perfectly comfortably in 30knots+. Even eased the outhaul a couple of times even in a real blow to make sure I had enough power. Downwind is another matter entirely :oops:
As regards the traveller, the rig response can open the top of the sail quite a bit but it can’t change the sheeting angle at the bottom. That’s why I was looking at the traveller again.
Now I have two really fast sailors saying opposite things! Nick says he uses traveller for gust response. You say you don’t. :?:
Poor me!
Mind you, different strokes for different folks, I guess. I had two vids on YouTube that showed similarly different styles.
Jonathan Lobert doesn’t seem to touch the traveller http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAvx5KZ7Wqk
but Thomas LeBreton does. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vdyJrBx5hg It’s the same day, I think.Both are considerably better sailors than I’ll ever be! Next time I have a puffy day I’ll try both approaches and see what works!
H
Hugh,
looking at the video clips LeBreton isn’t dropping the traveller dynamically in the gusts, but is continually retrimming as the general conditions change.
I don’t think anyone sails directly off the traveller in an OK (i may be wrong). I have sailed merlins with a full length traveller where you cleat off the mainsheet at the beginning of the beat and only use the traveller to play the gusts upwind. I don’t think that works in an ok because you have to drop the traveller and ease the sheet together to enable the car to go down.I think It needs to be a combination of steering to manage the immediate gusts and trimming the traveller to the general conditions – which can be quite frequent too if the wind strength is variable. That is certainly how i sail the OK.
Terry
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