TOPIC:

Hi folks,
I bought an Albacore in the summer and have been racing it with my wife over the last 3 months but always in handicap racing so haven't really had the opportunity to compete against another Albacore.
We seem to go quick and have won a number of club races but I still am learning how to set the sails. I used to sail an Enterprise and when sailing upwind you just bang the jib in hard. But when I do that on the Albacore the jib foot flutters like mad and its a fairly new sail (couple of seasons use) so I normally let it out until its stops fluttering. As I have no other Albacores to compare performance I don't know if this is ok or if I need to adjust the sheeting position or get a new jib.

any thoughts on this greatly appreciated.

Hi Tim

Banging the jib in hard is a sure way to go slowly, however because only the area of an Alb jib is measured they come in a number of different shapes - Tall and thin ("High aspect"), Shorter and fatter ("Low aspect" or "North American") and various in between.
In the UK the majority of jibs are fairly high aspect, these are very sensitive to jib sheet tension, more so that jib car position.

As a starting point try the following:
1) For the jib car (fairlead) position take a line from half way up the jib luff and extend this through the clew to the point where it meets the jib car tracks. This is pretty close to where the jib car should be set.

2) In the dinghy park (and in not too strong a wind) raise the sails and position the boat on a close hauled course.
Experiment with jib tension so that the leech of the jib matches the curve in the mainsail where they overlap. Note that just a few mm of jib sheet adjustment has an amplified effect on the jib leech position at spreader height.

3) NOW MARK THE JIB SHEET in this position so you have a reference point in the boat.
The mark will never be exact because the jib tension will require constant adjustment as wind pressure changes - ease a couple of mm in the lulls and tension back in the puffs.
The main should have a window around spreader height where you can check on the jib leech - the most important thing is not to strangle the slot between jib and main.

I would recommend you bring your boat to the training day at Maidenhead in April (to be confirmed) or one of the open meetings where there will be loads of helpful advice available from other Alb sailors.

Thank you John. Maidenhead is a bit of a stretch for us as we are in Blackpool. We are hoping to get to some events but the first one we will would consider is the Rudyard lake open in June.

In regard to the jib car position, do you move them forward when raking the mast back in strong winds or do you leave them and allow the jib slot to be more open?

Also I do not have a Cunningham on my mainsail, is it an unnecessary sail control or should I consider fitting one? I found that they were largely ineffective on the Enterprise except for taking the wrinkles out of the sail!

Cheers
Tim
6812 Acushla

Hi Tim,
you are about right to ease the jib untill the foot stops flapping.On your boat with the fairleads mounted at deck level on wings the positioning of the fairlead should be treated as per enterprise and is ,perhaps, not quite as important as those mounted on tank tops with yards of sheet between the fairlead and the cringle That jib is high aspect ratio (4M luff) and as John said can be a bit sensitive. If it looks right it is right. I never bothered with a cunningham either on Ents or Albacores nor would I unless short of weight ( unlikely). That boat had a dyneema halyard the last time I saw it and this can be usefully tweeked. I personally would not move fairleads for tempory mast rake changes. In big wind this allows the jib leach to twist of and open the slot.
Sam

We use the tell tale on the leech of the jib, in fact we have two, one above the spreader and one below. We use them in the same way as the top tell tale on the main.

In light airs we sail with between 1 and 3 inches of luff sag, whilst constantly playing the jib up wind.

When its windy and we can't get any more outhaul, we use Cunningham whilst trying not to rake too much.

We have the fairlead as far in as possibly, this however makes it easier to kill the slot. We don't normally move the fairlead position below 25knots.

Hope this helps!

Phil
A8152 Albaholic
Northern rep.

Hi Sam, thanks for the info. I have found I need to get the main halyard tight or the main gets luff creases that look all wrong to me.

Hi Phil, I find it interesting that you play the jib upwind in light airs, how do you do this? Please explain.
I'm guessing that the jib leech tell-tails are both streaming straight when set correctly? How do you see them when hiked out?

Many thanks guys for you advice.

Tim

Hi TIM,

Up wind we use both leech tell tales in light airs. We let the jib out so that the bottom tell tale fly's all the time and the top one breaks occasionally. In less than 7 knots it is the top 1/3 of the main that matters so in reality we let the jib out until it Luffs and then pull it back in a little.

When we are hiked it is the bottom 2/3 of the main that counts so we sheet in until a lull and then ease and bear off.

hope this helps.

cheers

Phil

Tim
re main hallyard adjustment we are talking about quite small movements +\- 6mmish. Too tight in light airs and its like sailing round with the cunningham pulled on. Not tight enough in breeze sail looks like a ploughed field My quick refference was light stuff ( force 1 and down) main up to JUST below the band. Medium (F 1+- 3) on the band. Brisk (F 3+-5)Pull up so the sail is above the band when static.The bend in the mast will allow the sail to come back to legal band level. Windy (F 5 and above) Who's bothered head for the bar!! but pull everything as tight as it will go.At this point a cunningham would be usefull.
Phils summing up of jib trim is exactly right except I am not a telltale fan relying on good crewing and what I can see. Luff starvation is obvious and almost always caused by over tight jib leech. Again we are talking about small movemnets when easing 12mm is quite a lot with your fairlead setup
Sam

Tim
re main hallyard adjustment we are talking about quite small movements +\- 6mmish. Too tight in light airs and its like sailing round with the cunningham pulled on. Not tight enough in breeze sail looks like a ploughed field My quick refference was light stuff ( force 1 and down) main up to JUST below the band. Medium (F 1+- 3) on the band. Brisk (F 3+-5)Pull up so the sail is above the band when static.The bend in the mast will allow the sail to come back to legal band level. Windy (F 5 and above) Who's bothered head for the bar!! but pull everything as tight as it will go.At this point a cunningham would be usefull.
Phils summing up of jib trim is exactly right except I am not a telltale fan relying on good crewing and what I can see. Luff starvation is obvious and almost always caused by over tight jib leech. Again we are talking about small movemnets when easing 12mm is quite a lot with your fairlead setup
Sam

So when you are sailing up wind what do you use to check your pointing? I sail on the jib luff tell tail but if you adjust the sheeting to get the leech set right surely that will mess with the luff tell tail? Sorry if these seem like dumb questions but its a new experience for me.

Cheers Sam I'll try experimenting next season

snettbish wrote:

So when you are sailing up wind what do you use to check your pointing? I sail on the jib luff tell tail but if you adjust the sheeting to get the leech set right surely that will mess with the luff tell tail? Sorry if these seem like dumb questions but its a new experience for me.

Tim steer the boat on the jib luff tell-tails, but make sure the jib sheet tension is set correctly using leech tell tails (Phil's method) or by the way the slot looks (me).

My crew only plays the jib upwind as the pressure changes - lady crew hence sheet usually in the cleat.

snettbish wrote:

Cheers Sam I'll try experimenting next season

Next Season!!!
The season(*) is only just beginning - we had 8 Albs out last Sunday and are hoping for 10 next Sunday.

John

(*)- Winter season.

In light airs when we have luff sag, I use the leading edge of the jib about a foot up, looking for a slight backwind, i also feel the pressure on the rudder and the heel of the boat.

In wind when we have no luff sag, we use a combination of the lowest tell tales and the leading edge of the jib. The jib will stay prety constant unless there is a big lull. We then concentrate on getting the kicker/mast strutt right and worry more about the tell tales on the leech of the main and keeping the boat flat.

We also let the main halyard down and inch in light airs.

My crew doesn't do cold and I think the boat needs a bit of tlc over the winter to make sure she is in good condition for the spring. Plus we are looking to change clubs next year so will wait til the spring before joining.