Ian Pickard & Steve Dunn look at tuning your RS 200
This tuning guide is a based upon the settings of Steve Dunn and Ian Pickard, you will notice a range of settings and various ways of driving the boat. Also the large weight range of both teams, both teams are competitive in all wind conditions showing that the rig can be controlled to generate the correct amount of power for the all up crew weight.
Steves comment; I sail towards with around 19.5 stone in the boat Ian, has about 23 stone the upper end of the suggested crew weight range for the RS200. In both boats the helm is heavier than the crew. If you are significantly lighter or heavier than these all-up weights, or sail with different relative helm/crew weights, different settings may suit your boat, as described below.
One of the joys of the RS200 is that it is not a tweaky boat, small changes to the rig will not make a huge difference to the speed of the boat the only answer is time on the water with a regular crew.
STATIC RIG CONTROLS those you adjust ashore before racing
Mast Rake this affects the balance of the boat and the trade-off between upwind and downwind speed (more rake = faster upwind and vice-versa). Mast rake is measured by hoisting a long tape measure on the main halyard with the rig tension on. I sail with a rake of 218 (6585mm), measured to the top of the rudder turret, giving a good balance between upwind and downwind speed. I go down half a hole if its really windy, giving a rake of 217 (6580mm)
Spreaders the spreader length and deflection affect the sideways and fore/aft bend of the mast respectively. Long spreaders and/or low deflection resist the bending loads imposed on the mast while sailing, keeping power in the rig great for heavier teams. Shortening the spreaders and/or increasing the deflection permits the mast to bend more while sailing, helping de-power the rig better suited to lighter teams. In the search for power, my spreaders are set to a 400mm long and a deflection of about 126mm. More usual settings are 380-385mm long and a deflection of 135-145mm. Light teams may find a length of 360-370mm and deflection of 150-160mm enables them to de-power the rig for heavier winds, with fore/aft bend flattening the mainsail upwind and sideways bend opening the slot between the jib and mainsail upwind and flattening the mainsail downwind. As a rule, I dont adjust my spreaders for different wind strengths. The standard deflection will cause the mast to invert (i.e. bend backwards) with the rig tension on but without the mainsail hoisted dont panic, this is correct! Once the mainsail is hoisted, the luff-curve and full-length battens force bend into the mast. Lastly, if you see horizontal creases at the luff of the mainsail, dont be tempted to use the cunningham to pull them out. They are a sign of too much mast bend, so either reduce the spreader deflection or live with the creases if youre a light team looking to reduce power.
Rig Tension affects the way the spreaders control mast bend and also affects the shape of the jib by applying tension to the luff. Less rig tension reduces the affect of the spreaders, enabling the mast to bend more, but allows the jib luff to sag aft and to leeward (fuller jib and poor pointing). More rig tension will have the opposite affect. Steve comments; I tend to sail with the luff of the jib just following the shape of the forestay. This means I use about 340lbs in winds to about 15 knots and then increase this to about 360 in more wind. In very windy conditions inland I increase the tension to 400lbs and on the sea drop it to 320 lbs. Ians settings are here; My average setting is about 320lbs (27 on a SuperSpar rig tension gauge), and I tend to sail with a bit less in the light stuff (285lbs 25 on the gauge) and more when its blowing (up to 400lbs 30 on the gauge). This is okay for heavier teams, as the increased tension keeps the power in the rig when its windy. Lighter teams can try reducing the tension a little (try 270/285lbs 24/25 on the gauge) to permit the mast to bend more and de-power the rig.
Mast foot position this works in conjunction with the mast rake in balancing the boat. This is personal preference I prefer a bit of weather helm upwind and neutral downwind; Steve prefers neutral helm upwind and a bit of lee helm downwind. Basically if youre having to rake the rig much more or less than 217 to find reasonable balance upwind with the boat flat you may need to move the mast foot forward will tend towards lee helm and vice versa.
DYNAMIC RIG CONTROLS those you can adjust while sailing
Kicker by far the most important control on the boat, other than the sheets and rudder of course! In light wind I use very little kicker tension upwind just enough to help the battens to flick across during a tack; downwind I let it all the way off, putting a little back on for each gybe, again to help the battens flick across. In medium winds I play the kicker upwind on in the gusts to power-up and maximise pointing, off in the lulls to twist the mainsail leech and keep the boat driving; downwind I let the kicker off as far as possible. In heavy winds I apply more and more kicker tension upwind to control the power in the rig; downwind I let quite a lot of kicker off, but not so much that the head of the mainsail goes forward of the mast, or the boat can become difficult to control. A good guide for upwind kicker tension is that the second telltale down should fly about half the time if it flies the whole time, you need more kicker; if its stalled all the time youve too much kicker on. Dont be afraid to use loads of kicker upwind when its windy, as its very affective for controlling the power of the rig just make sure you ease some before bearing off, or you may lose your mast! Lastly, if youre overpowered on a close reach with the spinnaker up, let off loads of kicker and pull on loads of cunningham. This opens the leech of the main right up, spilling most or all of the power from the top of the main it also keeps the end of the boom out of the water enabling you to dump the main in gusts.
Outhaul a simple control which affects the power in the lower part of the mainsail. It should be fully eased downwind in all conditions. Steve comments; When sailing upwind in light airs I have the foot of the sail bar tight as soon as you can feel the breeze inland I ease it so that the sail is about 2 cms of the boom at the maximum, on the sea I ease it so that it is about 5 cms off the boom. When things get hectic I pull it all the way in again. Ians comments are here; Upwind I sail with the foot just touching the boom in light/medium winds and tighten the outhaul gradually as we power-up, moving to bar tight if were overpowered.
Cunningham a control of last resort! The cunningham has a devastating affect on your upwind speed, as it drags all the fullness in the mainsail to the front. This closes the slot between the mainsail and jib, significantly reducing the efficiency of the rig and preventing you from pointing. When youre really overpowered, have pulled on as much kicker as you can, and are dumping the mainsail a lot, then start pulling on some cunningham. The advantage is that it opens the top of the mainsail leech, spilling power from the top and reducing the heeling force. As a comment here Jon Lewis advocates a much more extensive use of the cunningham.
Jib fairleads the position, along with sheet tension, affects the fullness and leech twist of the jib. They should be almost all the way back (the actual hole depends on the length of the jib tack shackle) to prevent the jib leech from hooking and closing the slot. Even so, you will have to ease the sheet an inch or two in light wind to stop the leech hooking.
Centreboard Upwind this should be all the way down in all but the windiest conditions, when it can be raised a little to reduce the heeling moment and weather helm. Some teams raise the board downwind in lighter conditions, but I havent found it much benefit. The advantage is that you can head-up to keep the kite filling, but skid the boat sideways to maintain progress downwind. However, you will find that you need to put it all the way down for each gybe and I feel that the disturbance this causes to the boat loses all that you gain. Personal preference!
Ian Pickard Steve Dunn - ([email protected]) RS200 RYA Class Coaches
Copyright © Steve Dunn and Ian Pickard - 2002