CREW WEIGHT
The best position to carry the crew is grouped together, more or less how we do it now. Nobody in front of the mast and nobody behind the skipper.
This situation will change, however, on shy spinnaker runs. When tacking to windward, use the crew weight seating with legs overboard to keep the boat sailing as flat in the water as possible. In-board equipment, sundry bits and pieces, anchor, fuel, crew bags, etc. should be grouped around the base of the mast.
TUNING HEADSAIL
The Genoa should be set up so that the wools all flow evenly over the whole of the sail. The position of the Genoa car controls the wools in the luff of the headsail. If the top or uppermost wool in the headsail breaks first when the boat is luffed into the wind then the Genoa car is moved towards the bow. If the top one flows but the lower wools break first when luffing into the wind then the Genoa car is moved aft. The correct position of the Genoa car is when all of the wools in the luff break evenly when the boat is luffed into the wind. If the headsail is tuned properly along these lines then we get the best performance out of it.
There is another set of wools located in the top section of the headsail near the leach. It is important when winding on the Genoa sheet that these particular wools flow evenly aft. If they do not flow evenly then in all probability the Genoa sheet has been wound on too TIGHTLY.
GENOA LUFF TENSION
When tuning the headsail the first step is to observe the stress lines that flow from the hanks. The ideal tension on the luff is achieved by winding on the Genoa halyard winch until the stress lines from the hank just disappear. It is important to remember to recheck this tension when the Genoa is hauled up to the top of the mast after the completion of each spinnaker leg. If this tension is not rechecked it can upset the whole performance of the Genoa. The performance of the Genoa is the key factor in obtaining maximum boat speed and pointing ability.
MAINSAIL TUNING
The shape of the mainsail when working to windward is important. Any stress or stretch lines that appear from the luff should be removed either with Cunningham eye tension or mainsail halyard tension. Tension along the foot of the headsail usually is fairly tight except in very light drifting weather.
TELLTALES OF THE LEACH
These ribbons are supposed to flow aft from the leach. However, if the main sheet is on too tightly, then these ribbons will stall. The ideal tension on the main sheet is when all the telltales are flowing from the leach but the top telltale just flicks in and out behind the leach on the sail. Too much tension on the main sheet will reduce dramatically the performance of the main.
CROSS- TREES
The ideal gap between the leach of the Genoa and the crosstrees. ie. somewhere between two to three inches off the cross-tree. Even in heavy winds we try to keep the gap about the same. Any more than four inches off the crosstrees and the sail will be adversely affected.
LIGHT TO MEDIUM WEATHER
In these conditions a crewmember must sit beside the Genoa sheet winch and constantly check the gap between the crosstree and the leach. There is a strong tendency in these light to medium conditions for the leach of the Genoa to actually touch the crosstree. When this happens the boat speed will drop noticeably. So the Genoa sheet has to be constantly played using the winch. In light weather allow Genoa to sag along the luff; this is especially necessary for good pointing provided the Genoa has been cut correctly and cloth has not stretched.