Rigging Guide August, 2016 Photo by Martina Orsini Revision: 2.0
INDEX 1 Unpacking... 3 1.1 Before starting... 3 1.2 Removing contents... 3 1.3 Tools Required... 4 1.4 Trolley Assembly... 4 2 Hull & Wings... 5 2.1 Hull... 5 2.2 Wing Frame Assembly & Control Lines... 6 3 Control Systems... 17 3.1 Ride Height Adjuster... 17 3.2 Gearing... 20 4 Foils... 20 4.1 Foil Assembly... 20 5 Rig... 27 5.1 Boom Lashing... 27 5.2 Bridle... 29 5.3 Initial Sail Set-up... 30 5.4 Boom Rigging... 33 6 Safety and Maintenance... 37 6.1 Boat maintenance... 37 6.1.1 Drain your hull... 37 6.1.2 Check your gantry... 37 6.1.3 Check your foil bolts... 37 6.1.4 Wash your boat... 37 6.2 General safety for sailors... 37 7 Sailing Tips... 38 7.1 Launching... 38 7.2 Take off... 38 7.3 Upwind sailing... 39 7.4 Tacking... 39 7.5 Downwind sailing... 40 7.6 Gybing... 40 7.7 Back at shore... 41 2
1 UNPACKING 1.1 BEFORE STARTING Your new boat will be delivered to you in a wooden or fibreglass crate. This crate is sturdy enough to protect your new boat under normal shipping conditions. It can also be reused for re shipping, if for example you are attending an international event. Note: It is important to visually inspect the crate upon delivery and before taking receipt of your new boat from the shipping company. 1.2 REMOVING CONTENTS Remove the contents carefully. Try not to put them on the ground where they may be damaged. Some of the components are delicate and need to be treated with respect. Before you remove all the contents of the crate give some thought to where you will store them in order to keep them from harm's way. 3
1.3 TOOLS REQUIRED A basic tool kit is required to put this boat together. Care must be taken when assembling components to ensure to damage to bolt heads or threads. Tools: - Philips head screwdrivers (Number 2, Number 1) - Allen key set (5mm,2mm,6mm) - Rubber mallet - Knife - Super glue - Thin splicing wire 1.4 TROLLEY ASSEMBLY Remove the boat and trolley from the box and insert the axle through the holes in the trolley just forward of the main cradle. Push the axle spacers over the protruding steel axle on each side of the trolley Put the trolley wheels on. Insert axle washer and wheel clip retainer pins. 4
2 HULL & WINGS 2.1 HULL Assemble the wing blocks (raised or lowered) onto the hull using the supplied pins. Ensure that the trolley loops are in place around the rear wing blocks and that the trolley straps are tight to secure the boat to the trolley. Screw both bungs into the hull, one in the transom and one near the bulkhead on the starboard side. Bolt the gantry onto the hull by unscrewing all the screws and fitting the side screws first. A good starting setting for the gantry angle screw is 23mm measured from the tube to the steel bracket along the centreline. See photo below. 5
2.2 WING FRAME ASSEMBLY & CONTROL LINES Slide the wing covers onto the boltrope track from the rear. Take the outhaul rope kit (Kit 11) and follow these instructions: Step 1: Tie a loop in the centre of the red and white control line Step 2: Thread the control line through the outer, rear eyelet in the wing cover 6
Step 3: Take the supplied kite blocks and tie one end of the supplied bungee to them. (ie. One bungee and one kite block tied together per side of boat) Step 4: Thread the control line through the kiteblock Step 5: Tie the end of the control line onto the small loop on the wing corner block 7
Step 6: Using one of the wing cover battens or similar, thread the bungee through the outer wing cover sleeve to the back of the boat (ie from bow to stern). Step 7: At the back of the boat, thread the bungee through the kite block that comes assembled to the rear wing corner block. Step 8: Using the same method as before, thread the bungee back through the outer wing cover sleeve to the front corner block and terminate the bungee at the block (stern to bow). Step 9: Repeat to other side 8
Take the downhaul rope kit, which is kit no. 10, and assemble the downhaul control line and retrieval line as per the images shown in both the rope kit and below. Step 1: Take the double block, triple block and control line Step 2: Thread the control line through the bulkhead cleats, bulkhead single blocks and double and triple blocks to create a purchase system. At this point the double and triple blocks will not be shackled onto anything. 9
Step 3: Thread the control line through the forward, inner eyelet in the wing cover. Step 4: Take the supplied kite blocks and tie one end of the supplied bungee to them. (ie. One bungee and one kite block tied together per side of boat) Step 5: Thread the control line through the kiteblock 10
Step 6: Tie the end of the control line to the loop on the front wing corner block Step 7: Thread the bungee down through the inside of the front wing cover sleeve all the way to the centre of the boat. At the centre, go through the Ronstan shock mounted underneath the pushrod and up the opposite wing cover sleeve all the way until the opposite wing corner block. Terminate the bungee at the wing corner. The bungee should now run internally from one side of the boat to the other. 11
Step 8: Repeat to other side. As a check, each front wing corner should now have two control lines and two pieces of bungee terminating on its small loop. If you can see these, proceed to wing assembly. Wing assembly Slide the wing tube sleeves (black aluminium) onto the wing tubes. Aligning the holes; place the bottom pin (this comes supplied fixed to your hull) into both the tube and sleeve to keep the sleeve in place. Slide the front wing tube into place through the front wing cover sleeve making sure that none of the control lines are tangled around the wing bar. Fix with the front wing bar hinge pin and front wing corner block but do not put the wing block pins in at this stage. While the wing covers are nice and loose, it is a good time to set the hiking strap restrictor. Inside the front wing cover sleeve, you will find a piece of webbing (hiking strap restrictor). This webbing needs to be threaded through the plastic cleat (fixed to the webbing already) to create a small loop. The length of this loop should be to roughly the middle of the hole in the tramp when the tramp has some tension on it. See pictures below. 12
Fix the rear wing bar and wing sleeve to the hull via the rear wing hinge pin, slide the foot straps down the rear wing bars, and place the rear corner block onto the end of the bar. Slide the outer wing bar through the wing cover sleeve, and assemble with the front wing corner. The wing corner slides inside the outer wing tube. Pull back on the rear wing bar and insert the rear wing corner block into the outer wing bar, it may need a tap with a soft rubber mallet to get this part all the way in. See pictures below. 13
Thread the hiking strap lashing which is kit no. 5 as per the rope kit images. Remember to go through the hole in the wing cover. The inner hole (standard) is for longer legs, the outer hole for shorter legs. Remember at this point to go through the hiking strap restrictor loop. This stops the hiking strap slipping up the wing bar. 14
Thread the lashing for the wing covers using Rope Kit 4. It is best at this stage to keep the tension in the lashings as low as possible. Start at the inner forward lashing point, and work your way outwards. You should start with a clove hitch at the first knot you tie, as it will stop the batten from slipping inwards or outwards along the tramp. You can leave the lashing untied at the end for the moment. Lower the wings now until they sit comfortably in the wing blocks and insert the wing block pins. If the pins are very difficult to insert, try loosening the wing cover lashings a small amount. If you are still having trouble, do not hesitate to use a rubber mallet (within reason) to convince the pins that they fit. 15
Tighten and tie off the hiking strap. Tighten and tie off the wing covers carefully not to rip the tramps by pulling too hard. Tighten the wing lashings gradually. Over tightening the lashings in one position can damage the wing covers. 16
The noodle should now be placed above the boltrope track in the center of the wings and locked in place with the wing cover flaps and Velcro. 3 CONTROL SYSTEMS 3.1 RIDE HEIGHT ADJUSTER The ride height adjuster kit no. 9 controls the length of the push rod running from the reversing lever to the bell-crank. This push-rod length will be your way of controlling how high you fly above the water. The following steps outline the suggested rigging method for the ride height adjuster; Dip the end of the control rope in super glue, and once it has gone hard trim the end with a sharp knife to create a pointed end. Thread the control rope end through the hole into the top end of the ride height adjuster barrel. Tie a small thumb knot in the end of the rope you just pulled through. 17
Thread the control line through the wing cover, as shown in the rope kit images. From RHA barrel, underneath wing tramps until eyelet, through eyelet, ontop of wing tramps (under hiking strap) until kiteblock on tramps, through kiteblock, into hole in front wing cover sleeve, down inside sleeve until centre of boat, through ronstan shock. Repeat in reverse to mirror control line. See pictures below. 18
Wind the control line around the barrel until it is as tight as possible. Finally put the free end through the remaining hole in the barrel and tie thumb knot and superglue to make sure the knot will never slip. The trick here is to tie the knot so that the adjuster control line is as tight as possible. Cut off the stiffened ends. 19
3.2 GEARING The gearing system on the WASZP is located inside the small bonnet at the bow of the boat. Although this system has been assembled for you, the length of the gearing screw shown is very important for controlling the ride attitude of your WASZP. The longer the screw, the more responsive the boat will be to wave height, and vice versa with a shorter screw. We suggest that if you are sailing your WASZP at a venue with either large waves or high wind, to wind the screw out to the position shown in image which is where the back of the screw is near to flush with the back of the fitting. If sailing in flat water or light winds the screw can be wound in until half the thread shown in the image is showing. To change the gearing, first remove the screw at the end of the gearing pin with an Allen key. Next, wind the gearing pin until you reach your desired position. Finally replace the grub screw with Loctite to ensure it doesn t come loose whilst sailing. 4 FOILS 4.1 FOIL ASSEMBLY Firstly, check that your vertical and horizontal foils come together completely. There should be no gap between the bottom of the vertical and the horizontal surface. If they do not come together the whole way, there may be some residual mixture left over from sealing the foils that needs to be cleaned out of the horizontal female plug. The best way is with some sort of scraping device (knife, screwdriver, chisel). 20
Before going ahead and assembling the foils, the rudder box should be assembled onto the gantry. To do this, align the hole in the plastic part (light brown) showing in the top of the rudder box with the top bushing in the gantry. If there is no hole showing in the plastic part, as shown in the image below, use a sharp object to rotate the plastic part until the hole is showing. Insert the rudder pin now, with the plastic washer at the top. And align the bottom holes to allow the rudder pin to be fully inserted. Replace the ring at the bottom of the rudder pin to fasten it in place. The plastic bushings that hold the rudder pin are deliberately very tight, a rubber mallet may be needed to insert the pin fully. 21
Now insert the rudder vertical into the top of the rudder box. Take one of the pieces of bungee from rope kit 6, and wrap it twice around the rudder vertical and rudder box, passing between the rudder box and the gantry (See below pictures). Tie the bungee tight, as this will stop your rudder from falling down. The other piece of bungee from rope kit 6, can be tied in a loop around the tiller and bottom gantry strut (See pictures below). The foil bolt can now be removed and the horizontal slid into place on the bottom of the vertical. Carefully replace the foil bolt and do it up tight. 22
The rudder pull down system can now be installed by tying one end of the control line onto the ring on the top of the rudder vertical. Pass the line through the single block and cleat on the rudder box and then tie a knot. Now take the bungee and fix that to the knot on the end of the control line. Thread the bungee through the fitting on the end of the tiller. Finally fix the free end of the bungee back to the single block that is mounted on the rudder box. The rudder assembly is now complete. Take the front vertical foil, and remove the small grub screw that connects the pushrod terminal to the bellcrank. Insert the vertical plug into the horizontal foil socket but do not push it on all the way. 23
Line up the threaded push rod and the hole in the horizontal and slowly wind the pushrod into the barrel bolt that lives inside the foil. Be careful not to apply too much force to get the rod to rotate. Correct alignment should allow the rod to spin with the force your fingers can apply. Any more force may result in damage to the foil. Spin the rod until there is no thread showing above the foil surface. The vertical and horizontal may now be married together fully, and the foil bolt replaced in the same manner as the rudder. Finally, replace the small grub screw at the top of the vertical. Make sure this screw is replaced with Loctite, otherwise it can easily become unfastened whilst sailing. The boat must be rolled onto its side and the trolley removed in order to insert the centreboard into the centre case. With the mast stepped (no sail), the boat will be much easier and safer to roll onto its side. Once the mast has been assembled and stepped into the boat, tie the mast into the hull to stop it from falling out. The boat can now be rolled onto its side. As this point it is advisable to place something heavy on the mast to hold the boat in a capsized position. **Please note, the trolley straps need to be done up as tight as possible whenever the boat is rolled on its side to ensure no damage is done to either the boat or the trolley. During this step, it will also be helpful to tie a small weight to the gantry. This will keep the boat sitting on the wing only, instead of resting the bow on the ground. Once on its side, the trolley can be carefully removed from the hull and placed on the ground. Remove the foil stopper pin from the centreboard vertical, and insert the foil into the centre case. Once in place, replace the foil stopper pin back into the foil. Without this, the foil is able to fall out of the boat, resulting in a lost centreboard! 24
Whilst the boat is on its side, it is a good opportunity to insert the foil pin, clip the ride height adjuster to the foil bell crank and familiarise yourself with the dynamics of the WASZP control system. You should check that moving the wand tip corresponds to the foil flap moving. You should also now check that your ride height adjuster is working properly by using the full range of adjustment on the adjuster barrel. Once you are satisfied with how the mechanics of the boat work. We will go through a basic control system setup guide to get you foiling as soon as possible. Follow the following steps whilst your boat is in the capsized position with the mainfoil inserted and foil stopper pin in place. Set the foil stopper pin in the middle slot in the centre case insert. This corresponds to a middle pin hole for the centreboard pin. Slide your centreboard pin into the middle hole. Take the wand out of the wand holder, and (using tape or a friend) hold the tip of the wand even with the surface of the water if the boat was low-riding (sailing with the hull in the water ). See picture below. 25
At this point, when the hull is in the water, we are looking for maximum lift from the foil. This means we want the flap on the mainfoil to be all the way down. To do this, push the ball joint, (located at the top of the mainfoil vertical) towards the rear of the boat until it can t go any more. You can check that this is maximum flap down by looking at the gap showing between the horizontal and verticals. Holding the ride height adjuster still, spin the tail end until it lines up with the ball joint in the maximum lift (flap down) position. Clip the ride height adjuster tail onto the ball joint, connecting the wand to the main foil flap. You should now check that when the wand is on the water in low riding mode, that the foil is responding with maximum lift. When your wand flicks forwards, check that the flap responds by rising upwards, reducing the gap between the flap and the vertical. This is your base setting to go sailing with, and may require some adjustment from your ride height adjuster whilst foiling. Unclip the ride height adjuster, raise the foil and right the boat. But do not forget to replace the wand in the wand holder, as righting the boat with it in the down position can lead to breakages. The next time you put your main foil down and in the middle pin hole, all that is needed to do is clip the ride height adjuster onto the ball joint and you are ready to foil. 26
5 RIG 5.1 BOOM LASHING To fix the boom to the mast, the boom lashing must first be tied and taped. Although the position of this lashing is an important tuning parameter, a good starting point is 2400mm from the mast base. 1. To begin, take the boom lashing rope supplied in the rope kit and tie a clove hitch around the mast, leaving one of the tails twice as long as the other tail. 2. From here, take the long tail and tie a single half hitch around the mast. 3. Tie simple overhand knot to create a reef knot. If tight enough, the lashing shouldn t slide up or down the mast. To be safe, electrical tape can be wrapped immediately above and below the lashing. 27
4. Finally, tie a loop with the remaining tail lengths, finishing with a reef knot. - 28
5.2 BRIDLE Bridle position is an important tuning parameter on your WASZP. Follow these steps for initial setup; Tie mainsheet bridle (port/starboard) onto wing covers as shown below. Tie bridle restrictor onto the ring on the top of the rudder pin. Shackle all three lines onto the supplied mainsheet block A good starting point for the length of the bridles is 470mm (Port/Starboard) and 730mm for the bridle restrictor. 29
5.3 INITIAL SAIL SET-UP Your WASZP sail can be scratched and damaged if dragged over concrete surfaces. It is best to find a softer surface to unroll the sail. Usually, the hull and wing covers are adequate. Using the rope supplied in rope kit 16, lash the two mainsheet blocks to the webbing blocks found at the base of the luff and the clew. Remove the double block with a long d-shackle attached, and secure it to the eyelet in the clew of the sail. Take the control line from rope kit 13, thread it through the webbing block at the clew, all the way down the pocket along the foot of the sail and through the webbing block at the bottom of the luff. A broomstick or something similar is very useful for feeding the line down the pocket. Put a stopper knot in either end of the control line. The same can be done with the mainsheet, which is found in rope kit 14. This time, thread the mainsheet through the mainsheet blocks. Be sure not to tangle the mainsheet around the outhaul rope. 30
Your WASZP sail is supplied ready to go sailing, with the camber inducers and camber spacers set in place in the factory. Simply slide the mast up the luff pocket, leaving all the cams to one side of the mast except the top cam, which should be assembled onto the mast. The remaining cams can now be put onto the mast and the mast stepped into the boat. To pop the cams onto the mast; Have the mast in the luff pocket with the cams on the bottom side of the mast. Apply downwards pressure to the intersection of the luff pocket and batten pockets (just behind the cam) 31
With your other hand, push the cam upwards from the bottom so that it pops onto the mast Close the zip Repeat, working your way from the top of the sail to the bottom. Once stepped, shackle the downhaul triple block onto the eyelet on the sail, and the double block onto the mast (See picture below). Pull firm tension on the downhaul to set the sail. 32
In the sail bag pocket you will find several plastic shims. These are called cam spacers and are used to shim the cams forward to increase the tension in the sail luff-pocket. These are used to fine tune the sail once the sail has been stretched in. For now, the factory setting is acceptable. 5.4 BOOM RIGGING Once some downhaul tension is applied, the boom lashing should be visible in the sail cut-out. The fitting on the front end of the boom can now be used to hook your boom lashing loop and the boom can safely hung from the mast. The boom tail end can now be put in place, with an initial length setting of 30 (8.2m 2 sail). The next step is to thread the outhaul. Beginning clew, take the control line through the bottom sheave of the double block from port to starboard. 33
Thread the rope upwards through the starboard sheave of the double block on the clew of the sail. Thread the rope through the remaining sheave on the boom end from starboard to port. Thread the rope upwards through the final sheave, before tying the end of the control around the boom, making sure to go through the saddle. Do not tie the control line straight onto the saddle. At the base of the luff, take the control line and insert it through the swivel cleat at the centre of the bulkhead. 34
Finally, tie the end of the control line off to the loop at the centre of the outhaul line that runs through the wing covers. We will now thread the mainsheet from the clew running forwards through the mainsheet block on the bridle and back up to the mainsheet block, terminating with a bowline. Please note that the outhaul line that runs through the sail is deliberately too long. This is to ensure that when the foil is in the raised position, the outhaul can be eased enough to allow the sail to flop over the foil. If you find you are rarely using this feature, trim around 1.6m off the tail of the outhaul control line. Alternatively, the excess control line can be wrapped and tied to the end of the boom, as shown below. 35
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6 SAFETY AND MAINTENANCE 6.1 BOAT MAINTENANCE 6.1.1 Drain your hull The hull has two drain holes, one on the starboard side of the transom and the other on the starboard side near the bulkhead. If you have any water in the hull undo the screws in the drain holes and with the rig/mast up and the boat capsized on shore with the starboard wing down, lift the bow until the boat sits on the starboard wing back corner, with the gantry and mast tip touching the ground. Any water trapped in the hull will flow out. Your Waszp has a small breather hole located above the starboard downhaul cleat on the bulkhead; this is sufficient in any weather to allow the hull to breathe. 6.1.2 Check your gantry Make sure the bolts are tightened securely and re-check after a few sails. 6.1.3 Check your foil bolts Make sure the bolts at the base of the foils are always done up tight, this should be checked every few sails. 6.1.4 Wash your boat After every sail your boat must be washed thoroughly with clean fresh water. 6.2 GENERAL SAFETY FOR SAILORS We want you to understand safety as it applies to our product and to equip yourself in order to minimise any risk. Please read on.. Take care to always to wear a buoyancy aid, it is mandatory when racing but in some parts of the world it is not a legal requirement when cruising. However it is sensible to get into the habit of wearing one at all times. Not only will it keep you afloat if things go wrong, but most buoyancy aids also provide valuable impact protection. Wear a good wetsuit. Modern full-length long arm wetsuits are very good at keeping you warm and also absorbing minor impacts that a sailor can be exposed to. Remember it is one thing to be warm as you work the boat hard, but another to be warm for extended periods of time in the water. Be aware of your surroundings, and invest in the correct kit to keep you warm in all conditions. Try to always sail with a training partner, or failing that make sure someone at your club is aware that you are going sailing. It is also a good idea to take a mobile phone or a VHF radio in an Aquapac type waterproof case out with you so you can call for help if you need it. When you are working hard, dehydration can occur quickly. Always make sure you take enough liquid out on the water with you. Most drink bottle sizes will fit in the pocket in your wing covers. Get in the habit of checking your boat over before you go sailing, replace worn parts and ropes as necessary. It s easier on the land than on the water but if a rope does breaks, make sure you have some handy lengths of spare rope and a few shackles in the pocket of your life jacket. Sail within your ability. Do not take risks, and if it s too windy or too rough for you, be sensible and go and do something else. There will always be another day. Make sure you know the forecast; many a sailor has been caught out by not understanding the true wind speed and/or sea state. Offshore winds for example can look quite benign from the land, but in fact be very strong at the sailing area, and of course with an offshore wind if things go wrong you won t be blown back to the shore either We suggest wearing some form of head protection. The WASZP can get up to much higher speeds than conventional dinghies, which always increases the risk of injury. Finally remember your safety is the responsibility of the skipper. In a WASZP, that is you. As if you didn t have enough things to think about! 37
7 SAILING TIPS 7.1 LAUNCHING Launching the WASZP is a skill that should not be taken lightly! It is advisable that the first few times you launch a second person to help is on hand just in case. The WASZP trolley has been designed to allow for two different launching techniques. The first technique is explained below; At the edge of the water, with your WASZP pointing into the wind, remove the trolley straps. Be sure at this point to not let the WASZP roll on its side, at the foil tip may touch the ground. Wheel the boat into the water, stopping when the boat begins to float off the trolley. This should be between knee to waist deep water. Sink the trolley down (using your foot) to enable the centreboard horizontal to clear the trolley. Leave your trolley to a friend to return it to the beach. Walk your WASZP into deeper water (waist deep is enough) and lower the foils to around half down. Ensure when hopping into the boat to have the mainsheet in hand first, as the WASZP hull is less stable than a conventional dinghy, and the sail is need to keep the boat from capsizing. When sailing with the foils in a raised position, it is advisable to skim a wing along the surface of the water. This will add stability and stop the boat from going too fast. When appropriate, slow the boat down to a stop, remove the wand holder and lower the centreboard, lining up the stopper pin with its corresponding groove in the centre case. Insert the foil pin and foil pin retainer. Clip the ride height adjuster ball joint onto the top of the bell crank. Lower the rudder using the rudder pull down system Insert the rudder foil pin and foil pin retainer The second technique is slightly easier if you are alone; however it requires the boat to be rolled onto its side once in the water. With your WASZP pointing into the wind, wheel the boat into the water, stopping at around knee depth. Roll the boat onto its side, with the rig on the leeward side of the hull. Remove the trolley from the hull. Return your trolley to the beach. At this point you can either right the boat and continue in the same fashion as explained above, or; Push the foils down into the lowered position Remove the wand holder, letting the wand swing forward Insert the foils pins and retaining clips Attach the ride height adjuster Holding the mast, walk the boat out until the water is around chest deep before righting the boat and hopping in. 7.2 TAKE OFF Start trying to foil when the boat hits 7 knots. Get as much lift on the rudder as possible by winding the tiller mechanism until the rudder pin is all the way forward. The outhaul should be loose enough pre-foiling to get some twist and shape in the sail. The downhaul should be loose enough to allow mast to straighten but not allow wrinkles in the sail. 38
Crack sheet to gain speed. Induce a minimal amount of leeward heel so that you can bring it upright as the boat starts to foil and you pump twice. Remember, no bouncing on the wing. Once foiling head back up to the breeze and bring on the outhaul. 7.3 UPWIND SAILING Sailing the WASZP upwind is similar to many other dinghies, except faster! Ride height and rudder angle adjustment are important when learning to foil. Your rudder pin should be towards the front of the rudder box slot to maintain a good pitch angle. The aim is to have the boat flat or slightly bow down whilst sailing upwind. While you are sailing, always remember to check where the rudder pin is sitting, as sometimes it can unwind itself in tacks or in capsizes. The boat will also be easier and more efficient to sail when it is higher on the foils. Use your ride height adjuster to allow yourself to find a comfortable foiling position. The standard sail shape of the WASZP sail is very full to create plenty of power while in low riding mode. Once foiling, your sail shape will need to change quickly to keep up with your apparent wind. Usually this involves trimming the outhaul on hard and sheeting the mainsheet in. Do not be afraid to pull the outhaul and downhaul on hard when you are overpowered. From a technique perspective, your WASZP will respond better to smaller mainsheet movements, and larger steering movements. 7.4 TACKING Keep the boat dead flat or with slight windward heel pre-tack. Move faster and earlier than you want to (or even can imagine) and steer right through to a beam reach to keep the speed up. It helps to get the tiller extension through very early, and allow your body to follow your tiller hand through the boat. Mainsheet tension is one of the most important aspects of tacking. Generally, until you are on the new wing with the battens popped, keep the mainsheet as tight as possible. However, once on the new tack you will need to ease the mainsheet quickly to allow the boat to accelerate. There doesn t seem to be an accepted technique for where to place the feet through a tack. This being said, the noodle in the centre of the WASZP wings is a very useful platform for your feet to propel you through a tack. Hands should be swapped after the boat has tacked and is in control, not in a hurry post tack whilst still building speed. 39
7.5 DOWNWIND SAILING To go downwind, the ride height may need to be lowered slightly using the ride height adjuster. The bow of the boat will also need to be trimmed upwards by moving the rudder pin rearwards in the rudder box slot. Usually this will be around two turns on the tiller mechanism. Downwind rig setting is best with twist but not a knuckle (not too much draft forwards) at the front of the sail which will cause you to sail low and slow rather than true VMG by building apparent. Avoid the knuckle by keeping on enough downhaul. When sailing downwind, your body weight should be towards the back of the wing. 7.6 GYBING Speed, Stability and steady steering make the gybe happen. Faster is faster! It s a good simple rule to aim to reduce speed loss to a minimum. Always look forwards and move earlier than you think you need to. It s seen as faster to gybe the boat faster and get as far out on the new wing bar as possible, steering the boat up to the breeze to keep you there will keep the power on and get you back to max speed quicker. You don't want to hear this, but it needs to be said: practice, practice, practice. Some pointers for easy gybing (not necessarily to get around fast, but to get around easily): Ease the sheet and point down so you can get to a comfortable stable position on the wing. Get the tiller extension through to the new windward side. Steer the boat around to the new jibe direction keeping it flat by a combination of moving your body and steering under the rig. The noodle in the centre of the boat is your best friend! Pop the cams by a jerk on the mainsheet if not already done by wind pressure. Swap hands on tiller and mainsheet. As the boat has slowed down by this point you will have to point up from the normal jibe angle to get flow back over the sail. 40
7.7 BACK AT SHORE When coming in to the shore always do this at slow speed, if you hit the bottom you can damage the foils so it is better to come in slowly and judge how deep it is! As you come in to the shore remove the ride height adjustor and foil pins. This will allow the foils to be half raised. The rudder should come up on its own as you sail along, so no need to strain yourself. Fix the wand holder to the wand. Sail until it is around knee deep and then replace the boat back onto the trolley, remembering to do the trolley straps up tight. You can also sail in until waist deep and capsize the boat to raise the foils. We have found this is a matter of personal preference. The key things to remember when launching and retrieving are the following; 1. Always have the trolley strap on tight when rolling the boat on its side 2. The wand can hit the ground in shallow water. When in less than waist deep water keep the wand in the wand holder. 3. The foil tips can be damaged by hitting the ground in shallow water, be careful when in less than knee deep water. 41