From: Chris Zaleski <chrisz@zsails.com>
Subject: Re: J/109 Habanero
Date: May 28, 2021 at 10:06:41 AM EDT
To: C William Merten <cwilliammerten@me.com>
Cc: Quentin Leo <qleo@quentinleo.com>

Hi Bill and Quentin,

Generally all you wrote is right and here are some conclusions.

Jib

  1. Tell tails breaking evenly at the bottom and the top. If there is a need to de-power move the car 1-2 holes back to twist out the top.
  2. Halyard light in 0-8 knots, so you can see light horizontal wrinkles. When the breeze increases adjust tension the halyard to smooth out the wrinkles. You should never see a big vertical wrinkle behind the headstay as this is an indication of too much halyard tension.
  3. Look at the draft stripes and try to answer the question where is maximum draft? Generally it should be about 45% back and never farther than 50% back (picture).

Main

  1. Halyard similar like with Jib i.e. light horizontal wrinkles in 0-8 kn and ……
  2. Vang - set before start going downwind with the Main eased to the shrouds. Tension the vang so the top batten (last 2 ‘) is parallel to the boom. This indicates that there is no twist in the Main.
  3. Upwind:
- light breeze (0-8kn) - traveler all the way up and the sheets eased so the leech is on the center line
- moderate breeze (9-14kn) - traveler in the center with the main sheet hard so the top tell tails is flying ~50% of the time.
- heavier breeze (15+) - start to de-powering by easing the traveler as needed. If you are still overpowered with the traveler all the way down, then try to ease the Main sheet a bit.

Hope this helps. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend.

Best,

Chris

Z Sails
655 Atlantic St
Stamford, CT 06902
203-353-8818


On May 28, 2021, at 8:00 AM, C William Merten <cwilliammerten@me.com> wrote:

Hi Quentin,

Regarding upwind sail trim, this is what I know. And as I said, Chris Zaleski has taught me everything I know about it.

Prior to the start, sail upwind close-hauled. Look at the tell tails on the jib. Adjust the fair lead so the tell tales break evenly. Do the same for the opposite tack.

After or before the start, once close hauled, trim the main in tight. The aim is to get the main as flat as possible and maintain good speed.

Here my object is to point. I may not be sailing as fast as other boats, but I’m much higher. Look at the VMG on the instruments. It works upwind.

To get the flattest sail, pull in the outhaul and crank in the back stay. Also haul in the main sheet as much as possible. Boom to the centerline of the boat. Use the traveler to adjust the boom position while keeping the main sail flat. I think flattening of the main sail can be done to five knots or less.

In excess puffs, the helmsman should head up before easing to take every opportunity to get the boat higher. In more wind, ease the traveler first, then the main sheet. The main trimmer should try to meet these objectives while making sure the main tell tales are not stalled.

The jib should be trimmed in tight and flat in light moderate to higher wind. Once the helm has settled on a course, trim so the leeward telltales are flying straight back and the windward tell tails are flying straight back to 45 degrees up.

At this point, it’s set it and forget it. Do not fiddle with jib trim. It is the helmsman’s responsibility to steer to the tell tails.

As you approach the windward mark on starboard tack, the sails may need to be eased depending on whether you have overstood or not.

So that’s my advice. Chris, please correct me on any errors I might have made here.

Thanks,
Bill