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Adjustable Outhaul with fast installation?
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konajoe



Joined: 28 Feb 2010
Posts: 517

PostPosted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK. Let's look at something here. You are saying that when you drag race on a beam reach with your friends, you change your outhaul setting mid-reach? Is this common? Is this something pro racers do? If it is truly beneficial, they must. Right? But I never heard of that. Not saying it isn't true.

Have you tried a/b comparison in which you don't change the outhaul? Do you pump to get planing? The sail will not pump as well with a loose outhaul. Most outhaul changes in steady wind are to try to optimize the shape for upwind/downwind.

One of the reasons I'm asking is because I switched to single-sided for the simplicity. And I use it for racing.
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konajoe



Joined: 28 Feb 2010
Posts: 517

PostPosted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm guessing from lack of responses to the question about pros adjusting their outhaul mid-reach, is that they don't.

So, if that is true, you may want to stick with your simple, inexpensive one-sided system, and only adjust your outhaul for upwind/downwind and wind speed changes.

I see what you're thinking theory-wise. But it it must not be true in practice.
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chaphal3



Joined: 28 Jan 2009
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey, sorry for the ethernet silence, I didn't mean to ignore the thread.

I agree that I haven't specifically heard of pros doing that, but let me qualify the original statement a bit:
- I never sail in steady air; 95% of my experience has been on a small inland lake around mild hill and down wind of a small city (Lansing)
- The racing is usually done from a dead stop, when two of us gybe in the same lull around the same location. So, we're slogging along waiting for a gust, and if someone can get on a plane at the edge of the gust instead of the center, they're pretty much in position to win. However, if their sail is uncontrollable in the middle of the gust, the flatter sail can catch up.
- That's not my main purpose for needing a double sided system; I often find myself tightening up in a gust, then forgetting to release before gybing, and not having enough power on the non-adjustable side, or having too much shape when a gust comes on that side.
- From a technical perspective, the reason for changing sail shape based on heading should be to compensate for apparent wind; thus it should be equally effective to keep the sail optimized during acceleration - of course, if you're accelerating quickly enough this should usually be a non-issue.

As far as my homemade solution goes, it turns out my local west marine doesn't carry any high modulus fiber lines in stock for some reason, so I'm waiting for an order to come in. But, my plan is to use a clamcleat line-lok to cleat the rope to itself (if anyone has tried that and it didn't work, please let me know).
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coachg



Joined: 10 Sep 2000
Posts: 3549

PostPosted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 2:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

chaphal3,

Most of the top slalom pros use a full adjustable outhaul system that is not for show or upwind sailing. They use it for the same reason you do, to trim the sail to the apparent wind. If under powered they will bag it out to stay on a plane and flatten the sail in big gusts to maintain or gain control.

Coachg
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konajoe



Joined: 28 Feb 2010
Posts: 517

PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 9:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Coachg,

Is there a reason why the IMCO sailors never did this? Adjustments were only made for course changes and longer term changes in wind velocity. Sailors pumped through 30 second lulls and hung on during 30 second gusts. No adjustments were made after tacks or jibes, either.
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konajoe



Joined: 28 Feb 2010
Posts: 517

PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 9:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And the modern sails are way more stable and rangy than IMCO sails were.
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